Harissa Sauce made with Spinach and Cilantro

This sauce is amazing.  It's refreshing and brings new life to the old dinner menu.  I think you would agree with me that this is a "go to" sauce.  It's impressive because it is versatile and can adorn virtually any meat, vegetable or bread.  Usually pesto is my "go to" sauce, but this has become a favorite.

If you have been reading this blog, by now, you probably understand that I really love to cook all types of food from varying cultures.  I'm facinated by the history of food, the preparation, the cultural impact and the different tastes.  One of the most relaxing things for me is to come home from work, turn on music that matches the dinner theme and just cook up a great meal.  The joy this brings me is only enhanced when I am joined by others in my kitchen who share my passion.  I hope some of these recipes inspire you too. 

Ingredients
2 C. fresh spinach, washed
1 C. fresh cilantro, washed
1 serrano chile, seeded
1 T. lemon juice
1 large clove garlic
1 t. coriander
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 C. olive oil


Preparation
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth consistency.  Store in plastic container in the fridge until ready to use.  I actually double the recipe and freeze half for quick and delicious weeknight meals.  Using a spoon, spread sauce on Salmon, cod, halibut, steak, bread, chicken or vegetables and cook as you normally would. 

Barbequed Greek Chicken Skewers

Barbequed Greek Chicken Skewers

I made this chicken dish earlier this summer and have made it numerous times since.  This recipe was sort of created by accident.  I have been craving greek food. I kept seeing ads for Greek Yogurt and became very curious about how I could use it in a recipe or maybe I just wanted to buy it because the package looked cool.  Whatever the reason, it came home with me.  I think it tastes horrible by itself, but it's a wonderful tenderizer.  I also happen to love fried chicken marinated in buttermilk.  Wouldn't it be great if we could eat fried chicken every day?  Ok...okaaaay maybe the wasteline doesn't need it, but this recipe accomplished a lot of my cravings in one healthy recipe.  If you have leftovers, try rolling it in a tortilla with cream cheese and crunchy lettuce for lunch the next day.

Note:  You can buy Garam Masala in any specialty spice store.  Unless your grocer is really something, chances are they probably don't carry it.  It's worth every penny. 

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat and cut into strips
2 C. plain, greek yogurt
1/2 red onion, chopped medium
1/2 C. cilantro
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C. olive oil
1 T. lime juice
1 T. garam masala
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1/2 t. powdered ginger or 1 inch grated fresh ginger

Preparation
Place all ingredients in a ziplock bag.  Make sure all the air is out.  Marinate the chicken in the yogurt sauce over night.  Assemble chicken on skewers that have been soaked in water for at least an hour.  Prepare barbeque grill and place chicken skewers on grill with skewer ends hanging over the edge so they don't burn.  Grill for about 4 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the other.  Enjoy hot.

These are very good as little appetizers too.  Use toothpicks, but don't put them on the grill.  Just cut the chicken up smaller and have toothpicks on the side for your guests to use.  Mmmm!

Chicken Curry with Lime and Tomatoes

Kye thar hin

Chicken Curry with Lime and Tomatoes

This week was a dandy.  I mean that with every possible amount of sarcasm.  Sometimes one feels overwrought with the problems of the world, but we must remember, it's always worse somewhere.  I love to cook because its an outlet of artistic expression, its creative and amongst many other reasons, it is the only thing I really have control over.  When the week is tough, there's always cooking.

I get to the end of most weeks and I usually can't remember how they started.  I chose to leave it all behind me and left work to take the kids to the park and be a kid with them.  We even took the car through the car wash for fun.  After making them dinner and getting them all settled, I opened a cookbook my sister got me for Christmas titled Curry Cuisine and opened it to this malaysian recipe.  I poured a glass of one of my absolute favorite wines, a Kestrel 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, turned on some low groovy music and got down to cooking this spicy and delicious meal.  There is something to say for taking your time and enjoying the experience.

