Emerald City Market's Mojito Chicken

I can't take any credit for this. I had it made for me at the Emerald City Market in Manhattan, KS. The recipe is adapted from a Guy Fieri recipe. It's absolutely delicious.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Dry Rub

• 4 clvoes garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp onion flakes
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika

Combine garlic, onion flakes, spices, and salt. Put chicken breasts and mixture in a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer. Longer is better.

Mojo Marinade

• 1 C. orange juice
• 1 C. Nelly & Joe’s Key Lime Juice
• ¼ C. white wine vinegar
• ¼ C. Bariani EVOO
• ¼ C. dark rum

Whisk ingredients together and add to the bag with chicken breasts. Return to refrigerator for at least an hour. Longer is better.

Mojito Glaze

• ½ C dark rum
• ¼ C. Nelly & Joe’s Key Lime Juice
• ½ C. Rose’s Key Lime Marmalade
• ½ C. water
• 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
• ¼ C. chopped mint leaves
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• Zest of 1 lime
• Salt & pepper to taste

In a medium saucepot, combine rum, key lime juice, marmalade and brown sugar. Bring to hard boil and cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Ad mint leaves and remove from heat. Let sit for 30 minutes. Strain to remove mint leaves. Combine 1 Tbsp water and 1 Tbsp cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Bring glaze back to the boiling point and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook until glaze has thickened. Add lime zest.

To Prepare: heat oven to 325. Remove chicken from bag and place in oven-safe dish. Leave some space between each breast. Add generous ½ C. marinade to dish and back about 25 minutes or internal temp reaches 165. Remove from the oven and brush the chicken liberally with the glaze. Place under broiler for 5 minutes. Remove and serve.

Cajun Chicken Pizza w/ Fresh Cilantro

Skipped dinner tonight, so I got pretty hungry around 9:30pm. I was cooking up a bunch of cubed chicken breast for my lunch this week, and remembered I had a mini boboli in the fridge from last night. Eureka!

I did this:

1. Cube a bunch of raw chicken breast. Salt, pepper, and f*ckin' bury it in spicy cajun seasoning

2. Throw it into a pan with a little bit of olive oil on the bottom. Cook until...cooked

3. Grab a boboli crust from the store and smear some olive oil on it (all the way to the edge, for a nice crispy crust.)

4. add shredded cheddar, shredded mozz, and chicken cubes

5. cook until the pizza is crispy

6. drizzle a touch of olive oil on top, and rip up a bunch of fresh cilantro on the top

Damn Tasty Chicken Sandwich

Hi Braden! (I figure it's just you and me on here, so when I post, I'm generally thinking of you.) So I made a panini on my George Foreman grill tonight (yes, I own a George Foreman grill and I'm not ashamed to admit it) and while it's hardly revolutionary, it's definitely delicious, so I thought I'd tell you about it.

I sauteed some sliced mushrooms in a little bit of butter and garlic salt. I thought about onions, but thought it would be too much and maybe too messy because this sandwich gets messy as is, but I'm pro-sauteed onion, so next time, maybe onions.

Anyway, I took two thin but broad slices of good crusty olive oil and rosemary bread, lightly buttered one side of each, and threw them on the Foreman (at 375) butter side down, just for about a minute until they got a little toasty and took them off. Then I sprinkled some Famous Dave's wing spice on both sides of a thawed boneless skinless chicken breast. (You could use any cajun spice for this. I like Famous Dave's spices, though.) I grilled that on one side of the Foreman. Once that was done, I put a piece of pepper jack cheese on one slice of bread, put the chicken on top of the cheese, put the sauteed mushrooms on top of the chicken, then another piece of pepperjack on top of the mushrooms, then the other slice of bread. Then I put the whole sandwich on the other side of the Foreman til the cheese was melty.

And I know, you think it's done. You think, that sounds like a damn tasty chicken sandwich. And it would be. But then I take the sandwich off the Foreman and take the top piece of bread off (to which is stuck mushrooms and cheese) and pour two spoonfuls of buffalo sauce onto the chicken. Then I put that top piece back on, cut that sucker in half, and smile like an idiot because this, my friend, this is a DAMN tasty chicken sandwich.

Truffle oil again

mashed potatoes + truffle oil + just picked organic oyster mushrooms from the campus organic garden = AMAZING mashed potatoes. Just fyi.

Salad question

Okay, it's mostly me posting here, I know, but screw it. I have a salad question and I'm hoping to get some suggestions.

I eat a garden salad pretty much every day now. Sometimes twice a day. I really like a good garden salad. But there are a few things in a typical salad that I don't like, namely tomatoes and cucumbers. I'm warming up to the cucumber (well, you know what I mean) but I strongly dislike tomatoes. Sorry tomatoes.

So my garden salad is usually some version of spinach or 50/50 spinach and spring mix, celery, carrots, red cabbage, red bell pepper, and red onions. Sometimes I'll throw in some sprouts, sometimes some raw fresh green beans, sometimes some raw snow peas (in pod).

I don't love salad dressing, but I've grown to really like a tsp or two of Italian dressing, or just a little balsamic and olive oil. HATE ranch and all "creamy" dressings. Hate them.

Okay, all of that is to say, am I missing something? Should there be something in this salad that isn't? It's not that I'm sick of this salad -- when I'm eating it regularly (and i have to say this last week I've been eating HORRIBLY due to job stress), I CRAVE it -- but I'm wondering if there's something I might think about adding to it. Keep in mind, we're talking garden salad. No eggs. No ham.

Thanks for the (hopefully upcoming) suggestions.

Truffle Oil Follow Up

Follow up: black truffle oil is amazing. I pretty much succeeded in recreating the sandwich I wanted to. Let's be clear: this is a simple recipe. I've posted it before, I think. I sauteed a lot of (1-1.5 cups) sliced baby bellas in a little butter, garlic, and salt. Spread those mushrooms and garlic on some good bread (cut a small loaf, this time of 3 cheese bread, in half, then in half length wise, so that I have two slabs of bread, crust side down, of course), put some fresh mozz on it, and put it in a 300 degree oven for maybe 7 minutes or so, till the cheese has started to melt. Then I broil it for a minute or so until the cheese is just a smidge bubbly.
This is nothing revolutionary, nothing new. Often I put onions on it, too, sometimes olives, sometimes basil. But this time I just went with mushrooms and a two chopped cloves of garlic. Because I knew I had this black truffle oil, and I wanted to be able to taste it. So I took it the mushroom cheese bread out of the oven, let it sit for just 30-60 seconds or so, then drizzled the truffle oil over the top and added just a touch of sea salt.


