Mushroom And Thyme Risotto

This is a great twist on the classic risotto recipe. I paired it with the Pork Chops and a salad, it made a really nice meal.

Mushroom and Thyme Risotto:

1 cup of sliced crimini mushrooms

5 springs of thyme, leaves pulled off

1 shallot, sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup aborio rice

extra virgin olive oil

3 cups of chicken/mushroom stock

salt and pepper

I tweaked the 3 cups of chicken stock by adding the ends of the mushrooms and some thyme leaves to infuse the flavor. I let it simmer for 20 minutes or so to have the mushroom flavor really come out.

In a wide saucepan heat the olive oil and saute the mushrooms with just pepper. Once you add the mushrooms to the oil, don't touch them. Let them sear on one side really well before stirring. After a few minutes of cooking the mushrooms, add the salt and the thyme and stir to combine. With a slotted spoon take out the mushrooms and set aside. Saute the shallot for a minute or so with salt and pepper. Add the aborio rice and toast for a minute or two. Add the wine and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring and adding a ladle full of stock every 2-3 minutes till the rice is done, about 18 minutes. Right before the rice is done, add back the mushroom and one last ladle full of stock and finish cooking.

Dinner with Momma

My mother came up to SF to have dinner with me and help me finish unpacking, oh the joys of moving! I made Stuffed Peppers, Broccolini with White Cheddar Cheese Sauce, and an Arugula Salad. The dinner went great and we made a Carrot Cake afterwards, recipe maybe to follow.







Stuffed Peppers


1 lb. lean ground beef or chicken (I used 94% lean ground beef)
5 bell peppers - 1 finely diced, 4 chopped in half length wise cleaned of all the ribs and seeds
1/2 large onion or 1 small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp marjoram (optional)
1 tsp - 1 tbsp salt and pepper
1/2 tsp ground chili powder
2-3 tbsp tomato paste
1 can of tomato sauce or 1/2 box of Pomi tomato sauce (picture below)
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 cup brown rice
1/2 cup water (optional)
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for grating on top



In a deep and wide saucepan heat up 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Saute the chopped pepper, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook till onion is translucent on moderate heat, about 5-9 minutes. Remove all the vegetables from the pan. Add the remaining olive oil and sear the ground beef (on medium high heat) till cooked, breaking it up into bits, about 8 minutes. Add the remaining cooked vegetables and stir to combine. Add the bay leaf, the herbs (minus the parsley), the tomato paste and the water and stir to combine. Add the tomato sauce (you may need more or less depending on the dryness of the meat), brown rice, and stir. Taste for seasoning, adjust to your liking. Turn to low and let simmer for at least 30 minutes.






While the sauce is simmering, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking dish or cookie tray with foil and drizzle olive oil on the pepper halves, facing upwards. Season with some salt and pepper as well and bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes till the peppers give a little and aren't entirely crisp. Pull out and let cool.


After the sauce has been simmering away, retaste the sauce and adjust for seasoning, add the fresh parsley. Spoon mixture into each pepper so it's completely stuffed. Spoon a tsp of tomato paste on the top of the stuffing and grate some Parmesan cheese on top and put back in the oven. Let cook for 10-25 minutes depending on how soft you want your pepper and how crispy you want the Parmesan cheese to get.

Take out of oven, let cool and serve with a salad and a green vegetable.

Duck Breasts

After a fantastic weekend of scavenger hunts, birthday parties, a great night in with the boy, and still maintain a voice that sounds like a frog (lost my voice, seriously I hope it comes back), I wanted to enjoy a solo Sunday night dinner. Even with my family, Sunday night dinners were always special with BBQ's or some fun or new recipe my mother and I would try.

I have just gotten back from a business trip to Richmond, VA where I had a great appetizer of pork belly on top of risotto with a balsamic drizzle. I tweaked it a bit with duck breast and a parsley salad on top, but it was extremely delicious and have enough for lunch tomorrow for work.

