Asparagus and Leek Risotto with prosciutto

I like to have a Sunday dinner with my husband. In our household, that means that I get a craving for some particular food and a definite itch to spend some time in our kitchen. I will research a recipe (usually something new and a bit more adventuresome than the recipes I make during the week), we will hit the grocery store for the ingredients and perhaps the liquor store for an appropriate bottle of wine.

Due to wedding-related activities and a general busy-ness with life, we haven't had a Sunday dinner since my Easter dinner endeavor of a ham. Luckily, today changed that. I wanted risotto. I wanted summer. I wanted it all on my plate stat. So to epicurious.com I went. I made this recipe. It was delicious. I followed it nearly to the letter with one small exception: per the other commentators, I blanched my asparagus in the boiling chicken broth. I am all about less dishes (as is my husband, who generally maintains dish duty in our house).

Here's the work in progress. (Note my little bowls. I like to do the prep work and then pretend as if I am on a cooking show. It's so fun. Tonight my husband helped out too. We have fun together in the kitchen.)

The finished product?

We loved it. It tasted all sorts of summery delicious. I served it with a mixed green salad with a bit of the fresh grated Parmesan and some bosc pears (topped with a balsamic vinaigrette).

The wine? It was a Gruner Veltliner from Fred Loimer called Lois. It was very tasty and perfect on this warm summer night.

For dessert? Well, if I spend a decent amount of time chopping, stirring, and standing at the stove, odds are good I'm not baking anything for dessert. Tonight was no exception. We did strawberry shortcake. I did, however, whip my own cream. It just tastes better.

Veggie Wraps.

My "wedding diet" really wasn't a diet. Basically, the man and I wanted to make a life change to be healthier. Of course, shedding some pounds was a by-product of that, so no complaints here. However, anyone who has either gone on a diet or made a serious diet overhaul knows that it is difficult to come up with menu options that are easy, filling and healthful. The desire to add butter (YUM) or cream to things can sometimes me overwhelming just to make that meal stick to your ribs.

However, a very cool friend of mine who has been very successful at making a big lifestyle change offered up this recipe that, while sounding simple and unexciting, is absolutely delicious. Both my husband and I enjoy this tremendously.

Ingredients:
-1 bell pepper (orange or red makes for a prettier mix, but I've used green too)
-1 zucchini
-1 yellow squash
-1/2 red onion

(Marinade)

-1/4 cup lime juice

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1 T. garlic

-1 T. Worchestershire sauce

-1 T. chili powder

-1 1/2 tsp. cumin

-1 tsp. pepper

-salt

How to:
-Chop all vegetables into thin, fajita-like strips.
-Mix together marinade ingredients.
-Pour marinade on veggies and let them marinate for about 15 minutes. (Longer is OK too.)
-Sautee veggies with the marinade until they're cooked through to your liking.

Serve with a can of black beans, drained. We also like low-fat sour cream (or low-fat Greek yogurt works really well too) and light grated cheese too. Salsa also works well with this dish.

With the black beans and additions, we can get two dinners (for two) out of this recipe.

My friend likes to keep this virtually carb free (aside from the beans) by serving a la PF Chang's lettuce wraps by using iceberg lettuce as wraps. This is a great option, but can be messy. My lettuce does not peel off as well as they do it at P.F. Chang's, I will tell you that. But it's very tasty.

The first time, we didn't have iceberg lettuce, so we made up some quinoa and treated it more like a burrito bowl. That was mighty tasty too. Use whole wheat quinoa and feel good about the carbs.

(P.S. I do not lead a carb free existence. I just like to save my "bad carbs" for the really good stuff!)

White Bean Chicken Chili

To counteract the horrific mid-May temperatures we've been having (seriously...40 degrees and rain on Sunday. I vote NO to Mother Nature's power these days), our menu planning turned to incorporate a little chili. White bean chicken chili, to be precise.

We recently bought the Cook This, Not That cookbook in an attempt to make healthier meals. I'm not going to lie, we have really enjoyed everything we've made from this book. The recipes are simple, uncomplicated, and quite tasty. Speaking of those three things, here is the recipe for the White Bean Chicken Chili from that cookbook. (I add my own tips as well.)

Ingredients:
-1 lb ground chicken
-1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
-2 yellow onions, diced
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 7-oz. can of roasted green chilies
-1 can of white kidney beans (aka great northern beans or cannelini beans, usually 14-16 oz.)
-4 cups of chicken stock
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp dried oregano
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
(Optional garnishes: diced jalapeno, cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro)

How to:
-Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot (I never measure, just use enough to coat the pan).
-Add the onions and garlic and cook for about three minutes.
-Add both kinds of chicken, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and chilies. (We actually bought thighs with skin and bone, but my husband was kind enough to cut these all up. If you bought boneless/skinless thighs, this dish would be so much easier. Additionally, I just used two four ounce cans of the green chilies. I couldn't find the 7 ounce cans.) Cook for about eight minutes, or until chicken is mostly cooked.

Looks pretty good already, right?

-Reduce heat to low and add the chicken stock and beans. Simmer for twenty minutes. (Or longer, if you can be patient. We did about 30 minutes, but I feel like this would be a good dish for slow cooker. The longer it sits together, the better it tastes.)
-Garnish with whatever you like. (We added corn chips too for a good little crunch. Also, a squirt of lime juice is DELISH.)