Oh. my. GLORY! It was sooooooo good. And it was better, honestly, simply for the truffle oil. Totally worth the $, fyi.

Truffle Oil Suggestions

I've always wanted to cook with truffle oil. They do it on Top Chef all the time. So, when I saw that our local grocery store had some black truffle oil, I bought it. Now I don't know what to do with it. Tonight I'm going to try to recreate my favorite open faced sandwich from The Portsmouth Brewery -- sauteed mushrooms on fresh bread, truffle oil, and fresh mozz. Toasted, 'natch.

I'm also thinking there should be lovely things I can do with truffle oil and pasta. And maybe fish? Anybody have any suggestions?

Beej and I still haven't had time to try out the ahi tuna recipes. This week was MADNESS for me -- still is. But maybe next week.

Impending recipe update

I don't so much have a new recipe to post; instead, I have plans to post a new recipe soon. Beej and I are planning some grilled ahi tuna next week and I've been scouring the internet looking for good recipes. So keep an eye out next week for some ahi tuna recipe or recipes, and possibly a recipe for wasabi mashed potatoes. Who's excited?

Herb Yogurt Dip

I'm all about the fresh herbs. My dad keeps a pretty intense herb garden, and I plan to do the same.

I whipped up this sauce / dip and then put it on some smoked gouda quesadillas.

Ingredients:

Plain greek yogurt

3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme

juice of 1/2 lemon

Peel of 1/2 lemon

Black Pepper

Ground Crushed Red Pepper

Direx:

Chop up the rosemary and lemon peel as small as you can get 'em. Add all the ingredients together and stir it up. It'll probably be extra good the day after you make it. I can see slathering this al over cucumbers.

Szechwan-Style Stir Fry

I thought I'd already posted this on here, but I can't find it. So if this is a repeat, apologies. This is slightly modified from my ever-trusty Menus in Minutes. This is one of our favorite stand-bys. It's easy to make a bigger batch, if you've got a wok (hard to find a big enough skillet). I actually like this cold, too. I serve it over basmati or jasmine rice (which I make in my rice cooker), but you could do it with hot cooked rice noodles, too. Or probably just linguini. I haven't tried it, but I bet it'd be good.

Stir together (whisk, really)

1/3 C. bottled teriyaki sauce

3 Tbsp Szechwan spicy stir-fry sauce

2 tsp cornstarch

Set aside, but stir ocassionally through prep & veggie cooking process.

Prepare:

• 1/2 C chopped red onion (these are all approximate and to taste. Add whatever you like. I chop the onion into maybe 3/4 inch pieces)
• 1/2 C. broccoli florets
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into bite sized chunks
• 1 medium green pepper, cut into bite sized chunks
• I love mushrooms, so I use about a big bag and a half of sliced baby bellas, maybe 4Cs? But that's just me. The book calls for 1 4&1/2 oz jar of sliced mushrooms, drained. I think fresh are way better.
• 1 14-15 oz can whole baby corn, drained and cut in half
• 1 C. fresh snow pea pods if you've got 'em, trimmed.

In a large skillet or wok, preheat about a tsp or 2 olive oil over medium-ish. Add the onion; cook and stir for about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook and stir for maybe 4-5 minutes. Then broccoli, cook and stir for another minute or so, then peppers for another minute or so. Then the corn and pea pods. Basically, you want all of this sort of hot and tender crisp.

You can do this next part by pushing the veggies aside, but it works best if you remove them from the pan. Then stir the sauce, add it to the skillet. Cook and stir until it thickens and gets bubbly. It'll get darker, too. This won't take very long. Dump the veggies back in, stir to coat with sauce and heat through.

Serve over basmati or jasmine rice.

If you want, you can add shrimp to this, as I do sometimes. I buy the precooked, just cuz it's easier. I make sure it's thawed, take the tails off, cut it into bite sized pieces if it's not bite-sized already, and throw it in when I throw in the baby corn.

IF you want to do chicken, you want to cut a 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast into bite-sized strips. Once the veggies are done, take them out of the skillet, then add about 1/2 the chicken at a time, cooking about 4 minutes. Remove when no longer pink in the middle. Then take the chicken out, too, and do the thing with the sauce.

Awesome Cannelinni Spread

Found this recipe in a cooking mag and added some of my own twists to make it easier and tastier. It's kinda like hummus, but the cannelinni beans give it a deeper, smoother flavor than chick peas can. I like it muchly.

Stuff Y'all'll Need

1 Can of Cannelinni (White Kidney Beans)

1 lemon

2-3 garlic cloves

2-3 sprigs of rosemary

Pinch of dried red pepper flakes

olive oil

Food Processor

Stuff Y'all Do With that Stuff

Take a vegetable peeler and peel off 3-4 strips of the lemon peel. Slice it into little strips and throw it into a pan with a good slather of olive oil. Mince up the rosemary and the garlic, and throw them into the olive oil with the crushed red pepper. Drain and rinse the beans, and add those to the mix. Make sure there's enough olive oil to get everything good and coated.

Let that all sit and simmer for 5-10 minutes. When it feels ready, spoon the whole works into the food processor, squeeze the juice from 1/2 of the lemon in there and blend it. Add a little olive oil while it's spinning if it's too thick for you.

It's good on toast, bell peppers, spoons and tongues.

Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Red Onion

Grilled cheese and bacon is old news. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

But adding sliced red onion? Solid, buddy. Real solid.

probably don't need any directions or ingredients for this one. I will say that putting the cheese in the middle (i.e. bread, bacon, cheese, onion, bread) did help the loose ingredients to stay in place while I chomped. Also thought it might be good with a little mustard sauce, if you want to go all French-fancy on things.

Wasabi-Soy Glazed Salmon

I adapted this recipe from Menus in Minutes . I used salmon because, well, I love salmon. But I'm sure you could use any sort of fish. The actual recipe calls for whitefish. Just fyi.

