Comfort Food: Risotto with Sausage and Mushroom

09. August 2011 · 16 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory, Side dishes · Tags: , , ,

Comfort food is such a wonderful idea. Food that seeks to elicit memories of times when you were young, happy, and carefree.  Or maybe just food that warms you up after a cold winter day. I think risotto falls into the latter category since I don’t remember my mom making it all that often when I was a kid.

Unfortunately, try as you might, comfort food doesn’t always make you comfortable.


Case in point: Nate threw his back out a few weeks ago. I felt so helpless in this situation. I pride myself on being a great girlfriend and love taking care of people, but there was absolutely nothing I could do to ease his pain. I catered to his every whim (when I was home), bringing him food and water, but nothing could really make him feel better except time.

So, I did the next best thing that I knew how: I cooked.


I wanted to make something easy for him to eat, but delicious. This satisfied on both accounts. And I think it may have made him forget about his back for at least the first few bites ;)


Sausage and Mushroom Risotto
From Bon Appetit (8/01)

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Makes 8 1st course servings

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb Italian sweet sausage, casings removed, crumbled into 1/2-in pieces (I used turkey sausage)
8 oz. portobello mushrooms, stemmed, dark gills scraped out, caps diced
10 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, diced
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 cups Madeira (or Sherry)
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups arborio rice or other medium grain rice (about 13 oz)
1 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over med-hi heat. Add sausage and saute until beginning to brown, about 3 min. Add all mushrooms, thyme and oregano and suate until mushrooms are tender, about 10 min.

Add 1/2 cup Madeira; boil until almost absorbed, about 1 min. Set aside.

Bring stock to simmer in large saucepan; remove from heat and cover to keep hot.

Melt butter in heavy large pot over med-hi heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent, about 5 min.

Add rice; stir 2 min. Add remaining 1 cup Madeira; simmer until absorbed, about 2 min. Add 1 cup hot stock; simmer until almost absorbed, stirring often, about 3 min.

Continue to cook until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, adding more stock by cupfuls, stirring often and allowing most stock to be absorbed before adding more, about 25 min.

Stir in sausage mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl. Pass cheese separately.

A Cold Summer Meal- Tuna Pasta Salad

25. July 2011 · 24 comments · Categories: Brunch, cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory · Tags: , , , , ,

I check out tons of blogs on a daily basis, both for enjoyment, and to get recipe inspiration. You can see the blogs I follow regularly under my Blogs I Follow Tab at the top of the page.

In my blog surfing, I often come across blogs I’ve never seen before that I absolutely love. Anyway, the other day I was doing my reading and stumbled upon a blog called Pass the Sushi and was immediately drawn to the Creamy Chicken and Pasta Salad recipe she had posted that she got from Food Network Magazine.


For some reason when I looked at it, I immediately got a craving for a tuna noodle pasta salad. I guess that’s the last time I’ve had small noodles like she used in a pasta salad. Also, I’m not a huge fan of chicken, or cooking it, so I thought canned tuna was the perfect alternative. 

I slightly altered the recipe to make it a little more tangy, and it totally hit the spot! It’s perfect for these hot summer nights when you just want something cold to eat.


Tuna Pasta Salad
Adapted Food Network magazine

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Serves 5-7

Ingredients:

10 ounces tubetti or other small tube-shaped pasta1 1/4 cups 2% Greek yogurt (or mix of 2% and 0%)
1/2 cup light mayo
1/4 cup water
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1 Tbs chopped fresh chives or scallions
2 tsp salt
2 5-oz cans chunk light tuna in water, drained
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise, then each piece halved lengthwise again (i.e. cut into 1/8ths), then seeded and diced
Freshly ground black pepper
8 cups mesclun greens
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.

Meanwhile, whisk the yogurt, mayonnaise, 1/4 cup water, the vinegar, mustard, dill, chives, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the celery and cucumber to the dressing and gently stir to combine. Dump in the drained tuna, breaking up if there are big chunks, and stir to combine

Shake the excess water from the pasta and add it to the tuna salad. Season with pepper and toss. Serve over greens with cranberries sprinkled on top.

Farfalle with Zucchini, Tomato and Basil

21. July 2011 · 40 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory, vegetarian · Tags: , , , , , ,

So what do you do when you have basil left over even though you already made 3 batches of pesto, one of which went into your Pesto Potato Salad? You look for other basil recipes, of course! Because you just can’t have too much basil.

Now I know there are cilantro haters out there, but do basil haters exist?  That would be weird. That’s like saying you don’t like chocolate.

Basil is such a quintessentially summer herb. Whenever it’s in the kitchen, the aroma perfumes my whole apartment. I just want to bury my face in it and inhale.

I’m not sure if it’s because it smells so good or because I associate childhood memories with the smells. Don’t you love when you get a whiff of something and it immediately transports you back to another time (hopefully a good one)? Smell memories are the best kind.

Anyway, when I had that leftover basil, one recipe immediately came to mind. It’s one that my mom used to make when she did a little catering on the side. It’s an easy, fresh summer meal, and it’s SO good.

