Pineapple Chicken and Fried Rice

For this recipe, I decided to try and make my own fried rice, because I was craving it.  To go with it, I got some chicken I decided to grill along with fresh pineapple.

The chicken was easy enough.  I marinated it with some soy sauce, pineapple juice (from the pineapples), along with a dash of salt and pepper.  Then I put it on our grill pan until it was cooked through (about 4-6 minutes).  It's topped with a bit of the soy pineapple glaze that I reduced down.  I also grilled the pineapple, although for less time - for that, I was basically just looking for it to get some nice grill marks.  For kicks I also threw on some portabella mushrooms.  Definitely a winner there.  And then for the rice:

Ingredients:

• 8 shiitake mushrooms, cut into quarters
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of kosher salt
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• Pinch red chile flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 cups cooked long-grain rice
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted in a strainer at room temperature

Methods:

• Heat 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl to coat the pan. 
• Pour in the eggs, spread along the bottom of the pan so the egg forms a large thin pancake.  Lift the edge of this pancake to allow any uncooked egg to run to the center.  As soon as the egg has set, remove from the pan and place onto a cutting board. Once the egg is cool cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and heat the remaining vegetable oil over high heat. Add the scallions and stir-fry for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic, chile, and ginger, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and rice and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the peas and egg and stir until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

You can also add some cooked meat (ham, pork, beef, or chicken) cut into cubes, but I left that out since I already had the chicken.  I think overall it was a success...and a great excuse to use my wok!

Grilled Pork Chops with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Roasted Green Beans

I cooked this meal for my mom and sister (and Antoine) when they came into town to visit. I've made all of these (for the most part) before now, and just combined them into one dish. This was also my first attempt at a pork loin, which turned out really well.


Nothing really changed in this recipe. I brined and grilled the pork chops and pork loins until they were done. The only thing different was that I used Jack Daniel's Whiskey instead of white wine in the risotto, since I found a similar recipe in a Rachael Ray cookbook that used it. It added a nice smoky taste. I also used baby portabello, shiitake, and beech mushrooms to make a nice variety of mushrooms.

Overall it was a good meal. The only thing I would change would be to brine the pork loin in less salt or for less time...it did a way better job soaking it up than the pork chops have done. Also, I think the whiskey addition instead of wine was a really good choice...it made it taste even better. Thanks Rachael!

Butternut Squash Aglonetti with Gorgonzola-Walnut Cream Sauce

As I was shopping at the DeKalb Farmer's market in Atlanta, which I have grown to adore, I stumbled across some pre-made pasta. There was one that caught my eye - they called it Butternut Squash Aglonetti. I happily bought it and brought it home. I searched Food Network's website for things to make it with, and found a bunch of recipes for a sort of gorgonzola cream sauce. I combined a few of them to make this sauce with walnuts (most of the recipe came from Rachael Ray...is it obvious how much I love her?). I'll try my best to re-create my recipe.


Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup Gorgonzola, crumbled
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  

Method:

• Boil some water and cook the pasta (aglonetti, in this case) until al dente, drain.
  
• Toast the walnuts (cook at 350F for 8 mins) and place them into a food processor. Set aside after they are ground.
  
• Melt butter over medium heat in a deep skillet. Whisk in the flour and cook, then whisk in the wine and let reduce by half.
  
• Add the stock, and then stir in the cream when it bubbles and begins to reduce. Lower the heat to medium low, simmer and allow sauce to thicken.
• Melt in the Gorgonzola, then stir in the ground walnuts. Season with salt and pepper.
• Toss the pasta with the sauce, and serve with Parmesan cheese.
  

Overall the combo worked fantastically. I made enough of it to use again, this time I added the meatballs to it and tossed it with rotini. Unfortunately I never took a picture of it, but as my family can attest it turned out pretty well. I think I'll try and experiment with different cheeses in cream sauces from time to time, since I was so happy with this one. I'll also try adding some fresh herbs to the sauce (or just on top) to give it some color.

