Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Mussels and Wild Mushroom Risotto






I went to Miller's at 14 and Haggerty, the only good place to buy fancy ingredients near me. I got a bag of live mussels from behind the fish counter, some dried wild mushrooms, a package of sliced portabellas, 2 shallots, a $5 bottle of white wine and a bunch of fresh parsley. I had the rest of the ingredients at home.

INGREDIENTS

MUSSELS:
1/4 sweet white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 shallot, sliced
1 T capers, drained
2/3 cup white wine
Olive oil
Chopped parsley
Juice from 1 lemon

Crumbled bleu cheese *optional

MUSHROOM RISOTTO:
1.5 cups arborio rice
2 T olive oil
2 T butter *optional
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 shallot, sliced
1 package wild mushrooms, steeped in warm water for 30 mins (about 1 cup warm water)
1 package sliced portabella mushrooms
Chicken stock, heated
2/3 cup white wine, chill taken off
Chopped parsley
2 T (or more!) parmesan cheese
Salt/pepper to taste

PREPARATION

MUSSELS:

Sautee onions, shallots, garlic in olive oil for a little while until transluscent (not browned).
Increase heat to medium/high and add in wine, capers, parsley and juice from 1 lemon.
Put the mussels in, toss in the wine, and cover for 4-7 mins or until all/most of them have opened.
Pour into a bowl and serve with crumbled bleu cheese.

RISOTTO:

Strain the mushrooms and reserve the liquid. Chop the mushrooms and add all of the mushrooms to a hot oiled pan. Brown the mushrooms, stirring often, and set aside.
Sautee onions, shallot, garlic in olive oil for a little while until transluscent (not browned). Add in rice and stir to coat. Keep cooking over medium/low heat for 5 minutes or so, stirring often. Add in 2/3 cup of white wine and stir. Cook until the wine has been absorbed by the rice. Add in 1/2 cup heated chicken stock and stir stir stir. While that cooks, add in the mushrooms and keep stirring. Once the chicken stock has been absorbed, add in the mushroom stock (about 1/2 cup) and stir. Once the mushroom stock has been absorbed, add in another 1/2 cup of warmed chicken stock and stir. Salt/pepper to taste.

Once the rice is *almost* done, add in parsley, butter, and parmesan cheese and stir some more.
Take off heat and serve.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Grilled Chicken Kebab with Coconut Rice and Grilled Pineapple



For 2 people

12 oz. - 24 oz. chicken breast, cubed
4 oz. plain yogurt
2 T Ras el Hanout spice (shawarma spice mix)
skewers
1 cup jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. sugar
Fresh pineapple, sliced
Cilantro, chopped
Red Onion, diced
Yellow onion, diced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 can black beans
Vegetable oil
2 loaves Naan bread

This recipe is a little involved, but worth it in the long run. Jon got a new gas grill for his birthday, so I use that to grill the kebabs on, but you could use a George Foreman or other indoor grill, or even your broiler.

Begin by rolling chicken chunks in the shawarma spices and then marinating in plain yogurt. Let the chicken sit in the fridge for 2-8 hours in the marinade. Then, put 4-5 chunks on each skewer.
Grill chicken until cooked thoroughly.
To make the coconut rice, add milk and 1/2 cup water to a sauce pan and bring to boil.
Add in sugar and 1 cup jasmine rice.
COVER the pan tightly and reduce heat to your lowest setting available.
Let the rice cook for 15-20 minutes, no peeking!!! Let rest additional 5 mins with the heat off.
Chop red onion and cilantro and use as a garnish.
Put the diced yellow onion in another pan with some vegetable oil. Gently sautee until soft and add cumin and rinsed black beans. Add salt to taste.
Grill pineapple.

Serve with naan and a squeeze of lime.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Bleu Cheese Walnut Dip for crackers or crostini


Also great on veggies or apple slices and fresh pineapple!

1/2 cup toasted walnuts
4 oz. bleu cheese
1 package cream cheese
2 T honey
1 tsp. garlic salt
Chopped scallions *optional

Toasted crostini
Crackers
Fruit slices

Toast walnuts in a 350 oven for 5-7 mins on a baking pan.
Combine softened cream cheese, bleu cheese, salt and honey in a bowl.
Add in toasted walnuts and combine.
Garnish with chopped scallions, if desired.

Serve!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Tofu Parmigiana




Last night, I created a great vegetarian version of Chicken Parmesan using extra firm tofu instead of chicken. It tasted great and I like to limit my consumption of meats whenever possible. I do use eggs and cheese, however. You can alwasy use soy milk instead of eggs in this recipe and vegan cheese instead of mozzarella.

1 package extra firm tofu cut into 2 steaks
Panko bread crumbs mixed with italian bread crumbs (50/50 mix)
1 egg
FRESH mozzarella cheese
Spaghetti sauce
FRESH basil leaves, torn
Flour seasoned with lots of garlic powder!

Preheat oven to 425
Drain your tofu on paper towel by wrapping each tofu steak and leaving in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Dredge tofu in a little seasoned flour (handle carefully or tofu could break apart)
Dredge in whisked egg
Dredge in panko/breadcrumbs mixture
Move steaks to a baking dish sprayed with PAM or other non-stick cooking spray
Bake in 425 oven for 15-17 mins
Take out of oven and top with about half the jar of spaghetti sauce and slices of fresh mozzarella
Reduce heat to 375 and bake for another 10-15 mins
Top with lots of torn fresh basil leaves and maybe some parmesan cheese!

*Serve with some spaghetti and sauteed mushrooms, if you wish.

Note: I used to skip the 1) dredge in flour step and have found that I should not skip that step. It helps keep the breadcrumbs on the meat/tofu/eggplant/other veggie so much better!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Cast Iron Skillet Deep Dish Pizza



1 frozen pizza dough ball
Pizza Sauce
Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
Shredded Mozzarella
Pepperoni
Italian Sausage
Olive oil
Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Salt
Red Pepper Flakes

Any other ingredients you'd like!

Preheat oven to 350.
Let dough thaw and rest.
Brown the sausage.
Oil the cast iron pan and stretch the pizza dough to fit in the pan & up the sides.  I let the dough hang over a little.
Par-bake the dough for 5 minutes.
 Take the pizza out and layer with shredded mozzarella.  Bake another minute in the oven to let the cheese melt just slightly and form a barrier for the sauce.
Layer sauce, sausage, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella slices and more sauce.  Top with more fresh mozzarella.
Fill up the pizza!
Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and the cheese is fully melted and hot.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Apple Walnut Salad with Bleu Cheese



I like to make my own croutons for this salad. I slice up a baguette,toss the slices in some olive oil, some garlic salt, and a little parmesan cheese. Lay the slices on a baking pan and bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until crunchy. Let them sit in a warm oven (oven OFF) for additional 3-5 minutes to get extra crunchy.

1 small head of romaine lettuce
1 cup of baby spinach
1 green apple (I prefer the more tart variety)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup craisins *optional
4 oz. bleu cheese
3/4 cup Apple cider vinaigrette (see salad dressing post)

Dice the apples and toast the walnuts. Chop the romaine and toss with the spinach. Add everything to the bowl and toss with the cider vinaigrette.
Serve with homemade croutons on top!