This recipe comes out of the book Curry Cuisine, but I did change it to suit my taste.  I added the bell peppers, made substitutes for the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and Balachaung and left out the chicken thighs.  If you happen to have these things on hand use them.  If not, here is your recipe:

Kye thar hin

Ingredients

2 T. peanut oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 sliced red bell pepper

1 sliced orange bell pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. ground tumeric

1 T. ground coriander

1 dash cinnamon

1 T. lemon zest

1 T. lime zest

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut lengthwise and again through the center

1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes

3 T. lime juice

1 1/2 t. red chili sauce like Sambal Olek

1 T. fish sauce

1/4 C. hot water

1 t. sesame oil

chopped cilantro

3 T. roasted peanuts

4 C. cooked jasmine rice

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour the peanut oil in a skillet and when very hot, add onions, garlic and peppers and stir fry for about three minutes.  Add the tumeric, corriander, cinnamon, lemon and lime zests and chicken pieces.  Stir fry for about 6 to 8 minutes until all your ingredients are beautifully colored and slightly browned.

Add the tomatoes, lime juice, chili sauce, and fish sauce.  Stir and cover the pan to simmer for three minutes.  Uncover and stir in 1/4 cup of hot water and sesame oil.

 

Transfer skillet contents to oven safe casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and spoon over hot prepared rice.  Garnish with cilantro and peanuts. 

Serve with your favorite wine!

Mustard Crusted Pork Roast with Savory Winter Root Vegetables

Mustard Crusted Pork Roast

with Savory Winter Root Vegetables

Early Saturday morning, I got out of bed and told myself, "If you go to the store now, you won't have to do anything else this entire three day weekend."  I poured a cup of coffee, slipped on my tennis shoes and vest, put my hair in a pony tail and out the door I went into the cool, clear morning to grocery shop.  The kids stayed home with my husband.

Going without the kids somehow is so much easier.  For one,  I don't have to carry my son literally all over the store because he vehemently refuses to ride in the cart, or walk, which is exhausting.  I know there is a toddler seat in every cart, always absent of my son's behind, but now it's a holder for the vegetables and fruit Im purchasing. And two, my daughter is always picking up things I would never buy and putting them in the cart only to be taken back out and put back on the shelf when she's not looking.  Isn't that what all parents do, carry one around with muscles that don't exist and somehow with a free hand, put back the mish mash of collectibles accumulated along your weary way by the other one while trying to remember your mental grocery list?  And finally, when you get to the check out, one of them is squeezing all the candy bars and putting them back on the shelf and the other one is begging you for your secret debit card password because THEY want to DO IT!  It's truly the gameshow equivalent, if not the gameshow itself.  Somewhere, somehow, there's got to be fabulous cash and prizes for making it through the checkout.  Well, today was different.  Today was the day that I was free from the bonds of motherly bliss of being a junglejim with a toddler necklace and using the cart like a crutch to just get one more last minute item before staggering to that perfect place in line only to get behind the junk food guy with the short attention span and finding out it's the checkers second day and they are going to have trouble with your coupons.  Today is the day I found my mind and bought a pork roast.

What a lovely idea.  When you are this happy to buy a pork roast, you either love food or you need to have more excitement in your life.  This wasn't just any pork roast.  It came without seasonings or injected color.  There were no black specks in the wrapper that were, at one time, herbs.  There was no advertisement about an inclusive "Flav-O-Pac." It was just a plain fresh, innocent pork roast with no adulteration....yet.  He was a beauty and he was cheap!  This date was looking better and better.  The options were endless.  It made me so happy.  I hope you are this happy when you buy your pork roast.  You should be.  I'm about to share with you one of the best pork roast recipes of ALL TIME.  Here we go.

Mustard Crusted Pork Roast with Savory Winter Root Vegetables

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients
1 2 or 3 pound pork roast, unadulterated
1/4 C. grainy dijon mustard
1/4 C. dijon mustard
1/2 C. soy sauce
1 T. black pepper, divided
2 C. Panko or bread crumbs
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 carrots, cut into sections
2 parsnips, cut into sections
10 baby red potatoes or 2 large cut into chunks
1 red onion, cut into eighths
1 t. dried thyme
1 t. salt
1 C. chicken broth
1 C. white wine

Directions

Take your beautiful pork roast out of the packaging.  Wash and pat dry (dry!).  Combine mustards, soy sauce, garlic and 1 t. pepper in small bowl and whisk to combined.  Slather mixture on pork roast until thoroughly coated.  Roll pork roast in panko or bread crumbs.  Set aside.

Slice all  your vegetables and put them in the bottom of a dutch oven pan and cover them with a few swirls of olive oil, thyme, salt and the remaining pepper.  Using your hands, toss together to thoroughly coat.

Place the breaded pork roast on top of vegetables in your dutch oven and lightly swirl with olive oil over the top.