4th of July: Burgers on the Grill and Peach Blackberry Cobbler a la Mode

This year for the 4th of July, I had my friends come over for a cookout. As host, I volunteered to supply the drinks and hamburgers, and also wanted to take a stab at making a dessert. So here are the two recipes I used that made my day a success...I think they both turned out excellent (as the pictures show!).


I had to call my dad to get advice on how he makes his hamburgers. He informed me that his secret is using BBQ sauce (whoops...haha), keeps the burgers tender and juicy for a long time. So I added the hamburger meat along with some Kraft BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, a little soy, salt, pepper, and garlic powder (I think that's it...). I made these into patties, stuck my thumb in the middle to help it cook more even, and grilled it until they were done. For my first attempt, it seemed like quite a success. Everyone devoured them and I got lots of compliments. Hooray!


What would the 4th of July be without some form of cobbler? I felt for once, I should finally attempt to make one. I found blackberries on sale, and consulted FoodNetwork for ideas on how to make the cobbler to begin with, and stumbled across a recipe for a peach and blackberry cobbler. YUM! So that's what I attempted, with a few modifications thanks to Mae Mae's expert cobbler-making advice.

Ingredients:

• 8 to 12 peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tbsp flour
• 5 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Pinch salt
• 2 cups blackberries
• Frozen pie crust (~4), defrosted (should be soft and spread-able)
  
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 300F. In a bowl, combine the peaches, flour, brown sugar, lemon juice and salt, tossing gently. Carefully fold in the blackberries.
• Spread pre-made pie crusts around 8-cup baking dish, covering all the sides. Reserve ~1 crust to be cut into long thin strips for a lattice on top.
• Pour peach and blackberry mixture into baking dish over the crust. Cover with strips of crust.
  
• Brush the top of the dough with the melted butter. Place the cobbler on a sheet-pan to catch any juices that may boil over. Bake until the top is golden brown and juices are bubbling, ~1 hour. Let cool slightly before serving.
  
• Serve warm with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

These were both quite a hit as a combo. The burgers were tender and juicy, and altogether delicious (thanks again, Dad!). I was surprised as to how much they shrunk while cooking, but I'm proud of myself for not burning or undercooking a single one on my first try. The cobbler was awesome with the ice cream, although my peaches were not quite ripe (going to the farmer's market or roadside stand next time) and it was a little bitter (will probably add more sugar and sprinkle some on top also). Of course, I had to call Mae Mae for some tips on it, which is why my baking temperature was less than the recipe itself. Will definitely make another one!

Roasted Green Beans

Roasting vegetables has become one of my favorite methods to make an awesome, easy side dish. I made green beans the other day to show Shelby that they aren't always canned and nasty. I don't think I entirely convinced her, but I love them.


Ingredients:

• 1-2 handfuls of fresh green beans (or as many as you want to make)
  
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Parmesan cheese
  

Method:

• Cut the ends off the green beans, and cut in half, if they're long. You want them to be 1-2 inches long.
• Place green beans into a bowl, add olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese and mix together.
  
• Put a piece of wax paper onto a rimmed baking sheet, and pour the seasoned green beans on top.
• Cook for 10-12 mins at 400F or until slightly crispy.

Voila! An easy, instant side dish. Works great for asparagus too.

"Smorgasbord" Pasta

I generally end up making a pasta every now and again to use up all the food I have in my fridge that's about to go bad (especially vegetables). This is no such exception. I've discovered the joys of using canned pasta sauce, and sautee-ing a bunch of vegetables (and sometimes adding wine too) to make it taste even better. I really don't think there's a way to mess up pasta.


Ingredients:

• 1 lb rotini pasta
• 6-8 slices turkey bacon, cooked and cut into pieces
• 2-3 chicken breast filets/tenderloins, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
  
• 1 pkg mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can alfredo sauce (I used Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo by D'Angelo)
• 1 cup red wine
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper, and shredded Parmesan cheese, to taste
  

Method:

• Cook the bacon, and then the chicken by saute, and set aside.
• Boil the pasta until al dente, drain.
• Saute the garlic, mushrooms, and onions until they begin to brown, then add the red wine and let it cook out.
• Pour in the sauce, and let it heat up. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Put the drained pasta in the pot, and stir in the sauce, bacon, and chicken. Serve with the Parmesan cheese.

