Winter Squash Risotto with Sage and Parmesan

I went to my vegetarian sister's for dinner last night. She made a simple spinach salad with tangerine slices, chopped pecans and a lemon, extra virgin olive oil dressing and this Winter Squash Risotto. Was a great meal. The risotto is a recipe from Jack Bishop's "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen" cookbook. This is an interesting cookbook that breaks the recipes down by the season. A great way to look at cooking actually....using the ingredients that would be available at that time of year were we not to have hot houses for growing veggies...She had giving me a copy of this book and I have looked through it, but now I will have to seriously try some of the other dishes...the 1st will be the Orange Risotto Cakes with Pistachio Crust (a great way to use any left over risotto the next day)



Winter Squash Risotto with Sage and Parmesan

2 1/2 lbs. winter squash (butternut is a great choice), halved and seeded
reserve the seeds/scrapings
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 tbsp melted
sea salt or kosher
fresh ground white pepper
1 quart organic vegetable stock
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine (I sometimes use 1/2 cup apple juice and 1/4 cup water mixed, if
I don't have any wine or someone can't drink alcohol)
1 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for the table
1 tbsp fresh sage, minced
freshly grated nutmeg

Heat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in the middle. Place squash ona baking sheet cut side up. Brush flesh with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake until tender (about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. When cool, scrape flesh into bowl and lightly mash. (should get 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups approx).

Meanwhile, place the seeds/scrappings into a medium saucepan. Add vegetable broth and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the flavour has been extracted from the squash seeds/scrappings (about 20 minutes). Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large measuring cup, pressing on the suash scappings to extract as much liquid as possible. Return broth to the unwashed saucepan along with enough water (preferably filtered) to make 6 cups. (You may need to add as much as 2 cups of filtered water.) Bring broth to a simmer. Turn off heat and cover to keep broth warm.

Heat 1 tbsp of remaining butter and the oil in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, add rice and cook for 1 minute (ensure all the rice grains are coated with oil/butter). A wine and cook, stirring often, until the wine nearly evaporates, about 2 minutes. Add 1 ladle of broth and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice absorbs the liquid. Continue adding a ladle at a time, stirring frequently until the rice is creamy (not soupy) and soft but still a little al dente. (This takrs about 25 minutes and you probably won't use all the broth)

Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the squash, cheese, sage and remaining 1 tbsp of butter. Keep stirring with wooden spoon until butter melts (about 1 minute. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Serve immediately. Spinkle plated risotto with a bit more parmesan cheese.

Yummy Meatloaf

Here's a recipe that I have been tinkering with for a bit. Instead of forming it into a loaf, I have sometimes put it into mini loaf pans or greased muffin tins...you just have to adjust the cooking time a little. Let me know what you think...

Meatloaf

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup shredded carrot/parsnip
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
1/2 lb. extra lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground chicken or turkey
1/2 lb. ground pork
3/4 cup ketchup, divided (I use Heinz Organic)
1 pkg. stuffing mix for chicken
3/4 cup water
2 eggs/whites
1/2 cup shredded Medium or Old Cheddar Cheese or light cheese


Heat oven to 375°F. Cook onions and shredded carrots/parsnips in dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Let cool while doing the next step.

Mix meat, onions, carrots, 1/4 cup ketchup, stuffing mix, water and eggs/whites. Shape into 10x5-inch oval loaf in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with remaining ketchup.

Bake 55 min. to 1 hour or until cooked through (160°F). Sprinkle with cheese; bake 2 minutes or until melted.

Cat Cora's cookbook

So as a "Merry Christmas to me", I bought Cat Cora's new cookbook "Cooking from the Hip"...It's a great cookbook!! I especially enjoy the Sweet Potato and Scallion Latkes, Avocado Tzatziki, Curried Broccoli Salad and the Grilled Veggies with Orange Mayo!!! It's a well laid out book with lots of hints. I think that it is going to be a staple in my arsenal of cookbooks. I have ordered her earlier book but it hasn't arrived yet. I'll let you know what I think of it when I have tried it.

Baked Beans

New years day my family and I had a quiet day and a simple dinner. I made my waldorf salad (minus the turkey/chicken), a small baked ham it was a vermont style ham that I baked in the oven for 85 minutes at 325-350 degrees in a baking dish with a little over a 1/4 cup of water and about 1/4 cup of maple syrup...I covered the ham with foil, and baked beans. Here's the recipe for the baked beans (I made them without the bacon, then my vegetarian sister could eat them)...

Baked Beans

1 pkg white beans
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp molasses
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tins tomato soup
1 onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, thick sliced

Soak the beans overnight. Drain and rinse, then boil beans for 2 hours with enough water to cover. Rinse beans. In a slow cooker, mix 3 cups of beans with the remaining ingredients. Bake in slow cooker for 5-6 hours (depending on the beans it may take an extra hour).

Note: one package of white beans can make up to 6 cups of beans, so you can double the rest of the recipe or freeze 3 cups of beans (after the boiling) for later use...