Place roast in the oven and cook for about two hours or until your roast registers 140 to 150 degrees.  Take pot out of the oven and carefully removing the roast, set it on a cutting board to rest.  Turn the oven up to 425 degrees and put the vegetables back in for about 15 minutes.  Carefully remove vegetables from pot into serving dish.  There should be some tasty morsels in the bottom of your pot.  Place pot on stovetop and turn up the heat to medium high.  Pour in your chicken broth and wine.  Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer scraping sides and bottom to incorporate all the flavors and reduce to about 3/4 cup.  Add pepper as desired.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Plate your roast with your vegetables and drizzle sauce over the top.  This roast is so simple and is a great idea if you are serving it to a group of people.  But even if you are just making it for you and your sweet one, they will be eating right out of your hand!  They will love your roast as much as you do!

Enjoy!

Steak avec sauce au poivre et de Madère / Steak with Madeira Peppercorn Sauce

Steak avec sauce au poivre et de Madère  / 

Steak with Madeira Peppercorn Sauce

What is Valentine's Day without a delicious steak?   A steak is good just by itself with a little salt and pepper, but if you are aiming to do something special and surprise your sweet one, this recipe may be for you!

One of my Dinner Club gals, Tracy, and I were discussing good steak recipes and she suggested a couple.  One had green peppercorns in a brine.  Sounded excellent.  The only problem was finding green peppercorns in a brine.  Standing in the aisles of my local grociers, I saw every different kind of pepper, but green was not one of them.  I even asked for help only to be met with looks of confusion and blank stares.  Is there somebody out there who can tell me where they sell green peppercorns in a brine?  I bet I can find them on line.  You can find anything on line.  I'll look later.  Even if I did order them on line, they weren't going to get to me by the time I was making this steak.  The other recipe was a beef tenderloin in a port sauce which also sounds amazing, but it calls for cognac.  I've used cognac in several beef recipes and I am a big fan.  So much so, I'm fresh out!  In times like this, you make up your own recipe!  Here's mine:

Steak avec sauce au poivre et de Madère

Ingredients

2 steaks, preferably tender, like a strip steak

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 t. canola oil

1/4 C. finely chopped shallot

1/4 C. Madeira wine*

2/3 C. beef broth

1 T. whole black peppercorns

1 t. butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bring steaks to room temperature prior to cooking.  Salt and pepper your steaks, both sides.  Place an oven safe skillet on stovetop and turn on high.  Add canola oil to skillet.  When skillet is hot, (Hot!, but not smoking), carefully add steaks to pan and sear on one side, then after about three minutes, flip over and cook about two to three more minutes.  Be careful to lay the side of the steak you expect to be the top when it's done cooking, face down first.  This is the side that will be face up when served.  When you are done searing, place steaks in oven in the same oven safe skillet they were cooked in.  Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes until desired doneness.  Remove steaks from oven and place on stovetop.  Using tongs, remove steaks from the skillet to rest on a plate nearby.  Get yourself a wooden spoon and get ready to make the sauce.   While the meat is resting, turn on your stove to medium high and add chopped shallots and peppercorns to the skillet, stirring for about two minutes.  Add madeira and beef broth, bring to boil, turn down the heat and stir while simmering until juices reduce.  This step does not take too long.  Add butter to skillet and use your spoon to work it through the sauce.  Plate steaks and pour sauce over each.  You're going to love this and your sweet one will too!

Cooks Note:  Please remember that Madeira contains alcohol which is flammable.  Please be careful when pouring it in your skillet especially if you have a gas range.

Crevettes Scampi Pâtes / Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Crevettes Scampi Pâtes or Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Pasta is on my list of romance food.  Last fall when I was researching my dinner club theme, I did some research on romantic food and was surprised that pasta did not show up in the top twenty most romantic foods list.  How can pasta not be romantic?  If it's good enough for Lady and The Tramp, it's good enough for me!

This recipe is inpired by a friend of mine.  Upon hearing the February food blog theme, one day she slyly informed me that when two shrimps oppose eachother, it forms a heart.  And so, it does.  So let me slyly inform you.  When serving up this dish to your sweetie, lay your shrimp on the bed of noodles and cozy them up together to form a heart.  If your sweetie is paying attention, then I'de say you're off to a good evening.