See how easy it is? And tasty it sounds? It turned out great.

Mature Veal Polpette (AKA Meatballs)

I came home today and had an incredible craving for meatballs. So, I decided to make some of my favorite ones, which my mom has made before from a Rachael Ray cookbook. They're very very good, simple, and have a little surprise inside. So...win? I'm calling them "Mature Veal", because I couldn't get veal, so I went with just plain ole beef.


Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground veal (in this case, I had to just use plain hamburger...which is good too)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Olive oil
• Pine nuts and raisins (enough for each meatball, about a half a handful of each)
  

Method:

• Mix the meat in a bowl together with everything minus the pine nut and raisin (the surprise(s) in the middle!!) with a nice drizzle of olive oil.
  
• Roll the meatballs to the desired size (I think they're better a little smaller, about 1.5 inches diameter). Place one pine nut and one raisin in the middle, and place on a rimmed cookie sheet.
• Bake at 400F for 10 mins (or until cooked through).
  

I served these with a can of "Caramalized Onion" Marinara Sauce (by D'Angelos I think...), which may or may not be discontinued at this point. It was really really good, and easy to add to it. I know the recipe in the 365: No Repeats Book has a great Tomato and Basil sauce to go with it...so if you want to make it homemade over spaghetti, look there.

Brined Pork Chops with Butternut Squash Risotto

First we'll start with the pork chops. I made an orange brine c/o Alton Brown, which was my first attempt at brining meat. It worked really really well, and I've used it another time since (and will continue to do so and experiment...). It's a very easy technique, and does a good job adding enough flavor to the meat that you don't have to do anything else but cook it.


Ingredients:

• 1 quart vegetable stock
  
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp black peppercorns (I've always just cracked a lot of pepper)
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 1 quart orange juice, chilled
  
• 2 quarts ice water
  

Method:

• Bring 2 cups of the stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, and bay leaves to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt.
• Add remaining stock, orange juice, and ice water and pour into a large enough container (like...big. He recommends a 2 gallon bucket. I used a rubbermaid cake container).
• After the mixture has cooled (he says below 40F), add the meat and place in the fridge.
• Let brine between 8 and 48 hours.
• Remove, pat dry with paper towels, and cook as desired.

This time, I cooked the pork over a charcoal grill until it was done. It was so yummy!


Now for one of my favorites, the butternut squash risotto! I basically follow the same recipe for all of my risottos, and I just change the ingredients. So I've just included a reduced summary below, using the crawfish and saffron risotto as a guideline.

Ingredients: (same as before, with the following exceptions)

• 1 butternut squash, roasted (see below) and cut into ~1 inch cubes
  
• OMIT asparagus
• 12 sage leaves, chopped
  

Method:

• Follow the same directions for the risotto as before, adding some of the squash into the chicken stock, and the sage leaves at the end with the butter and parmesan.
  
• To roast the butternut squash, cut in half and remove the seeds (core). Drizzle the inside of each half with olive oil, and place face down on a pan.
• Bake at 400F, at least 30-45 mins. You'll be able to tell when it's done, when the squash is soft (I like it to be a little browned, also).
• Let it cool off, then cut it into the 1 inch cubes. Then, you can start the risotto!

Overall (as you can see at the top) the meal turned out great. My friend and I served it with a spinach/goat cheese/raspberry vinaigrette salad and a piece of roasted garlic loaf. This risotto is definitely one of my favorites, and I've made it many many times. This pairing worked great also. Definitely recommend it.

Hoisin-Soy Creamy Saffron Stir Fry Noodles

As I was contemplating dinner this evening, one of my friends mentioned sushi, which lead to an unbeatable craving for it. Since I was trying to save money and didn't go out to get it, I decided to modify some of my leftover to get a similar flavor profile and quench my hunger. So these are the same noodles as before, with a few additions.

