risotto with roasted vegetables

Hello friends of Stephers,
I am Cinr/Cinders/CC/Cindy/... I guess I go by anything.

In college, Steph and I shared an affinity for Italian, and in summer 2005 I had the great fortune of spending the summer in the most wonderful place, Florence, Italy.

As a poor college student living on loans and a part-time job, I had little money to go out to eat. To go to Italy and not have tons of money to spend on delicious food, this is a food crime. However, one food I did get plenty of, compliments of the hotel we were staying at, was risotto.

Before summer 2005, I had not the slightest idea what risotto was and the first time they served it I was in shock. Excuse me, this is Italy, shouldn't you be serving me pasta everyday? Rice? Has Italy recently been taken over by Asians because this just does not make sense to me.

Remember, I was young and ignorant at the time so don't judge me too harshly.

It has now been five years since that splendid summer of risotto and I haven't had much of it since then. As I was flipping through my cookbooks deciding on what to contribute to this blog, I saw page after page of risotto recipes and nostalgia took over.

The recipe used comes from a Perfect Italian cookbook by Parragon Publishing
Ingredients
Serves 4
5 cups simmering chicken stock - I substituted for 4 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of water
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter - we only used 2 tbsp
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 3/8 cups (10 oz.) risotto rice
8 oz of roasted vegetables - we went with red and green bell peppers and added a little bit of garlic
3/4 cup (3 oz.) grated Parmesan cheese - after going to the TJ's to buy this ingredient this morning I forgot to use it *sigh*
salt and pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs - basil from my new kitchen plant

Method
Start off by heating the stock/broth in a pot. Once it has boiled, bring it down and continue to have it simmer. You'll be adding this gradually to the risotto in a bit.

Heat the oil and 2 tbsp. butter in a "deep pan" over medium heat. When the butter is melted add the onions. Once the onions have acquired a nice golden color (if they are brown, you cooked them for too long), reduce the heat and add the rice. Mix to coat the rice in oil and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes, or until the grains are translucent.

At this point you will gradually add the stock/broth you have had simmering on the stove top. I used a ladle to add while my wonderful friend and neighbor, Melly, stirred the rice. This is a long process (15-17 minutes) of adding the stock and then stirring, and as the broth is absorbed by the rice you add more. I recommend having a friend there share in the experience because it will help the time pass faster, but make sure you are paying attention not to overcook the rice or to drown it in broth.



We didn't use all the broth, so don't feel like you have too. There was 1/3-1/2 cup left over when we finished. Once you have finished adding the broth, add the vegetables.



Make sure there is still some broth left because after you add the vegetables you'll cook it for another 5 minutes. We cooked it for 6 minutes, just waiting for the broth to absorb enough to make the risotto creamy and not drowning.

At this point you can add 1 tbsp. butter, mix well, and then sprinkle in the Parmesan until it melts. We didn't partake in this final step mostly because I forgot, tehehe, but despite that the risotto turned out delicious.



Looks good AND tastes good.

Well, it's been nice visiting, I hope we do this again sometime.

flashbacks

We're going to do a little nostalgic thinking today, all the way back to the year 1996. What were you wearing/doing way back then? I remember sporting the unfortunate combination of glasses and braces, ginormous sweatshirts over leggings, and a perm (?) (if memory serves me right). I was head-over-heels in love with the US women's gymnastic team (I know you remember them too). Like every other 10 year old, pizza was my favoritest food EVER.

(This version from last week: Deb's dough, hot + mild sausage, prosciutto, green garlic, red onion, mushrooms, burrata and fresh mozzarella, basil. Note: burrata is way too watery to use for pizza. Note #2: chances are, I would not have liked this pizza in 1996. My pizza of choice was just like every other 5th grader: pepperoni surrounded by gobs and gobs of cheese. Non-watery cheese, may I add. Note #3: I need to get over my fear of baking with yeast.)

It was also around this time that e-mail and the world wide web came to the common folk in the form of AOL...loved that. And while we're in la-la land circa 1996, remember that ubiquitous e-mail forward that viciously circled around in the form of revenge on Neiman-Marcus for their $250 cookie recipe trickery? Turns out the story is false (an untrue forward?! Is this even possible?), but 14 years ago it felt good to stick it to the Neiman-Marcus man and send that darn outrage of a story to every single person I knew. 14 years later, it feels so good to taste what all the fuss was about.

I am not going so far as to say that these cookies are worth the purported $250, but goodness. Look at these guys. I'm usually pretty ambivalent about nuts in cookies, but the walnuts here round out the texture and make them soooooo great. Also, the copious amount of oatmeal used means you can kind of trick yourself into thinking that these are healthy for you... hello, whole grains! My zeal for whole grains must have been why I thought I should make eleventy-hundred cookies. Seriously, this recipe makes eleventy-hundred cookies (which is why I have a ton of cookie dough in the freezer. PS to my socal road trip buddies in 2 weeks: you better believe these cookies are coming for you.)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies (aka the Neiman-Marcus cookies)
(I don't know to whom I should attribute this recipe, but I will give credit to Caroline's post for getting my butt in the kitchen)

5 cups oatmeal
2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups chocolate chips (I used a lot less)
3 cups nuts (I used walnuts), chopped

Preheat oven to 375. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a food processor or blender, blend the oatmeal until powdery. In a separate bowl, whisk the pulverized oatmeal with the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla; blend well. Gradually stir in the flour mixture; listen to your stand mixer scream bloody murder due to the enormous amount of dough you are forcing it to mix. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts (I like chopping them in the food processor right after the oatmeal) (the recipe also says to grate an 8 oz. bar of chocolate into the dough at this point, but Mr. Stand Mixer screamed, "Enough is enough!", so I gave him a reprieve. (He's very temperamental.)

