Tomato and Avocado Crostini

Okay, so usually I jump right into talking about the food and why I love it and how to make it and I promise I am going to get to all of that, but first I have to talk about what these scrumptious little crostini are sitting on.

It looks like a piece of wood, I know, and that's because I am addicted to photographing my dinner in super-close-up shots, but they are actually on a plate that is made out of a fallen palm leaf leaf that is steam-processed with water and dried and turned into a plate.  Here's a picture that gives a better look.



And another with an arbitrary apple on it, just to show the size.




They are described as being "single use" - in other words, equal to your garden variety paper plate - but I can tell you that there is NO way that i am tossing these babies after one use.  They are sturdy and beautiful and definitely being used a whole lot more than once.  Because they are made of separate leaves, each one has its own special look and feel.



So not only is it gorgeous but also environmentally responsible...how great is that?  I found them in a pack of four at Fairway (of course), but I know they are also at Whole Foods and a whole raft of other places.  They are made by a company called VerTerra - click here for more info,and if you can't find them locally click this link: VerTerra - Party Perfect Dinnerware 8 Leaf Pressed Plates (8 in. x 8 in.)  Just for the record, the Verterra folks don't know me, have never heard of me, and didn't send these to me...I found them my own self.  Well, actually the Southern husband found them while I was in a whole different aisle deliberating over canned plum tomatoes.  A man has to amuse himself somehow.

Meanwhile, back at the actual reason for this post, let's discuss the crostini.  I think that you can put pretty much anything on a piece of french bread that has been lovingly basted with olive oil and toasted and get away with it, but it doesn't get too much better in terms of speed and taste than this recipe.  While the crostini is toasting, you chop up some cherry tomatoes.  Then scoop out the inside of a nice ripe avocado, mash it up with some lemon juice and sprinkle a little coarse salt on top.

All that's left now is the assembly: spread a little mashed avocado on each crostini, sprinkle on a few chopped tomato pieces...I like a little cracked pepper on mine to give it a little bite, but some oregano would be lovely, or a teeny bit of sea salt...improvise away!   These are of course a fabulous and easy appetizer, but they would make a perfect light lunch too...or if you are me and my Southern husband, a Friday Night Lights dinner.  Hurray for crostini!

Tomato and Avocado Crostini, adapted from Everyday Food

• One small baguette, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
• Olive oil
• One ripe avocado
• One tablespoon lemon juice
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Brush the bread slices with some olive oil, arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake until golden, about 8 minutes.  Don't worry if the center isn't browned - as long as the edges are golden you are in good shape!

2. Peel and pit the avocado and mash with a fork with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. When the crostini are cool enough to handle, spread with avocado and top with tomatoes and whatever other garnish catches your fancy!

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Shredded Short Ribs with Pappardelle

A little while ago, a box arrived in my mailbox that was filled with these.

Yes, bags of pappardelle from the Al Dente pasta company in Michigan.  They had emailed to me ask if I might be interested in trying out some of their pasta, and I am a girl who can't say no to pasta.  So I said yes please, and it happened to coincide with a Jamie Oliver recipe I had been dying to try for slow-cooked meat over, yes, pappardelle,  so the whole thing seemed like fate.

First the recipe.  It called for slow-cooking meat in a mixture of red wine, chopped carrots and celery and red onions and herbs, with some plum tomatoes and barley thrown in for good measure.  The interesting part of this was that the recipe gave you COMPLETELY free rein over whatever kind of meat you chose.   It suggested everything from venison to wild boar to squab to rabbit to beef.  

I can't cook venison.  Venison cavorts through my yard on a regular basis.  On one occasion, we had a baby that couldn't jump the stone wall at the end of our yard and get to its mama, so the Southern husband picked up up, wrapped it in a towel and deposited it on the other side of the fence so it could grow up and come back and eat up all my parsley.  But as a result, I can't cook venison.

Short ribs, on the other hand, I can cook.  (And this makes no sense at all, since I have met so many more cows during my life than deer.  Sorry cows.  It's completely unfair.)   So short ribs it was, cooked until they were tender and falling off the bone.  I then shredded the meat and returned it to the amazing sauce, and then tossed the whole thing with the pappardelle.

