Oui, Chef

Porcini Risotto with Chicken and Rosemary

For me, risotto ranks right up there with frittatas as a perfect dish with which to use up a fridge full of leftovers.  As long as you have some carnaroli or arborio rice in your pantry, a wedge of parmesan in the fridge, and a good quality chicken or vegetable stock on hand, a hearty and delicious risotto is just a few minutes away.

A few days ago, Muppet and I found a lonely leek, some leftover roasted chicken and some peas that needed to be used up in our fridge.  To these goodies we decided to add some lovely dried (and rehydrated) porcini mushrooms that my wife and I bought in the village of Asolo, Italy when we travelled there last year on a fabulous culinary bike tour with Chef Jody Adams, and our friends at ItaliaOutdoors.  I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy more while we were there, because these shrooms are big, meaty and loaded with flavor, a world apart from the crumbled scraps of mushrooms that often pass for dried wild ones here.

Roasted Cod Caprese

Given that we live within spitting distance of Cape Cod, you'd think finding a beautiful piece of the fish that lends it's name to this region wouldn't be too difficult a task.  Sadly, most of the cod we see around here, even in the best retail fish markets, doesn't get me very excited these days.  Sob....sob...sniffle...

Pasta Un-Carbonara

 

As a cook, I’d love to be remembered as someone who took inspiration from my culinary heritage, but also relished making dishes my own, not feeling shackled by recipes, but rather enjoying the freedom to apply skills I’ve acquired over the years to bring new techniques and ingredients to my cooking.  I’d also like to be remembered for the time I’ve spent cooking with my family, teaching my kids a few things about cooking before they head out on their own in the world.

Monster Meatballs with Basil Marinara Sauce

 

Peyton and I rolled a bunch of these meat bombs the other night, inspired by a bag of basil marinara sauce I found in the bottom of our freezer (I know what you're thinking...enough with the freezer food already!)  I'm starting to get concerned that the thing is bottomless. 

The last time we crafted meatballs, we whipped up some chevre stuffed lamb beauties, but this time were in the mood for something a bit more traditional.  I didn’t have a recipe handy, but recalled seeing a gorgeous looking meatball recently on my friend Rose’s great blog, The Bite Me Kitchen, so we went there for a look see.

What immediately struck me about Rose’s post was the photo of her large, solitary meatball, nestled into a deep pool of marinara, and topped with melting burrata cheese.  I love the impact of serving one huge ball, rather than a few smaller ones, and the topping of melted cheese (we used a fresh mozzarella as we couldn’t find any burrata), makes for a very dramatic and tasty dish.

Making the balls takes just a few minutes, then a combination of cooking techniques; a quick bake, then a longer braise, renders the meatballs nicely browned, perfectly tender, and absolutely delicious.  Serve these with Rose’s marinara, the one detailed below, or your favorite from scratch recipe.

Peyton and I used my kitchen scale to measure out six of these monsters to ensure no one cried foul, or felt ripped off by getting a ball any smaller than everyone else at the table....you must be careful about these things, you know.  The marinara we used was leftover from the braciole we made earlier in the season.

Enjoy! - Steve

 

Recipe:

Monster Meatballs with Basil Marinara Sauce

By: Rose at "The Bite Me Kitchen" and Cucina Alessa (a So. Cal Restaurant)

(Print Friendly Recipe)

 

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 large egg
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 lb ground veal or ground pork

Method:

1. Mix crumbs and milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes. 
2. Mix in Parmesan, onion, basil, egg, garlic and pepper. Add sausage, ground meat, and blend well. 
3. Using wet hands, form the mixture into 3-inch balls. Place on baking sheet (freeze balls on parchment lined sheet that you're not eating, then transfer to ziplock bag). 
4. Bake until meatballs are light brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes, turning once. 
5. Add to sauce. Simmer, covered, 1 hr until tender, spooning sauce over and turning occasionally.
6. Just before serving, top with burrata, fresh mozzarella or parmesan and cover the pan for a few minutes to let the cheese melt.
7. Serve in shallow bowls or over pasta for a more filling meal.

