Risotto with Pancetta and Wild Mushrooms

Risotto is one of my absolute favorite dishes to make. It is actually quite simple to make so I'm unsure why people are so scared of it. The one thing that I can think of is that you need to stand near the stove the entire 20+ minutes that the risotto is cooking - it requires constant stirring. Thankfully I have an awesome boyfriend who stood by the stove with me while the risotto was cooking. I'd like to say that he loves to be helpful in the kitchen but the fact is he was just starving - I love him regardless!

I used one of my MANY cookbooks to find this recipe. It came from the book "Food & Wine 2000: An Entire Year's Recipes from America's Favorite Food Magazine." It is an amazing cookbook with over 500 recipes and tons of photos. Another few reasons I love this cookbook are because it has sample menus (using recipes from the book), wine recommendations and tips from the editors of their magazine. I've included the recipe below, adapted from Food and Wine, with a few minor tweaks of my own. No surprise there! 

 8 paper-thin slices of pancetta or bacon (about 2 ounces) I used diced pancetta

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound mixed mushrooms, such as chanterelles, cremini and Portobellos, thickly sliced

Sea salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley or tarragon I used both, split evenly

1/2 cup white wine (I clearly added this ingredient on my own)

5 cups light chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth

1 garlic clove, lightly smashed I minced up my garlic because I love the flavor

1 shallot, minced Didn't have one so I used half of a regular onion

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus shavings, for garnish

2 tablespoons heavy cream Omitted this, didn't miss it!

Freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the broiler. Arrange the pancetta slices on a baking sheet in a single layer and broil for 1-2 mins or until golden and sizzling. Drain on paper towels, then crumble. I sauteed the pancetta in a small frying pan because I didn't want to use the stove!

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and cook over high heat, stirring, just until they exude their juices, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms and their liquid to a strainer set over a bowl and press lightly on the mushrooms; reserve the liquid. Wipe out the skillet and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Return the mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring, until tender and just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the parsley, cover and keep warm.

In a medium saucepan, combine the stock with the reserved mushroom liquid and bring to a simmer, then keep warm over low heat. In a large, deep nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat until fragrant. Add the shallot and cook until softened but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes; discard the garlic. Add the rice and stir until the grains are thoroughly coated with butter.

Add 1 cup of the hot stock to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice has absorbed most of the stock, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue to cook the risotto, adding the stock 1 cup at a time, and stirring constantly between additions until it is absorbed. Cook the risotto until it has a creamy, porridgelike consistency, about 20 minutes.

Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, the cream and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and white pepper and transfer to warm soup plates. Garnish with the mushrooms, pancetta and shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.

Risotto is a classic Italian specialty and I'm proud to say it is one of my specialties as well! This dish in particular screams "Italian" to me, probably because of the specific ingredients - wine, pancetta, arborio rice and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Come on! "The salty crunch of the pancetta serves as a palate-pleasing counterpoint to the tenderness of the mushrooms, with the al dente rice making a midpoint between the two," says the cookbook writers. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did!




Tutti Mangia!

Caramel Crunch Snickerdoodles

Does anyone shop at Hannaford? I sometimes do and when I'm in there I grab their "Fresh Magazine" right up at the front. It includes some pretty awesome recipes, including these cookies. I'm in AUTUMN mode with my cooking now so this recipe was a "must-make" for me! I always thought snickerdoodles involved some sort of a nut but that could not be more wrong... Snickerdoodles are a type of sugar cookie made with cream of tartar and rolled in cinnamon sugar. For those novice bakers out there that do not know what cream of tartar is - you can find it in the spice aisle at the food store. It is an acidic kind of salt and is actually an active ingredient in baking powder. Cream of tartar is used to make sure these cookies aren't dense and it did it's job! They were both moist and chewy but the caramel gave it a nice crunch!

3 cups sugar, divided

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty foil and spray with cooking spray.

2. Prepare the caramel crunch. In a large, heavy skillet heat 1 cup of the sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to help it melt evenly. When the sugar is melted, lower heat to medium-low and cook to a golden color, about 3 to 6 minutes. Immediately pour the caramelized sugar carefully onto the prepared baking sheet. Tilt the sheet so that sugar spreads to a thickness of no more than 1/8 inch. Allow to cool until hard and cool to the touch, about 30 minutes.You will be surprised on how easy caramel is to make! It was my first time HEHE

3. Break the caramel into several pieces, then place on a cutting board and use a knife to chop into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces.

4. Preheat the oven to 325degreesF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with vegetable cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir 1/2 cup of the sugar together with the cinnamon. Set aside.

5. Make the cookies. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat the butter and remaining 11/2 cups sugar until smooth, about 1 minute. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until blended. On low speed, mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated. Stir in the chopped caramel pieces.The dough will be stiff.

6. Scoop out a well-rounded tablespoon of dough and roll between your palms into a smooth ball. Roll ball in the cinnamon sugar mix. Repeat with remaining dough and place balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.

7. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, just until the edges are golden but the centers are pale and feel soft if lightly touched, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve or store in a tightly covered container for up to 3 days, or freeze.