(By the way, this recipe calls for making a cartouche, and before you get worried, please click here.  It's super-easy, and then you can work into your next cocktail party conversation that you made a cartouche the other day.  It's the little things in life.)

On to the pappardelle.  It cooked up in no time and let me tell you - it was DELICIOUS - perfect consistency and flavor and just right with the shredded meat.  And while I used the regular flavor for this dish, it also comes in a whole raft of flavors, including garlic parsley, lemon chive and spinach.  Heaven, heaven, heaven.   If you are in need of some rocking great pappardelle (and trust me, you are), click here.  You won't be sorry.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to chasing the venison out of my yard.

Shredded Short Ribs with Pappardelle, from Jamie Oliver's recipe viathe fabulous Leite's Culinaria

• 28-ounces short ribs
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 handful each fresh rosemary and fresh thyme, stems discarded and leaves finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 2 wineglasses Chianti
• Two 14-ounce cans plum tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons pearl barley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 14 ounces fresh or dried pappardelle
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 handfuls grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

1. Season the meat with salt and pepper.   In a Dutch oven, fry your meat in a little olive oil until golden brown. Add your herbs, onions, garlic, carrot, and celery. Turn the heat down and continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.

2. Add your red wine and continue to simmer until the liquid has almost cooked away but left you with a fantastic color and fragrance.

3. Add the plum tomatoes, the pearl barley, and just enough water to cover the meat by 1/2 inch. Make yourself a cartouche of parchment or wax paper. Wet it with a little water, rub it with a little olive oil, and place it over the pan. Put a lid on the pan as well, as this will retain as much moisture as possible while cooking. Cook over really low heat for about 2 to 3 hours, depending on the tenderness and type of meat. It’s ready when you can literally pull the meat apart in tender strands.

4. At this point, season the braise carefully with salt and pepper to taste and allow to cool slightly before removing the meat from the pan. Using 2 forks, pull apart all the lovely pieces of meat, throwing away any  bones. Skim any fat from the surface of the braising liquid. Put the meat back in the pan and place over low heat.

5. It’s now ready to serve, so cook your pappardelle in a pan of boiling, salted water for 3 minutes if using fresh pasta or according to the package instructions if using dried. Once it’s cooked, drain it in a colander, saving some of the cooking liquid in case the sauce needs a little loosening. Remove the pot of stewed meat from the heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan with a little of the cooking water — this will make it juicy and shiny. Toss together with your pasta and serve immediately. If desired, serve sprinkled with a little finely chopped fresh rosemary and some more grated Parmesan.

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Gnocchi with Spring Vegetables

This past week or two it is finally sinking in with me that after the long winter of snow and ice and snow and wind and snow and sleet and snow, spring might finally be here.  The proof is right here in my own backyard....

That is a little baby lilac.  When it turns into a full-blooming lilac I will go through the same agonizing decision I make every year - clip it and bring it inside, or leave it on the lilac bush?  (Hint: the lilac bush has won every year so far.)

There's also this little guy.

I have no idea what he is, but he's green, so I'm happy.

However, the ultimate sign of spring, the one that means we have truly crossed over to the other side is the following....

Once the dog is outside sunning herself in the grass instead of lounging around illegally on my bed, I know that summer can't be far away.  And all this springtime merriment was enough to make me work up my courage and tackle this recipe for gnocchi with spring vegetables.  I don't know what it is about gnocchi that intimidates me, but for some reason I think that it is always going to backfire on me and I am going to have to wave the white flag and call the pizza delivery guy.  But this recipe was just different enough for me to buck up and give it a go.  For one thing, any recipe with the words "spring" and "vegetables" in it just makes me want to run out and buy loads of carrots with the tops still on them.

And in this case, I also bought a load of fresh peas that the Southern husband cheerfully shelled for me.  Man, I love this guy.  If you ever find someone who is willing to shell peas for you, hang onto him.

