Vegetarian Risotto from Cooking with Madeline

During the 1990's I used to love learning to cook from watching a show called Cooking With Madeline. The star of the show, Madeline Kamman, was a sweet little French lady who loved to tell little stories as she taught her audience how to cook. I found her enchanting and from her I learned how to make perfect risotto. If you follow these directions, you can make perfect risotto, too.  You can make it just this way, with vegetables, or you can add other things, like lobster or crabmeat or different kinds of vegetables, as you wish.  

This recipe is one I reserve for special friends and family members, and I share it with you. It takes time on the stove top - around 30 minutes - and you need to attend to it all the time. You cannot walk away and do something else. It is a work of love. Here it is, as I copied it from the show while she spoke.

**********************

Chop 1 onion very fine. Saute it in butter (I used around 4 Tb. and a cast iron fry pan). Put 1 cup ARBORIO rice in and saute til rice turns white (hardens). Do NOT brown the rice.  

Keeping the heat turned down to just a simmer, add 4 1/2 cups chicken stock a little at a time, in about 4-5 parts, allowing each part of the liquid to be absorbed fully into the rice before adding the next part.  Stir throughout this process.  The rice will become sticky and glutinous. It should not be firm to the tooth when it is done, nor should it be overcooked.

Meanwhile, prepare vegetables. Thinly slice 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash, seeded, along with 1/2 cup baby green peas.  Saute lightly. 

Mix vegetables and rice in serving bowl. 

Put rice/vegetable mixture into individual bowls and top with parmesan cheese.  Bon appetit!!

Brunch with friends

Goat cheese with herbs, flax crackers, fruit, and sparkling water with lime -- to begin. And Roan is keeping watch while we wait for their arrival...

Judy's Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This 3-layer salad recipe from AllRecipes.com includes a strawberry top, cream cheese center and pretzel crust.  I think it looks like a fabulous summertime dessert and love the idea of the salty pretzels and the sweet strawberries.  If you like it, please visit AllRecipes for more great food ideas.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 2 Hours Servings: 16

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels 4 1/2 tablespoons white sugar 3/4 cup butter, melted 1 cup white sugar 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped

topping, thawed 1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin 2 cups boiling water 1 (16 ounce) package frozen strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the pretzels, 4 1/2 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
2.	In a medium bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
3.	In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Mix in frozen strawberries, and stir until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com	Printed from Allrecipes.com 6/14/2010

Fish Steaks with Cucumber Dill Butter

This recipe is so great for grilling fish in the summer.  Use one of those grids on top of your grill if you have one and keep the temp turned to medium. For swordfish, 10 mins/side is just about right. Other fish takes less time. I adapted this from one of the original Weber grill cooking manuals.  Enjoy!!

Fish Steaks Grilled with Cucumber Dill Butter

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup chopped, seeded, pared cucumber

1 tsp. fresh (or dried) chive

2 Tb. chopped fresh dill (or 1/2 tsp dried dill weed)

salt

lime juice

Melt butter in a small pan or skillet. stir in cucumber, chives and dill weed, cook just until hot through, 3-5 minutes. season to taste with salt and lime juice.   Use on halibut, cod, salmon, red snapper, or swordfish.

Reserve half of marinade

To cook:  

Use half to marinate fish for 30-60 mins. Save other half for garnish.  

When ready to grill, remove fish from marinade, cook on medium for 10 mins/side for swordfish. Brush with used marinade while cooking.  

To serve:  

Arrange fish on platter. Top with reserved marinade, sprigs of fresh dill and some lime.Teri's Adaptation (Originally from the "Gas Cooking" Weber Cooking Manual)

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

I got this recipe from my newest food bible, The Barefoot Contessa at Home. I'm in (((LOVE))) with that book. It makes cooking so easy, delicious and approachable -- something so many others don't seem to be able to manage. She is my hero. And here is a story to go with the recipe, (because what is a recipe without something fun to go along with it?).


A few weekends ago I was out at a lovely little shop in Sagaponack (the Hamptons, Long Island) called Loaves and Fishes.   This is a wonderful place known to the locals and tourists as well where, when you walk in and the screen door slams behind you, you are transported to the near side of heaven.  There I was, very provincially oogling the $75 per pound pink and white lobster salad (oh yes indeed it was exactly that price and 2/3 gone already at 11 a.m. even in this "bad" economy),  salivating over the golden curried chicken salad and inhaling the aroma of the endless array of savory and sweet tarts...when in came Ms. Ina Garten herself, the guru of all things delightfully, sinfully and butterfully delicious. Movie stars and rock stars don't impress me, but people who can cook are aces in my book.  I was duly affected and, while I managed to contain my enthusiasm and didn't follow her around taking notes on her purchases, her appearance at Loaves and Fishes immediately moved it to the top of the charts for me. (Yes, I'd heard she shops there but didn't quite believe it til I saw it with my own two eyes. And no, I'd never pay $75/lb for lobster salad, but Loaves and Fishes doesn't need me for that. Plenty of others will and do.)


Thus, Ms. Garten's concoction to turn even the most reluctant cruciferous eater into a believer:


1 large head cauliflower
3 Tablespoons good olive oil (You can be the judge of goodness. I think the greener it is the better.)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (2 oz.)
1 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese (2 oz.)


preheat oven to 350 degrees


Remove the outer green leaves from the cauliflower and cut the head into florets, discarding the stems.  Place the florets on a sheet pan. (I use the kind with 1-inch sides) Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Toss well.  Bake for 30 minutes, tossing once, until the cauliflower is tender and starts to brown.  Sprinkle with the parmesan and gruyere and bake for 1-2 more minutes, just until the cheese melts. (Really important not to walk away right now. Stay and watch or it will burn and you ruin the whole deal. I speak from experience as I am a big walker awayer.)  Season to taste and serve hot or warm.

Melissa's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I asked my friend Melissa for the recipe to make her delicious chocolate chip cookies. She not only gave it to me, but she gave me baking instructions in such a way that I was able to make them perfectly. That's what I need -- tell me exactly what to do and I'll get it right. And now I share the recipe with you.  I guarantee that if you follow these directions you'll get crispy edges, chewy centers, and  perfectly delicious cookies.

Melissa’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

-Leave the butter out for at leat 30 minutes to get it to room temp before starting - and the eggs, too, should be room temp.

-preheat oven to 375

-Cream 2 sticks of butter

with 3/4 cups white sugar and

3/4 cups of light brown sugar

mix in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment (if you have one) or a regular mixer

-beat it until it's creamy and light

 Add in sugars and 1 tsp vanilla until light and fluffy

add 2 eggs, one at a time.

While that's beating, combine

2 1/4 cups flour with 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt

turn your mixer down to low and

slowly add the flour mixture (dry ingredients)

and the the bag of chips (and anything else you want like nuts, etc.)

and stop mixing as soon as everything is incorporated

and then using a tsp scoop out blobs and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet, 3 or 4 across

cook for 9 - 11 minutes until slightly brown on edges

and then take out, put on cooling rack and

Voila!

the perfect cookie.  It is, absolutely.