Ingredients

3 T. Olive oil

1/2 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp

4 cloves garlic

1/2 t; dried hot red pepper flakes

1/2 C. dry white wine

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 T. butter

2 handfuls of angel hair pasta or linguine

1/4 C. chopped parsley

Directions

When preparing your noodles, bring the water to a boil and salt it.  Add your pasta and cover with lid askew to let the steam out.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until hot and add shrimp.  Cook until shrimp is cooked through, about two or three minutes, turning once.  Transfer shrimp to a large pasta bowl.  Immediately add garlic, red pepper flakes, wine, salt and pepper to skillet and cook over high heat, stirring mixture for about a minute.  Add butter to skillet and stir until melted.  Turn off heat.  Add shrimp back to mixture.

When noodles are done, drain all water except one cup.  Add noodles to skillet with shrimp mixture and gently toss until noodles are coated.  Scoop noodles out into bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Serve warm.

Boss Meatball Sandwich

Boss Meatball Sandwich

Today is Saturday.  The kids and I went to the park and played in the leaves.   It was decided that we would take some home for art projects.  We also ran some errands.  During our excursion, my daughter got a charge out of the Christmas stuff that was out in stores already.  I love this time of year, but where has the year gone? 

Recently, one of my friends said to me, "...those Mob meatballs are Boss!"  He was referring to the Sicilian Meatballs  I had made earlier this year.  Fortunate enough to have some left over from a dinner party, I decided that a meatball sandwich sounded like a great lunch today.  These meatball sandwiches are very easy to make. If you do make them, promise me you will eat it piping hot with an ice cold beer.  Even on a crisp, cool fall day, these meatballs are 'boss'!  And without further adieu, I bring you the Boss Meatball Sandwich.

Ingredients

4 hoagy rolls, bagettes or hotdog buns

2 T butter

16 cooked meatballs in sauce (see recipe above)

4 slices of cheese, your choice

Directions

Heat meatballs until hot in microwave.  Turn your oven broiler to high.  Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Cut hoagy rolls lengthwise and lightly apply butter to cut side.  Lay them on the cookie sheet butter side up.  Broil for 3 minutes until lightly golden.  Remove from oven.  Using a spoon, place meatballs in a row on the bun and lay cheese over the top.  Leaving the sandwich "open face", place cookie sheet back in the oven and broil for two more minutes until cheese is melted and bun is golden brown.  Remove from oven and enjoy hot.   I used swiss cheese here, but you can use parmesan, swiss or white cheddar.

Slow Cooked Beef Roast with Mushroom and Onion Sauce

Slow Cooked Beef Roast with Mushroom and Onion Sauce

I'm going to have to warn you.  I love roasts.  This time of year is perfect for tender, juicy, succulent, cut with a fork, melt in your mouth, heartwarming roasts. 

A very long time ago, I made a roast for easter dinner.  I remember it being very dry and tough.  When I look back on it, I am embarrassed about the lack of culinary skill I had at the time and I'm thankful that it most likely wasn't a "memorable" meal and hopefully everyone forgot how horrible it was.  Thank goodness for lessons learned.  Since then, I have pursued learning more about roasts and with some help from my wonderfully talented aunt Adrienne, I have produced some of the most flavorful and tender roasts imaginable.   To me, a roast in the oven is one of the most welcoming aromas, but what's better, is to have one prepared for you after a long day.

This roast recipe can be made a day ahead of time.  After the cook time, the roast should fall apart.  Pulling the roast apart, covering it in a dish and allowing it to sit overnight in the sauce makes for a very tasty and inviting meal the next day.  Try it.  I guarantee you will be back for more.

Slow Cooked Beef Roast with Mushroom and Onion Sauce

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Ingredients
2 lb. Top Round or Chuck Beef Roast
salt & pepper
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1 t. thyme leaves
2 T. canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
16 oz. sliced mushrooms
8 C. beef broth
1 C. red wine (optional)
2 T. Flour

Directions
Prepare roast by massaging in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and thyme.  Add oil to dutch oven and turn heat to medium high.  When the temperature is up, sear roast on all sides until browned.  Remove roast from dutch oven and set aside.  Add onions and mushrooms and cook for three minutes.  Add roast back into pot and add beef broth and wine.  Cover with lid, bring to a simmer and then turn off the burner.  Place roast in oven for three hours.  Remove from oven. 

