Almost Hands-Free Risotto

Brian saw this recipe on America's Test Kitchen and we decided to give it a try.  It was amazingly easy, and so much less work than the usual pour-and-stir risotto I make.  Next time, though, I think I'll use shallots instead of onion for a milder flavor, or potentially finish it off with butter, marscarpone, and lemon zest, my usual risotto fare.  But it's nice to know that I won't be having to stand over the stove for half an hour straight the next time I want to make it, a definite plus with two very active children.

Serves 6-8 as a side dish

This recipe does not employ the traditional risotto method; the rice is mainly stirred for 3 minutes toward the end of cooking instead of constantly throughout. This more hands-off method does require precise timing, so we strongly recommend using a timer. The consistency of risotto is largely a matter of personal taste; if you prefer a looser texture, add extra broth in step 4.

INGREDIENTS

• 5cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2cups water
• 4tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1large onion , chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
•  Table salt
• 1medium garlic clove , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
• 2cups Arborio rice
• 1cup dry white wine
• 2ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1teaspoon juice from 1 lemon
• 2tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2tablespoons chopped fresh chives
•  Ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Bring broth and water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain gentle simmer.
• 2. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in large Dutch oven over medium heat. When butter has melted, add onion and ¾ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened but not browned, 4 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes.
• 3. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups hot broth mixture into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16 to 19 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.
• 4. Add ¾ cup hot broth mixture and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter, lemon juice, parsley, and chives; season with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add up to ½ cup remaining broth mixture to loosen texture of risotto. Serve immediately.
  
  

Butternut Squash Chowder Even MY Family Will Eat

Brian found this recipe online a week or so ago, and I've been dying to try it.  Aside from the laborious chopping of the butternut squash (is there an easier way to do this?!?), it was a piece of cake and so yummy I went back for a second bowl.  Even Jack ate everything in his bowl, in spite of protests that he doesn't like squash.  We told him to just eat the apples instead.  Sneaky, huh?


Roasted Butternut Chowder with Apples and Bacon
Makes 4 servings
Time: About 1.5 hours

Roasting the squash, onion, and apples, then simmering them until they break apart, leaves you with a thick, rich soup that you’ll turn to every fall. Try the mixed root vegetable variation, too; it’s just as good. And to sweeten the pot, add a pinch of nutmeg or allspice just before serving.

1 butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
4 bacon slides, or one 1/2-inch-thick strip slab bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the squash, onion, apples, bacon, and garlic in a deep roasting pan or on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the oil. Roast, stirring every now and then, until the squash, onion, and apples are tender and browned and the bacon is crisp, about 45 minutes.

2. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Stir in the sage and white wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom. If you’re using a roasting pan that can be used on the stovetop, position the pan over 2 burners and put both of medium heat. Otherwise, transfer the contents of the pan to a large pot or Dutch oven and set it over medium heat.

3. Add the stock and cook until the squash, onion, and apples break apart and thicken and flavor the broth, about 25 minutes. You can help the process along by breaking the mixture up a bit with a spoon. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve.

Roasted Root Vegetable Chowder: Substitute any combination of celery root, turnips, parsnips, and rutabagas for the butternut squash.

For more recipes from Mark Bittman’s Food Matters, check out our feature “Family Food Matters: 3 healthy dinner recipes from Mark Bittman.”

Back-to-School Pot Roast

Brian has taken up watching "America's Test Kitchen" on PBS to see how to best make certain dishes, and he seemed pretty enthusiastic about their rendition of a classic pot roast, so when Jack and I found a chuck-eye roast at Meijer today, I decided to live it up on my last night before school started and make a "fancy" pot roast dinner.

We were pretty impressed with the results -- tender, yet not overly fatty, and deliciously rich.  I served it with mashed purple potatoes (with some onion chive cream cheese blended in), baby carrots, and homemade apple sauce.


Why This Recipe Works:
Pot roast can be boring and bland full of dry, stringy meat, stubborn bits of fat, and wan gravy. We wanted a meltingly tender roast sauced in savory, full-bodied gravy.


To start, we separated the roast into two lobes, which allowed us to remove the knobs of fat that stubbornly refused to render and also shortened the cooking time. Salting the roast prior to cooking improved its flavor, as did sautéing the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic before we added them to the pot.


Some recipes use water as a pot roast cooking liquid but when we tried this, the gravy turned out as you’d expect—watery. We had better luck with beef broth. Other flavor-boosting ingredients went into the pot as well: garlic, tomato paste, red wine, thyme, and bay leaves. The resulting gravy boasted a rich, complex character but its flavor didn’t stray from the dish’s simple roots. Finally, sealing the pot with aluminum foil before securing the lid concentrated the steam for an even simmer and fork-tender meat.

