Lemon Risotto with Peas, Proms and a Bake Sale

We've had a few extremely busy weeks and I feel like a broken record repeating it, but it really has been a wild ride here. Between senior proms, my surgery, soccer tryouts and various other functions, it seems almost impossible to find any time in the kitchen, nonetheless take pictures or write something. I might as well apologize already in advance, because until the middle of June I don't see it getting any better. 

To get back to the Proms though, both of them were a rousing success. She looked beautiful to her father and I (and we might be a tiny bit biased on this) and made us both choke up when we realized that our little girl is not so little anymore. The second prom which she attended with her best friend really hit us hard, they all looked so grown up and the little twinge I've been getting in my stomach about her leaving us soon hasn't let up and reality is starting to set in more with each day. Either way, I promised you all a picture, so here it is. Our daughter is the one in the pink dress which fit her personality perfectly and the girl in the yellow is her best friend.

The second thing on my agenda today is to let you all know that I'm participating in an online bake-sale that Becky from "Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves" is hosting on May 2nd. The bake-sale is going to be in the format of a silent auction and you can bid on some great goodies. Becky is hoping to raise money for a very worthy cause: Relay for Life, that will benefit the American Cancer Society and which she is also participating in. My contribution for this auction will be my Nutella Chocolate Cookies. The highest bidder will be able to pick their choice of bittersweet, semisweet, milk chocolate or white chocolate chips to customize the cookies to their taste. I hope you'll hop on over and check out all of the goodies up for auction and support a great cause that is very near and dear to my heart as well. My own daughter is actually participating in one of the Relay's for Life in our home state and will be walking in honor of her Opa, my dad, who passed away from cancer a few years ago.

Trying to bring this hodge podge of a blog post back to food isn't going to be very easy or eloquently, but here it goes, just pretend I'm doing a fine job. This Lemon Risotto with Peas has been in my recipe files for several years and it truly is perfect for, well Spring. I found this recipe in a Light and Tasty Magazine and besides the fact that it is actually somewhat healthy, it also tastes great. If you've ever cooked a risotto, you know that they are not hard, but they do take a little bit time and quite some stirring. This risotto has a wonderful bright taste from additions of white wine, lemon juice and lemon zest, but also a creaminess that only a well cooked risotto produces, along with the sweetness of peas and the nuttiness of freshly grated Parmesan. I usually serve this risotto alongside grilled salmon, but chicken or even lamb are just as tasty. If you enjoy a good risotto with a nice lemony flavor this is definitely a great recipe to try.

Lemon Risotto with Peas

~makes 8 servings~

(Print this recipe)

Ingredients:

5 to 5 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup white wine

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, heat broth and keep warm.

In a large nonstick skilled, saute shallots in butter for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add the rice, thyme and pepper; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in wine and lemon juice. Cook and stir until all of the liquid is absorbed.

Stir in heated broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Allow liquid to absorb between additions. Cook just until risotto is creamy and rice is almost tender. Total cooking time is about 20 minutes.

Add the peas, Parmesan cheese and lemon peel; cook and stir until heated through. Serve immediately.

Adapted from: Light and Tasty Magazine

Sirloin Steak Stir-Fry

This week has been hectic. I'm expecting guests starting Friday and will be having house guests for the next several weeks. I'm more than excited about this especially since they are some of my favorite people in the whole world. So, besides getting ready to make our home as comfortable as possible for our visitors, we've had early releases, parent teacher conferences, and the start of soccer season for our youngest. In case you are wondering where I'm going with this, it is that dinners need to be quick during busy times while also being fairly nutritious and the family has to approve of them as always.

This is how I found the recipe for this Stir-Fry. Most of the components can be prepared ahead of time, and putting everything together literally takes only 20 minutes, or until your rice is cooked. This is another Cuisine at Home dish that has won everyone in our home over. It is also an extremely versatile dish. I'm thinking that pretty much any vegetable would work in this. I could see this meal prepared  with broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms etc. There are so many options to customize it to your families taste. This recipe makes 6 servings but my kids were fighting over every last scrap in the pan, so there was nothing left over.