Sauce
Strain out four cups of broth and place it in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer, cooking for about 15 minutes uncovered.   During this reduction, take 3/4 cup of remaining broth from the dutch oven and pour it in a small bowl.  Add flour.  Carefully whisk in flour until combined.  Add flour mixture back in to the saucepan and continue to reduce until 2 1/2 C. remain.  Remove saucepan from heat.  Carefully scoop out mushrooms and onions with slotted spoon from roastpan and add them to the saucepan.  Set aside. 

Remove roast and pull apart into pieces.  Place in a shallow dish.  Pour mushroom and onion sauce over the top.   Serve hot.  If you are making this dish ahead of time, cover it with a lid and let cool for about 20 minutes.  Refrigerate overnight and reheat in oven or microwave the following day. 

Depending on size of roast, this meal can serve 4 to 6 people.

Marinated Autumn Pork Chops with Apple and Chipotle Broccolini

Marinated Autumn Pork Chops with Apple

and Chipotle Broccolini



Photo from De Jour Bistro
Bellingham, Washington



I recently went to dine one evening with friends.  There were five of us.  We all have stressful, busy lives and decided that too much time had gone since we had seen each other and we were long over due for some time to visit and catch up.  We decided to go to a restaurant in Bellingham that we all very much enjoy that's called De Jour Bistro and The Vines Wine Shop.  The whole restaurant is like one big wine room.  When we dine there, we like to reserve the actual wine room just off the kitchen.  Our hostess and restaurant owner, Becky knows our group and she is always very gracious and has a wonderful sense of humor.  The food served here is always fresh and seasonal.  It is inspired by local farmers so you know you are getting the best.  It's down to earth, homestyle cooking.  After our dinner, the taste and feel of our time together has lingered with me and I thought of making something that resembled that homestyle quality I admire so much about their food.  This is what I came up with.

Marinated Autumn Pork Chops with Apple

and Chipotle Broccolini

Ingredients

Marinade:

3 C. apple cider

2 C. water

2 t. salt

1/2 C. brown sugar

1 t. dried sage

1 t. pepper

1 t. cinnamon

4, 1 inch thick pork loin chops, trimmed of excess fat

Add all ingredients to a dish and mix until blended.   Add chops to marinade and refrigerate overnight.

Olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 apple, your choice, diced

1 C. chicken broth

1/4 C. Cooking sherry or a good, dry white wine

1/2 t. ground ginger

1 T. dijon mustard

1/4 C. whipping cream

Directions:

Remove chops, pat dry with paper towel and discard marinade.  Using a dutch oven over medium heat, add oil.  When hot, add marinated chops and sear on both sides.  This process usually takes about three minutes a side.  Remove to a plate.

To the dutch oven, add onion and saute quickly, about 2 minutes.  Add apple and saute for about three minutes.  Add broth, cooking sherry or wine and ginger.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and add dijon and whipping cream.  Add chops back in to the pot and cover with a lid.  Simmer for five minutes and turn off heat.  Pork should register at 150 degrees.  Remove pork.  Simmer remaining sauce for about five more minutes and remove from heat.  Spoon sauce over pork and serve.

Chipotle Broccolini

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 bunch broccolini

1 pinch dried chipotle flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Par cook broccolini in microwave for one minute.  In a saute pan big enough for the broccolini, bring olive oil up to high temp.  Add brocolini, chipotle flakes, salt and pepper and sear tossing them occassionally until they are crisp and appear slightly browned.   These are crunchy, sweet and wonderful.  The flavor is nutty, spicy and amazing.  I love these best served with traditional yukon mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

September Dinner Club - "Masquerade Theater"

September 2010 Dinner Club

“Masquerade Theater”

It's been nine years this month that my girlfriends and I have been participating in Dinner Club.  I chose to host September.  I usually have October because I love Halloween, but this year I thought I would give October up and try another month.  The host gets to pick their own theme and the rest of us are adventurous and usually exhibit good sportsmanship, so we just go with it and see what the evening brings.  My theme, "Masquerade Theater" just came to me.  I'll explain how it works.