These cookies are about 120 calories each and 5 grams of fat. Worth every calorie though, I must say! Although, do I say that about all my cookies that I bake? Either way - Tutti Mangia!

P.S. I love homemade caramel!

Citrus Pound Cake with Orange Sauce

This was my first experience making pound cake from scratch. I used to be impartial to Sara Lee's frozen pound cake because it was easy but I will be using that NO MORE! Not to say that this recipe is easy, because for a novice cooker it is not, but it is definitely worth the effort.

 

For those of you who do not know, the name pound cake originated because the ingredients for them used to be one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour... that is definitely not the case anymore. I've read that apparently recipes that had simple ingredients were common because most people couldn't read. Thankfully, I can read, and when I saw this recipe that I had cut out from one of my old Cooking Light magazines, I had to make it! Pound cake dates back to the 1700s and is still a hit today, or so say my co-workers. *wink wink*

Cake:

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided

10 tablespoon butter, softened

1/2 cup (4 ounces) Neufchâtel cheese, softened

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

3 large eggs

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 large egg whites

Sauce:

2 cups fresh blood orange juice (about 12 oranges)

2/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325°. To prepare cake, coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon  flour. Set aside. Lightly spoon 2 1/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir well with a whisk.

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, and cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 7 minutes). Add rinds; beat well. Add 3 large eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine buttermilk, 1/4 cup orange juice, and lemon juice. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Place egg whites in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form, using clean, dry beaters. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold one-third of egg white mixture into batter, and fold in remaining egg white mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare sauce, combine the blood orange juice and 2/3 cup sugar in a large, heavy saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1 cup (about 30 minutes). Serve sauce with cake. Each slice is 316 calories and 10 grams of fat.

I think my favorite part of making this cake was beating the egg whites and sugar to make that cool "whipped cream" texture. The science behind recipes still ceases to amaze me. Please try out this recipe for a yummy breakfast treat! Tutti Mangia!

French Onion Salisbury Steak

I received a complimentary issue of a magazine called Cuisine at home the other day because I subscribe to their newsletters via e-mail (or at least I think that's why I got it). It had an abundance of recipes that I was dying to test out! That is where this recipe actually came from - plus I conveniently had a package of ground turkey in the fridge waiting to be used. Plus after seeing the picture displayed in the magazine, I had to taste it!

Salisbury Steak is known as a classic dinner staple for American families... not mine though! I can't remember a time eating Salisbury Steak when I was younger. Another staple that this dish replicates is French Onion Soup. I do remember eating my fair share of French Onion Soup growing up on the other hand! I would frequently get it at the diner near my house on Long Island and make it from scratch with friends while in college. Without further delay, here is the recipe:

For the steak -

1 1/4 lb ground beef or turkey (I used turkey)

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

2 tbsp minced scallions

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp flour

For the sauce -

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups sliced onions

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups beef broth

1/4 cup dry red wine (I didn't feel like opening a whole bottle so I omitted this)

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme

Combine ground beef, 1/4 cup parsley, scallions, salt and pepper. Divide evenly into four portions and shape into 3/4-1 inch thick oval patties. Place 2 tbsp flour in a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour. Reserve 1 tsp flour.

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium-high. Add patties and saute 3 minutes on each side, or until browned. Remove from pan. Add onions and sugar to pan; saute 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste; saute until paste begins to brown, 1 minute. Sprinkle mixture with reserved flour; cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, wine, salt and thyme.

Return meat to pan; bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Serve steaks on Cheese Toasts with onion sauce ladled over. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan. Each patty is 337 calories and 16g of fat if you use ground beef.

Cheese Toasts

4 slices Italian baguette, cut diagonally (1/2 inch thick)

2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp minced garlic

Pinch of paprika

1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 tbsp shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place bread on a baking sheet. Combine butter, garlic, and paprika; spread on one side of each slice of bread. Combine cheeses and sprinkle evenly over butter. Bake until bread is crisp and cheese is bubbly, 10-15 minutes. Each toast is 172 calories and 9 grams of fat.

I don't like soggy bread so I did not place it underneath the steak patties for that reason. I did still dip the bread in the lovely gravy that I made though! I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe to anyone craving a hearty meal who still wants eat healthy. It really warms you up inside! Tutti Mangia!

Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?"

I made dinner the other night with one craving - Dijon mustard.

I happened to have some chicken thighs in the freezer so I defrosted those in the morning. The awesome thing about the recipes below is that they both use fairly common ingredients that most people have in their pantry already. The fun thing about cooking is that you can always improvise on certain ingredients if you don't have them anyway - as I did below!

This recipe is courtesy of Ellie Krieger, adapted from www.foodnetwork.com.

Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs
Ingredients:
4 large bone-in chicken thighs, skins removed (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 tablespoons grainy French mustard
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram (shockingly I didn't have any so I didn't use it!)
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Combine mustard, garlic, marjoram and maple syrup in a small bowl. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons mustard mixture evenly on top of each chicken thigh, being careful to cover as much of the surface as possible to form a "crust." Arrange chicken in a glass baking dish. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until mustard mixture has formed a crust and is slightly hardened, and juices run clear when the chicken is pierced.