The recipe starts by making the sauce. Store bought hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, honey and pineapple juice along with ginger, garlic and salt get mixed together and reduced to about half the amount on the stove. This is something that could easily be done ahead of time and all you would have to do is re-heat it when ready to serve. The sirloin steak gets sliced thinly, then placed in a bowl for a quick toss with some brown sugar,  canola oil and a little kick from red pepper flakes. The vegetables are: shelled edamame, red pepper and scallions, but like I mentioned above, use whatever suits your taste. The vegetables are another component that can easily be cut up ahead of time and refrigerated to alleviate dinner time rush. The marinated steak gets a quick sear in a hot pan for a few minutes, the vegetables are added and quickly sauteed without overcooking them because you still want a bit of crunch. Final touches include a tablespoon of sesame oil and sesame seeds. The stir fry is served over rice and the sauce is drizzled over the top to everyone's liking, this way you can add as much or as little of the sauce as you desire.

A fantastic, quick, healthy dish! I was hoping for leftovers, but my kids obviously had different plans for sure. This is certainly a meal that fits a busy lifestyle and since I will be fairly busy in the next few weeks stay tuned for more "on the fly" dinner ideas. It is certainly not necessary to go the take out route when you can fix a meal this delicious in just about the same time it would take you to order it. This recipe got the thumbs up all the way around and I hope you'll give it a try as well!

Sirloin Steak Stir-Fry

(adapted from Cuisine at Home)

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) jar hoisin sauce
1 cup rice vinegar
1 (6 ounce) can pineapple juice
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2  red bell peppers, thinly sliced
1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds
Cooked rice

Preparation:

Combine hoisin, vinegar, pineapple juice, honey, garlic, ginger, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes.

Toss together sirloin, sugar, canola oil, and pepper flakes in a bowl to coat sirloin. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat, then stir-fry beef until browned, about 3 minutes.

Add bell pepper, scallion, and edamame; stir-fry a couple of minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the sesame oil.

Serve stir-fry with rice and prepared sauce on the side, then garnish with sesame seeds.

Black Beans with Rice and Coconut Shrimp

Is it Monday already again? Time seems to be flying lately and weekends go by way too fast. We had a fun hot weekend here in the Southwest with plenty of World Cup watching. Go Germany!

We also had a eventful food weekend, I was busy trying out a few new recipes and my wonderful husband was making homemade sausage. I'm hoping to have him write a guest post sometime soon about the great things he makes in the kitchen.

This weekend I set out to make a meal I have only had in restaurants so far, Coconut Shrimp. While thinking of side dishes I figured why not make homemade black beans served over white rice to keep the Caribbean feeling going. 

Beans were first. I found the recipe on Foodnetwork.com and was really happy with how the dish turned out. The beans are not complicated to make, but they do take a lot of time if made with dry beans, which I did. The beans are brought to a boil, then set aside for an hour, brought to a second boil and then lowered to a simmer for another hour and a half. After that you add spices along with onions and peppers, and once again the beans are cooked for another hour and a half or until soft. More seasonings and red wine vinegar finish off the dish. Thankfully after all this time the flavor in this dish was incredible and I will be making these beans many more times.

While the beans were cooking away I started working on the shrimp. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com, which was a good basic start but needed some alterations. Practically, shrimps are dipped in a seasoned flour mixture, get a quick bath through a simple beer batter, and are then tossed in unsweetened coconut. The coated shrimp are then laid out on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and take a chill in the refrigerator before being fried in oil. While we all enjoyed this recipe along with the beans and the rice, it was agreed that I would continue looking for a different coconut shrimp recipe. Don't get me wrong, this is a decent recipe but I wanted a little more oomph, and these were lacking a bit of that.

Following are the recipes for both, plus stay tuned for a giveaway coming on Wednesday! It is truly a great one and you don't want to miss it!

Black Beans

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups (about 1/2 pound) dried black beans

12 cups water

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped

4 garlic cloves, mined

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and black pepper to taste

Cooked white rice for serving (optional)

Directions:

Put the beans in a large saucepan, add the water and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Set Aside, covered, for 1 hour.

Return the beans to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cook uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and coriander and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add the onion mixture to the beans and continue simmering until the beans are very tender and the liquid has thickened, about 1 1/2 hours more.

If the beans seem to thick, adjust the consistency with a little bit of water. Stir in the vinegar, season with cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with white rice if desired.

Adapted from: Food Network

Coconut Shrimp 

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour, divided

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and Pepper 

1 egg

2/3 cup beer

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups flaked unsweetened coconut

24 shrimp, cleaned

3 cups peanut oil for frying

Directions:

Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow bowl. Season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Whisk together.

Place coconut in another shallow bowl.

Hold shrimp by tail end, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut, and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a deep--fryer or large pot.

Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, move shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve warm!