For the recipe we used to make our Basil Marinara, click here: Basil Marinara Sauce

Tortilla and Chicken Lasagna

Every now and again, even the best laid menu plans go awry, and we’re left with an abundance of certain ingredients in our pantry of fridge that are crying out for some creative use.  Such was the case a few days ago when my wife noticed a few unopened packages of corn tortillas languishing in the back of the fridge, castaways from a planned fish taco feast that never materialized.  Further inspection turned up a few half-eaten jars of tomato salsa, some shredded cheese, and a huge bag of baby spinach. 

Whatever shall we do?

Braised Sausages with Balsamic Glazed Grapes and Onions

 
While I'm pretty good about cleaning up after myself when cooking at a leisurely (weekend) pace, I've been known to leave quite the debris field in my wake when slamming to get a weeknight meal on the table for the family.  And so, my wife loves it when I make a one pot meal on a weeknight, especially one that is as tasty as this one.  You see, while we have a rotating schedule of kitchen duties that gives everyone a chance to be a sous-chef, table cleaner, pot washer, or drier, it seems that my wife more often than not swaps duties with one of the kids and finds herself up to her elbows in soap suds cleaning up the mess I've left in the kitchen.  

Sorry, honey.

Bolognese Sauce

 
Bolognese.  

Just this one word evokes all sorts of wonderful childhood memories for me.  Nana’s Sunday “Gravy” was a staple of my early years, and if I close my eyes I can still see her tending her gently bubbling pot of sauce for hours, while all of us grandchildren took turns working alongside her, finessing the crank on her old Atlas pasta machine.

Some folks never stray far from the pasta sauce they grew up on, and my Nana’s (then my Mom’s) was certainly good enough to make me think twice before experimenting with other recipes.  Over the years however, I came to enjoy bolognese in a wide range of styles, some at the hands of other home cooks, some while dining out or traveling abroad, and one in particular from a wonderful Italian restaurant in Bar harbor, ME.

Braciole

This dish comes to us courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis of FoodTV fame.  You may have noticed that I rarely, if ever, cook food that I picked up from a TV show.  That's mostly due to the fact that the abundance of food tv these days is food as blood sport, not food you'd ever necessarily want to cook and serve your family and friends.  That's not to say I don't watch the competitive stuff, in fact I loved watching my friend Jody Adams compete on Top Chef Masters last season, and regularly tune into other Top Chef series' when they air.  I also have to admit to being a sucker for any Gordon Ramsey show, you know, like "Hell's Kitchen" or "The F Word".  I think part of the appeal of Ramsey's shows for me is a little game I play in my head as I watch, trying to gauge whether I think I could survive his tirades without throwing a dish at his head.

Fig and Radicchio Risotto

 

This was one of the fabulous dishes we learned to cook on our recent trip to Italy with Chef Jody Adams, and the gang from ItaliaOutdoors.  This risotto is packed with flavor, but is relatively "light" as risottos go, there is NO cream, and not a lot of butter and cheese to speak of.  I know...I know, it's hard for you to believe that I can like it so much given that it isn't just swimming in fat, to be honest, as someone that's used to lots of cream, butter or cheese in my risotto, I was a little shocked myself.  

What makes this dish so exciting is the classic juxtaposition of sweet (from the figs) and bitter (from the radicchio), toss in a little saltiness from the cheese, and the earthy richness of the rice and red wine, and you have a dish in perfect balance, without unnecessary fat and calories.  As you all know, I'm not exactly afraid of fat, but if I don't NEED it in a dish, I don't WANT it in a dish.  

Italian Pot Roast

My wife and I sat down the other night with a few cookbooks to suss out some new "ski house friendly" recipes to add to our normal seasonal rotation.  These are dishes that are either easily and quickly prepared at the end of a long ski day, can be made without much fuss by tossing a bunch of stuff in a slow-cooker before hitting the slopes in the morning, or can be made at home in advance and easily transported to the mountain.

This "Italian Pot Roast" immediately caught our eye, and was SO GOOD, that it easily earned a spot in this ski season's meal plan.  We found the recipe in a great cookbook called The Gourmet Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World by Lynn Alley, in fact, it is the dish that graces the cover of the book.  Lynn shows the pot roast served over polenta, which was my intention too, but when I went to the pantry to reach for some, I found much to my horror, that we were out!  Luckily, I had some wheatberries there, and some leftover soffritto in the fridge that combined to make a tasty bed over which to serve this delicious roast.