(Recipe says it serves eight, but I'm guessing it's more like four for an entree. We likely will get two dinners out of this.)

Enjoy!

Te gusta mi salsa?

Well...you most certainly SHOULD. I make pretty damn good salsa. And because Amie requested it, you can make damn good salsa too. Pay no attention to the fact that my last name is not Bayless, nor that I am of Irish and German heritage. You will like this salsa.

Ingredients:
-Tomatoes (I use whatever looks good)
-Onion (I generally go with the sweet onion, but sometimes I'll use red)
-Garlic
-Jalapeño
-Cilantro
-Lime juice
-Salt

How to:
-Chop the tomatoes and onions together in a bowl.
-Salt liberally and douse with lime juice.
-Add the garlic (I usually just mince it with my garlic press) and jalapeño (chopped finely) (I do it to taste by adding a bit, then tasting, then a bit more).
-Add the cilantro.
-Throw the mixture into a blender or food processor.
-Blend.
-Taste.
-Add more of whatever is missing.

I didn't put any amounts in the ingredients because I usually just guess based on how much salsa I am making. So much of the salsa is how you prefer it (spicier, or more onion-y), so I just named all the ingredients and then you can do your thang. As a general rule, use more tomatoes than onions, and add the garlic and jalapeno sparingly 'til it's at your desired heat.

Also, it tends to taste better the next day after it has sat together overnight.

I recommend serving the salsa with this recipe for margaritas. Rick Bayless definitely knows his drink stuff. My tip on that margarita recipe? Make the water/sugar into a simple syrup so the sugar is fully dissolved before you mix it with the lime juice. Also, making a batch times SIX is a great way to spend a Thursday night.

Voila. Now you, too, can have a fiesta, like this one:

Pasta Primavera...MY way (or the highway?)

So, I've been stuck on making shrimp risotto lately. It's fancy-sounding, it tastes good, and it enables me to consume a whole lot of wine as I make it. Basically, it is winning for me in all respects. Not to worry, I will be making that on Sunday night for my good friends when they come over. Tonight, however, I was faced with a dilemma: fix something good out of stuff we have.

My solution: Pasta primavera. I had leftover veggies from earlier in the week and wanted to do something a little light since we are watching out eating (impending wedding and whatnot)...so this is what I concocted.

Ingredients:
small yellow squash
small zucchini
red bell pepper
green bell pepper
garlic
onion (or shallot, which is what I used)
can of tomatoes, diced
dried oregano
dried basil
frozen seafood mix (from Trader Joe's)
Whole wheat pasta
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

I had about half of the squash, red and green bell peppers leftover from the other night, so I just used those. I sauteed the shallot and garlic in some olive oil, then tossed in the veggies, cooking them slightly. I threw in the frozen seafood mix (about a half a bag) and cooked that too. I put in a few pinches of the oregano and basil and some crushed red pepper, and a little salt, cooking through. When the seafood looked mostly cooked, I threw in a can of tomatoes. I let that all simmer and cooked some whole wheat spaghetti.

The result:

We topped with some fresh grated Parmesan and enjoyed. This made about three servings. Also, notice the beautiful white serving bowl. (Thanks, Erin!)

I made risotto.

One night of cooking class, and I feel as though I could be Julia Childs. I tested my hand at risotto tonight. I got the recipe from my friend who is always making something mouth-watering (and something that seems beyond complicated.) She gave it to me in January of this year. I am just now getting around to it. Better late than never, right?

Here is the recipe:

Butternut Squash Risotto
 

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 4-5 cups hot chicken stock
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cut squash in half longways. Place skin side down on baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roast in oven at 400 for approx 40 minutes. Cool slightly; scoop out of skin, and mash. Need 2 cups for the recipe.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir for 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking and stirring until the rice is glossy from the butter, and the onion begins to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes more.
3. Pour in the white wine; cook, stirring constantly, until it has evaporated. Stir in the mashed squash and 1/3 of the hot chicken stock; reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the rice, 5 to 7 minutes. Add half of the remaining chicken stock, and continue stirring until it has been absorbed. Finally, pour in the remaining stock, and continue stirring until the risotto is creamy. Finish by stirring in the Parmesan cheese, and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

My adjustments? Very minimal. I ended up cooking the squash for about ten minutes longer to get them fully cooked. I also added a touch of half and half (my friend had added some whipping cream) to get an even creamier texture. I probably stirred for a good thirty minutes to get it to the right consistency. Honestly, I was worried it was going to be pumpkin soup for awhile, but it did thicken nicely.

Mmmm. Creamy and squashy. Don't YOU want some?

The verdict? VERY GOOD. I liked it. I also probably had three glasses of wine while I cooked (stirring is thirsty business!)

I would definitely make it again. Fall loveliness in a skillet.

Lame Appetizer...but easy and good.

I have been in the process of packing up my belongings. Yes, again. In so doing, I have cooked very little this summer. A last-minute invitation to a barbecue meant I had to bring a snack. Ordinarily, I use these times to shine, "fun-food" being the kind I do best. Sadly, I have neither time, ambition nor a fully stocked kitchen to create such a fun masterpiece.

Instead, I prepared an easy dip. You spread a brick of cream cheese in the bottom of a bowl (or whatever container you might have on hand. A pie plate will work well too.) You top that cream cheese with a pepper jelly, anything sweet or spicy will do. Serve with some Triscuit crackers and you're all set.

Easy. No effort involved. Good because you don't have to turn your stove on.