Feasting Friday- Weeknight Risotto

I know a lot of people who are scared to death of risotto. On the surface, it seems like such a restaurant meal, and yet I have had far more bad risotti in restaurants than I have at home. Risotto is shockingly easy to make, takes much less time than most people think, and is a fantastic tool to have in your bag of tricks.

You can make a basic risotto with pantry items, or a fancy one with special ingredients. It can be an elegant appetizer, a delicious side dish, or a hearty one-pot meal. And despite its creamy consistency, basic risotto is surprisingly good for you, since most of the creaminess comes from the releasing of the starch in the rice into the stock, and not, as many presume, from actual cream. (of course, you CAN add cream, or more butter than I have in mine, or a spoonful of mascarpone cheese and no one will argue…)

When I was writing recipes for GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT, I focused on the comfort foods that the chef heroine, Melanie, would have wanted as she worked her weight loss program. Risotto is filling, even in small portions, and soul-satisfying. It is one of my go-to dishes, especially when I need a bowl of something warm at the end of a long day. So I knew there would have to be a version in the book!

For as long as I can remember, as much as I love making risotto, I hadn’t found the perfect pan. You need something heavy, so that it can stay put during all the stirring. But cast iron never really worked, I had problems with the rice sticking. You need something wide so that the rice and stock meld together easily and the rice all cooks evenly, which is difficult in a deeper pot, since the rice at the bottom tends to cook faster than the rice at the top. But my only options were my skillet, just shy of really being deep enough, and the sloping sides meant the tiniest bit of overzealous stirring and the contents are sloshed onto the cooktop; or my straight sided wide pan, which always trapped rice in the crevices, and wasn’t really big enough.

Who came to the rescue? Emile Henry. A French company specializing in heavy enameled ceramic cookware, designed to go from stovetop to oven to dishwasher. I had seen them in stores for years, but never cooked with one. Until they sent me this:

How freaking gorgeous is this casserole???? I mean, seriously.

Now, Emile Henry calls it a braiser, but the moment it arrived, all I could think about was risotto. And since Chicago decided to have a brief spurt of rainy Fall earlier this week, risotto seemed just the ticket. Plus I had not yet made my famous risotto for Charming Suitor. CS threw his back out last week, literally saving a woman from certain death or disfigurement by catching her when she tripped and started to do a header down the L stairs, making my hero her hero as well. He had a very long week and doctor’s appointments and endless ice packs and a lot of pain, and this Monday was his first full day back at work, so I wanted him to come home to something that was simple, delicious and soothing. A little bowl full of love.

Risotto it was! I knew I was going for the one-pot version, which is the version Melanie makes in the book. Shredded chicken, the meat from a store-bought rotisserie version, frozen peas, canned or fresh artichoke hearts. So easy. The recipe is also in the book, but here is a sneak preview version.

Made, I must say, enormously easier by both the Swiss Chop Chop I mentioned on Tuesday for the shallots, and the new braiser which I think Emile Henry should rename The Best Risotto Pan Ever. The pan was deep enough to contain the contents, and the curvy shape made for both easy stirring and no sloshing. It is a heavy piece, so it didn’t budge, and retained the heat amazingly well, which meant I could cook on medium-low instead of cranked up on high!

I’m a definite fan. And I can’t wait to see how it does in the Fall when I start craving braised stuff again.

CS is doing much better, thank you all for happy thoughts. (I think it might have been the risotto that cured him, but claims it is the anti-inflammatory drugs and rest, even though he did eat two huge bowlfuls and took the leftovers for lunch…)

He is hanging up his cape, tho, so ladies, watch your step on the stairs!

Risotto Ala Melanie from GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT

2 c Carnaroli or Arborio rice
10 c chicken stock
2 shallots, chopped
2 c cooked chicken meat, shredded (from a store bought rotisserie chicken is great here)
4 artichoke bottoms (preferably fresh) cooked and diced
½ c frozen petite green peas (optional)
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
½ c dry white wine or champagne
1 pinch saffron threads
¼ c grated parmagiano reggiano
2 T chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ c toasted pine nuts (optional)
Zest of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Put chicken stock in a saucepan and heat over medium until simmering but not boiling. Melt 1 T butter in a heavy bottom wide pan with the olive oil. Add shallots and cook till translucent.

Add rice and stir until each grain is coated. Add wine and saffron threads and stir till wine is totally absorbed. Add chicken stock one ladle at a time until almost completely absorbed, and then add next ladle. Stir continuously.