2 salmon filets/portions

Glaze

2 Tbsp soy sauce (can use reduced-sodium soy sauce)

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp wasabi powder (can use less, but this isn't super spicy)

Mix glaze ingredients in small bowl & stir well to dissolve sugar & wasabi powder.

Rinse salmon and pat dry with paper towels.

Transfer about 3/4 glaze to shallow bowl and place salmon skin-side up in glaze. Reserve remaining glaze for after you've cooked the fish.

Place fish (in bowl) in fridge and let marinate for 15 minutes or so. Heat up the grill while fish is marinating.

Grill salmon, starting skin down. Brush a bit of the glaze (the stuff the fish was sitting in) onto the top of the fish as it cooks. Then make sure you get rid of the "used" glaze as you don't want to mix it up with the stuff that you reserved. Grill about 4-5 minutes. Turn fish skin side up, grill for another 5 minutes or so, or until it's opaque and flakes easily.

Remove fish from grill and brush on a little of the remaining (clean) glaze. Enjoy.

Fancy English Muffin Pizzas

Todays lunch is english muffin pizza, but with some new ingredients:

Ingredients:

1 english muffin

2 slices of salami

store bought pesto

shredded parmesan or asiago cheese

banana peppers

Directions:

Toast the english muffins until they're crispy. Take them out and spread the pesto on each half. On each half, put a slice of salami, sprinkle some cheese, add a few banana peppers, and sprinkle some black pepper and granulated garlic. Re-toast until cheese melts.

Chick Pea and Tomato "Salad"

I guess this is a salad. It's just kinda stuff tossed in a bowl. Tasty, however.

Ingredients:

1 Can of Chick Peas

Handful of Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

A hefty pinch or two of shredded parmesan or Asiago

Juice of 1/2 lemon

splash or two of white or red wine vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Put stuff in bowl. Stir with spoon, eat with face.

Cheese, Gromit.

Not much on the cooking front here. It's hot out, we've been moving, and we had a brief roadtrip to WI. So nothing new on the cooking front. My guess is that will be the theme until it cools off again, but we'll see.

I do, though, want to just give a quick shout out to fresh mozzarella. I've been adding it to my grilled cheeses and it's soooo good. Also, love chunks of fresh mozz in chili or spaghetti. I don't like the super wet kind, but when it's a little firmer, it's fantastic.

I also like to get a loaf of good bread, cut it in half width wise, take on of those halfs and cut it length-wise (so you've got something like Stoffers french bread pizza), drizzle a little olive oil, put on a bit of chopped garlic, fresh sliced mushrooms, some red onion, and some green olives, sprinkle a little sea salt, then chunks of fresh mozz, and put it in the oven for a bit. So freaking good.

Gorgonzola Onion Cheater's Frittata

Y'all know what Frittata (sp?) is? It's like an omelette you make in the oven, and don't have to flip.

Well you can make it without using the oven if you just turn down your stove heat at the right time, and put a lid on your pan. It's real easy, and the results are delicious.

Here's one I just made (and just ate).

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 of a small onion, diced large

Crumbled blue or gorgonzola cheese

2 eggs, scrambled

Olive Oil

Sherry

Sherry Vinegar (Balsamic works well too)

Pam

STEPS:

1. Get your pan all hot and bothered at about Medium-high. Throw in a tablespoon or so of olive oil and the onions. Simmer these babies til they sizzle, then pour in a few splashes of the sherry, and a small splash of the vinegar. Cook until the onions absorb the liquid and turn a nice rich brown.

2. Turn your heat down to low, waiting a few minutes for the pan to cool down. Spray the whole thing with some Pam, then pour your scrambled eggs on top. Put the lid on the pan and cook on low until the eggs are set.

3. Sprinkle the blue cheese over the top, replace the lid, and cook just until the cheese is melted.

4. Stuff. In. Your. Face.

Johnsonville

So if you're from Wisconsin, or most of the midwest, really, you know brats. No, not annoying kids, I mean the sausage. The best brats are Johnsonville. They just are. Personally -- and I know this is sacrilege, I actually prefer Johnsonville Italian sausage (hot) . . . shut up, you perverts. But I just found out that Johnsonville makes chorizo now. That's awesome! I just made jambalaya (the Zataran's mix, not from scratch) with chorizo and shrimp -- very tasty. 

Salad kick

I've been on a bit of a salad kick lately. Nothing fancy: some fresh organic baby spring greens, some baby spinach, red cabbage (I love raw red cabbage), celery, shredded carrots, just a bit of diced red onion, and some alfalfa sprouts. Sometimes some red bell pepper and/or some radishes. Sometimes a few chopped green or kalamata olives.

I'm not a huge fan of salad dressing, but I've been splashing on about a tsp of Italian dressing lately, and some croutons. 

The problem with salads, for me, is that I'm hungry again in an hour or two. So I've also been trying to make sure I get a little protein -- a couple chicken fingers, a handful of almonds. Something. Because I honestly really like salad (sans tomato -- not a big tomato fan), but it's not the most filling thing ever. But whenever I eat salad I am reminded of how much my body seems to crave raw veggies. If you haven't had a good salad in awhile, I'd recommend it.

big mushroom

Has anybody tried marinating a portabella cap in soy sauce? I've got one I'm going to grill, and I usually do a little olive oil, chopped garlic, and Italian seasoning on it, but I was thinking about trying soy sauce. Thoughts?

If I just throw caution to the wind and try it tonight, I'll let you know how it goes.

Grilled Cheese

I've not been cooking a whole lot lately, but I have rediscovered my deep love for grilled cheese sandwiches. I, and my doctor, blame Tim, who makes amazing grilled cheeses and melts. Now, one hardly needs a recipe for a grilled cheese. It's rather self-explanatory. Still, there seems to be a technique that I'm starting to get down (again, thanks to some tutelage by Timmer). But my latest obsession ala grilled cheeses is olive tapenade. 

This probably isn't a true olive tapenade, but I've been crushing up marinated green olives (in white wine, garlic, herbs, etc. I buy them already marinated), a few kalamata olives, and a couple sun dried tomatoes with just a dash of olive oil. Then I spread that on the bread before adding a slice of pepperjack cheese, then sliced portabella mushrooms, then a bit of shredded mozz (for stretchiness). Holy o'golden, it's my new favorite thing.