Anyway, the gnocchi recipe turned out to be a snap.  After you make the gnocchi, which are basically little heavenly balls of mashed potato mixed with a little flour and olive oil, you freeze them solid.  Then when you are  ready to make them you saute them on the stove in butter and olive oil until they are golden brown and perfect.  Toss in some fresh cooked carrots and peas, a little chopped basil, some salt and pepper, throw open your windows, put on your flip-flops and a short-sleeved shirt and raise a glass to spring.

(I hope I haven't now inadvertently triggered a rare late-April snowstorm.)

Gnocchi with Spring Vegetables, adapted slightly from Jonathan Waxman's recipe in The New York Times

3 large russet baking potatoes
4-6  tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut in thirds
2 cups shelled peas, fresh or thawed frozen
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 basil leaves, slivered
Sea salt and ground black pepper.

1. Steam potatoes over boiling water until tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool for 2 hours. Break up potatoes and use a food mill or ricer to mash them into a bowl. Peeling is not necessary with these tools, but the potatoes can be peeled if desired. Dust a smooth work surface with 1 tablespoon flour and scoop potatoes on top. Dust potatoes with remaining flour and dribble a tablespoon of the oil on top. With your hands, work the potatoes, kneading lightly, about 5 minutes until they come together to make a soft dough. Add a bit more flour if needed. Let it rest 10 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into four balls. Roll out each into a strand 1-inch thick, then use a knife or pastry scraper to cut into 1-inch pieces of gnocchi. Place on one or more parchment-lined trays and freeze at least 1 hour. When hard, remove as many as desired for cooking and transfer the rest to a plastic bag for freezing up to one month.
3. Cook carrots in simmering water 10 minutes or until tender. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and cut in bite-size pieces. If using fresh peas, add to water, cook about 2 minutes, until tender, and drain. Melt butter with 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add frozen gnocchi and sauté about 5-10 minutes, turning gnocchi frequently, until lightly browned. Add peas and carrots and cook about 2 minutes more. Toss in basil leaves and season with salt and pepper.

Yield: About 60 gnocchi, 4 to 6 servings.

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Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Shallots

Well, the Easter Bunny is almost here, and you know what that means.  Yes yes, there are chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans, and we all need to switch our closets from the winter clothes to the summer clothes, but that's not the most exciting part.  The most exciting part is that there are hard-boiled eggs everywhere you turn.  Which means...deviled eggs!!!

Now, the garden variety deviled egg is just fine with me, and I can eat an unmentionable number of them at a clip.  But a whole new deviled egg world opened up to me with this month' issue of one of my favorite magazines, TASTE OF THE SOUTH.  Along with a whole raft of recipes for barbecue that I intend to make all summer long, there was also an entire array of recipes for variations on the deviled egg...including this little beauty, which I promptly added to our Friday Night Lights rotation.

Among other things, I learned a deviled egg fact that I had never learned before, which is this: in addition to the usual approach, which is to cut the eggs in half lengthwise and filled them up with the mashed egg yolk filling, you can also just lop the top off, carefully scoop out the yolk and then refill it as an upright egg (as in the picture above0.  Who knew???

Of course, you can also make them the regular old way.  I was so overwhelmed with the possibilities that I did both.

There's no such thing as too much deviled egg, after all.  This scrumptious spin on the traditional recipe calls for mixing the mashed egg yolks with mayo, Dijon mustard, chopped fresh tarragon and chopped shallot.  Grind a little fresh pepper in there and you are in deviled egg heaven.  (Which now that I read that sentence back seems like a contradiction in terms, but when it comes to deviled eggs, who cares?)

Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Shallots, from Taste of the South

• One dozen hard boiled eggs
• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 1/2 tablesppons chopped fresh shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise, or cut the top third off the top.  Scoop out the yolks and mash with a fork.

2. Add all remaining ingredients to the mashed yolks and mix well.

3. Spoon yolk mixture into egg whites.  (You can also scoop the mixture into a large ziploc bag, snip off the bottom corner and squeeze the mixture into the egg whites, similar to using a pastry bag.  I find this to be a lot less messy.)