When it begins to take longer for stock to be absorbed, taste the rice. You are looking for al dente, not mushy or gummy. When you are getting close to the right texture, add the chicken, peas and artichokes to heat through, along with the lemon zest, salt and pepper. When the rice is perfectly cooked, stir in the remaining butter, the cheese, and the parsley, and do a final taste for seasonings. Garnish with pine nuts.

To buy your own Emile Henry braiser.

To Pre-Order GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT.

Feasting Friday- Zucchini Pasta with Chicken

Finally it is summer. Well, sort of summer, the weather in Chicago cannot make up its mind, and I have yet to spend any time in a pool, which always seems the true harbinger of summer to me. But I am delighted to report that the official kick-off of summer cooking has hit me.

Gone (mostly) are my cravings for macaroni and cheese and roasted root vegetables and braised meats, and arrived is compelling desire for fresh veggies and fruits and lighter fare. Cherries, a favorite fruit, have begun to come in, as has watermelon. Asparagus is everywhere. And zucchini and other soft squashes are tender off the vine and utterly without the tough bitterness of the versions you get in the colder months.

Since Charming Suitor and I are both committed to eating reasonably healthy when we cook at home (so that we don’t have to worry as much when we eat out), it has been a time of experimentation and discovery. It is hard to believe we didn’t know each other last year at this time (or since birth), but CS didn’t come into my life till the Fall, so we are enjoying the revelations of our mutual love of summer cookery. CS is a grill master, a tamer of the flames, and is mostly in charge of proteins…a lovely stream of perfectly moist and juicy items have been coming off his Weber, well seasoned and delicious. I’ve been in charge of side dishes and salads, and between us, dinner is usually significantly above average. ( I will wax poetical in a future post about the ribs he made for our first jointly-hosted BBQ last weekend, but let me just say that if you do not have a pitmaster from Kentucky in your life, GO GET ONE RIGHT NOW! Yum.)

Sometimes, though, we just want a simple dish, no courses, minimal fussing, no coals. Dinner you can eat in one bowl with one utensil, preferably over your lap on the couch watching something mindless and fun.

When I was doing my intensive health program last Fall and Winter, this dish saved me. I made it at least two to three times a week. Since I will never give up carbs, especially pasta, it helped me get my fix without derailing my program. It is pretty simple, just pasta and chicken and zucchini in a light lemony sauce. But because there are equal amounts of pasta and zucchini cut into pasta-like strands, you get all the pleasure of twirling up large forkfuls with half the carbs. Plus, and this is really always the most important part, it is really freaking delectable!



(Thanks to gimmesomeoven.com for the photo)

It is a recipe I developed while working on GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT, the kind of dish the chef-heroine would be serving up at her healthy gourmet café. Whole grain or multi grain pastas work great here, as does Quinoa pasta for the gluten-free people. I use chicken breasts for maximum lightness, but boneless skinless thighs are great in this for deeper flavor, as is veal.

I made it a couple of weeks ago for the first time for Charming Suitor who did a massive euphoric eye roll and said “I just wanna stick my face in it and blow bubbles.” Which is pretty high praise for something that is actually good for you!

When it come to prepping the zucchini, you can certainly do it by hand, but I am less patient, so I love the Swissmar Julienne Peeler.  I got mine in a set of three, with a regular and a serrated peeler as well.  They are sharp as the dickens, the Y shape is very comfortable and easy to use, and they go right in the dishwasher.  For this dish it makes the zucchini "noodles" perfectly and in seconds.  They are very affordable, so I'm planning on getting another set for Charming Suitor's house!

What are your go-to healthy dishes that don’t feel like deprivation? Share with the class!

And because I am true and blue to my wonderful hometown…GO HAWKS!!!!


Zucchini Pasta with Chicken

3/4 pound dried linguini or spaghettini or other long strand pasta (I use whole grain or multi grain, but use what you like)
3/4 pound zucchini
1 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 small shallot, minced fine (opt)
¼ c dry white wine
½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips zest and juice of one lemon
¼ c chicken stock
S&P to taste
1 T coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 T fresh chive, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. (plan to reserve ½ c cooking water)

While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, cut the zucchini into long strands that mimic the pasta…Again, the Swissmar julienne peeler is ideal for this, just running it around the outside of the zucchini and not using the pulpy seed part. You can also do this on a mandolin, or make long julienne by hand. (The idea is to be able to twirl the zucchini up with the pasta, but if you don’t care, you can cut it into half moons, it will still be delicious!)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the shallot, and cook till translucent. Add chicken and sauté briefly until light brown. Deglaze the pan with the wine and let reduce till almost gone. Add chicken stock, lemon juice and lemon zest. Swirl in butter. Taste for salt and pepper. Toss in zucchini strands and then immediately add cooked pasta and combine. Add the cheese and herbs and enough reserved pasta water to ensure the sauce is smooth, and toss to combine well. Taste again for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as needed. Grate about 2 more tablespoons Parmesan over the top and serve at once.