And while this isn't a cooking note, it is an eating note. If anybody happens to find themselves in Lawrence, KS, can I recommend Zen Zero? The drunken noodles are fanFREAKINGtastic.

Man Salad, Version 1

There's not much prep for this salad. Just throw it all together and mix. Just leave out whatever you don't have / don't like. 

Ingredients:

Chicken (I like to pull the meat off half a breast and go with that)

Dried Cranberries

Pine Nuts

Feta Cheese

Banana Peppers / Pepperoncini Peppers

Chunks of Bacon

half a bag of salad greens

Good Olive Oil

A splash of vinegar

Salt + Pepper

I like to get all the main ingredients in a bowl and then put the salt and pepper on top. Then I drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the top while tossing it around with tongs. I also like a little bit of the juice from the canned peppers splashed in there. It's good with a slice of my grilled bread. 

Cooking lull

I think it's been because I've been so busy at the end of the semester, perhaps coupled with the fact that it's been getting a bit warmer around here, but I haven't been cooking much. I've been thinking about that sesame noodle dish, though. That's good cold. So maybe that's on the horizon. But, dear readers, you already have the recipe for that. 

So far it's mostly me and Braden keeping up with this thing (hi Braden!), but if any lurkers out there have any good summer recipes, I'd be happy to get a look.

Microwaveing limes

Hey Braden, how long should I microwave a lime for if I'm trying to get the most juice out of it? It's possible I'm making margaritas. 

Pan Grilled bread with Arugula and Prosciutto

Here's a great way to use the grilled bread I talked about in my last post.

You'll need:

2 slices of good bread

2 slices of prosciutto

a handful of flavorful greens (spinach and arugula are good choices)

Hollandaise Sauce (I use Reese Brand. It's pretty good.)

A splash of Milk (to thin out the hollandaise. You might not need this)

1 oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Oregano

Black Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper

Olive Oil

Salt

Minced Garlic

What ya do is...

1. Grill that bread

2. Once the bread is crispy, turn the pan down to low and sprinkle the mozz cheese, a pinch of oregano, and the red + black peppers on. Lay a slice of prosciutto on top of each slice. Let this sit over the heat for a couple minutes to melt the cheese and warm the prosciutto.

3. Microwave or otherwise heat your hollandaise sauce. Add a splash of milk or cream if it's too thick to drizzle

4. Once the cheese melts and the prosciutto is warmed through, remove the bread to a plate

5. Toss your greens with some olive oil and a little spoon of the garlic. Throw these babies onto the hot skillet and cook for just a minute or so until they wilt down a bit.

6. Scoop the greens over the bread, drizzle with your sauce, and put it in your face. Knife and fork make this one easier.

Stop Toasting your Bread

Ok, I love toast. And I don't mean to knock such a simple, wonderful snack / breakfast necessity, but I think it's time we moved on. To a more consistent, more flavorful, healthier bread-crisping process.

Pan Grilling.

Here's what you do:

Get a nice flat skillet hot over medium heat. Lay out a few slices of bread on a plate or cutting board, drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Once the pan is hot, slap those babies on and listen to the sizzle. While cooking side one, drizzle the other side with olive oil. Flip after a couple of minutes, and flip again to reach your desired level of crispy brown-ness.

Grilled Steak

It's 84 degrees here in sunny Kansas, and I'm thinking maybe we'll grill up some steak. We are, after all, (as I said) in Kansas.

And it occurs to me that I think people make steak overly complicated. I used to be one of those people. Marinades, rubbing it with garlic, putting pieces of garlic cloves into the steak itself. Yep, that was me. And don't get me wrong, I love a good marinade or rub on a ribeye (and oh Fiddlehead steak tips, how I miss you), but the best steak is, I think, uncomplicated.

I have to give credit here to the grillmaster, Dave Pagels. I've adapted his method a tad, but it's Dave who showed me the error of my steak ways. And for that, I'm forever grateful. My cardiologist? Not so much. :)

Here's my steak prep:

I say start with a thick ribeye. That's my steak of choice. But I also like my steak rare, so you might differ.

Let it sit out on the counter for at least a 1/2 hour if you can, so that it's closer to room temp. Then melt some butter (Dave, if I remember correctly, uses olive oil). Brush on a thin layer of butter, then coat with kosher salt and fresh pepper. I like a peppercorn medley, but that's me. I use more salt that it looks like a person should, because a lot of that will fall off on the grill. But it looks a bit like a salt crust.

Do this to both sides.

Grill immediately.

If you can, sear it for 30 seconds on either side, then move it to a lower heat and cook to your own preferred temp. That's it.

I'm telling you, when it comes to steak, simple is best. Throw in some garlic mashed potatoes, and you're a happy camper. 

Jamaican Jerk marinade

I LOVE this marinade recipe, which I adapted from Steven Raichlen's The Barbecue Bible, truly the best bbq book I've seen. This marinade is great on salmon. I imagine it'd be good on chicken, too. Salmon or shrimp should marinate for about an hour. Chicken for 3 hours. Pork for 6. I'm providing the full marinade recipe, but I halve it for me and Beej. The full recipe (here) is enough to marinate about 4 lbs of pork, chicken, or seafood.

8 jalapenos with seeds (the recipe calls for 4-15 scotch bonnets, but I don't have those here. Scotch bonnets, by the way, are VERY hot.)

1 bunch scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and coarsely chopped

2 shallots, halved

1 small red onion, quartered

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried

2 tsp ground allspice

3 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (or more to taste). This is about two limes

2 Tbsp firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 Tbsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 C. water.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Add salt and/or lime juice a necessary. 

Store, tightly covered in the fridge, for up to 2 weeks.

We love this on salmon on the grill. SO GOOD!

Broccoli Rigatoni

Anyone else notice that most of my recipes come from Billy? Ah well. This one does, too.

Start with a crown of broccoli and cut or pick the pieces apart to be bite sized (after rinsing, of course).

Boil water in a medium saucepan. Add the broccoli for about 4 minutes. Take the broccoli out of the water but leave the water boiling. Pat the broccoli dry with paper towels, and add about 1/3 of a box of rigatoni. Salt to taste.