The base is a sauce that’s made from soft goat cheese that melts and coats all the pasta and veggies. It’s heavenly. Please make this for dinner this week.

The recipe is below. You’re welcome.


Farfalle with Zucchini, Tomato and Basil
Taken from Mom’s recipe box :)

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Serves 4

Ingredients:
10 oz. Farfalle
2 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise
1/4 cup olive oil
5 oz. Robiola or other mild, soft goat chesse, cut in pieces
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, diced
1.4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic

1.  Cook farfalle al dente. Drain, rserving 1/2 cup cookin water.

2. In skillet, saute zucchini in oil on med-high, stirring til golden on edges. Salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta, stir and cook 3 min.

3. Remove skillet from heat, stir in cheese and as much pasta water as necessary to form a sauce.

4. Stir in tomato and basil. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve immediately.

*Note: If you will be saving some for leftovers, save some of the pasta water too, as it thickens in the fridge.

Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish on Mixed Greens

18. July 2011 · 40 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory · Tags: , ,

You know, it is generally recommended to eat 2-3 servings of fish per week. Do you eat that much? I certainly don’t.

It’s not that I don’t like fish…I like most of it, but I just never think to get it when I’m at the grocery store. It’s stupid, really, considering fish meals are the quickest ones of all, since it takes so little time to cook it.

So when I was looking through my recipes the other day, I went straight for the fish section.

I should tell you that I have inherited my mom’s recipe boxes with all of the recipes she has compiled over the years. It contains both the ones we all know and love from growing up, as well as others that haven’t even been tested yet. I gained this vast collection of recipes when my mom decided to neaten things up by photocopying all of the recipes and putting them in a binder instead. I’m not sure why she did that, but I’m thankful because I got the hand-me-downs :)

When I told my mom that I made this recipe and how good it was, she said that the last time she cooked it was during one of our summers in Martha’s Vineyard. While I don’t remember her making that particular meal, I can just feel us all sitting out on the deck in the cool,  summer evening air, enjoying another of my mom’s delicious home-cooked meals.


Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish on Mixed Greens
Taken from Mom’s recipe box :)

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Serves 2

Ingredients:
1/4 cup cornmeal
10-12 oz. Catfish, in 1″ hunks
2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon peel
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

3 cups mixed greens
1/2 cup thin sliced sweet onion

1. Put cornmeal in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Rinse catfish and shake off extra water- do not pat dry. Toss fish in cornmeal until well-coated.

2. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in large non-stick skillet over med-hi heat. Add fish and cook till golden, turning, about 6 min. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

3. Add 1/2 Tbsp oil, lemon juince and peel, honey an dmustard to skillet. Whisk 30 sec till combined.

4. Combine lettuce and onions in bowl. Add dressing and toss. Divide between 2 plates. Top with fish.

Picnic-Perfect Pesto Potato Salad

15. July 2011 · 25 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory, Side dishes, vegetarian · Tags: , , ,

How’d you like that title for alliteration? ;) The reason I say that it’s perfect for picnics or outdoor bbqs is because there’s no mayonaisse in this salad. Which means no spoiling and no making partygoers sick. I think that’s a win-win for everyone.

Plus, I’m pretty sure I haven’t met a person who doesn’t eat pesto. This is a sophisticated take on the typical potato salad. It contains toasted pine nuts mixed in with the taters and sauce.

So how did I decide to make this recipe? Well, let me tell you a little story. It starts like this:

Grocery shopping in New York City completely sucks. The markets are small, with limited supplies and the prices are through the roof. This is the main reason that Nate loves to shop at Trader Joe’s.

TJ’s is great for some things, but for produce it’s really not the best. Since we just moved and have to completely restock our fridge, I suggested we take a walk over to the West Side and get some stuff at TJs and then go next door to Fairway.

I had heard that Fairway is pretty much the best supermarket in Manhattan. It’s large with competitive prices. So this weekend we packed up our shopping bags and headed over.

I have to say that their produce selection far surpassed any other market in NYC. While there, I noticed a bounty of basil. They were selling a gigantic bunch for under $2! Compared to the little package at the other markets for like $4, I was thrilled.

Needless to say, pesto was on my mind.

Now, if you’re going to make the effort to haul out the food processor for this recipe, you should definitely double or triple the amount of pesto you make. I’m sure you know that pesto can be enjoyed many ways, so it’s always good to have some around. I tripled the pesto part of the recipe so I could have some on hand for pasta when I’m feeling lazy later in the week.

I <3 basil.

This dish is best served at room temp but could easily be served cold as well. You should definitely make it for your next summer party.


Potato Salad with Pine Nuts and Pesto
Source unknown

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Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
4 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 lb boiling potatoes
salt and pepper

Make pesto- put basil leaves, 2 Tbsp pine nuts, oil, cheese and garlic in blender. Puree.

Steam potatoes, cut in 3/4″ pieces. Place in bowl, toss with pesto while still warm.

Add rest of pine nuts, season with salt and pepper.

Serve room temperature.

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