Yours in good taste,
The Polymath

The Polymath Cooks With 7up, Part Eight

Five days after returning from the Farm where I had in fact gotten some good work done, found me in my kitchen surrounded by the detritus of a full day of cooking with 7up. I had developed five entrees, had used 7up in every possible application, and was sitting with my friend Kevin, who had to come over and help me taste. Kevin was very excited to be my guinea pig, and tucked into the dishes with gusto, offering excellent advice.

The top dish, we decided, was a chicken breast marinated in 7up, coated with bread crumbs that contained both lemon and lime zest, and was served with a rice salad with a 7up cumin lime dressing. Second place, 7up brined pork chops with a 7up chipotle glaze, served with butternut squash that had been mashed with butter and 7up reduced to a caramel. The 7up marinated pork loin with 7up honey jalapeno sauce, paired with sweet and sour 7up slaw with cabbage, fennel and green apple was pretty good. The 7up Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken was almost addictive, and the 7up Asian Chicken Salad also was excellent. *recipes below

Kevin helped me take the photos, and we made some notes - the chipotle glaze needed to reduce more to be thicker, slightly more cumin in the rice salad - I sent Kevin home with a bag full of food to take to his pals at work, and wrote up the recipes. It was after midnight when I logged into the website to enter the contest. I uploaded the first picture, the pork chops, and the recipe and hit send. Then I went back and entered the chicken breast. A screen popped up.

We’re sorry, but you have already entered this contest.

WHAT?

I went back to the rules. In tiny tiny print way at the bottom, one entry per household. ONE. I hadn’t even entered the best one! I sat feeling defeated. Then I called Kevin.

“You could make that chicken if I taught you how, right?”

“Yeah I think so.”

“I’m entering you in the contest.”

“Oh, I don’t know…I’m not a good cook…”

“Kevin! I didn’t read the fine print. There is only one entry per household. I sent them the pork chop recipe, but we liked the chicken even better! If the pork wins, no problem. If the chicken wins, we’ll practice practice practice before we go to Miami for the cook-off, and we’ll split the prize! And if we both get in, then we double our chances!”

Kevin laughs, and then, in all seriousness, says “Okay, but e-mail me the recipe in case someone calls and asks me questions!”

“Done.” I entered the chicken recipe under Kevin’s name and thought about how much fun the two of us would have “competing” against each other at the finals in Miami.

NEXT: The Polymath Gets Some News

7up Recipes for your oddly delicious cooking pleasure....

Lemon Lime Chicken with Confetti Rice

For Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ c 7Up
¼ c lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
2 T Dijon mustard
2 T fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T soy sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T butter, melted
1 T lime zest
½ c bread crumbs

For Rice:
4 C cooked rice, white or brown, cooked according to package directions with ¼ cooking water replaced with 7Up, cooled to room temperature but not chilled

¼ c each-
chopped celery
chopped carrots
chopped red bell pepper
sweet corn kernels
canned black beans, rinsed and drained
toasted pine nuts
chopped green apple
chopped scallions
chopped flat leaf parsley

Dressing:
½ c 7Up
¼ c lime juice
1 shallot, minced
1 T sugar
1 t kosher salt
½ t grains of paradise, ground
1 T ground cumin
¾ c extra virgin olive oil


Chicken: In Ziploc bag put 7Up, lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, thyme, garlic, soy, Worcestershire, and chicken breasts. Squish around so chicken is completely covered with marinade, and put in refrigerator 1 hour to overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix bread crumbs with lime zest in shallow dish.

Remove chicken from marinade to bread crumbs, and coat completely. Place on baking tray. Drizzle with melted butter and bake in oven 14-18 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken. Should be golden brown on top and cooked through.

While chicken is baking, whisk all dressing ingredients in small bowl. In large bowl, mix rice and rest of salad components, add about ½ of the dressing. Taste and add more dressing to desired flavor balance. Serve at room temperature.



