Risotto with Pesto and Peas

 How can you not love risotto?  It's like giving your tummy a big warm hug.  The creamy, rich, goodness is enough to make anyone feel loved and well cared for.  Which is why I mourn the fact that NO ONE IN MY FAMILY likes it!

 Never mind them.  Usually I try to be accommodating, selecting only dishes that I know will be enjoyed by all (or at least by most).  However, as the designated cook of the family, every once and a while, I'm making what I want.  And if they really can't get behind it, well, that's why God invented PB&J.

I think this has been my favorite risotto so far.  I love just about anything that is blanketed in pesto.  Add cheese, wine, ham and peas, and you have heaven in a bowl.  And I'm happy to add that my family did eat this one, my Risotto Reluctant Husband even said he wouldn't mind if I made it again.

Risotto With Pesto and Peas
Food Network Magazine April 2012

Ingredients

3 leeks (white and green parts only) thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
3/4 cup diced ham
3/4 cup pesto
1 cup small fresh mozzarella balls or diced fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1.  Make the broth:  Bring 6 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the leeks and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl.  Adjust the heat to keep the broth at a gentle simmer.

2.  Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon butter in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Add the wine and cook, stirring, until almost evaporated, about 1 more minute.

3.  Add 2 cups of the hot leek broth to the rice; cook, stirring occasionally, until almost absorbed, about 6 minutes (adjust the heat to keep risotto at a simmer).  Add 1 more cup broth and cook, stirring, until almost absorbed, about 5 more minutes.  Add the leeks, peas, and 1 more cup broth and cook, stirring until almost absorbed, about 5 more minutes.  Taste the rice: if it is not fully cooked, add a little more broth and continue to cook, stirring, until al dente.

4.  Stir in ham and remaining 1 tablespoon butter.  Remove from the heat; stir in 2/3 cups pesto, the mozzarella and Parmesan.  Season with salt.  Divide among bowls, and top with the remaining pesto.

Grilled Pesto Salmon-Orzo Salad

Have you ever tried a recipe and expected NOT to like it? Yeah well, I have. It's not that I pick a recipe and think "that looks disgusting! I'm gonna make it!" Usually it starts out looking good, fun, or adventurous, but as it all comes together in the kitchen, it becomes pretty apparent that this wasn't the dish for us. That's kind of how I felt walking into this one. It has all the makings of a delicious dish, but once all of the ingredients were bought and my sleeves were rolled up, I just wasn't feeling that confident.

I love it when my instincts are wrong, at least in this scenario. Not only did I love it, my slightly picky husband and really picky kids loved it. A hearty, yet fresh and light salad that is full of flavor and texture. I really loved the roasted sweet bites of cherry tomatoes, with the salty salmon and orzo, creamy beans and bitter arugula. Such a great blend of flavors. If you're looking for a break from all of the comfort foods of fall, I highly recommend this one!


Grilled Pesto Salmon-Orzo Salad
From Cooking Light

Ingredients

2 6 oz skinless salmon fillets
1/4 cup commercial pesto, divided
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 (1/2 inch thick) sweet onion slices
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes
cooking spray
1 cup uncooked orzo
1 (15.5 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups firmly packed arugula
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Brush fish evenly with 2 tablespoons pesto; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush 1 tablespoon pesto over onion slices. Toss tomatoes with remaining 1 tablespoon pesto, and place on a 12-inch square of heavy-duty foil. Fold edges of foil up around tomatoes to form a bowl, keeping tomatoes in a single layer. (Do not completely enclose).

2. Place salmon, onion slices, and foil bowl with tomatoes on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 14 minutes, or until salmon is desired degree of doneness, onion is tender, and tomatoes begin to burst, turning salmon and onion after 7 minutes.

3. Cook Orzo according to package directions. Drain. Combine orzo, beans, arugula, and lemon juice in a large bowl.

4. Using a fork, gently break salmon into large chunks, and chop onion slices. Combine Orzo Salad with Arugula and White Beans, salmon, onion, tomatoes, and accumulated tomato juice. Toss gently; sprinkle with pepper. Serves 6

P.S. The Oatmeal, one of my favorite websites I visit for a laugh just came out with THIS new sketch. It's called Why I Don't Cook at Home. Something you probably can't relate to, but I imagine you'll get a kick out of it just the same!

