More mushroom risotto

I was craving mushrooms again and found this recipe on Cooking Light’s website and decided to give it a try. Very glad Tyler was around to assist me. He chopped everything while I stir, stir, stirred the risotto. This risotto actually tastes very rich and creamy. I used 3 kinds of mushrooms: portabella, baby bella, and white mushrooms. It could use a little more…something. I dunno what. It wasn’t bland per se, but I was hoping for more flavor and it was a bit dull. Maybe the wine wasn’t bold enough? Not sure, but it was certainly not a bad recipe by any means!

Smoked-Gouda Risotto with Spinach and Mushrooms
(adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

Risotto:
2 cups water
2 (16-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup chopped shallots
2 cups Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda cheese (I only used 4 oz)
5 cups chopped spinach (about 5 ounces)

Mushrooms:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 3 1/2 ounces) (used portobello instead)
2 cups sliced button mushrooms (about 1/2 pound)
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (about 1/2 pound)
2 cups sliced oyster mushrooms (about 3 1/2 ounces) (did not use these)
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Rosemary sprigs (optional)

Preparation:

To prepare risotto, combine water and broth; set aside. Melt butter in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup shallots; cover and cook 2 minutes. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, uncovered, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/2 cup wine; cook 30 seconds or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in Gouda; cook just until melted. Stir in spinach; cook just until spinach is wilted.

To prepare mushrooms, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add 1/3 cup shallots, 1/4 cup wine, chopped thyme, chopped rosemary, and minced garlic, and sauté 1 minute or until wine is absorbed. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Divide risotto evenly among 6 bowls; top with mushroom mixture, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

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All good things…

Well the time has come, I am hanging up my Tuesdays with Dorie apron. I am going back to school for my Masters in Social Work and will have a busy schedule with classes and practicum, and no co-workers to pawn my treats off to anymore! I have really enjoyed the TWD group and will continue to explore recipes in Dorie’s wonderful cookbook, just at a slower pace! I will definitely still keep up with many of my favorite TWD food blog friends though, I can’t wait to see your creations! Thanks for all the love and comments during my time with the group! Happy baking!

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The Welcome Wagon

In the last 3 weeks we’ve had two new neighbors move into our apartment building. We were SO HAPPY that the old upstairs neighbor moved out since he frequently kept us up late at night with his drunken arguments and *ahem* other noisy activities. We were home and able to promptly greet our new neighbors and they all seem really nice. Toby is attempting to befriend his new dog neighbor but Pounce hasn’t shown much interest in him. We will probably be in this apartment for at least 2 more years so in an effort to build a good relationship with the new neighbors I decided to bake them something. I’d bookmarked this recipe a few weeks ago since my former favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe has failed me ever since we moved back to Kansas (seriously they come out as hard rocks now, not the wonderful chewy cookies I grew to love when we lived in D.C.!) These cookies were great and the neighbors all had good things to say about them!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Baking Illustrated, as seen on Brown Eyed Baker’s blog)

Makes about 18 large cookies (I got 3 dozen medium sized cookies)

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

4. Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.

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Gnocchi with Spinach and Sausage

This is another recipe that was recommended to me in my SOS post a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to Holly for recommending it! We’ve only had gnocchi once before and that was at a restaurant.  The texture definitely takes some getting used to. It’s essentially a small dumpling made out of potato. You could easily sub pasta for the gnocchi in this recipe, which I may do next time to make it a cheaper meal. I found this gnocchi in the refrigerated fine cheeses section of our grocery store. This was a quick and tasty meal and the leftovers were good too. Thanks again Holly!

Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach (adapted from Real Simple)

2 9-ounce packages refrigerated gnocchi or one 17.5-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed (I used Italian turkey sausage)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 5-ounce bag baby spinach
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Parmesan, plus more for garnishing

Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, tossing frequently, until the spinach wilts, about 3 minutes. Add the drained gnocchi, the reserved cooking liquid, and the Parmesan and toss. Divide among individual bowls and sprinkle with additional Parmesan.

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Our Hot Date: Cooking Class!

For Christmas last year Tyler and I received gift certificates to the Kansas City Culinary Center. Six months later and we finally used them! We were desperate for a night out, so we dropped the puppy off with some friends willing to pug sit and headed off to our class.

We signed up for a hands-on course for couples that would teach us how to make asian dishes such as egg drop soup and sushi. Also on the menu, a salad with homemade miso-sesame vinaigrette, a shrimp stir fry, and for dessert, a smoothie made of a mixture of avocados and chocolate. Executive Chef Matt Chatfield walked us through all the steps and kept the class moving and laughing. We had a great time and can’t wait to take another course!