Roll into balls, place on cookie sheets, bake for 8-15 minutes (depending on how big you make them). Just check--when the tops start to turn golden, they're done. Let cool on the sheet for a minute before digging in!

And for freezing the dough: roll into balls, freeze on a plate or other large flat surface until really cold, then transfer to Ziploc bag (this process ensures the dough balls won't stick to each other when you're dying for freshly baked cookies in the near future).

I'll be in Chicago next weekend (my former co-love is cooking partner Lisa is getting hitched!), so my girl Jena will be guest blogging! Hooray! She's pretty much amazing, so get excited!!

fire + roll

Profuse apologies to start. Oh, I know I promised 3+ weeks ago that I'd post every Monday, but time has been marching along, and then all of a sudden Monday, March 8th marched right across my face, as did March 9th and 10th. Whoops. Thanks to those who have been nudging (or prodding) (or kicking) me to update. I have a really good note from my doctor to explain my absence. Her name is Dpie, I hadn't seen her in almost 2 years, and we just spent a REALLY fabulous weekend (+ 3 days) together!

How, you ask?

Well...there was Cheeseboard. Fenton's. Lobster noodle/dim sum. The Dairy. And s'mores.

(Una and I enjoyed getting our knees seared by the crazy person-eating fire!) (Thanks to The Ranch brothers for being our Boy Scouts...and for the picture)

Dpie and I then proceeded to my lovely hometown, where we promptly got put to work on one of the most delicious things I've eaten thus far. Exaggeration? Hardly.

One day, The Mother and I were sitting around watching afternoon TV, and that hot mama of Italian cooking came on...yes, Giada and her ginormous head filled our small screen, and we were transfixed. As she talked, our eyes grew bigger and bigger, and we quickly jumped in the car the second the episode ended to get the necessary ingredients for dinner that night. Say what you will about Food Network celebrities; Giada knows what she's doing, and I'm so on board.

The Mother also makes her own sauce, so that just equals double delish. (Here, I am attempting to document the remains of our taste testing) (PS most of these photos are by Llamapie; isn't she talented?!)

I'll be honest with you; the lasagna rolls are mildly labor intensive. But I want you to know this, from every taste bud in my mouth to yours: worth it. Worth it, worth it, worth it!!!

Lasagna Rolls
(adapted from Giada's hotness)

marinara sauce
The most I could get out of the Mother (she's a secretive one) was this: chop up a bunch of onions, celery, carrots, and garlic pretty finely. Saute that all in a pot with some olive oil. When the veggies are soft, dump in 2-3 big cans of whole tomatoes (crushed is fine as well). Smash them with the back of the spoon you're stirring the sauce with. Simmer on low for a couple hours, season with salt and pepper as needed. At some point, pop in a couple cubes of frozen basil (or fresh if you've got it, of course).

lasagna part
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 oz. prosciutto, chopped
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of a package of lasagna noodles
1 8 oz. ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced

Preheat oven to 450. Grease a 13x9 pan.

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt it and add a little oil to it (I never do this normally, but it really does help for lasagna noodles). (You can pull out the noodles a couple minutes short of the recommended cooking time, since they'll be spending some time in the oven anyway. Just make sure they're pliable enough for rolling.) While the noodles are boiling, make the bechamel.

bechamel sauce
2 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk
salt to taste
pepper too
pinch of nutmeg


Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour and whisk for a couple minutes until golden brown. Whisk in milk and increase heat to medium-high. Keep whisking, add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. At some point the sauce will thicken and become wonderful and creamy. When that happens, remove from heat and pour the sauce into the prepared 13x9 pan to coat the bottom.

Back to the rolls. As the noodles finish cooking, remove from water with tongs and lay on a plate or other large flat surface. Take a big spoonful of the ricotta spinach mixture and drop it toward the end of one noodle, rolling the rest of the noodle around the ball of ricotta. (I find this easier than spreading the mixture down the length of the noodle before rolling.) Arrange lasagna rolls in bechamel-lined pan.

Spoon marinara sauce (homemade or otherwise) on top and around the lasagna rolls. Lay slices of fresh mozzarella on top and sprinkle with additional Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake until sauce is bubbly, around 20 minutes. Uncover and let the cheese melt and get all golden and melty, maybe another 15 minutes. And yes, you should probably make plans to double this recipe now. Go ahead and buy the 30 oz. container of ricotta!

Name a place/person of random inspiration for you! (I know, Giada is not the most random person, nor the Food Network the most random place in the world for inspiration, but humor me, please!)