In a pan, add a Tbsp or two of good olive oil. Then chop 4 cloves of garlic. The rigatoni takes about 10 minutes to be "done" so heat the broccoli and garlic after about 8 minutes. At minute 10, take 1/3 C. of the boiling water and add it to the pan with the broccoli. 

Strain the rigatoni and add it to the pan. Let it simmer and reduce in the water until all of the water is gone. Add a dash of kosher or sea salt, a bit of crushed red pepper, and some good parm (or mozz). 

The secret is to just undercook the broccoli and pasta so the former stays green and the latter stays al dente. 

Sweet and Savory Pastrami Crispbread

I read recently that eating a meal high in both dietary fiber and protein will keep you feeling full and satisfied longer into the day. I've been experimenting with it, and it sure seems to work.

Here's my tasty fiber / protein lunch for the day. They're like the little cracker sandwiches you had as a kid. Kinda like kicked up, adult Lunchables:

Ingredients:

Crispbreads (Wasa and Ry Krisp are two brands of this stuff. You can find it in the cracker aisle. Here's a good health overview for the conscious readers. )

Deli Pastrami or Corned Beef (or just about any deli meat will work)

Cream Cheese

Blue Cheese Crumbles

Dried Cranberries

Mayonnaise

A lemon (or some lemon juice)

Directions:

1. Put a couple scoops of cream cheese in a bowl with some blue cheese crumbles, a small handful of the dried cranberries, and a squirt of mayo.

2. Microwave this mixture at 1/2 power for about 15-20 seconds (just enough to make it stirrable)

3. Stir the ingredients together with a spoon.

4. Grab 4-5 of the crispbreads, break them in half (so they're bite-sized) and spread a spoonful of your cream cheese mixture on top.

5. Take a half slice of your chosen deli meat and mush it into the cream cheese so it stays put.

6. Squeeze juuuust a little lemon juice over the top, and chow down.

Tri-Colored Pepper Spaghetti

This is taken DIRECTLY off the back of the Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Blend Spaghetti box (although I'm modifying their garlic saute suggestions), but it looked good, so I thought I would record it here before I recycle the box.

Ingredients:

1 pkg Ronzoni Healthy Harvest spaghetti 

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 ea. of red, green, yellow bell peppers, de-seeded and thinly sliced

salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat with olive oil, and saute garlic (they say until golden brown but, to me, that's a bit too long, so I'd say just a couple of minutes). Toss in peppers and heat until just tender (about 2-3 minutes). Add pasta to peppers and toss until warm.

Timmer's Mushroom and Tomato Pasta

This, I have to admit, is Timmer's creation. But it's easy and very tasty. 

Ingredients:

1 jar sun dried tomatoes in oil & spices

1 package baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1 pat butter

olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic

salt

dry spaghetti

crushed red pepper (optional)

1. Dump jar of sundried tomatoes, oil and all, into large skillet. 

2. Add 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and diced

3. Simmer for a few minutes on medium-low or low. You don't want to burn the garlic, which is easy to do. This should just be at a low simmer. 

4. Add package mushrooms (I say at least one pack. I can go close to 2, but I love mushrooms)

5. Add another Tbsp or 2 of olive oil. The mushrooms will absorb quite a bit of oil, although they'll release some of this later in the simmering. But you want to make sure there's some oil in the pan, cuz this is your sauce. 

6. Add a tsp. or so of salt or sea salt, whatever you like.

7. You can add a pinch of crushed red pepper if you like.

8. Cook spaghetti al dente.

9. Drain pasta. 

10. Add pat of butter to sauce. Stir until butter melts.

11. Remove from heat. Add more salt if necessary. 

12. Top pasta with sauce, or add pasta TO sauce and toss. Whatever turns your crank.

Enjoy!

Prosciutto and Crispy Goat Cheese Stacks

I made this for lunch today. Blammo.

Ingredients:

2-3 slices Prosciutto

1 English Muffin

4-5 ounces of Goat Cheese

Panko, or other large-flake Bread crumbs

Olive Tapenade

Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Coat the bottom of a saute pan with some olive oil, and set it over medium-high heat for a few minutes.

2. While that heats up, portion the goat cheese into halves and make two patties out of it. It's a good idea to get your english muffin toasting at this point, too.

3. Turn your microwave to 30% power and microwave the goat cheese for 30-45 seconds, just until the surfaces get a bit soft. Even better, you could just leave the goat cheese out for a couple hours to come to room temperature. 

4. Spread a bunch of bread crumbs on the bottom of a bowl and drop the goat cheese patties into it, covering top and bottom, and all sides. Press the bread crumbs in a little bit so they don't come off when you fry them.

5. When both patties are well coated with bread crumbs, place them gently into the hot pan. Let them sit for just enough time to crisp up the bread crumbs. Flip, and remove from heat before they start to melt and ooze all over.  About 1 - 1 1/2 minutes on each side will do the trick. 

6. Take your toasted english muffin, drizzle it with olive oil, put a slice of prosciutto on top, put a goat cheese patty on top of that, and top it with a little bit of the olive tapenade. You don't want too much tapenade because the goat cheese is already pretty tangy. 

7. Crack some black pepper on top, and sprinkle with crushed red pepper (if that's what you're into). If you want to make it look fancy, sprinkle some chopped fresh basil on top. 

PS - I have these great cajun panko bread crumbs that are the freakin' bomb. If you've got something like that, use 'em. I like to throw the leftover crumbs into the hot pan for a minute, and then sprinkle them on a salad to have with this. Wowza. 

Moscow Mule

So since we had those ingredients, I've also whipped up another favorite drink of mine. Much simpler, no shaking involved. If I remember from my days as a bartender, this is called a Moscow Mule.

Ingredients:

Ginger Ale

Citrus Vodka

Cointreau (again, sub Triple Sec, Gran Gala or Grand Marnier)

A Lemon

Directions:

Pour 2 parts ginger ale, 1 part citrus vodka, and 1/2 part Cointreau over ice. Squeeze the juice of 1/4 lemon into the drink and give a little stir (I use my finger). Drop the lemon wedge in there if you wanna. Drink. Repeat as needed. 