Chef Matt demonstrating how to make sushi.

Tyler rolling our sushi

Our beautiful California Rolls!

Delicious miso-sesame dressing (and we got to bring home the leftovers, woohoo!)

Tyler mixing up the stir-fry

The main course! Stir-fry with shrimp and asian noodles.

Not pictured: the egg drop soup and the interesting chocolate-avocado smoothie. It wasn’t bad, just different!  I totally forgot to take photos of those two for some reason!

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Cooking Club: Spanish Tapas!

For this month’s Cooking Club we gathered at Nemmie’s adorable little house to make some Spanish Tapas. She provided us with appetizers to snack on including various cheeses: Drunken Goat, San Simon, and Manchego with Rosemary. As well as some Spanish chorizo and Serrano ham. And these really yummy olives, don’t know the name but they were delish! We drank white wine sangria while we made a total mess of her kitchen and after a couple hours of cooking and chatting we sat down to dine on our creations! Thanks so much for hosting Nemmie, we all had a great time and got to try our hands at some new recipes and cooking techniques!

Portabella Bruschetta with Rosemary Aioli (from Epicurious)

fitting the mushrooms, caramelized onions (yum!!!), arugula, roasted red pepper/basil mix, and special sauce on one little piece of bread is quite the challenge but so worth it!

assembled and ready to be devoured

Patatas Bravas (from Kirsten’s Home Cooking)

Leslie chopping the potatoes

takes awhile to pan fry them but they are worth the wait! Dipping sauce is a mixture of onions, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and other good stuff.

Oven Roasted Shrimp with Toasted Garlic and Red Chili Oil (from foodnetwork.com, a Bobby Flay recipe)

Jules and Branlyn prepping the shrimp. Trish keeping them entertained.

spicy and garlicy and oh so good! Definitely a crowd pleaser

and I couldn’t really tell ya what Nemmie is doing in this photo

For dessert I brought mini Florida pies and French chocolate raspberry brownies. Not Spanish but delicious nonetheless!

I did not capture photos of everyone, sorry Drewie and Nikki! I will get up in your face with the camera next time.

Last month’s Cooking Club: Risotto

Up next month: No clue, we need to get to brainstorming!

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Summer Garden Pasta

Thanks so much to everyone who answered my cry for help with simple summer recipe suggestions. I’m proud to say that we’ve only eaten at Chick-fil-a once in the last 3 weeks I’ve been cooking more and that makes both Tyler and I very happy. This pasta recipe was a great use for my basil. I only got small leaves off my plant this year, not sure what went wrong, maybe the pot was too small? Maybe it was the kind of basil that doesn’t produce tall plants and big leaves? It still tastes like basil so whatever! I marinated the tomatoes overnight and then just threw it all together at dinner the next day, very delicious, and makes a great cold leftover pasta salad. This is an Ina Garten recipe, recommended to me by Megan, thanks so much for coming to the rescue!

Summer Garden Pasta (adapted from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home)

Ingredients:

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
good olive oil
1 TB minced garlic (6 cloves)
9 large basil leaves, julienned, plus more for serving
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound dried angel hair pasta
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (she
suggests grinding cheese in a food processor fitted with a metal
blade, instead of grating – gives it a nice texture)

Directions:

Combine cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, red
pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper in a large bowl. Cover
with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature for about 4
hours.

Just before you’re ready to serve, bring a large pot of water with a
splash of olive oil and 2 TB salt to a boil and add the pasta. Cook al
dente according to package directions (about 2-3 minutes). Drain pasta
well and add to the bowl with the cherry tomatoes. Add the cheese and
some extra fresh basil leaves and toss well. Serve in big bowls with
extra cheese on each serving.

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TWD: chocolate pudding

Thanks for being patient waiting for my full write up! I was relieved to see that Melissa had chosen chocolate pudding for our TWD challenge this week. I just wanted something easy, lol. I’m trying to get back in the groove in the kitchen and focus on getting actual nutritious meals on the table so having more time to prepare meals and not needing to set aside big chunks of time to bake was a blessing this week. When I think pudding I think Jello so it was fun to try making it from scratch. There was definitely a taste and texture difference but I loved it. I used all bittersweet chocolate, next time I might lighten it up, I really prefer milk chocolate (I know, sacrilege!) I substituted 2% milk for whole and I thought it was really tasty, although, again, sacrilege to some! I used a blender to mix everything up since I only have a 3 cup food processor. The only bad part in the whole process was I burnt myself on the hot pudding Ouch!

