Parmesan Mushroom Risotto

Parmesan Mushroom Risotto

Yes, another pain in the arse, take your sweet time recipe, but it is totally worth it. Since I don't like greenie veggies in my risotto, this is my alternative to Mel's. I like to use a ton of different kinds of mushrooms, and it is really to taste. It takes awhile, so this is a dish to prepare if you are trying to impress someone or you like to calm down you nerves with cooking (eh hem, me). What I love most about risotto is how fascinating it is that such a small little granule can absorb so much liquid. It fills with flavor and becomes creamy and melts in your mouth from something so simplistic. Quite a romantic dish.


Ingredients:
1/2 lb of wild mushrooms (shiitaki, cremini, or whatever you fancy/can afford), dried. You can find these on the side of the fresh veggies side. Make sure you get the dried out kind b/c the broth left over works amazingly well
1/2-1 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 leek (optional)
1 sweet, white onion
1 Tblsp. minced garlic, or 3 cloves
2 Tblsp. butter (optional)
2 Tblsp. olive oil
1C chicken or veggie broth
1C white wine or sherry wine, whatever is available
1C arborio (aka risotto) rice
1-1/2C grated, fresh Parmesan cheese
1T chopped, fresh basil (for garnish)
*truffle oil, if you happen to have it in the spice rack, but its expensive so don't worry if you don't


Directions:
Reconstitute the dried mushrooms (aka put them in lukewarm 4C water & 1/2C sherry to absorb for about 1-2 hrs or follow directions on the package), then drain. Set aside broth.

Heat oil in largest skillet/saucepan you have. Dice onions and leeks, and sautée until translucent. Add garlic to brown for a min or so. Add reconstituted mushrooms, and fresh mushrooms, until tender. Salt & pepper, to taste. Take out veggies with slotted spoon and set aside, leaving oil and drippings in pan (if it looks a bit dry, add some more oil and let heat).

Bring heat to med-low and melt butter if you so desire but not necessary. Add rice, stirring continuously to keep it from browning, until it turns translucent (about 7-10 mins). Warm the wine on low in a separate pot. Simmer the broth to be used (should be about 4-5C of broth from the mushrooms, but if you don't have enough, substitute chicken or veggie broth) in yet another pot. Your pot count should be 3!

Stir in the set-aside veggies in with the rice in the large saucepan. Stir in 1/2C of the warmed wine until completely absorbed. It must be warmed to keep from "shocking" the rice, or it will begin to flake, taking a bit away from the romanticism, not to metion the taste.

Once absorbed, begin to ladle 1/4C of the broth at a time, stirring occasionally. Once it begins to look all absorbed, ladle in more until you are out of liquid (it should equal about 5C of liquid). This process takes quite awhile with the ladling and stirring and waiting for absorption, so don't feel like you are doing it wrong, it supposed to be a bit creamy, liquid-y, and take awhile. If you still aren't sure, keep tasting the rice grains, it should taste al dente, and not hard.

When most of the broth is absorbed (during the last ladle), add in 1Tblsp. butter if desired, or a few Tblsp. of cream, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Take off the heat. Add the basil as a garnish on top or mix in.

This would be a good pairing with basic chicken in white wine, or sauteed chicken strips can be mixed in for a more filling meal.

Enjoy!

Kitchy Kitchen Appliances Defunked!

So, I am a product junkie, but since my guilt-ridden move to greening, I can no longer buy bath and body products when I don't need them or without looking up and down at the ingredients. Any normal person, would just make the transition, but since I am a tad OCD, I needed my obsession to seep into another aspect of my life, and so it has - into cooking. I longingly glance in the windows of William Sonoma and Crate and Barrel for a peek at their pricey shelves of decadent kitchen appliance, and watch hours longer than I will admit of QVC ads selling numerous chopping, whipping, blending, heating devices I may or may not be able to live without. Yet, the whole poor, loan-laden student lifestyle leaves very little budget wiggle room for such items, however I constantly find myself wondering if I had the ability, which items would I absolutely need. So I have started to gather a list of the needs vs. the need nots. Thanks to the help of my mother, Heather, and law school's lack of entertainment leaving me with plenty of time to search reviews on such items, I have come up with some reviews. Please let me know if there are things you cannot live without, and things you certainly can and merely sit in the corner being un-used.


