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.

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...

Waldorf Salad

I was searching in my fridge this morning for dinner ideas and came across this left over chicken. I decided to make a Waldorf Salad with it. I also ended up making a risotto too. I love risotto but I rarely make it. It isn't hard, just takes a little time. It turned out pretty good. Here's the recipe for the salad...

Chicken Waldorf Salad

2 cups shredded leftover chicken (or turkey)
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 crisp apples (like Gala or Macintosh) cored and chopped
1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup non fat yogurt
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard (more if you like)
1 tsp honey (or agave)
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper

In a large bowl combine the chicken, celery, apples, grapes, and pecan. In a smaller bowl combine the yogurt, mayo, honey, dijon (start with the tsp of mustard, add more if you like), and salt Whisk until well combined. Add dressing to salad and toss to evenly coat. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Cauliflower Gratin with Gruyere

I just realized that I hadn't posted this recipe from the meal I made last week. It was a hit. So much so that I have been asked to make it for Christmas dinner. So here it is...

Cauliflower Gratin With Gruyere

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 2 lbs.)

1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp spike

2 tsp butter

1/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese, divided

2 tbsp finely chopped chives

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1-2 roasted garlic cloves, chopped up

3 tbsp all purpose flour

2 cups 1% milk

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp olive oil plus

1-2 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Place cauliflower on a non stick baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 tsp spike and 1 tbsp olive oil. Toss to coat. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until almost tender. Let cool.

Preheat broiler. Meanwhile, melt butter in a sauce pan. Remove from heat and stir in panko, then stir in 1/4 cup cheese and chives. Set aside.

Heat medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add 1-2 tsp olive oil. Add onion and saute for approx. 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds or so (just to warm it a bit). Add flour. Cook 1 minutes. Make sure to stir constantly. Gradually add milk, (stir with a whisk). Bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or so, until it thickens. Make sure to constantly stir. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Put cauliflower in a 2 quart broiler safe baking dish. Pour mixture over the cauliflower. Toss to coat. Top with cheese/panko mixture. Broil for approx 3 minutes (or until golden brown)

You can prepare this dish a day ahead. Just refrigerate the sauce, panko mixture, and cauliflower separately. Assemble it all the next day before baking. Warm the cauliflower and cheese mixture in the oven before adding the panko mixture and broiling

Citrus Butt Chicken

I was watching Paula Dean one day. She had Rosie O'Donnell on. She made this Beer in the Rear Chicken. It looked so good that I had to try it. I changed it up. I used a can of Dole's Tangerine Orange and didn't make the BBQ sauce but instead used a bit of Diane's Chicken n Rib BBQ Sauce. The dry rub is absolutely amazing. After trying it with whole chicken, I decided to try it with chicken pieces...sort of like a shake n bake. It was fabulous! I cooked the chicken pieces for about 45-50 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Citrus Butt Chicken

Ingredients

5 lb. whole chicken, rinsed, patted dry

2-3 tbsp dry rub (recipe follows)

1 (12oz.) can citrus pop (like Dole's Tangerine Orange)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degree F.

Rub chicken all over with the dry rub making sure to get some around the cavity opening as well. (I ended up using closer to 3-4 tbsp of dry rub). Put the chicken in place over the citrus can on top of a roasting pan (I removed about a 1/3 of the can of citrus pop...ok ok so I drank it). Put the chicken in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 325 degree F and roast for 90 minutes. Periodically baste the chicken with the drippings until very tender. Very carefully remove chicken from the can, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes (the can and juice inside will be extremely hot, so be very careful). Serve with Diane's Chicken n Rib BBQ Sauce ( or your fav BBQ sauce)

Dry Rub

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sweet paprika

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garlic power

1 tsp chili powder

pinch cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients together and store in an air tight container.

Original recipe...Beer in the Rear Chicken by Paula Dean 2008

Oven Baked Orange Glazed Chicken Wings

This is the recipe I made with the Roasted Potatoes with Parmy. They were yummy, but next time I would cut the orange down to 2 oz. instead of 4...

Oven Baked Orange Glazed Chicken Wings

12 whole chicken wings (I used wings that were already separated)

1 (6oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate (use 4 oz)

3 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp honey

1 tbsp soy sauce (I used tamari soy sauce, I like the taste better)

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I omitted)

I added 2 cloves of roasted garlic

Directions

Place a 6 quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1  inch of water in bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Remove tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Using kitchen shears, or a knife, separate wings at the joint. Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degree F.

Replace the paper towels with parchment paper (I couldn't find mine so I used a non stick baking sheet) Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the  wings over and cook for another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

During the last 20 minutes of cooking the chicken, place the orange juice concentrate, hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes into a small saucepan, stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the mixture to about 1/2 cup, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool at least 5 minutes.

Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to a large mixing bowl along with the glaze and toss to coat. Serve warm.

Recipe by Alton Brown, 2007

Roasted Potatoes with Parmesan

I mentioned the other day that I was going to make these. I hadn't made them before so this was a 1st. They turned out so well! Even my nephew (my sous chef) loved them.