For presentation, I was wracking my mind trying to think of something cute to put the pudding in, then remembered I had these colorful teacups and plates I got as a wedding gift but have never used since we don’t drink coffee OR tea. They were perfect! Tyler rated this recipe a 7, but he said he prefers just the dark chocolate by itself, lol! 7 is not bad though, but pudding just isn’t up there on our list of favorite desserts. I do think Dorie created another winner though!

To check out other pudding creations go to the blogroll, hey maybe even sign up for TWD yourself!

Also Dorie has been nice enough to post this recipe online already, so you can see it here.

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The fish that made me eat my words

Well I was skeptical when my dad gave us some trout from a recent fishing trip.  Mostly since they still had the heads on and the bones in and…ick.  I was not too sure about it.  So it sat in the freezer until I knew we just couldn’t ignore it anymore and Tyler set out to make it a meal for us.  I swore I wouldn’t eat it and that if he didn’t get the fish skin and bones and nastiness out of our apartment ASAP I would freak out.  What I didn’t expect was that it would taste so good.  That’s right, I took a bite…and then another…and then I finished off the fillet.   I did refuse to enter the kitchen until he cleaned up the nastiness and got the head out of my sight but my first experience eating trout really wasn’t bad.  In fact I would willingly eat it again, as long as there are no fish heads to be seen!  Tyler did a great job filleting the fish (with the help of an instructional video on YouTube!)  It didn’t taste that different than tilapia.

Baked Trout (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

4 trout fillets
2 T olive oil
1T + 1t garlic salt
2t ground black pepper
2 lemons, sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Rinse fish, and pat dry.
2. Rub fillets with olive oil, and season with garlic salt and black pepper. Place each fillet on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Squeeze the juice from the ends of the lemons over the fish. Arrange lemon slices on top of fillets. Carefully seal all edges of the foil to form enclosed packets. Place packets on baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of fish. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork.

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TWD: Double Crusted Blueberry Pie

I was happy to see that blueberry pie was the chosen recipe for this week. Around the 4th of July the grocery stores around here are PACKED with fresh blueberries and they are usually on sale too. I attribute it to the flag cake phenomena. Everyone makes flag cakes for the 4th of July, either in jello or with actual cake. I stocked up on blueberries and raspberries over the last week or so and froze many of them for later use. I guess I should thank the flag cake craze that will not die for the great deals on fruit! I set out to make this pie with a bit of anxiety since, you know, it involves making a pie crust from scratch. Me and pie crusts do not have a good track record. I usually end up throwing things and cursing, a lot. Then I go out and buy pre-made crusts and get on with it. This time I had the pre-made crusts in the freezer, waiting for me in case of disaster, but I was hopeful that I would not need them.

Sure enough, they are still in the freezer and I actually had a bit of success with Dorie’s crust recipe! I don’t have a large food processor (don’t really have room for one in our tiny kitchen but someday hopefully) so I used my pastry blender to make the dough. From looking at other people’s pictures of their dough I don’t think I blended mine enough, or maybe I didn’t add enough water? There were still some big, visible chunks of butter in it and the dough was kinda crumbling, especially around the edges. I rolled it out quickly, between pieces of saran wrap (this is where I’ve gone wrong before, when the dough gets warm and sticky) and plopped it in the pie pan. I didn’t roll it out enough for there to be much dough hanging over, so I didn’t really get to do the whole crimp the crust thing, but I sealed it the best I could and only a little blueberry juice seeped out during baking. I learned from my mistake with the cobbler to put the pie plate on a cookie sheet like Dorie says!

End result? A fantastic pie! I loved the crust (always my favorite part of a pie), and the blueberry with a hint of lemon filling was delicious. The real test was what Tyler thought, and he took one bite and rated it a 9, although he said it is not AS good as his mom’s blueberry pie recipe (I guess that one gets a 9.5?) I preferred this pie dough recipe to others I’ve tried, even though it does contain the evil that is shortening. I overlooked that since it was easier to roll out than other crusts I’ve attempted. I will use this crust again (maybe on a peach pie since those are coming into season now!) and blend it longer and with more water in hopes it is not so crumbly.

Thanks to Amy for selecting this recipe. Head on over to her blog to view the recipe and check out the blogroll to see what other TWD bloggers thought of Dorie’s blueberry pie!

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