For a side-dish, I stuck with the Dijon-mustard theme and made roasted potatoes and asparagus. The asparagus was just dressed with salt, pepper and olive oil before cooking though. I didn't want to over-do it! The potatoes were crispy and popped in your mouth because I roasted them. The mustard seeds formed a delicious crust on the outside and the lemon was a great addition.

This recipe was adapted from www.epicurious.com - one of my favorite websites!

Mustard-Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I did not use FRESH so HA!)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel (I didn't have a real lemon)
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3 pounds 1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter mixed unpeeled red-skinned and white-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch-wide wedges (I used baby small potatoes that did not need to be cut)

Position 1 rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, lemon peel, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add potatoes; sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat. Divide potatoes between prepared baking sheets, leaving any excess mustard mixture behind in bowl. Spread potatoes in single layer. Roast potatoes 20 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and roast until potatoes are crusty outside and tender inside, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes longer.

This is what it looks like before cooking, after all the ingredients were on them.

This is what it looks like after cooking. Much more appetizing, don't you agree?

I would highly recommend both of these dishes for anyone to try, even a novice chef. I frequently roast potatoes and many different vegetables during the Fall and Winter months, so I will definitely be using that recipe as one of my go-to's from now on. For anyone feeling particularly inspired by Ellie Krieger's chicken dish, you should go out and buy her cookbook called "The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle". It won a few awards in the Cooking World and contains tons of healthy recipes - worth picking up.

Here is a picture of the final dish --> Tutti Mangia!

Homeade Margarita Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza? If you live in America, you love pizza. I dare someone to argue that fact. This recipe is a great go-to meal made with pantry staples that comes together in no time!


It just takes a few simple ingredients - as you can see. I use a lot of shortcuts because, as I've said before, I'm a busy girl.
- Pillsbury Pizza Crust
- Fresh mozzarella cheese (Sorrento is one of my favorites, it melts so well!)
- Marinara Sauce
- Fresh basil
I don't want to get knocked for using store-bought marinara sauce because 9 times out of 10 I make my own and slave over the stove for hours to simmer it to the correct taste, just like Grandma used to do. Sometimes I could use a little help.... that is where this Tuttorosso sauce comes into play. I have to say that I have tested many bottled sauces and this is one of my favorites. That is probably because I use their canned tomatoes when making my own sauce. You don't taste any sugar or other additives like some of them out there.

The directions for this recipe could not be easier either - just roll out the pizza dough, right out of the can. I don't even use a rolling pin, I just put a little olive oil on a baking sheet and roll it out sicilian style - into a rectangular shape. Let that bake for about 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven then flip the dough over. This helps it get that thin-crust pizza flavor that everyone loves! Let the dough cook for another 5-7 minutes on it's own and then put on the marinara sauce, fresh basil (shredded by hand, not cut perfectly), and mozzarella cheese (cut into thick circles). You can also add any other cooked ingredients at this stage if you would like. As you can see, I had some little pepperoni slices, so I threw those on there. Let it cook in the oven until the cheese melts to your liking - just don't burn it!


Try to let it cool off when it comes out of the oven - I know it looks so damn good, I burnt my tongue! Tutti Mangia!

Chicken Meatballs Piccata

This will be one of my first blog posts that I actually used one of the 90+ cookbooks that I own. Yes I have a "collecting" problem but we don't have to talk about that right now. I bought this one recently too (the title caught my eye) - I love meatballs of all kinds!

I decided to make pasta alongside these meatballs (even though they are not ordinary) for two reasons: 1) I love pasta and will use any excuse to eat it and 2) I knew the sauce in this recipe was going to be luscious and tangy all at the same time. Boy was I right about that! It was delicious with the lemon juice and the capers... MMMHH - I couldn't eat enough of the sauce, I made sure I had some with every bite. Of course I spoiled myself and had a glass of white wine with this meal as well.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 1/4 lbs ground chicken or turkey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup small capers, drained and rinsed
Vegetable oil spray

1) Preheat the oven broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil, and spray the foil with vegetable oil spray.

2) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. While vegetables cook, whisk egg and milk in a mixing bowl, add breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons parsley and Italian seasoning, and mix well.

3) Add 1/2 of vegetable mixture and chicken to the mixing bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well again. Make mixture into 1 1/2 inch meatballs, and arrange meatballs on the prepared pan. Spray tops of meatballs with vegetable oil spray.

4) Broil meatballs 6 inches from the broiler element, turning them with tongs to brown all sides.

5) While meatballs brown, add butter to the vegetables remaining in the skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Whisk in stock and lemon juice, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Stir in remaining parsley and capers, and simmer 3 minutes, uncovered.

6) Remove meatballs from the baking pan with a slotted spoon, and add meatballs to sauce. Bring to a boil, and simmer meatballs, covered, over low heat, turning occasionally with a slotted spoon, for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and no longer pink. Serve immediately.

Tutti Mangia!