Lemon Drop Martini

Melissa had a brilliant idea last week to hang out and watch the Grammy's with a few drinks. I grabbed a few ingredients and we whipped these up. Then we whipped up a couple more last night for Valentines day. I considered whipping up one for myself today (you know, to celebrate lunch) but thought maybe that would be too much.

(You'll need a cocktail shaker for this)

Ingredients:

Citrus Vodka (I like Absolut or Skyy)

Limoncello

Cointreau (Triple sec would also work, as would Gran Gala or Grand Marnier for those of you who are a bit more 'fancy-pants')

Lemons

Sugar

Directions:

1. Cut the lemon into circles and slice one of the circles down the middle, almost cutting it in half. 

2. Pour some of the sugar onto a small plate. Take the sliced lemon circle, rub the inside around the edge of a martini glass, and then press the glass rim into the sugar on the plate. Hang the lemon circle on the edge of the glass for garnish

3. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, add 1 part citrus vodka, 1 part limoncello, and 1/2 part cointreau. Take the rest of the lemon and squeeze it into the shaker.

4. Pop the lid on your shaker and shake vigorously. If you've got a metal shaker, shake until it becomes too cold to hold comfortably. If you have a plastic shaker, shake until the mixture is cloudy. 

5. Strain into your martini glasses and drink 'em. 

Side note - I grabbed some black grapes to serve with this, and it was delicious. I made a garnish out of them, too. I took a toothpick, ran it through one edge of the lemon circle, jabbed it through the grape, and then put it through the other edge of the lemon circle. (it's hard to explain with words). An easy way would be to just drop a grape or two into the bottom of the glass so it gets cold and lemony and boozy. 

lo mein substitute

This is hardly a lo mein recipe, but it's a decent substitute. It's a recipe I adapted from Menus in Minutes

Ingredients

1/2 tsp corn starch

8 oz dried fettuccine

3 Tbsp soy sauce (low sodium or regular)

3 Tbsp sherry (pref. not cooking sherry)

1/16 tsp ginger OR 1/2 Tbsp grated ginger

1/2 lb raw shrimp

3 garlic cloves

For variation

1 C. fresh sugar snap peas, trimmed

4 green onions, bias-sliced into 1-inch pieces

1 C. packaged, peeled baby carrots

1/2-1 Tbsp olive oil

1. In a small bowl, combine approximately 1/4 C. warm water and 1/2 tsp. corn starch.

2. In a large saucepan, cook 8 oz dried fettuccine

3. In a bowl, stir together 3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or regular soy sauce, whatever makes you happy), 3 Tbsp dry sherry (you can use cooking sherry, but I'd recommend, you know, drinking sherry), 1/16 tsp ginger (could use 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger instead), 3 garlic coves, diced; and 1/2 lb raw shrimp.

4. Add above soy sauce mixture to large skillet or saucier pan and sautee until shrimp is almost done (2-4 min, approx).

5. Add corn starch mix; cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly.

6. Drain pasta and add to skillet.  Cook and stir about 1 minute, or until heated through.

Variations: 

Step 4. Preheat 1/2 Tbsp olive oil to large skillet or saucier on medium-high heat. Add sugar snap peas and peeled baby carrots. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add 4 green onions, bias-sliced into 1-inch pieces. 

5. Remove veggies. 

Continue with original step 4 above. 

Obvious garlic butter

Okay, so this is REALLY obvious, but I just got done eating this and it was so good I thought I'd post it here. 

Yesterday I roasted some garlic (one clove of elephant garlic, to be exact, but you can go with 4 cloves of regular garlic) [cut the tip off garlic clove(s), place in tin foil, sprinkle with olive or sesame oil, wrap in foil, and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes] and mashed it into about 3/4 a stick of butter. Added just a pinch of salt. I made that to put on some fresh bread. Good stuff.

But TODAY, I boiled up a little rotini, "topped it" with the leftover garlic butter and added a pinch of salt. I chunked up some fresh mozz, threw that in there, and freaking LOVED it. If my fresh basil hadn't been getting gross in the rotter, I would have added a bit of that. I thought about throwing in a bit of crushed red pepper, too, but it was just so GOOD as is (was). 

Obvious, I know, but so good. So so good.

Sesame Noodles

I made this for dinner tonight, and was reminded that it's one of my favorites. I stole this recipe from Shelley Girdner who got it from Deborah Madsen's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. It's a potluck favorite (she brought it to Garrett's dissertation defense cookout) and is good hot or cold. This is one of those recipes that can be a bit pricey for start-up because a few of these items aren't necessarily in everyone's kitchen, but after that, it's pretty cheap. 

You'll need:

1/4 C. sesame oil

3 Tbsp dark (or toasted) sesame oil

7 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp Chinese black or balsamic vinegar (I use balsamic)

3 1/2 Tbsp dark brown sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp chili oil (I use Mongolian fire oil)

1 Tbsp ginger 

1-2 cloves garlic

1/4 C. cilantro (optional)

1 bunch asparagus

1 bunch scallions

1/4 C. sesame seeds (optional)

1 package whole wheat thin spaghetti or 14 oz. pkg Chinese rice noodles (I use whole wheat pasta)

Marinade:

Combine 

1/4 C sesame oil

3 Tbsp dark sesame oil

7 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 1/2 Tbsp dark brown sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp chili oil

1 Tbsp fresh minced ginger

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 C. cilantro, chopped

Mix together and stir to dissolve sugar

The noodles and asparagus:

Rinse asparagus and trim off woody ends (about 1/4 inch on bottom). Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a little salt and asparagus. Boil until bright green and tender firm, just a few minutes. Scoop out asparagus and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Set on towel to dry.

Cook noodles according to package in the (already boiling) asparagus water. (if you're using rice noodles, make sure you pull the noodles apart with your fingers before adding to the boiling water). Strain noodles. (If using rice noodles, rinse under cold water and shake off excess water.)

Rinse and trim the "roots" off the scallions, then thinly slice scallions, including some firm greens.

Toss noodles with marinade, most of the scallions, and most of the toasted sesame seeds and asparagus. Mound them in a bowl or on a platter and garnish with the remaining asparagus, scallions, and sesame seeds. 

Refrigerate leftovers. This heats up fine, but, as I said, is also good cold. It's nice for a summer potluck (or dinner) if served cold. 