4. Garnish with more ground pepper and tarragon sprigs if you like, and serve!

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Butter Chicken

There is comfort food, and there is Extreme Comfort Food.  Comfort food includes things like pastina, and eggs with soldiers, and macaroni and cheese in any form.  Extreme comfort food is what you make when times call for desperate measures.  I'm talking shredded chicken.  I'm talking buttered cream sauce.  I'm talking pouring all of that over mashed potatoes and surrounding it with peas.

Extreme Comfort Food is what is called for when your teenager...the baby you birthed for hours on end, the toddler who called you Mama and held your hand when you crossed the street, the grade-schooler whose hair you fixed in pigtails and whose Pokeman lunchbox you filled with millions of pb&j sandwiches, the teenager who goes with you to get your nails done and who tells you when you are singing the wrong words to Single Ladies...when she gets The Envelope.

The envelope that basically says, in several short months she is going to pack her Harry Potter books and her green nail polish and her Batman Converse sneakers and LEAVE you to go FOURTEEN HOURS away to COLLEGE.

Ever since the Envelope arrived, she's been wearing this shirt a lot.

And painting her toes in the school colors....

And throwing her arms around me and saying, "I'm going to miss you SO much, Mommy."  With a big old smile on her adorable face.

Anyway, desperate times call for desperate measures.  Desperate times call for chicken that is shredded and cooked in a butter cream sauce served over mashed potatoes and surrounded by peas.  I'm planning to make and eat this every day for the next six months, and then I am going to drop her off and hug and kiss her 1000 times, and then cry for the entire 14 hour car ride home, including any and all rest stops.  The Southern husband is already mentally preparing himself.

I'm sorry, just because you are wearing a Clemson University dog collar, it doesn't mean you get to go.  You are staying right here with me.  Someone's gotta do it.

Send Kleenex please.

Butter Chicken, adapted from New York Cookbook: From Pelham Bay to Park Avenue, Firehouses to Four-Star Restaurants

• 2 chicken breasts on the bone
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Grated zest of one lemon
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Rub chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and roast for about 45-50 minutes or until done.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Remove meat from the bone, tearing into bite-sized pieces.
2. Melt butter in large skillet.  Add lemon juice, lemon zest, chicken broth and pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add cream and cook, without boiling, until sauce is hot.  Add chicken and cook until warmed through.
3. Place a serving of mashed potatoes in the center of each plate and surround with a ring of peas.  Spoon chicken and sauce on top, and garnish with parsley.  Serve at once.

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Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Prosciutto and Poached Egg

Oh, how I love asparagus season.  That delightful time of year when you can get the little, skinny asparagus that cook up in no time, and that are perfectly, wonderfully tender and delicious no matter how you cook 'em.  They are a thing of beauty.

It almost makes you want to take them and pop them in a vase and use them as decorations around the house.

That is, until you remember how scrumptious they are...which is why this super-speedy recipe comes in so very handy.  Take those gorgeous asparagus, brush them with a little olive oil, shake on a little salt and pepper and pop them in a hot oven to roast.  If you get the thin ones, they will be ready in less than ten minutes.   During the last couple of minutes, drop some thin sliced parmesan cheese on top of the asparagus and put them back in the oven for another minute or two for the cheese to melt.  

That is just enough time to saute some chopped prosciutto until it is nice and crispy, and to poach up a few eggs (or fry them, depending on what kind of an egg person you are.  I am a poached egg person, myself).   Then all you do is lay some of those beautifully roasted asparagus on the plate, top with an egg and scatter some of the prosciutto on top.  Garnish with a little chopped fresh thyme, and you are set. 

Asparagus heaven, right there on your own plate.  Does it get any better??

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus with Crispy Prosciutto and Poached Egg, from Epicurious

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
4 thin prosciutto slices, thinly sliced crosswise
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
20 asparagus spears, trimmed
1 2-ounce piece Parmesan cheese, shaved into strips
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto; sauté until almost crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer to paper towels.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Toss asparagus on sheet with remaining oil, then arrange close together. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over; roast until melted, about 5 minutes. Divide among 4 plates. Cover to keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, pour enough water into large skillet to reach depth of 2 inches. Add 1 teaspoon salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Crack 4 eggs, 1 at a time, into simmering water. Cook until whites are set but yolks are still soft, about 3 minutes. 