Must Haves:
- French Press
- Cuisinart Mixer
- Cuisinart Blender
- Crock pot
- Krups bean grinder
- Stainless steel mixing bowls
- Copper mixing bowl
- Silpat Cookie liner
- Roasting Pan
- One set of intricate bread loaves
- Cooling rack
- Japanese Rice Cooker
- Silicone Spatula or Spoonula


No Needs:
- The Magic Bullet
- GT Express 101
- Burr Grinder
- Pizza Stone
- Cookie Press

JC's Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup

OK, I will admit it, I took this straight from Julie/Julia, which took it straight from Frenchie, Foodie, Julia Child's Master the Art of French Cooking, so this is kind of a Kevin Bacon dish, but the end result is amazing. I am embarrassed to have been so influenced by the media version of cooking, but I will give my quick review - Book: annoyingly obvious, Movie: fabulous. However, Julie Powell's description of this dish is spot on (and completely unlike any other part of the book). It's easy, takes awhile, but its so good for something so simple. I never really have the urge to make soup, nor have I ever tried because soup is an "and..." type of dish. Let me explain: Anytime you mention soup as a meal, especially for dinner, the inevitable next question is, soup and...? Its always soup and salad or soup and sandwich, so if you are going to fuss with cooking why bother making something when you are going to have to make something with it?! Exception: tomato soup, which is pure comfort food. But this is going to soon take over tomato's coveted position. Its sweet, filling, and gives a sense of accomplishment (though, I might just feel that way because I accomplished it in stark contrast to all of copyright law). Its also so good because it took me a moment to even remember what a leek was, not to mention I doubt I had ever had one before, but turns out its just a more mild version of celery (which is good because I hate celery). So here it is: The original recipe with a few tweaks (as always).


Ingredients:
3-4 cups of diced peeled potatoes (1 lb.)
3 cups thinly sliced leeks, including the tender greens (cut all the way until the real greeny part and it starts looking like a stalk instead of a meaty vegetable)
2 quarts water
1 Tablespoon salt
3 Tblsp. butter
dash of cream (optional)

Directions:
Peel potatoes and chop. Slice leeks. Salt and boil water in 3-4 Qt. saucepan.

Simmer vegetables, salt, and water together, partially covered for 40-50 minutes. Mash the vegetables into the soup with a fork or pass through a food mill. I neither had the patience for the fork or possessed a food mill so, I just mushed them back and forth with a slotted pancake-flipper, but to each his/her own.

Julia does not like the texture of soup pureed in a blender, and I have to agree. It should look like the picture. Adjust salt and pepper. When ready to serve, bring soup back to simmering. Then off the heat, stir in the cream or butter and top with ground pepper. Serve with warmed French Bread. Makes 2 quarts of soup for 6-8 servings.

Barefooted Lasagna

Barefooted Lasagna

I've done it! 3rd time really is a charm! After many failed experiments with the lasagna (HWSNBNITB has stated many a time how he preferred Stoffers, which of course broke my heart a little bit, causing me to go into a frenzy to find the perfect recipe). This is adopted from The Barefoot Contessa's recipe, takes about an hr., and produces a tangy, sweet and reheatably delicious result. Again, this is of course to taste, so tomato people- use 2/3 of the ricotta mixture and double the ingredients for the tomato sauce, and you will have enough leftover for spaghetti later in the week. Cheesy/Creamy people-keep the cheese the same and the tomato the same. Warning: this is a super rich dish. I like to pair this with a sweetish white (my favorite right now is Crystalis Sarah's Patio White - its amazing!) and for veggies, crunchy califlower is a nice addition.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion (1 onion)
1 pck of button mushrooms or whatever mushrooms you relate best to
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 lb. ground turkey (or soy crumbles if you wish)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 Tblsp. oregano leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tblsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 pound lasagna noodles (use the no bake ones, they are waaaay easier)
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled OR chive & garlic cheese spread OR feta
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 pkg shredded mozzarella

*Again, tomato stuff should be doubled and cheese should be halved for tomato-people
*If you want to make it veggie: Use soy crumbles and morning star sausage instead and include bell peppers, spinach, etc. to taste
*Spices are to taste and can be altered based on your taste and spice rack amenities

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Then add the mushrooms until cooked for a min or two. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, pepper flakes, and any other spices you see fit. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

If using baking noodles, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain. *Skip step if using no-bake.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese/garlic spread cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, some chopped basil to flavor, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan and a little shredded mozzarella. Bake for 45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

Let cool for 5-1o mins, while cooking the cauliflower or your chosen veggie for the evening.

Makes a pretty large pan, so invite some friends, drink some wine, and enjoy!

Whoohoo!