Basil, Sage, Cheese and Tomatoes with Rice – High Summer Risotto

Risotto, you evil temptress of the night. You appear to be easily conquered, at least on paper, but you are devilish in your culinary trickery. Your tasteful sophistication and Italian background lured me in, but I was caught in your snares within minutes of diving into your menacing cuisine. Oh, risotto, you have won this battle, but mark my dying words, you most certainly have not won the war.

BASIL, SAGE, CHEESE AND TOMATOES WITH RICE - HIGH SUMMER RISOTTO

Tuscany
Preparation - Medium/Difficult
Serves 8

1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped basil, plus 2 T slivered basil leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 T finely chopped sage
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 cups Arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano rice
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped perfectly ripe, sweet, fresh tomatoes
1 cup hot chicken stock, or more if necessary
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Toscano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

In a large heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, sweat the onion with the finely chopped basil (the slivered basil will be added later), parsley, and sage in the oil until the vegetables are very soft. Do not let them brown. Mix the rice into the vegetables and add salt and pepper. Stir slowly and when rice starts to turn opaque pour in the wine.

As soon as most of the wine has been absorbed by the rice, add about half the tomatoes to the dish, stirring to mix well. Continue to cook the rice, stirring frequently; as the liquid in the tomatoes is absorbed, add hot chicken stock, 1/4 cup at a time. (You may not need all the chicken stock to finish the risotto.) The risotto is cooked when the grains of rice are still separate and slightly resistant to the bite but bathed in a thick sauce.

At this point remove the pan from the heat and quickly stir in the cheese, the remaining tomatoes, the slivered basil, and minced garlic. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then serve immediately.

So what I'm really trying to say in the above soliloquy is that when a recipe says "Difficult," they're usually not kidding. But I had two other recipes I thought would be difficult - this one and this one - and they still turned out really well. So while I didn't think this risotto would be a breeze, I certainly didn't think it would be as ornery as it actually turned out. It wasn't a colossal failure like other recipes, but it definitely needs some fine tuning.

It actually started well. I put this recipe into thirds since I was only cooking for myself, so I broke down the measurements and was ready to rock. I have had only one other run in with risotto and I knew the liquid would make or break the dish, so I made sure to have a whole can of chicken stock, plus additional white wine. I felt I had covered all my bases.

What I didn't anticipate was that my risotto had every intention of soaking up every last drop of liquid I had in the house. I used an entire 15 oz can of chicken broth, and at least 1/2 cup of white wine, plus some tap water. I know, blasphemy. But I was desperate. Even after adding in all of that liquid and standing over the risotto constantly stirring for an hour, the grains were still more than "slightly resistant to the bite," and they were not "bathed in a thick sauce." I had more white wine to use, but I didn't want that flavor to overwhelm the dish, so that's when I turned to the tap water (so shameful). I think I eventually could have reached the risotto promised land, but I didn't have the desire to wait it out. I finally added the cheese, tomatoes, basil and garlic and plated it up.




The grains were still dense, but I could get the general taste of the dish. It was pretty rich and I can't imagine eating a whole lot by itself. It would be a great side dish. If I had one more can of chicken stock I think I could have pulled it off, but for some reason I only had that one can. I usually have army rations of the stuff in our pantry, but it just was not meant to be. But again, with some modifications and more liquid, this has a real shot of being something nice.

Grilled Cheese with Spinach-and-Tomato Sauce

I was so excited about this recipe. I mean, who doesn't love grilled cheese sandwiches? Cheese is such a universally delicious food and when you pair it with bread and a hot skillet, you have your own little piece of heaven. They even have gourmet grilled cheese restaurants! But as wonderful as a gooey grilled cheese sandwich can be, I think this may have overdone it a little bit.

Grilled Cheese with Spinach-and-Tomato Sauce

SERVINGS: 4
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (from one 15-ounce can)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 pound spinach, stems removed, leaves washed well and shredded
8 thick slices from a large round loaf of country bread
1/2 pound mozzarella, sliced
1/4 pound mild goat cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)


Directions
In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the spinach and simmer until the spinach wilts and the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes longer. Cover to keep warm.