4. Using slotted spoon, gently transfer 1 egg to atop asparagus on each plate. Sprinkle each serving with prosciutto and thyme. Season with salt and pepper; serve.

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Guaca-Hummus!

Now that the Southern husband and I are well into our Friday Night Lights experiment, I'm starting to get a little more adventurous with the whole appetizer thing.  And this particular recipe is based on my general theory of if I like one thing, and I like another thing, combining those two might turn into true love.  (Hey, it worked for Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and if it's good enough for peanut butter and chocolate, it's good enough for me.)

Anyone, here's the deal on this one.  Either whip up or buy a batch of your favorite hummus.  Either whip up or buy a batch of your favorite guacamole.  (I am in the "whip up" camp on both of these, and if you are looking for the world's fastest and best hummus recipe, look no further and click here.)

Now find a serving bowl and spread the hummus on the bottom.  Scatter some shredded cheddar cheese and chopped scallions on top.  Spread the guac over all this.  More cheddar, more scallions and some chopped tomatoes.  A little chili powder, and you are done!

A few notes about this one:

1. I found the recipe on the Cabot Cheese site and this gives me another chance to say, Cabot Cheese?   You rock!!

2. The original recipe had the guac on the bottom and the hummus on the top, but I am ornery and switched them around.  You do what feels right to you.

3. I used blue corn tortilla chips with this just for the sheer drama of it all, but celery, pita chips, cucumber rounds and your finger will all make lovely scoops for this.

I think that's all there is to say about this one!

Guaca-Hummus, adapted from the Cabot Cheese recipe

2 cups guacamole
8 ounces Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar, divided
4 green onions, thinly sliced, divided
2 cups hummus
1/4 cup diced tomato or red pepper, whichever you prefer
Mild or hot chili powder

1. In medium glass bowl or 7-by-11-inch glass baking dish, spread guacamole in even layer. Scatter with half of grated cheese and half of scallions.
2. Next spread hummus in even layer, followed by remaining cheese and scallions.
3. Sprinkle with tomatoes or red peppers and dust with chili powder. Serve with tortilla chips, veggies, etc.

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Roast Beef and Brie Sandwiches, aka The Gatsby Arrow

Ok, before I start telling you about the best sandwich in the Entire World, I need to give you just a tiny bit of background, and I will start this by telling you I am a proud graduate of Georgetown University.   That's right, I am a Hoya, and while I'm not telling you exactly HOW long ago I graduated, let's just say that Patrick Ewing lived in the on-campus apartment right next door.  You do the math.

Georgetown was a fabulous place to go to college in so many ways.  The gorgeous campus, the fact that we were right in Washington DC, some of the best professors in the world, and a campus pub where I would...well, never mind.

(Note that I am showing you all these lovely pictures of the campus (not mine, I should state for the record) and none of me as an undergraduate.  Nope, those shots are not ready for prime-time.  No sirree.  Anyway, you will note that the cafeteria was NOT included in the list of Georgetown wonderfulness.  Because it was not wonderful.  At all.  Ever.  So every so often we would trundle down Prospect Street to the world's most fantastic sandwich shop, which is (thank goodness!) still there, and that is Booeymongers.

Affectionately known by the Hoya faithful as Booey's.  And there was only one thing I ever got at Booey's...the Gatsby Arrow.  I have no idea how it got that name, I just know it is the most delicious sandwich I know...a baguette stuffed with rare roast beef, Brie cheese and lettuce.  When I make my own version I use a little Dijon mustard as well.  It brings me right back to my college days, only without the blue book exams and the eight track tapes.

So here you go, the very best sandwich I know.  Go Hoyas!

Roast Beef and Brie Sandwiches, with love to Booeymongers

• One loaf french bread
• 1/2 pound rare roast beef, sliced very thin
• 1/2 pound Brie cheese
• Romaine lettuce leaves
• Dijon mustard

1. Split the loaf of bread down the middle and spread one or both sides with mustard, depending on how much of a mustard-lover you are

2. Layer the roast beef on the bottom of the loaf, top with lettuce and then slices of Brie.  Place top of loaf on sandwich.

