Monthly Archives: November 2009

Recipes

Seafood Risotto

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 c. Arborio rice
  • 4 c. vegetable or fish broth
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1/2 lb. fresh calamari – cleaned, tentacles and bodies separated, bodies sliced into thin rings
  • 1 tbsp. olive (not virgin) oil
  • 1/4 c. freshly chopped Italian parsley
  • 1/4 to 1/3 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 lb. fresh bay scallops
  • 2 large shallots – peeled and minced
  • 1/2 lb. fresh shrimp – peeled and deveined
  • 1/4 tsp. white pepper
  • 1/2 c. dry white wine

Directions

  • Put the broth and clam juice in a saucepan and heat to a gentle simmer on the stove.
  • Heat half the butter and the oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the rice and stir to coat the grains well with the butter and oil. Cook for another minute while stirring gently.
  • Set your kitchen timer to 14 minutes.
  • Add the wine, stir and let it cook until the wine is almost completely absorbed by the rice. Add 1/4 c. broth and stir frequently until it is almost completely absorbed.
  • Continue adding the broth, 1/4 c. at a time, until it is gone. When the timer goes off, add the calamari rings and tentacles, scallops and shrimp.
  • Continue adding the broth and stirring for another 4 minutes.
  • Taste the rice. It should be tender yet firm to the bite, rather like al dente pasta. If it’s too hard, keep adding broth or water until it’s done.
  • With the last addition of broth, also stir in the remaining butter, salt, pepper and parsley.
  • If you run out of broth before the timer sounds, add more broth or water until you hear the timer.

Link to original recipe.

Recipes

Bruschetta

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Ingredients

  • 6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

  1. Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
  2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
  3. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

    Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.

  5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Makes 24 small slices. Link to original recipe.