I chose six genres; Action & Adventure, Romance, Horror, Drama, Comedy and Foreign.  I wrote them all on separate pieces of paper.  Then I wrote down all the components of the dinner: Appetizer, Entree, Salad, Side Dish, Beverage and Dessert.  Lastly, I wrote the names; Tina, Tracy, Jeni, Stephanie, Kathy and Trisha.  Since the hostess gets the entree, I left those out and had a friend draw my theme.  It came out, "romance".  How fitting.  Therefore, I had the "Romantic Entree".  The others were, Action & Adventure Appetizer by Stephanie, Salad of Horror by Tracy, Dramatic Side Dish by Kathy, Beverage of Comedy by Tina, and a Foreign Dessert by Jeni.  The goal was to make your contribution closely resemble that of the genre.  All of the pairings turned out good.  I thought the Salad of Horror would be the most difficult and the foreign dessert sounded like bliss.  My Dinner Club friends told me that out of all the Dinner Clubs we have been doing over the years, this was the most challenging and the most difficult.  We had met our match.  It thrilled me to hear that.  That was my goal!

I wrote up a menu based on the theme and the recipes they chose.  I created a program scroll keepsake that read as follows:

ACTION and ADVENTURE

Appetizer by Stephanie

This riveting dish will put you on the edge of your seat! So moving, it’s almost 3D! Her choice was inspired by the active preparation of the ingredients and the adventure of putting it all together! Autumn Apple Appetizer Bites

ROMANCE

Entrée by Trisha

Sicilian Meatballs with Homestyle Marinara  obtained from a Sicilian family that is rumored to have ties in the mob. Her choice was inspired by the romantic interlude that occurs in Walt Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp.”

HORROR

Salad by Tracy

Baby mozzarella, assorted baby heirloom cherry tomatoes, baby basil with dressing made from a 30 year aged balsamic vinegar. Her choice was inspired by the movie “Rosemary’s baby.”

Baby Caprese Salad

DRAMA

Side Dish by Kathy

Potatoes Supreme

Pastry piped potatoes served in individual ramekins. Her choice was Inspired by the dramatically crafted presentation!

COMEDY

Beverage By Tina

Individualized bottles of wine adorned with comedic lables crafted by Tina herself and inspired by the character and personalities of her fellow Dinner Club members.

FOREIGN

Dessert by Jeni

Three layer traditional German Chocolate Cake with cocoa filling and chocolate icing. This cake will whisk you back in time as the recipe was published in 1915 in a cookbook titled, “Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes” by John Hartenstein. Her choice was inspired by German chocolate.

Being that my Dinner Club was so close to Halloween, I was able to decorate with masquerade masks.  For a centerpiece that had a special "theater" effect, I found Shakesperian quotes on a website and printed them off the internet onto cream colored paper.  I carefully tore the edges, top and sides, and taped them to clear glass vases.  Place your tealight in the center and you have a glowing, theatrical effect that your guests can have fun reading. 

Our next Dinner Club is scheduled for November 13th.  Tina will be hosting and the theme is Russian.  I have the side dish!  Can't wait!



Mushroom and Onion Risotto

I used to avoid risotto.  It is now one of my most favorite dishes.  Risotto is a starchy short grain rice that is made with hot stock or broth and flavored with meats, seafoods or vegetables.  Traditional risotto is made with hot stock and flavored with parmesean cheese.  This very smooth and creamy dish can be made as the main course or a compliment to an entree.  Use your imagination and creativity to conjure up a great combination that tickles you!  Try it with beef, chicken or vegetable stock.  Use wine, cheese or spice (perhaps saffron!) and develop your own favorite way to make it. 

Picture Courtesy Andrew Phay, 2009

This recipe is unique because it isn't made on your stovetop where you stand for what seems like hours over a hot surface ladling stock over the risotto and slowly stirring the grains.  I don't know about you, but my time is worth something to me.  I put mine in a 9 x 13 pan cover with the stock and bake it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.  I stir it twice and leave it alone until ready to serve.  You will find that this recipe holds it's heat which is desirable when you have a lot of things going on in the kitchen and you need it to take care of itself.  Don't wait for it.  Let it wait for you!                    

Mushroom and Onion Risotto

1 1/2 C. risotto or rice
2 swirls olive oil
1 T butter

1 yellow onion diced small

3/4 C. rough chopped mushrooms

2 cans of beef broth, beef stock or 3 C. beef consume

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Soak rice in warm water for 30 minutes prior to assembling.  You can use rice for this recipe, but do not use minute rice. 

In a hot skillet, add olive oil and butter until melted.  Add chopped onion and mushroom, salt and pepper.  Saute until tender, about 5 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Place risotto in 9 x 13 glass baking pan and add sauted vegetables and broth.  Carefully carry to oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.  Occassionally stir as necessary.  Do check it for doneness and add stock as necessary.  Serve hot.
Rice is featured in the picture above.