Top 4 slices of the bread with mozzarella. Spoon some of the spinach mixture over each, spreading the spinach to the edges of the bread. Sprinkle the goat cheese over the spinach and top with the remaining bread slices.

In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderate heat. Cook two of the sandwiches, turning once, until the cheese melts and the bread is golden, about 4 minutes in all. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and the other two sandwiches, keeping the first batch of sandwiches warm on a baking sheet in a 200° oven.

I did have to adapt this recipe. For starters, I didn't use spinach. I didn't want to buy a whole bag of it and not have any more uses for it, and then have it go bad. Also, I used regular 100% whole grain sandwich bread instead of a "large round loaf of country bread," which I guess could mean french bread. I couldn't find any in the store that I liked, so I just used what I already had on hand. And again with the "1 small onion, chopped." Even if I were to have a small onion, I still wouldn't use the whole thing! Who in their right mind would use that much onion for a recipe like this. Crazy. I used one slice and that was plenty.



The mozzarella was a brand we have used before, Mozzarella Fresca. But the packaging was different this time around. And when I sliced into it, it looked a little like swiss cheese. There must have been some air bubbles in the mozz ball when it was packaged or something. It tasted almost the same. It was strange, but I used it anyway. A good way to slice cheese like this is to put it in the freezer for a little while before you're ready to use it. The cheese will firm up and it will be easier to cut and won't squish. I cut three slices and put them on the bread. Then I spooned on some of the tomato mixture, sans spinach, and topped it with the crumbled goat cheese.



In an effort to save me from having to wash more pans, I pulled out the old standby: the George Foreman grill. This thing is at least eight years old and it's still ticking. Good old George. I brushed the surface of the grill with a little vegetable oil and put the sandwich in place, closing the lid as much as it would go with my over stacked sandwich.



A few minutes later, the sandwich was done and I was ready to eat. The first thing I noticed when I lifted the sandwich onto the plate was how heavy it was. I mean, dense. The cheese seemed to have doubled in volume in just a short amount of time. I had The Blob on my sandwich. When I cut into it, the cheese just oozed out every side of the sandwich. Usually a good sign, right?



Could it be... this was too much cheese? You can see the tomato mixture and goat cheese peeking out from the left there, but the rest of the sandwich was taken over by the mozzarella. There were some seriously chewy bites, but I persevered. Whoever came up with this recipe had their heart in the right place, but it was a bit too much. It's possible I used too much mozz cheese (three slices, none too thick) but that's a lot of melting action going on. This probably could be adapted into something wonderful. Overall, it's pretty hard to screw up a grilled cheese sandwich, and for what it's worth, I think this was good.

Pasta with Broccoli Raab, Goat Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes and Toasted Pine Nuts

Unlike most of the other recipes I've made so far, I actually stayed pretty close to the measurements on this particular recipe. With the exception of substituting a regular broccoli crown for broccoli raab, this was created to the letter. Yes, real butter and extra goat cheese. I don't think this was very healthy, but it really hit the spot.

Pasta with Broccoli Raab, Goat Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes and Toasted Pine Nuts

1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 C broccoli raab cut into small pieces
2-4 minced garlic cloves
¼ to ½ t crushed red pepper flakes
Salt/ground pepper
1 ½ C canned chicken broth
1 t chopped fresh thyme
4 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 oz creamy goat cheese, crumbled
¾ lb dried bowtie or orecchiette pasta
4 T thinly sliced sun dried tomatoes
2 T pine nuts, toasted in a small skillet over low heat until golden, 3-4 minutes


Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Meanwhile in a 12-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli raab, garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté, stirring frequently until bring green and tender crisp, 2-3 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper and then transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Still over medium-high heat, add the chicken broth to the pan and stir and scrape to deglaze the pan deposits. Add the thyme. Bring the liquid to a boil and continue boiling briskly until it reduces to half its original volume, 7-10 minutes. Add the goat cheese and butter and stir until the goat cheese melts. Cover and keep warm.