3. Cut into as many sandwiches as you like - this will feed 2-4 people, depending on how hungry those people are!

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Spiked Cheeseburgers

It was a happy, happy day last week, because for the first time since this long, hard, relentless winter started one billion years ago, it was actually warm enough to crank up the old grill and cook some cheeseburgers.  The Southern husband was happy.  The teenager was happy.  The dog was deliriously happy, because she is convinced that if she waits long enough, one day someone is going to grill her a cheeseburger instead of just dumping another cup of kibble into her dish.  A dog can dream...

Anyway.  This momentous occasion seemed to call for something other than your normal wonderful cheeseburger.  Something adventurous.  Something celebratory.  Something involving a little, well, alcohol.  Take another look at that picture up top...see that scrumptious sauce oozing down the burger?  Let's just say that is special sauce.  Very special.  As in, contains just the right hit of vodka in it.

Still with me?  Here's what happens:  you mix up some ketchup, some mayo, a little mustard, and a little roasted garlic.  And then you add...wait for it...about 4-5 tablespoons of vodka.  (If you are a responsible parent like me, you hold back some of the sauce in a separate dish for your underage teenager.  More spiked-ness for the old folks).

Now grill up those burgers however you like 'em, and don't forget to toast the buns.  (Note: you can definitely add in the cheese the way you usually do, but I like to take the top bun after it is toasted, lay the cheese on it and nuke it for about 20 seconds, so the cheese is adhering to the bun and not the burger.  But you be you, cheese-wise.)

 

  When that's all done, toss a few pickles on the bottom of the bun, lay the burger on them, and put a generous amount of sauce on top.  This is not the time to be stingy with the sauce.  Top bun over the whole thing, and dig in.  Be very happy.  Happier than a cheeseburger usually makes you. 

 

Happy.

Spiked Cheeseburgers, adapted from Marc Murphy's recipe

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tps roasted garlic
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 5 tablespoons vodka

• 2 1/2/ pounds ground beef
• 6 hamburger rolls
• 6 slices cheddar cheese
• sliced pickles

1. Mix mayo, mustard, garlic, ketchup and vodka together and mix well.  Set aside.

2. Form beef into 6 patties and salt and pepper them. Grill to your liking, adding cheese at the last minute to melt.  Toast the rolls during the last minutes of grilling.

3. Place several pickles on the bottom of each roll, top with burger, and spread about 2 tablespoons of sauce on each burger.  Place top of bun over all and serve at once.

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Carrot Parmesan Risotto

Sometimes you come home from work, and all you want is a nice hot bowl of something comforting.   And at the same time, you don't want your supper to be, well, boring.  And those are the nights that call for risotto.  Don't be intimidated by all those recipes that tell you that you MUST stir risotto constantly for 30 minutes or until your stirring arm falls off, whichever comes first, because I am here to tell you that is NOT true.  Not.  True.  You can make perfectly heavenly risotto by only stirring it here and there, I promise you.

This particular risotto starts with a base of red onion and shredded carrots that you saute for a few minutes in just the teeniest amount of butter.    This is the perfect recipe to make when those first carrots start popping up at your local farmer's market.



Now toss in some rice...if you have the arborio variety that is great, but I actually used a nice basmati rice because that is what I happened to have on hand at the moment and it worked out just fine.  Pour in some chicken broth a cup at a time and stir every five minutes or so and you will be just fine.  (Here's my trick: I put on my Ipod and stir at the end of every song...that's about 3-5 minutes depending on your playlist.  Yes, this risotto owes it all to my playlist of Bob Seger songs, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.)

At the very end, when the rice is tender and the carrots have almost melted into it, you toss in a teeny bit more butter and a handful of grated parmesan cheese.  Spoon it into your favorite dish and grind enough pepper on top to give it just the right amount of kick.  That's all there is too it.  This would be great with just about anything you cook on the grill...Buttermilk Chicken, for example...but for those early spring days that are still just chilly enough to make you want a bowl of something warm and comfy...it doesn't get too much better than this.