Roasted Potatoes with Parmesan

6 tbsp parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 bag small red potatoes, quartered

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt (I used kosher but sea salt would work too)

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Place quartered potatoes in a bowl and toss with olive oil. Combine  1/2 the parmesan, salt, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne in a small bowl. Then add the parmesan mixture to potatoes and toss to coat. Arrange potatoes on a non stick baking sheet. Bake for approx. 25 min. Remove from oven and place potatoes into bowl. Toss with remaining parmesan. 

Coleslaw

 Here is the coleslaw recipe I used with my slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches.  It is from the FoodTv Canada show "Chef at Home". Michael Smith has 3 shows...Chef at Home,  Chef at Large and a new one Chef Abroad. The 1st two are great shows  (the 3rd one is new and I haven't seen it yet) but I love the Chef at Home show as he uses everyday ingredients in his recipes and I love his philosophy on cooking....

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes your own, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own   Michael Smith

Michael Smith's Coleslaw

Ingredients:

1/2 cup   cider vinegar

1/2 cup   yellow mustard

1/2 cup   sugar (I used 1/3 cup Agave)

1/2          head cabbage, cored and sliced thinly

1              red pepper, stems and seeds removed and thinly sliced

1              red onion, peeled and sliced thinly

3              carrots, peeled and grated

                sea salt and freshly ground peeper, to taste

Directions

Whisk the vinegar, mustard and sugar together. Put cabbage, pepper. onion and carrots into a large bowl. Add dressing and toss well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few hours to let flavours mingle.

(A nice change is to substitute a grain mustard for the yellow mustard)   

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

I am sitting here waiting for my oven to finish self cleaning (manufacturer suggested this to rid oven of new smell), so I thought I would post a recipe that I made recently.

I have always been intriqued by pulled pork sandwiches, but am really not a fan of the smoke flavour. Imagine my suprise and delight when I found a recipe that didn't require smoking the meat...and it was so so simple! Enjoy!!!

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Prep Time : 10 min

Total Time: 10hr 10 min

Makes: 8

1 boneless pork shoulder (2 lb./900 g)

3 onions, sliced, separated into rings

1/2 cup Diane's Chicken n Rib BBQ Sauce

8 sesame seed kaiser buns, split

Place meat in slow cooker; top with onions and BBQ sauce. Cover with lid. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (or on high for 4 to 5 hours)

Remove meat from slow cooker; cut off and discard excess fat. Chop meat into small pieces or shred with fork. Put sauce from slow cooker into a sauce pan and reduce (I added about 1/4 cup more of Diane's Chicken n Rib BBQ Sauce) Return meat and sauce to slow cooker, stir until evenly coated with sauce.

Fill rolls with meat mixture.

Add slice of cheddar cheese if desired and/or coleslaw.

AWESOME SOUP

OMG People!

I just made a soup from the November Cooking Light Magazine. It was absolutely amazing and very easy to make! Even my picky 10 year old nephew (my sous-chef for this recipe) loved it.

I made a few modifications....first I used organic vegetable broth instead of chicken broth (then my older sis, a vegetarian, can eat it). I used olive oil instead of canola oil. I used my immersion blender to puree and didn't strain the soup. I think it makes it heartier (hmmm that spelling doesn't look right). I used store bought garam masala but I will add the Cooking Light's recipe.

If you have a few bucks, this is one magazine that is worth subscribing too. I have rarely made one of their recipes that I didn't like.

Here's the recipe or you can go to cookinglight.com to get it....

Roast Butternut Squash Soup with Apples and Garam Masala

With butternut squash, apples and maple syrup, this soup is rich with cool weather flavours. If you prepare a batch of our Garam Masala, use it in this recipe.

Yield

10 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup soup)

Ingredients

* 8 cups (inch cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 medium)

* 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided (I used olive oil)

* 2 tablespoons maple syrup

* 1 1/4 teaspoons garam masala

* 1 teaspoon kosher salt

* 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

* cooking spray (I used a non stick jelly roll pan so didn't use the spray)

* 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

* 4 cups chopped Braeburn apple (about one pound)

* 1/4 cup dry white wine

* 3 cups of water

* 1 (14 0z) can fat free less sodium chicken broth

* 2 tablespoons half n half cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees.

2. Combine squash, 2 tablespoon oil, syrup, garam masala, salt and pepper. Arrange squash mixture in a single layer on a jelly roll pan, coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until squash is tender.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add shallots to pan; saute 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in apples; saute 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Stir in squash mixture, 3 cups water and broth. Bring to a simmer; cook 3 minutes. Place half squash mixture in a blender. Remove centre piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place clean towel over the opening in the blender lid(to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Strain squash mixture through sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture. Stir in half n half.

Melissa Williams, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2008

Garam Masala

* 2 tablespoons cumin seeds

* 2 tablespoons coriander seeds

* 2 tablespoons cardamom seeds

* 2 tablespoons black peppercorns

* 1 teaspoon whole clove

* 1 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg

* 1 (2 inch) cinnamon stick, broken

1) Combine all ingredients in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground. Store in an air tight container. Yield 3/4 of a cup (serving size 1/4 teaspoon. Note: Freeze garam masala in air tight container for up to 6 months)

ENJOY ALL!!!!