As soon as the stockpot of water comes to a full boil, add a little salt to the water. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the pan of sauce along with the broccoli raab and the sun dried tomatoes. Heat mixture thoroughly, season to taste. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

This was a pretty indulgent dish. The sauce came together nicely, especially after deglazing and letting the stock boil down. I cooked the pasta right alongside everything else so it all came together at the same time - kind of rare for me. Usually everything gets done at different times and I have to cover everything or stick it in the oven to stay warm, but not this time. It also helps to have all of your ingredients out and pre-measured before you start. Chop the broccoli, measure out the chicken broth, measure out the butter and goat cheese - stuff like that. It just helps things move along better.

The sauce covered much better than how it looks in the picture. It was very creamy, especially with the butter and cheese, and the flavors were really top notch. It coated the pasta and wasn't too overwhelming. I did catch a few spicy bites due to the red pepper flakes, but I did add a few extras in there. I'm a sucker for red pepper flakes.

The husband is not a fan of broccoli - yet. He did eat a raw piece of it a few weekends ago and lived to tell the tale, but I don't foresee him eating a huge hunk of it in the near future. I'm still holding out hope, though. If you're not a broccoli fan, that could easily be substituted for red/yellow/orange sweet pepper strips, snow peas, zucchini chunks, eggplant or almost any other vegetable. This is a pretty adaptable meal, and one I would love to make again.

Crispy Curried Chicken Tenders with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

I made this recipe the other night, but I'm going to have to make it again soon. Not that I messed it up or anything, but I was afflicted with some nasty allergies when I made this for dinner and my stopped up nose wasn't working too well. Therefore, this meal ended up tasting really muted. It still tasted good, but I need another go at it when I'm not sickly.

Crispy Curried Chicken Tenders with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
ACTIVE: 45 MIN
SERVINGS: 4
Ingredients
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cups loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups panko
2 pounds chicken tenders
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions
In a food processor, blend the mayonnaise with the cilantro and lemon juice until the cilantro is finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate the dipping sauce until ready to serve.

In a small bowl, combine the curry powder with the cayenne and 1 tablespoon of salt. Put the flour, eggs and panko in 3 shallow bowls. Stir 2 teaspoons of the curry powder mixture into the panko. Season the chicken tenders with the remaining curry powder mixture.

Dredge the chicken tenders in the flour and shake off any excess, then dip them in the eggs and coat thoroughly with the panko mixture. In a large skillet, heat half of the oil until shimmering. Add half of the chicken tenders and fry over moderate heat until golden and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken tenders. Serve with the cilantro dipping sauce.

Aside from the stopped up nose and somewhat bland taste, I think this would have been really good under different circumstances. The seasoning is what didn't register as much as it normally would have, but the panko made for a wonderfully crunchy texture and they weren't oily and greasy like you would normally find things cooked in oil. A hot pan of oil and the panko really make the difference here.





This dish came together really easily. I think I still might add more curry powder to my next attempt. There needed to be a little more of a punch than what I got when I ate them. Also, this Cilantro Dipping Sauce. I have an aversion to mayonnaise that causes me extreme distress when I have to eat said substance in any form other than chicken salad or potato salad. Even then, you had better go lean on the stuff. Therefore, I could not, in good conscience, whip up a dipping sauce that called for that much mayo, and even halved with 1/2 cup I could not bring myself to do it. So I ate them plain, and they were still fine (albeit bland). I tried to dip them in ranch dressing but that was not good, so they stayed plain.

I'll make this again when I'm feeling better. Also, I get the feeling this is a little better for you than all out fried chicken because you're not using as much of the oil - just a little. Also, I used whole wheat panko, so that's double on the healthy score. Thumbs up all around.