Carrot Parmesan Risotto, from Everyday Food

• 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 6 medium carrots, grated
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 1/4 cups long-grain white rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. In a saucepan, bring broth and 2 cups water to a bare simmer over medium.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add onion and carrots; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in rice. Add wine; cook, stirring, until absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add 2 cups hot broth; simmer over medium-low, stirring frequently, until mostly absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Continue to add broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring occasionally, until absorbed before adding more. Cook until rice is creamy and just tender, about 20 minutes (you may not need all the broth).
4. Remove risotto from heat. Stir in Parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter, and season with salt and pepper.
   
   
   

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Applesauce Cake

Now, I am the first one to admit that when it comes to dessert, I am usually all about the chocolate.  Oh yes.  Chocolate Cookie Truffles.  Chocolate Caramel Cookie Brittle.  Even, I admit it, Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips.    But every once in a while, even I, chocolate-lover that I am, get a yearning for something Other Than Chocolate.  And when that happens, it's good to have a quick and easy recipe like this one on hand.  First of all, you probably have just about everything you need to make this cake somewhere in your kitchen right this second.  By itself it makes a lovely, easy apple spice cake that is the perfect non-chocolate treat.

But if you really want to kick it up to the next level, the special place where all really wonderful desserts live, take an extra few minutes to make the delectable apple cider sauce to spoon over the top of it.  It will make your applesauce cake truly all that it can be.

And with that, who needs chocolate??

Okay, I do.  But that's a post for another day.  :)

Applesauce Cake, from Betty Crocker's Smart Cook : The Essential Everyday Cookbook

• 1 2/3 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vinegar

Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup apple cider or orange juice
• 2 tablespoons cream

1. Heat oven to 350. 
2. Mix flour, sugar, allspice, baking soda and salt.  Mix in applesauce, nuts, water, oil and vinegar and pour into greased 8x8 baking pan.
3. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.  Cool slightly while preparing sauce.
4. Heat all sauce ingredients until boiling in a medium saucepan.  Boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Cut cake into squares and serve with sauce.

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Brisket Slow-Cooked in Coffee and Brown Sugar

I think I may have said this once or twice or one million times before on this blog, but I wish I liked coffee.  I really do.  It is SO much easier to get a cup of coffee than to find a decent cup of hot, strong English breakfast tea unless you happen to be in the middle of London, and I am usually in the middle of New Jersey, so this is a problem for me.  I've tried to like coffee, just for the pure convenience factor, but I just....can't...do it.

However, I DO (for some mysterious reason) like coffee when it is an ingredient.  Usually that means in ice cream, or in muffins, or other sweet stuff.  But in this case, I like it in a brisket recipe.  Whatever the hours and hours of cooking in the slow cooker do to transform the coffee, the sauce comes out not tasting like coffee, but like some rich, tangy, wonderful thing that you can't quite put your finger on.  (Spoiler alert: it's the coffee.)

For all you slow-cooker fans out there, this one is right up your alley.  Toss a brisket and some chopped carrots and baby potatoes and quartered onions into your slow cooker.  Mix up a sauce of tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and (you guessed it) coffee and pour it in there, stirring things up so the sauce is generally all over everything, and about half the veggies are on top and the other half are on the bottom.  Cover the slow cooker, press the "LOW" setting button, and go do something else for about 8 hours.  

Now come back, slice the brisket into thin slices, put it on the plate with some veggies and pour that rocking great sauce all over the whole aromatic, tender, fabulous thing.  Have tea with dessert.  Feel all smug for liking coffee and tea at the same time.

Slow-Cooked Brown Sugar and Coffee Brisket, adapted from Real Simple

• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered, stem end left intact
• 1 pound new potatoes (about 12)
• 1 pound medium carrots, cut into 2 1⁄2-inch lengths
• 2 1/2 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup brewed black coffee
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Season the beef with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and place in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.  Add the onion, potatoes, and carrots.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, coffee, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar; pour over the beef and vegetables.  Stir things around just a little until some of the sauce reaches the bottom of the pot.  Cover and cook on low until the beef and vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 hours.
3. Slice the beef across the grain and serve with the vegetables and sauce, sprinkled with the parsley.  

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