Ingredients:

• Leftover "Noodles with a Creamy Asparagus and Saffron Sauce"
  
• 1-2 chicken breast filets, sliced
  
• Olive oil
  
• Soy and hoisin sauce, to taste
  

Method:

• Reheat the leftover noodles in a wok over low heat.
• Drizzle some olive oil into a pan, and heat over medium heat. Add soy sauce and chicken and cook until chicken begins to brown.
• Add chicken to reheated noodles, and mix in soy sauce and a little hoisin sauce (or teriyaki) until the noodles become a nice brown color and the flavor is there.

That's it! An easy and tasty way to revamp leftovers.

Noodles with a Creamy Asparagus and Saffron Sauce

Every month, my co-workers and I get together to watch a movie based on a book we have all (supposedly) read that month. It's our little "Book & Movie Club". For May, we read Seven Years in Tibet, and I hosted the movie viewing under an Asian food theme. Since I had just gotten my saffron from Mom, and had leftover asparagus from my risotto, I decided to cook this recipe I found from a Wok & Stir Fry cookbook.


Ingredients:

• 10-12 stalks of asparagus
• 1 pinch of saffron
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 4 oz peas
• 12 oz somen noodles
• salt, pepper, and "Fines Herbes", to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese
  

Method:

• Cut off tips from asparagus, slice the remaining spears into short rounds
• Steep saffron in 2 tbsp boiling water
• Melt butter in a small pan, add shallots, and cook over low heat until transparent, ~3 mins
• Add white wine, cream, and saffron infusion and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ~5 mins or until sauce thickens.
• Add grated lemon rind and jice, season with salt and pepper.
• Boil lightly salted water in a large pot. Blanch asparagus tips in water, then remove and add to sauce. Cook peas and remaining asparagus in the water until just tender, and add these to sauce also.
• Cook somen noodles in boiling water until tender. Drain and place into a wok.
• Pour sauce over the top of the noodles and toss. Add Fines Herbes and more salt/pepper as needed. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.
  

Overall, I think it turned out well. I got a number of compliments. The sauce was interesting, but good. I did learn, though, that somen noodles are a total mess to drain (they stick to EVERYTHING). So perhaps I'll try it with something different next time, maybe rice.

Crawfish and Asparagus Saffron Risotto

After my trip home this past weekend, I brought back a lot of crawfish (thanks Mom and Dad!!). So what to do with so much crawfish in your freezer, one might ask. Since I love risotto, and I love crawfish, I decided to merge these two loves together into an awesome recipe. I got the idea to add asparagus from Food Network, but basically made the risotto the same as I usually do (which, I realize I've never posted about before, so I guess this will be the introduction to it).


Ingredients:

• 1-2 lbs crawfish, peeled and cleaned
• 10 stalks asparagus, roasted (see below) and cut into ~1/2 inch pieces
  
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 pinches saffron
  
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 cup white wine
  
• 1 tbsp butter
  
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  

Method:

• First, heat up the crawfish to warm, and roast the asparagus (cut into pieces, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and bake 10-12 mins at 400F).
  
• Place chicken stock and water in a medium pot, heat to boiling and then cover and reduce to low. (I like to put one or two pieces of whatever I am making the risotto out of into the chicken stock for added flavor - for this recipe 2-3 pieces of crawfish. Also, I put some saffron into the stock also).
  
• While the stock heats up, put the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat.
  
• Once the oil starts to ripple, add saffron, garlic, and onions and cook until transparent, about 2 mins.
• Add the rice, and let toast about 2 mins.
• Pour in the white wine and let cook down.
• Slowly ladle in the chicken stock, just covering the rice, and let cook down. Repeat about 3-4 times, or until the stock is gone (estimated 18 mins). The rice should be very tender at this point; if not, add more stock/water.
• During the last 3 mins or so of cook time, add in the crawfish, asparagus, butter, and parmesan cheese. Stir and serve!