Chicken and Orzo Salad

I love salads, LOVE them. Especially for lunch. I think what's so great about a salad is that there are about a bazillion different ways to make them, and more often then not it's going to come out delicious. They're fresh, healthy (usually), and I always feel so good about eating one. So when I was at Williams Sonoma (my home away from home), I couldn't resist coming home with this book.

If you're a salad lover, go buy this book, seriously. I plan on making every single recipe out of it. I have fun just flipping through it. The best part about it is that every salad is fairly simple with ingredients that can be found at a normal grocery store. They also look wonderfully healthy and full of great flavor.

This is the very first salad in the book and it's delicious. Shredded chicken, orzo, grape tomatoes...but the best part was the dressing. It's so easy, pesto and vinegar, why haven't I thought of that before? It was such a filling salad and was packed with the perfect balance of flavors. A little tip on pesto, if you're going to buy it, buy the plastic tubs found in the refrigerator section. The jars that sit on the shelf tend to lose most of that strong basil flavor.

Chicken and Orzo Salad
William Sonoma Salads

Ingredients

2/3 cup pesto
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used garlic flavored rice vinegar)
salt and pepper
3 tablespoon olive oil (I didn't even add it and it was fine)
3/4 lbs orzo pasta
2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken (this is where rotisserie chickens come in handy)
1/2 lb halved cherry tomatoes
6 oz baby spinach

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the pesto, vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil until smooth.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and the orzo. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking until the pasta is al dente, according to the package directions. Drain rinse under cold running water, and drain again. Add the orzo to the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly.

3. Add the chicken, tomatoes and spinach to the orzo and toss gently to combine, the serve.

Roasted Asparagus with Green Garlic & Panko Recipe

This past Saturday at the Ferry Plaza farmer's market I found lots of harbingers of Spring, all green--asparagus, green garlic, artichokes and even obscure ones like wild radish rapini. I bought a bit of each. The rapini I will blanch then probably toss with dressing or pasta and the artichokes I will surely roast. But I picked up the asparagus and the green garlic without any specific plans.

Green garlic is milder than regular garlic and tastes and looks a bit like large bulbous scallions. There are lots of recipes that use green garlic as an accent in soup, sauces, risotto and pizza. You can chop and saute them the same way you would any other green onion. Because green garlic is in season at the same time as asparagus it is often paired with it and frankly every asparagus and green garlic recipe sounds great to me. Both are springy and green but one more earthy and grassy, the other sweet and oniony.

A typical way to use green garlic is to make a pesto. You can cook it and then puree it or puree it raw. But if you use it raw, it will have a bite! I made a raw pesto and then coated the asparagus with it and then dipped it into panko and roasted it until the panko was golden brown, the asparagus cooked through and the green garlic mellowed and sweet. I was inspired by a number of other recipes to create this one and I'm pleased with the way it turned out. It's good as a side dish with something simple like roast chicken and rice.

The recipe makes way more pesto than you need for a big bunch of asparagus, but use the rest with hot pasta or use it to coat fish or seafood and then top with crumbs or panko. You could also use on toast or dab it on goat cheese. A bit of the pesto would be good swirled in soup as well, especially asparagus soup!

Roasted Asparagus with Green Garlic & Panko
Serves about 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup stalks and bulbs green garlic, trimmed and chopped (about 3) remove dark green bits
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 bunch medium asparagus spears (about 16 stalks), trimmed, the bottom 1/3 peeled with a vegetable peeler

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Oil a large foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. In a blender or food processor, puree green garlic with olive oil, lemon juice and salt until smooth. Place 1/2 cup panko in a 9x13 baking pan. Place the asparagus on a cutting board or clean surface and rub with about 1/4 cup pesto or enough to coat. Place the asparagus in the baking dish and cover with the remaining panko. Carefully transfer asparagus to prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Roast until browned, about 15 minutes. Serve right away.

Enjoy!

Deviled Eggs-Done Two Ways

My family loves eggs. We like them boiled, scrambled, fried, poached, you name it. My son once woke me up at three in the morning asking for eggs, I think you get the picture. So come Easter time, it's never been tough for us to finish off the two dozen or more eggs that we dye every year, especially knowing that we are going to "Devil" them, or whatever that particular verb might be!