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1(3 1/2- to 4-pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast , pulled into two pieces at natural seam and trimmed of large knobs of fat
•  Kosher salt
• 2tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2medium onions , halved and sliced thin (about 2 cups)
• 1large carrot , chopped medium (about 1 cup)
• 1celery rib , chopped medium (about 3/4 cup)
• 2medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1cup beef broth , plus 1 to 2 cups for sauce (see note)
• 1/2cup dry red wine , plus 1/4 cup for sauce
• 1tablespoon tomato paste
• 1bay leaf
• 1sprig plus 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
•  Ground black pepper
• 1tablespoon balsamic vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Sprinkle pieces of meat with 1 tablespoon salt (1½ teaspoons if using table salt), place on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• 2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Heat butter in heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add carrot and celery; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes longer. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup broth, ½ cup wine, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme sprig; bring to simmer.
• 3. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season generously with pepper. Using 3 pieces of kitchen twine, tie each piece of meat into loaf shape for even cooking.
• 4. Nestle meat on top of vegetables. Cover pot tightly with large piece of foil and cover with lid; transfer pot to oven. Cook beef until fully tender and sharp knife easily slips in and out of meat, 3½ to 4 hours, turning halfway through cooking.
• 5. Transfer roasts to cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Strain liquid through mesh strainer into 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Transfer vegetables to blender jar. Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then skim any fat off surface. Add beef broth as necessary to bring liquid amount to 3 cups. Place liquid in blender with vegetables and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer sauce to medium saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat.
• 6. While sauce heats, remove twine from roast and slice against grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Transfer meat to large serving platter. Stir chopped thyme, remaining ¼ cup wine, and vinegar into sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon half of sauce over meat; pass remaining sauce separately.

Rustic Vegetable and Polenta Soup

It was a happy coincidence that the weekend before school starts up Giada featured easy weeknight meals on her show. I was captivated by an easy soup featuring farmers market ingredients, so I decided to try it tonight. It was creamy, delicious, quick and easy. Definitely a keeper!

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed or chopped
3 plum tomatoes, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium zucchini, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup instant polenta
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions
In a large heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to brown, about 6 minutes.

Add the parsley, thyme, garlic, tomatoes and zucchini, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Slowly stir in the polenta and cook until the soup thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper.

Ladle into soup bowls and serve

"More Zucchini Muffins!"

When I asked Jack what he wanted for breakfast this morning, I was surprised to hear him ask for a zucchini muffin. Especially since he had just eaten the last one for breakfast the morning before. So, after some tears, we decided to make some more. While I would like to have made my grandma's recipe, my mom and I have not been able to find it. (She's still working on this.) So Paula Deen's recipe has sufficed, especially popular in our house since she uses chocolate chips instead of raisins.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
OPTIONAL:
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup chopped pecans
Or replace the chocolate chips with 1 cup raisins


Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans OR fill 24 muffin cups with muffin papers.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 minutes for bread or 20 minutes for muffins, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool. Cool before slicing.

Sinfully Yummy Corn

I picked up some sweet corn at the farmers market on Wednesday, so I decided to try this recipe, suggested by an email from Cooking LIght. However, it's not actually from Cooking Light, but from their sister magazine: Southern LIving. Cooking Light would be appalled by the contents of this recipe. Leave it to the region that spawned Paula Deen to come up with a recipe this naughty. And this delicious.

Creamy Fried Confetti Corn

Ingredients
8 bacon slices, chopped (I used Trader Joe's nitrate-free bacon)
4 cups fresh sweet corn kernels (about 8 ears)
1 medium-size white onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper (I just had green, so I doubled the green pepper)
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Preparation
Microwave corn, wrapped in saran wrap, for 5 minutes. Let cool, then shuck from cob.
Cook chopped bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Set bacon aside.
Sauté corn, onion, and bell peppers in hot drippings in skillet over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until tender. Add cream cheese and half-and-half, stirring until cream cheese melts. Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper. Top with bacon.

Life Just Got a Little Cheesier: Zingerman's Shared Their Mac & Cheese Recipe!

ROADHOUSE MACARONI AND CHEESE

Ingredients:
Coarse sea salt
1 pound macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 pound grated raw milk cheddar cheese
2 Tsp Olive Oil

Method:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons salt and the pasta and stir well. Cook for about 13 minutes (if using Martelli) or until the pasta is done. Drain it and set it aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter for the sauce in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat (be careful not to scorch the butter). Add the onion and bay leaf and sauté until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf. Add the flour, and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.

Slowly add the milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumping. When the flour and milk have been completely combined, stir in the cream. Keep the mixture at a gentle simmer (not at a high boil) until it thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the mustard, cheddar cheese and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes and set aside.

In a heavy bottom skillet over med-high heat get the pan very hot. Add olive oil and when it begins to smoke add the cheese sauce and the drained cooked noodles. Toss thoroughly and continue to cook, stirring occassionally until you have approximately 15 % of the mixture golden brown.

Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Remove from heat.

Serve each bowl of macaroni. Dig in!