7Up Chipotle Pork Chops with Butternut Squash

For brine:

1 ½ c 7Up
¾ c dark brown sugar
¼ c kosher salt
10 cloves garlic crushed
2 bay leaves
1 t coriander seed
1 T celery seed
4 cassia buds (may substitute cloves)
2 cups hot water
4 cups cold water

4 pork loin chops, rib on
2 t canola oil
Salt and pepper

For Sauce:
½ c honey
¼ c dark brown sugar
1 c 7Up
Zest of 2 limes
1 t salt
2 cloves garlic, grated
4 chipotles in adobo, chopped

For Squash:
1 c 7Up
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 T unsalted butter
1 t salt
1 T dark brown sugar
½ t nutmeg
½ t grains of paradise, ground
¼ c applesauce, natural style

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread squash chunks on sheet pan and roast in oven until soft, about 20-30 minutes.

Dissolve sugar and salt in the 2 cups hot water. Add cold water and rest of brine ingredients. Put brine in Ziploc bag with pork chops, and let rest in fridge one hour.

Put 7Up, honey, sugar and salt in small saucepan over medium high heat until thoroughly combined. Add lime zest, garlic and chipotle. Cook until reduced by half, and thickened. Blend with immersion blender till smooth. Taste for seasoning.

Remove chops from brine and pat dry. Discard brine. Oil chops and season well with salt and pepper. Sear over high heat in sauté pan until browned on both sides. Move to sheet pan and finish in oven to desired doneness (I prefer slightly pink in the middle, about 12 minutes)

Mash squash in bowl with potato masher, or put thru ricer. Add butter, and blend until melted. Stir in salt, sugar, nutmeg, grains of paradise, and applesauce. Put 1 c 7Up in small saucepan over high heat and reduce to caramel, about 6 minutes. Should be medium golden brown, and should yield about 1 T or less caramel. Watch carefully so that it doesn’t burn. Mix caramel into squash.

Serve chops with a spoonful of chipotle sauce, and a side of squash.

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Sweet and Sour Slaw

Marinade:
¼ c lime juice
2 T sugar
1 T cumin
1/3 c olive oil
1 crushed garlic clove
1 T fresh thyme leaves

2 small or 1 large pork tenderloins (about 2 lbs)
2 T canola oil
Salt and Pepper

Glaze:
½ c tangerine juice
½ c dry white wine
¼ c lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
2 c dark brown sugar
2 jalapeño peppers, seeds and ribs removed, sliced into thin strips

Mix marinade ingredients in Ziploc bag and add tenderloins. Marinate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix all glaze ingredients in small saucepan over medium high heat, and reduce till very thick, about 15 minutes.

Heat one side of grill to high.

Remove tenderloins from marinade and pat dry. Coat with oil and season well with salt and pepper. Sear over high heat on the grill until golden brown on all sides and remove to unheated side of grill. Baste with glaze. Close grill. Finish over indirect heat to desired doneness (I prefer slightly pink in the middle). Let rest 10 minutes after removing from oven, and slice about ½ inch thick slices, with more glaze as sauce. Serve with slaw.


Slaw:
1 small green cabbage, shredded fine
1 head fennel, shredded fine
1 green apple, julienned
¼ c rice wine vinegar
1/4 c 7up
¼ c lime juice
1/3 c sugar
1 T + 1 t kosher salt
½ t ground black pepper
1 T caraway seed
½ c canola oil

Put shredded cabbage in a strainer over a bowl, and toss with 1 T salt until well blended. Let rest 1 hour, then rinse well to remove salt, and pat dry. Toss with fennel and apple. In a bowl whisk 7Up and lime juice with sugar and salt till dissolved. Add caraway and oil and whisk until emulsified, toss dressing with cabbage mix and taste for seasoning. Chill.

Spicy Thai Noodles with Chicken

1 lb. linguini
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 c 7Up
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
6 T peanut butter, smooth style, (not natural)
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 T lime juice
6 T sesame seeds, toasted
1 tsp ginger, grated
4 T peanut oil
3 garlic cloves (or more) finely minced
1 tsp hot red pepper flakes (depending on how hot you like it)
4 scallions, whites and green tops, chopped
½ seedless cucumber, sliced into half moons

Cook the noodles according to package directions; toss with 2 T peanut oil; set aside.

Bring 3 c 7Up and 5 c water to boil in small saucepan. Add chicken, bring back to boil, cover and turn off heat. Leave covered 1 hour till cooked through. Remove from poaching liquid and shred meat.

Put 1 c 7Up in small saucepan and boil over high heat until reduced to ¼ c, about 6 minutes.Mix together soy sauce, vinegar, reduced 7Up, lime juice, peanut butter, sesame oil. Does not have to be thoroughly combined, peanut butter will not blend until heated.