[To toast sesame seeds: You can do this on the stovetop or in the oven. If toasting on the stove top, use a wide frying pan. Heat the seeds on medium heat, shaking pan occasionally. Remove seeds when they start to darken and become fragrant (3-5 min). If doing this in the oven, preheat oven to 325 F. Spread the seeds on a baking sheet. Bake until seeds start to darken and become fragrant -- 10-15 minutes. Let cool.]

Another change

Okay, I changed the template AGAIN and I took Braden's advice about more foody colors. I'm pretty happy with this one. It seems warmer and more readable. That said, I'm open to suggestions.

The Varley Margarita

I mentioned a margarita, and people ask me for this "recipe" all the time. I credit it to Anna Varley. My first year in grad school, I went to a party at Anne's house. Anna was going to make margaritas, but got distracted by something and asked us to do it. "What do I do?" "Pour in one bottle of tequila, one bottle of triple sec, and then squeeze these limes into it," she said, handing me about five limes.

oohhhhhhhkay.

I remember trying to drink the first one and thinking it was awful.

That's one of the last things I remember clearly. I have fuzzy visions of Anne singing "Love is a Battlefield" into a broomstick, and Anna teaching us how to shake our asses, Latin-style, in the livingroom. 

So Anna Varley gets the credit for this one and it is so named, in her honor, the Varley margarita. Despite my first "it was awful," it turns out this is one of my favorite drinks. I rarely get a margarita as good as this. It is, by the way, on ice. None of that blended stuff.

You'll need

tequila

triple sec

limes

ice

When I make this by the glass, I tend toward

2 shots tequila

2 shots triple sec

1 fresh lime, squeezed 

I very much like my hand juicer -- just a little plastic deal you can pick up from Walmart, Target, or a cooking store. It gets A LOT of juice out. If you're having people over, buy at least 9 limes.

I don't tend to make these by the pitcher -- I think they're better by the glass -- but I'm guessing it's somewhere around 

2 parts tequila

2 parts triple sec

1 part fresh lime juice

You can make it with not-fresh (bottled, or in that tiny lime-shaped thing) lime juice, but honestly, it's not nearly as good.

Somebody JUST asked me for a tequila recommendation, and my favorite right now is Hussong's. It's in a little black jug. About $38 bucks a bottle or so. 

"Anne's" Guacamole

I got this recipe from Anne, but the "Anne's" is in quotes, so I'm guessing she got it from someone, too.

It's Mexican night back in NH (Mike G's birthday), which made me decide I should make some guac and a margarita. So here goes:

1 ripe avocado

2/3 C. cottage cheese

2 Tbsp FRESH lime juice (makes a huge difference)

1 Tbsp chopped scallions

2 green chilies

2 garlic cloves, pressed

pepper to taste

1 tomato, chopped

mix everything but the tomato and a 1/4 of the 'cado in a food processor. I add an extra clove of garlic (shock) and a bit of salt. Billy is VERY against the cottage cheese and honestly, it's optional, but it gives it a smoother texture. I also throw in a bit of crushed red pepper. 

ANYWAY, mix in a food processor or chop all that stuff pretty fine and mix it by hand. If you're using a food processor, when you're done, smash the last 1/4 'cado into it to give it a chunkier texture. 

Remove the seeds from the tomato and chop the rest and mix it in. You can just throw in the whole chopped tomato, seeds and all, but it's a bit watery.

I leave out the tomato pretty often cuz I don't love tomatoes. 

new template

You might have noticed that I changed the template. I didn't think the other was particularly readable. Thoughts?

Braden's Extra Garlic-y Garlic Bread

So easy, so simple, so good.

Ingredients:

-Good Crusty Bread

-Garlic Cloves

-Olive Oil

-Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Toast the Bread until it has a crisp surface (soft toast won't work)

2. Peel a garlic clove and rub it on the surface of the bread. As you rub, you'll be grating the surface off the clove and right onto the bread. Use as many cloves as it takes to get the job done.

3. Drizzle it with olive oil, salt it, pepper it. 

4. Put in your face. 

Country French Salad

Oh Yeah, kids. We're doing it up, warm salad style. This recipe is a good way to get yourself eating greens in the winter, when you probably want something hot. It adds a few calories in the form of egg and bacon, but sometimes you gotta grease up roughage to make it taste right, am I right?

Hell yeah.

Ingredients (for one person)

-3-5 slices of bacon

-1 egg

-1 head of romaine lettuce, cut in half lengthwise. (you only need 1/2 for this recipe, so stick the other half in the fridge)

-dijon mustard

-honey

-1 small shallot

-red wine vinegar

-olive oil

-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Get the bacon frying in a medium sized saucepan. Also, fill a small saucepan with about 2-3 inches of water and and 1/8 cup of vinegar to it. Bring this to 180 degrees. You can use a thermometer if you want, but you'll know it's at the right temperature when there are bubbles along the sides of the pan. 

2. While the bacon is cooking, whip up the dressing by mincing the shallot and combining it with a teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of the mustard, a few splashes of vinegar and some olive oil to top it off. Whisk or beat together with a fork. 

3. When the bacon is nice and crispy, remove it to a paper towel for draining

4. Pour off most of the bacon fat in the saucepan and turn the heat to low

5. Put 1/2 of the head of lettuce flat-side down in the pan. Be careful. The amount of water in lettuce can make things splatter a bit. 

6. While the lettuce warms, crack your egg into a small bowl and slip it gently into the 180 degree water. Leave for 3-5 minutes. 3 minutes should still leave a bit of liquid in the center, while 5 minutes should mostly solidify things. If you hate runny centers, you can leave the egg in there for up to ten minutes and it should be fine. 

7. When the lettuce is mostly warmed, pull it off the heat and chop it into wedges. Remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon and place it on top of the warmed lettuce. Crumble the bacon on top, drizzle the dressing on top of that, salt it, pepper, and chow down. Blammo.

Oh yeah - this is good with bread. Especially Braden's extra garlic-y garlic bread. Recipe to come.

Chili?

Okay, it is COLD pretty much everywhere lately, which puts me in the mood for chili. My chili -- as many of you know -- is some sort of bastardized spaghetti. It's basically chili "sauce" over shell pasta. But whatever, right? So nobody wants my chili recipe, trust me. On the other hand, I'm thinking some of us would like YOUR chili recipe. So if you've got a good one, share, yeah?

