M.M.... Meatless Monday!

Sorry there was no post on Friday.  I was in Seattle last week for work and could not keep up with blogging.  But, today I bring good news.  It's back!  Meatless Monday is back!  We went meatless on Saturday night... cracked open a bottle of wine and cooked risotto.  This is basically "date night" when you have a baby.  We love risotto.  It is actually pretty easy to cook, but you do have to "tend" to it.  We tried a new recipe this time incorporating three of my favorite things- butternut squash, spinach and pine nuts!  Yum!!!


I found this recipe online, but it was orginally published in Cooks Illustrated.


Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded (medium, about 2 pounds) (I cheated and bought the pre-cut squash)
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 cups vegetable broth (I used Chicken Broth because I had it and I like the flavor)
• 1 cup water
• 4 ounces baby spinach
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 small onions, chopped very fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1 1/2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, minced  (I did not find these, but imagine it would add yummy flavor)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg, grated
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted in small, dry skillet over medium heat until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes

• Directions:

  1. 1
     Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add about 3 1/2 cups squash in even layer and cook without stirring until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender and browned, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer squash to bowl and set aside.
  2. 2
     Return skillet to medium heat; add reserved squash fibers (I did not have these) and seeds and any leftover diced squash. Cook, stirring frequently to break up fibers, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to large saucepan and add vegetable broth and water; cover saucepan and bring mixture to simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain bare simmer.
  3. 3
     While broth mixture is simmering, add 1 teaspoon olive oil to now-empty skillet and swirl to coat. Add 4 ounces baby spinach and cook, covered, over medium heat, until leaves begin to wilt, about 2 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring constantly, until fully wilted, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
  4. 4
     Melt 3 tablespoons butter (or margarine) in now-empty skillet over medium heat; when foaming subsides, add onions, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add rice to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring frequently, until fully absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes.
  5. 5
     Meanwhile, strain hot broth through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Return strained broth to saucepan and discard solids in strainer; cover saucepan and set over low heat to keep broth hot.
  6. 6
     When wine is fully absorbed, add 3 cups hot broth and half of reserved squash to rice. Simmer, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and bottom of pan is almost dry, about 12 minutes.
  7. 7
     Stir in about 1/2 cup hot broth and cook, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 3 minutes; repeat with additional broth 2 or 3 more times, until rice is al dente. Turn off the heat, stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter/margarine, Parmesan, sage, and nutmeg; drain excess liquid from spinach and gently fold in spinach and remaining cooked squash. If desired, add up to 1/4 cup additional hot broth to loosen texture of risotto. Top individual servings of risotto with toasted pine nuts; serve immediately.
     
     
     The husband and I both loved this dish.  It was very flavor and filling and with vegetables! :)   Until next time...xoxo
     
     

R is for risotto. More risotto!

Photo from Simply Recipes

So, I know I have written before about risotto, but we could a recipe so good it is worth raving about!  Risotto is one of our "date night at home" dishes.  It is not difficult to cook, but takes time and tending to.   Risotto is also one of those things that you can make with one recipe- and add whatever you want.  We typically do sausage and mushrooms or sausage and sun-dried tomatoes.  Well, I felt like changing things up and forced the husband to try something different!

I found a mushroom and gorgonzola risotto recipe.  I substituted blue cheese for gorganzola becuase I had some leftover from another meal.  We also added some shredded chicken as I too had that left over from roasting one on Thursday night.  This mushroom, chicken, blue cheese risotto was AMAZING!  Truly the best one we have made to date!!!

I found a recipe and then made some changes.  Here is my adapted recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 teaspoons butter
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 ounces sliced fresh button mushrooms
• 1 (12 ounce) package Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 quart hot chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons crumbled Blue Cheese
• ground black pepper to taste
• Chicken (leftovers of any kind; cubed breast or shredded roast chicken)

Directionsr.

1. Melt butter along with truffle oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, shallot, and garlic; cook and stir two minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add the mushrooms, and continue cooking until the mushroom softens.
2. Add Arborio rice; cook and stir for a few minutes until the rice is well coated with the onion mixture and looks glossy. Stir in the white wine, and cook until nearly evaporated.
3. Reduce heat to medium, and add 1/3 of the hot chicken stock. Cook and stir until the chicken stock has been mostly absorbed, about 5 minutes. The risotto should be simmering gently while you stir in the chicken stock. Add half of the remaining stock, and stir for 5 minutes more. Finally add the remaining stock, and continue cooking until the risotto is creamy and the rice is tender, about 5 minutes more. The rice should not be completely soft, but still have a little firmness when you bite into it. You can add a little water if needed to cook the rice to this state.  You can also add the cooked chicken at this point so it gets nice and moist.
4. Remove the risotto from the heat, and stir in the heavy cream and Gorgonzola cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

This was our best risotto yet!  It was sooo creamy and the blue cheese added a nice "something something".  Try it for yourself... until next time.  xoxo

R is for Risotto!

One of my favorite meals to cook and eat with the husband is risotto! It is labor intensive in that you need to stand over it and constantly stir, but it is so worth it. It is a perfect weekend (or vacation) meal when you can take your time, drink some wine and stir that rice!

My friend "J" is in town from California and after a day of shopping we decided we wanted to stay in rather than go out. It became a perfect risotto night! Typically the husband and I cook sausage and mushroom risotto, but we decided to try something new (and "J" does not eat pork). We gave this Butternut Squash and Chicken Risotto a try! Recipe and photo is courtesy of picky-palate.com. Next time I cook this I would also add pinenuts! Pinenuts add that something special...and crunchy!

It is yuuuuuummmmmy! Give it a try yourself!

Roasted Butternut Squash, Chicken and Parmesan Risotto

• 2 Cups fresh butternut squash, diced into 1/2 inch cubes (I cheat and buy the already cubed squash)
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Lawry’s garlic salt with parsley
• 1 Tablespoon butter 12 oz bag Arborio rice
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 4 Cups chicken broth
• 1/2 Cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Cups cooked chicken, cubed
• 1/4 Cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 thin slices prosciutto, julienned for garnish
• 2 handfuls of toasted pinenuts (this is my addition from standard recipe). (The salad had pinenuts in it and it made me realize how good they would be in the risotto! Even took some of them out of my salad and added to risotto!)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place squash, olive oil, salt and garlic salt into a large bowl; toss to combine and pour onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

2. In the meantime, melt butter in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Stir in rice and onion; cook and stir for 5 minutes, until onions are softened. Stir in garlic for 1 minute. Stir in ½ Cup of chicken broth, stirring constantly. As the broth gets soaked up, stir in another ½ Cup until broth, continuing this process until broth is used up and rice is cooked. Then stir in Parmesan cheese, chicken and parsley.Stir in butternut squash right before serving.

3. Garnish each bowl with a pinch of prosciutto and a sprig of parsley if desired.

You will "heart" risotto too! Until Next Time.....xoxo