Apricot Tree planted last Fall. First blossoms.
 |
| Bee -- doing what bees do. |
In the Garden this week.
Summer 2011: Apricots!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
What's for Dinner?
We've been doing a lot of cooking at my house lately, both to save money and eat more healthfully. Yesterday, my sister-in-law, Erika, baked bread -- a beautiful, walnut infused boule. Such a wonderful loaf of bread called out for a step-up for dinner. After watching Top Chef All-Stars the other night, and seeing one of the chefs go down in flames over risotto (and having seen dozens of Hell's Kitchen wannabes sent packing over the same dish), I decided to accept the risotto challenge.
Risotto is hard work! Basically, you cook a special short-grain Italian rice in broth, allowing the rice to slowly absorb the chicken broth over time. You have to keep stirring (and stirring and stirring) so the rice doesn't stick. My recipe, from Joy of Cooking, says to add the broth one cup at at time, stirring constantly while waiting for the rice to absorb almost all the broth before adding the next cup. I also sauteed onions, chopped carrot, and zucchini before adding the rice. Meanwhile, I had put a chicken in the oven to roast, so not much needed to be done with that.
Well, we didn't eat until 9 pm, but the risotto was wonderful! According to the Top Chef judges, and Joy of Cooking, the risotto is supposed to spread, not clump like Rice-a-Roni (that's what sunk the contestant -- stiff risotto). Mine did not exactly spread, but it was close to the right consistency. I added more sauteed vegies toward the end, so it was more like a primavera. (Oh, and the last thing to add is a bunch of parmesan cheese. So between all the butter and parmesan, this is not low-cal!). We all enjoyed the dish very much, along with a quick salad, Erika's walnut boule, and the roasted whole chicken. I think I might try it again sometime, and try for more of the right consistency -- though the taste was great.
What's for dinner at your house?
Risotto is hard work! Basically, you cook a special short-grain Italian rice in broth, allowing the rice to slowly absorb the chicken broth over time. You have to keep stirring (and stirring and stirring) so the rice doesn't stick. My recipe, from Joy of Cooking, says to add the broth one cup at at time, stirring constantly while waiting for the rice to absorb almost all the broth before adding the next cup. I also sauteed onions, chopped carrot, and zucchini before adding the rice. Meanwhile, I had put a chicken in the oven to roast, so not much needed to be done with that.
Well, we didn't eat until 9 pm, but the risotto was wonderful! According to the Top Chef judges, and Joy of Cooking, the risotto is supposed to spread, not clump like Rice-a-Roni (that's what sunk the contestant -- stiff risotto). Mine did not exactly spread, but it was close to the right consistency. I added more sauteed vegies toward the end, so it was more like a primavera. (Oh, and the last thing to add is a bunch of parmesan cheese. So between all the butter and parmesan, this is not low-cal!). We all enjoyed the dish very much, along with a quick salad, Erika's walnut boule, and the roasted whole chicken. I think I might try it again sometime, and try for more of the right consistency -- though the taste was great.
What's for dinner at your house?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)