The kids love this quick dinner. You'll need:
One package Hillshire Farm Sweet Italian Sausage
One package fresh spinach
One large can chicken broth
Six potatoes
1/2 cup milk or cream

Since the seasoning for the whole soup comes from the sausage, it is important to get the right kind of sausage. Sweet Italian Sausage will give it the same flavor as the popular Olive Garden soup.

Place the sausage on a baking sheet (if you line with tin foil, clean up will be easy). If they are thawed, remove the skins before baking. If they are frozen, you can remove the casing after they are baked. Bake at 350 for about 1/2 hour - until the sausage begin to split and boil. While they are baking, peel and slice the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Boil in a large pot with just enough water to cover them (important to not use too much water). When the potatoes are done (about 20 minutes) add the whole can of chicken broth to the potatoes and water and bring to a boil again. Once boiling, shut off the burner completely. Add the whole package of spinach (stems removed if these will bother you) and cover to wilt the spinach. While these are wilting, chop the baked sausage. Add sausage to soup. Add 1/2 cup milk or cream and stir. Once the spinach and cream are added, do not boil the soup, although you can keep it warm on low heat.

Limoncello

Hey, all. I'm posting this because John and I are making a batch of it right now. It's fantastic. I use 100 proof vodka because, according to various sites, the higher the proof, the less flavor the vodka has.

It makes this viscous, lemony, potent alcohol that can be sipped straight or mixed with tonic/sparkling water.

C/ped from the Washington Post, with notes from me:

Limoncello

Makes about 3 1/4 quarts. Those who are lucky enough to receive this homemade lemon liqueur should keep it in the freezer, where it turns a milky white after 8 to 9 hours.

20 large lemons, preferably organic (yes, organic) (get bigger lemons with thick skins)

Two 750-milliliter bottles grain alcohol (I used 100 proof Smirnoff)

5 1/2 cups water

6 cups sugar

Wash and dry the lemons. With a paring knife, remove the ends. With a vegetable peeler, remove only the yellow rind, leaving the pith intact. (This is serious business about the pith. The peels can't have any of the white stuff on them as it will make the limoncello bitter.) (You're going to have twenty peeled lemons at the end of this, head's up)

Place the lemon peel in a 4-quart Mason jar with a rubber-seal lid (I bought mine at Michael's). Add the grain alcohol, making sure the lemon peel is completely covered. Store in a cool, dark place, shaking the jar once each day to agitate the lemon peel. (Once a week is fine.)

On the 13th day (You can go longer, just make sure it's over ten days. The longer you go, the better it will be. Don't exceed a month), bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and remove from the heat, stirring until it is dissolved. Cover and let cool to room temperature.

Place a colander on top of the saucepan and strain in the contents of the Mason jar. (This part requires more patience than you might think.) Discard the lemon peel. Stir to combine the liquids, about 1 minute. Transfer back to the Mason jar. Store for 3 (2 is fine) weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking to agitate the liquid twice a day. (You'll want to shake it more reguarly because of the sugar, but you don't have to do it every day).

After 3 weeks, transfer the limoncello to smaller bottles that can be sealed with rubber stoppers. Store bottles in freezer. Serve directly from the freezer.

(With two people, the zesting part will take 1.5 - 2 hours. Totally worth it.)

All best, biz

Not Quite Billy's risotto

Billy makes fantastic risotto. I've modified it a bit to my own taste, but this is basically his recipe. I made it last night and have been eating left-overs today. Love it. This is a half recipe that easily feeds 3-4, if you ask me, but you can absolutely double it.

First, ideally you'd get out your risotto pan, but if you don't have one or a good saucier, you can make this in a big high sided skillet. 

You'll need:

Arborio rice (1 C.)

1-2 medium boxes chicken broth, or vegetable or seafood stock. (I use chicken and I always    make sure I have 2 boxes, just in case)

butter (about 1/4 stick)

shrimp (1/2 lb or so)

bunch asparagus

1 large pack baby bella mushrooms

head of garlic

1/2 medium red onion or small red onion

extra virgin olive oil

To Prep:

1. Wash & trim the woody ends off of the asparagus. Then steam or boil until just barely done. Shock in a big bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Lately, in the name of laziness, I've taken to using the zip and steam bags. I steam the asparagus about 2 minutes or so. I think that works just fine. Then I shock them in cold water, drain, and set aside. 

2. Sautee raw, shelled, large/jumbo shrimp in butter and about 5 cloves of garlic until just done. Set aside. OR, thaw cooked frozen shrimp and remove the tails. Set aside. If you choose to do it this way (and to save on dirtying pans, I have lately), you'll want to add more garlic  to Cooking #1 and throw in a hunk of butter (1/5-1/4 stick?) with the first cup of broth.

3. Chop 1/2 medium red onion (or a rather small one)

4. Crush and chop (another) 8 cloves of garlic.

5. Quarter pack of baby bella mushrooms (you can use white, if you'd rather)

6. When asparagus has cooled, chop into bit sized pieces.

Cooking:

1. Sautee the chopped red onion in EVOO for a few minutes. Then add the quartered mushrooms and garlic. (If you're using pre-cooked shrimp -- not sauteed -- then add the extra 5 crushed and chopped cloves of garlic as well. Keep in mind, too, that I LOVE garlic, so you can probably do with just the original 8 cloves if that's more your speed.) Sautee until they look close to done (7-10 minutes), stirring often. 

2. Move the mushrooms, garlic, and onions to the sides of the pan. Add another Tbsp or so of EVOO and 1 C. Arborio rice. Cook rice, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until well-coated.

3. Add 1 C. broth.

4. Cook, stirring constantly, until the broth is completely absorbed.

5. Continue adding broth about 1/2 C. at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. Don't let the rice cook "dry," though. This whole process will take a good half an hour or so and you'll use between 4-6 C of broth.

6. When you've got about one C. of broth left to add, add the shrimp. If you've sauteed the shrimp in butter and garlic, add the shrimp and most of the garlic butter mixture.

7. When it's almost done, add the asparagus.

8. Risotto is done when rice is tender but firm to the bite and risotto is creamy in texture.

9. Remove from heat and serve immediately with freshly shredded Parmesan shavings, if desired.