I don't know how deviled eggs got their name, but I do know that can eat about twelve in one sitting! I'm pretty picky about how they are made too, lots of mustard, horseradish, flavor galore. But this year I took a leap of faith and tried a few recipes from this book.

My parents, knowing of my love for deviled eggs, got this for me a few years ago. The first type I tried were the "Pesty Devils" which had pesto and sundried tomatoes in them. They were wonderful, and if you are a pesto fan, you will definitely love them. They are also very easy and require only a few ingredients. The sundried tomatoes aren't essential, but they sure do add a wonderful sweet chewiness.

Pesty Devils
Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon drained and chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled, cut in half, and yolks mashed in a bowl
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons prepared pesto
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Gently press the sun-dried tomatoes between several layers of paper towel to remove excess oil.

2. Combine to thoroughly mashed yolks with the sour cream and pesto. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic powder. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.

3. Fill the whites evenly with the mixture and garish each egg half with a little dab of pesto.

The second eggs I made were the Tex-Mex Diablos. I loved these for their southwestern taste and the sweet crunch of the corn. It has your classic tex-mex flavors like cumin and chili powder, with the heat of cayenne, delicious! I'm tempted to make this whole thing into an egg salad and wrap it in a tortilla for something really different!


Tex-Mex Diablos
Deviled Eggs


Ingredients

6 hard cooked eggs, peeled, cut in half, and yolks mashed in a bowl
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons corn kernels, drained well
2 teaspoons hot chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoon canned chopped green chiles, drained well
2 teaspoons shredded Monterey Jack, shredded (I didn't use this)
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Combine the thoroughly mashed yolks with the sour cream. Stir in the corn, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne, chiles, and Moneterey Jack. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.

2. Fill the whites evenly with the mixture and garnish each egg half with shredded cheese.



How do you like your eggs?

Cheese and Pesto Puff Pastries

I know these might not be much to look at, but trust me when i say that this might be the most delicious appetizer you ever make, if not the richest! These puff pastries are stuffed with a sharp provolone cheese sauce, a tangy pesto, crunchy bacon bits, and bright tomato to even it all out. The first time I made these, I didn't add tomato because I didn't think I could make it fit with all the other ingredients, well, I would try hard to make it fit because they are the perfect ingredient to round out the richness of the other ingredients. This is such a delicious party food, and they'll disappear in no time!

I am going to post the original recipe, but here are my notes. I really only need half of the cheese sauce that you are instructed to make, I will definitely half it next time. Also, I wouldn't bother letting this sit in your fridge before cooking. In fact, I think it made them a bit soggy and greasy. The second time I made them, they came out so puffy and crispy, much better. Enjoy!

Cheese and Pesto Puff Pastries
By Favorite Brand Name Appetizers

Ingredients

1 package puff pastry dough, thawed
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
6 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup flour
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sharp provolone cheese, shredded
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper
fresh plum tomatoes, diced
basil pesto (the refrigerated stuff in the grocery store is the best)
Cooked bacon (4-5 slices) crumbled

Directions

1. Roll puff pastry dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 3-inch circles. Mix egg and water in small bowl. Brush surface of each circle lightly with egg mixture. Set aside.

2. Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Whisk flour, then cream. Continue stirring until mixture thickens and becomes smooth. Remove from heat. Add Provolone, Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Place 2 teaspoons of mixture onto each pastry circle and top each with several pieces of tomato. Add 1/4 teaspoon pesto and a few pieces crumbled bacon to each circle. Cover pastry with another circle of dough and using your fingers, press the edges together to seal. Place pastries on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight (nah).

3. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake pastries about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.


Does this look familiar to anyone? If you are a visitor of Biz's blog, Biggest Diabetic Loser, you know that she's always got such fantastic pictures and food. I always look forward to seeing what she's up to. Well, a few weeks ago, she posted this gorgeous picture after going on a walk during a foggy day. I had commented that I wanted to blow that picture up and hang it on my wall. A day or two later, she sent me the file and I was able to do just that. Isn't it gorgeous! I love my bloggy friends. Thanks Biz, we love it!