Adapted from: allrecipes.com

Mexican Rice

A while ago I received a message from an old friend. He wondered if I had any luck producing a decent Mexican rice recipe so far. Unfortunately, I had to tell him that my efforts, just like his, had only cooked up disaster after disaster. I have tried so many different recipes, but nothing has come close so far. Always up for a challenge I told him that I would go ahead and keep testing and tasting until I found the perfect blend of flavor and spice.

Mexican rice doesn't sound all that hard but it has sure proven to be. Every recipe I was finding was either bland or something else just wasn't right. Many recipes have an abundance of garlic, which overpowered everything else (and I like garlic). Others tasted like a cheap boxed mix. Even some restaurants I have eaten at can't produce a decent tasting rice on their plate. So my work was definitely cut out for me.

After talking to my friend for a bit, we both agreed that yellow rice is best and not the tomato based Spanish type rice. Now, I'm not an expert on Hispanic food, and even despite living in the southwest the rice in restaurants will vary from red to yellow. So forgive me if this is not 100% authentic, but the main goal was flavor in this endeavor.

I started reading through a ton of recipes online and made notes left and right. I finally came across a few that called for Goya seasoning* and I thought I was finally on to something. Starting with a high quality rice and a flavorful broth, I was finally able to achieve a rice that was worthy of being served to family and friends. I'm not completely sure if I want to keep relying on a seasoning mix like Goya and so my search will continue to find a way to achieve the same flavor without it. For the time being though, this makes one tasty rice full of everything I was looking for.

So Steve, this one is for you; while it is not my final work, I still truly hope you enjoy it!

* Goya seasoning is available in the southwest at a lot of grocery stores in the Hispanic food aisle. If you can't find it at your local store, you can easily purchase it here. There are 36 envelopes in the box and you only need 1 envelope per recipe made.

Mexican Rice

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice

3 cups chicken broth

1 envelope Sazon Goya seasoning with coriander and annatto

Pinch of saffron

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and saute another 30 seconds.

Add the rice, the Sazon Goya envelope, and saffron, stir until the rice is coated with the oil and toasted. Add the chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook until the rice is tender and all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Stir in the fresh lime juice, then gently fold in cilantro. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with additional lime wedges.

Tandoori Chicken

I have never cared for the spice ginger much. I don't know what it is about it, but a lot of times I feel like it overpowers the food itself. On the other hand, I love Asian food and many recipes do call for ginger in either dry or fresh form. Often, I would just reduce the ginger so I wouldn't be able to taste it on my first bite.

I guess things are changing around here and I'm a "ginger-convert". A few weeks ago my baking friend Grapefruit suggested Gingered Carrot Cookies for our bi-weekly Baking with Dorie Challenge and I loved them so much I have baked them several times since.

So when the newest Food Network Magazine arrived and I saw the Tandoori Chicken in their "Weeknight Cooking" column I wasn't turned off right away, in fact, I was intrigued. After further examination of the recipe and seeing that it called for a big 2-inch chunk of fresh ginger I was getting doubtful, but decided it was as good of a time as ever to get over my ginger phobia.

The recipe is easily put together, the meat only marinates a total of about 20 minutes. My husband decided to throw the chicken thighs on the grill which gave them a nice bit of char and added another dimension of flavor to the chicken. I served this chicken with the yogurt sauce (which helps tone down some of the heat) called for in the recipe, rice and a simple side salad.

The verdict? I was in love with this chicken as was the rest of the family. We all couldn't get enough of this meal. The ginger taste was there, but along with all the other spices and ingredients it didn't overpower anything, just enhance. This dish is going in my permanent recipe files and will be made many more times. I hope you'll give this one a try as well!

Tandoori Chicken

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients: 
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
Juice of 1 Lemon
Kosher Salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt (I used Greek style)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 small red onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 3/4 teaspoons hot paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Cooked rice, for serving (optional)

Directions: 
Preheat the broiler.* Make shallow cuts in the chicken thighs with a sharp knife. Toss the chicken with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl.

Pulse 2 tablespoons yogurt, the vegetable oil, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, coriander, cumin,
1 1/2 teaspoons  paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor to make a paste. Toss the chicken in the mixture and let marinate 15 minutes.

Place the chicken on a foil-lined broiler pan. Broil, turning once, until slightly charred and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 165 degrees F, 5 to 6 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/4 teaspoon paprika, the cilantro and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Top the chicken with the yogurt sauce and serve with rice, if desired.


Note: If you have the opportunity to grill the chicken thighs on a charcoal or even a gas grill, I would suggest going that route as it adds so much flavor.

Adapted from: Food Network Magazine