This recipe was for one person (aka: Me) but you can totally adapt it for a family or a few friends by adding a few extra duck parts. Also, the risotto I used was from last week's recipe, when plating, use it as a base or basket for the duck, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top of the risotto for some yummy flavor. Lastly, you can use a turkey breast (skin on) in replacement of the duck if you can't find it or don't like duck (if you're a crazy person).

The Seared Duck Breast in its Entirety

Duck Breast with Balsamic Reduction (serving size: 1-2 people):

1 duck breast

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 clove garlic, minced and mashed with a side of a knife with some salt to make a garlic paste

non-stick spray

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

hand bunch of fresh parsley or micro greens

On medium heat reduce the balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan. Remove from heat when it developes a thicker consistency, about 5-7 minutes.

Combine thyme, oil, macerated garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Take the duck breast and score it in a diamond pattern (shown above). Massage the duck "tit" with the oil mixture and let sit for a few minutes. Get a saute pan hot, spray with non-stick cooking spray and add a touch of oil (the duck will render a TON of fat when cooking). Sear the duck breast for about 6 minutes skin side down then flip over and sear for another 5-6 minutes, till the juices run pink. Let rest for 5 or so minutes with tin foil on top. Slice duck breast and place it on top of the risotto. Drizzle the balsamic reduction around the place, top everything with parsley and serve.

Basic Risotto

I'm not feeling so hot today. I think I'm coming down with the flu, right before a business trip. When I get sick I crave homey things. One thing that I LOVE is risotto. You can add lots of different flavors to risotto because it really absorbs whatever you put in it. I made a classic risotto because I have a sore throat and didn't feel like getting fancy. The trick to risotto is to add the broth a little at a time and constantly stir. So pull up a stool, pour yourself a glass of wine (if you're not under the weather) and start working those arm muscles, it's worth it in the end.


Risotto

1 shallot, finely diced
2 cups of aborio rice
1/2 -3/4 cup dry white wine
5-6 cups of hot chicken stock (put it in a sauce pan and keep it on medium low on the stove)
olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh thyme leaves
Parmesan cheese


In a deep and wide sauce pan, heat the olive oil. Add shallots and saute till translucent, don't burn. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes till the rice starts to become a little translucent at the ends. Add the wine and stir, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan.


Start ladling the chicken stock 2 ladle fulls at a time into the rice. Adjust the heat to medium/medium high to make the liquid evaporate at 2-3 minute intervals. Keep ladling in the stock every 2-3 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. After about 15-18 minutes of stirring, season with the salt, pepper, and thyme and taste. Adjust to your likings of salty and pepperiness. Once the rice is soft but still a little al dente, pull off the heat and grate Parmesan cheese on top. Consume.


*You can add mushrooms and more thyme to make a delicious second risotto.

Biryani Rice

My roommate's girlfriend is a vegetarian and has exposed me to a completely different idea of cooking. She has great recipes and let me tweak her recipe for her Biryani rice. She says that you can use any type of nut and dried fruit to go with this dish, use whatever you have, it makes it quite delicious. *You can also use leftover takeout rice to make this dish as well.

Biryani Rice:
1 cup of brown basmati rice
1/2 raisins

Cook the brown rice to instructions, about 45 minutes. When the rice is about 40 mins into cooking, throw the raisins in to let them plump up for the last 5 minutes.

1 tbsp peanut oil or any light oil
1 medium onion, sliced into inch slices
1 cup of shredded carrots
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp graded ginger
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground saffron
S + P
1 tbsp soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 orange
1/4 cup of water or so
3/4 cup of toasted cashews
2 scallions, chopped
1 cup of cubed tofu (optional)

Saute carrots and onion in the oil over medium heat till the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and stir to combine. Add all of the spices, including the S + P and toast the spices. Add the rice, raisins, soy and orange juice. Saute and make sure all is combined and mixed well. If the mixture is try, add some water and let cook on low for about 10 minutes or so. At the very last minute, add the cashews and scallions and serve with yogurt sauce on the side, below. You can also add cubed tofu into this dish to add some protein.

Yogurt Sauce:
1/4 cup of non-fat greek style yogurt
juice of 1/2 meyer lemon + some zest
4 mint leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp garlic powder
S + P