In large sauté pan, saute garlic and ginger in 2 T peanut oil; add red pepper flakes and cook one minute, until fragrant. Add soy mixture and cook 2 minutes until smooth and slightly thickened. Add in noodles, and toss and mix over medium heat just until heated through. Add in shredded chicken and mix well. Cool to room temperature. Garnish with chopped green onions and sliced, seeded cucumbers. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

7up Asian Chicken Salad

1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat shredded
½ c rice wine vinegar
½ c sugar
1 c 7up, reduced over high heat to ¼ c
¾ c almond oil not roasted, just plain (or canola)
2 oz. sliced almonds, toasted
4 scallions, white and green, chopped
4 T sesame seeds, toasted
1 t kosher salt
½ t white pepper
1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 cup fried chow mein noodles


Put vinegar, reduced 7up, sugar and salt in bowl and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in almond oil. Add chopped scallions and toasted almonds and toasted sesame seeds and pepper to dressing. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your palate with salt, pepper or sugar.

Remove chicken from poaching liquid, and shred into rough strips and chunks. Put chicken in Ziploc bag, and add dressing. Chill in fridge one hour to overnight.

Toss chicken in dressing with iceberg lettuce, and garnish with chow mein noodles.

The Polymath Goes Postal, Part Five

Lest you think I limited myself to butter in my newfound career path, it is important to note that I instantly became obsessed with entering all sorts of recipe contests. I pored over the website and made charts. I only entered contests with minimum prize money of $5000, since I am a broke-ass writer and piddly little hundred bucks here, basket-of-goodies prizes there aren’t going to cut it. And in cases where the finalists need to appear for an in-person cook-off, I made sure not to enter any contests where the cook-off dates conflicted with each other.

Why?

Because, and this is very important, I assumed that I would be a finalist.

In every contest I entered.

(This is where I also confess that I am genuinely baffled when I buy a lottery ticket and don’t actually win.)

Since I was fairly (okay, totally) certain that I would be a finalist in all of the contests, or at least most of them, I blocked off the dates in my Blackberry to be sure I would not double book myself. I thought about the prizes that would start rolling in, the money and the products. I would live like that book where the mom kept her impoverished family going with prizes from tagline contests!

You know, without the eighteen kids and abusive husband.

Some contests I was particularly excited about. The Tillamook Cheddar Mac and Cheese competition, which I entered three times. Five grand and 25 pounds of cheese for that one. My dad loves cheddar, he’d be so excited when that cheese arrived. A Colman Mustard Grilling challenge, five grand and a new gourmet grill. I mentally rearranged my back porch to accommodate the new equipment. The chicken contest, now down to fifty grand, probably due to the economy, but still, I entered that one a dozen times.

I was off to the races, and wondered where the hell I was going to store all the huge foam-core prize checks…

NEXT: The Polymath Finds the Holy Grail

The Polymath's Writing Process, or Non-Writing Process, Part Three

Now, being a published writer, people ask a lot about “writing process”, and mine differs from project to project. But one of the things that tends to remain true for me, is that I often write with the television on, tuned to something relevant. When I was writing Room for Improvement, about an interior designer, I had HGTV on almost exclusively. With Spinster Sisters, a book about self-help gurus, there was a lot of Oprah and the Starting Over house on my tube.

My new book, Good Enough to Eat, is about a chef, so of course, it was all Food Network all the time. One day, while trying to knock out a chapter, I caught the tail end of a show about a cooking contest in which the winning chicken recipe won $100,000. In true Joe Biden form, let me repeat that.

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!

I stopped writing. I turned up the volume.

Now, I always knew about state fair blue ribbons for pies and jams and the famous Pillsbury Bake off. I knew all about the big BBQ competitions. But here was a contest about chicken.
CHICKEN.

Something I cook all the time with frankly delicious results. And which is worse, the winner’s recipe seemed sort of pedestrian to me. Not nearly as good as some of the stuff I make for myself to eat alone on a random Tuesday! I looked at my laptop, and the book that I was under contract to finish ASAP. And then I looked at the television where a benign ashy blonde was accepting a huge prize-patrol check.

One.

Hundred.

Thousand.

Dollars.

This is like two full years salary from when I was still working full time. This is more than I have made on all four of my books combined. This could be…my new source of income while I wait to be discovered as a literary genius!

NEXT: The Polymath Ponders: Make Money Working From Home!