Overall I think it turned out very well, except the crawfish was so spicy it kinda drowned out the other flavors. I will have to experiment to see how to get good crawfish that isn't overpoweringly-spicy.

Semi-Blackened Honey Salmon served alongside Grits with Corn and Vidalia Onion

For dinner tonight, I was really in the mood to cook something fierce. I found some salmon on sale at Kroger, and with the help of my new cookbook from Alton Brown ("I'm Just Here for the Food"), I made an attempt to sear the salmon steak. I'm happy to say it was a success. A little sweet, perhaps, but I thought it rocked. I served it with some killer grits, which I made for the first time this last trip to Baton Rouge with Liz. She found it out of a Martha Stewart magazine (I think it was Barefoot Contessa's becipe...but I could be wrong).


Yes this is an odd combo. Sue me. I found the salmon on sale, and have been wanting to make the grits myself since I got back to Athens.

First the grits, which take much longer, and are better to start making first. The recipe Liz found was pretty stellar, except a few of the ingredients seemed a little difficult to obtain (unnecessarily so...typical Contessa if it's hers). For example, it calls for kernels freshly scraped from 2 ears sweet corn. Not everyone has time for this (we sure didn't), so I've used canned corn both times and it tastes just fine (just make sure it's not the creamed kind). Also, Auaker instant grits work fine, but try to get the 15 minute kind versus the 5 minute kind. Gives them more time to "meld" with the rest of the stuff...plus I'm not convinced as to how genuine the 5 minute ones are.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, preferably Vidalia, grated (yes, grated)
  
• 1 cup corn kernels
  
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups water
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup stone‐ground or coarse‐ground grits
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano‐Reggiano cheese
  
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat‐leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Method:

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan
• Add the onion and cook, stirring, until transparent, about 2 mins. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally until the kernels become soft, about 2 mins (longer for fresh kernels right off the cob - 5 mins).
• Add the milk, water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over
  high heat. Whisk in the grits, decrease the heat to low, and simmer, whisking
  occasionally, until the grits are creamy and thick, 45 to 60 minutes (has always been shorter for me...you'll know when they're the desired thickness).
  
• Stir in the butter, cheese, parsley, and chives. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
  

And now, for the Salmon. Alton had a recipe for a seared blackened tuna steak. This sounded awesome, and I know that tuna and salmon can be cooked similarly. However, salmon also tastes awesome with a honey glaze, and I wasn't in the mood for a lot of spice, so I modified his spices quite a bit and added a dabble of honey and some chives (leftover from the grits). Whatev. It turned out great. Also, note that there aren't really any measurements for the ingredients. I just sprinkled here and there. It's a spice blend...doesn't have to be exact. I did add more salt than anything else, though (blame Alton, but it worked).

Ingredients

• Salmon steak, 1 inch thick
  
• Coarse black pepper
• Kosher salt
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Dried thyme
• Ground cumin
• Chives
  
• Vegetable oil
• Honey
  

Method:

• Combine all spices and the chives in a container with a lid, and shake to mix thoroughly.
  
• Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until it's hot enough to make a drop of water jump (not just sizzle).
• Rub vegetable oil over the sides of the salmon steak, then sprinkle spice mix over both sides, rub in a bit and shake off excess. Drizzle some honey on either side (easiest to put on one side, drop in skillet, and add to the other side while the first one cooks).
• Spritz the skillet with oil just before adding the salmon (I just used some Pam...Alton says it's to ensure even heating as a crust forms). Add the salmon (honey side down, lol) to the pan, and cook for about 2 minutes. Flip, and repeat. This should cook it where it's still a little pink in the middle, so if you want to cook a little longer that's okay (I cooked it longer, and after it rested it was cooked all the way through, so I think the 2 minutes for each is perfectly okay).
  

So that was all well and good. Until I realized there was some awesome juicy bits/sauce in the bottom of the cast-iron skillet. I wondered how I could get those tasty morsels out to pour over my salmon...and then I got a great idea. Fish goes great with white wine, right? Bingo. I poured some white wine into the skillet, scraped up some bits with my wooden spoon, let it reduce about a minute or two, and then poured that over the top of the salmon. Win.

