New Recipe Review- Garden Risotto

Risotto is a treat I enjoy in restaurants, but never thought I would be able to make myself. You know, one of those things that just sounded too complicated to even bother. But when I received my May issue of Cooking Light and there was a whole section on risotto, and I was inspired to say the least. I ended up not making any of the recipes in that magazine, but I found one on FoodNetwork.com that sounded perfect for beginners ... OK, fine, it used stuff up that was in our fridge! Here is the recipe I used for my first attempt at risotto.

I followed the recipe to a tee, I was too hesitant to make any changes to something I've never made before. The only changes I made were to go completely overboard on the veggies (nothing wrong with that, IMO!)

Look at all those fresh ingredients!!

Sautéing some onions

Adding the rice.

Homemade chicken broth simmering away in the skillet

Don't stop stirring! I'll call this an action shot.

Um, I may have gone overboard on the veggies. Is there such thing?

And topped with fresh grated Parmesean Reggiano cheese. Yum!

The risotto part of it turned out awesome, I was so proud of myself! I felt that the rest of the recipe actually ended up being a little bland though. All the vegetables kind of had the same flavor, I felt like it needed more acid- tomatoes or lemon or something.

I served it with a salad of spring greens, grapes, goat cheese, and vinaigrette; and Fetzer Riesling- which was very good and only $8. Kind of tasted like sparkling cider, which is a good thing IMO!

(image from BevMo.com)

Lost my (Roasting) Virginity

I did it. My first roast last night. I don't know what to say, other than I guess I was feeling "wife-y" or like little Suzy Homemaker.

I also kind of get (if you can say that) the myth of "engagement chicken" a bit more. Rumor has it, you make that dish, and your man proposes. You can read more about it here, but I don't think it's the recipe itself, it's more the roast (I actually considered the recipe, but I was afraid of all that lemon in there). Something about making a roast probably smacks your guy upside the head and all he can see is "family" I don't know. Maybe. Or maybe I just offended all the "readers" of my blog.


Here is the recipe I used. I followed it exactly, except the chicken I used was closer to 3.5/4lbs, so it did have to cook a little longer. I made roasted red potatoes with asparagus with it. Perfect combo!


Roasted Red Potatoes with Asparagus

6-8 red potatoes
1 bunch of asparagus
2 T olive oil
2 T minced garlic
2 t fresh thyme
2 t crushed rosemary
1/2 t kosher sea salt

Preheat oven to 425. Boil potatoes in water for about 10 minutes. They don't have to be fully cooked, just softened. Meanwhile, mix garlic, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, and salt in small bowl, and stir well. When potatoes are boiled, cut into chunks, place in glass baking pan, and pour olive oil mixture over them. Stir to coat, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add asparagus (cut into chunks), stir to coat with olive oil mixture as well, and cook for another 15 minutes, uncovered.

Adapted from this recipe.


I served the meal with a Polka dot Riesling. Since the original recipe-poster for the chicken said the recipe was German, I thought a Riesling would go great. I honestly don't know if I would have picked up this particular one if the wine store I was at had a bigger selection, but it was pretty good. It was crisp and sweet, and went well with the meal. I just wish the flavor was a little bolder.


image from: www.gallofamilystore.com

Dinner Last Night

... was delicious! I was craving classic Italian and did spaghetti and turkey meatballs with a big side of cheesy garlic bread.


Turkey meatballs:

1 package 93% ground turkey (about 1 lb)
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 egg
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp basil

mix together, form balls, brown in olive oil, put in slow cooker with tomato sauce (I cheated and used a jar) on low for about an hour. I put them all in the slow cooker together to make sure the meatballs are cooked all the way through and to give it all a nice flavor.

Meanwhile, crack open a bottle of this:

Sebastiani Zinfadel, photo from www.sebastiani.com