Roasted Red Pepper Rotini Caesar (AKA Three-Color Pasta Salad)

This is a recipe I pulled out last fall for tailgating, and made it again tonight to bring over to Claire's pool for a cookout with her, Crystal, Lauren, and Antoine. I found it on the back of a Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Rotini box, after deciding I wanted to make an easy pasta salad, but one that wasn't so typical. This fit the bill very nicely, and is quite pretty too.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg rotini
• 12 oz jar roasted red peppers, sliced
• 4 cups frozen spinach
• 1 cup Caesar dressing
• Shredded Parmesan cheese, cracked pepper, and salt (to taste)

Method:

• Boil pasta until al dente. Drain.
• Cook spinach according to microwave directions, let cool.
  
• Combine pasta with sliced red pepper and spinach. Toss in Caesar dressing and mix thoroughly.
• Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese (I was a little heavy-handed on the parmesan...but what else is new?) and serve.

Overall this was pretty tasty, looked great, and was one of the easiest sides I've ever made. Definitely will make it again in a pinch.

Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom Sauce

So I actually made this the same night as the arancini - Jack (my roommate) was grilling some chicken and I had some awesome gnocchi I picked up (DeLallo Whole Wheat Gnocchi) and wanted to try. The recipe I got was from the back of the box, basically. And I modified it a little bit, mostly with addition of beech mushrooms, and some butter. I actually thought it was a mushroom cream sauce, so I was disappointed to discover it wasn't and added extra butter at the end to make it "creamy" (sort of). It worked, though, and turned out quite nicely.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Whole Wheat Gnocchi (16 oz)
  
• 2 tbsp butter (1/4 stick)
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 12 oz fresh mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (I used one pkg each of baby portobello, beech, and shiitake)
• 1/2 cup diced shallots (I just used a regular onion)
  
• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• Grated Parmesan Cheese (to taste)
  

Method:

• Cook gnocchi according to package directions and drain.
• Heat butter and olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat until butter begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
  
• Add stock and sage; simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. (Here is where I added another 2 tbsp butter to make it a little more creamy).
  
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add hot gnocchi to sauce in skillet and toss to coat.
• Serve with cheese sprinkled on top.

Arancini - "Little Oranges" (AKA Fried Risotto Balls)

So, this isn't really my first thing to make ever, just the first thing I was able to record on this blog. Mom and I discovered this recipe in Rachael Ray's "Big Orange Book" when we were looking to make appetizer's for New Year's Eve. They were a big hit, and I decided to make them again for a friend's housewarming/appetizer party this past Thursday. I think I made them slightly too big, though, but they turned out well anyways.


I followed the recipe as-is, but needed more eggs than suggested (I think that's probably normal with frying). Also, I decided not to make the dipping sauce but instead used a can of Di Milano Classico pasta sauce with sauteed onions and roasted garlic. It worked quite well and saved me a lot of trouble. Finally, I used Italian bread crumbs (because that's what I had on hand) which also gave me a bit more seasoning on the arancini, and I didn't garnish with basil (already in the bread crumb mix and dipping sauce...adding more would have been overkill).

Introduction to Blog

Welcome readers, to a new installment of my adventures in blogging. As a random idea today, I decided to start one on my cooking escapades. Many of you know that I love to cook, and love to try to cook new things. So, to honor that, I'm going to keep record of my cooking escapades so I can look back and remember the great dishes I've made. Also, this lets me share my recipes with those of you unfortunate enough to share in their deliciousness.

I will post the actual recipes for the ones I pretty much make up, or pick out of an obscure magazine/book. The ones that you can basically find on foodnetwork.com or through a mainstream cookbook I'll just describe my deviations (if any). If you really really can't find a recipe I didn't post, I'll give it to you. Just ask!

You're more than welcome to leave comments, suggestions, etc. If you want me to try to make something, send me a link or give me an idea and I'll be happy to try. Enjoy!