Easy Parmesan "Risotto"
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade, divided
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the rice and 4 cups of the chicken stock in a Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente. Remove from the oven, add the remaining cup of chicken stock, the Parmesan, wine, butter, salt, and pepper, and stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy. Add the peas and stir until heated through. Serve hot.
Thank you Ina Garten. This was not a recipe that lent itself to photography. Used only 4
cups stock and used Valencia rice - a short grain rice that I also use when making sushi. It worked as well Arborio rice and was much much less expensive.
Use real Parmesan - it makes a difference.
Was very creamy and super easy to make - will work on some variations of this. I'm thinking asparagus should be involved.
Reheats well too. That's a plus.
It's hot outside and I feel like staying in the air conditioning and baking. So I thought crackers (for the cracker - it's just a north west Florida thing) would be a good idea. I started looking thorough my cracker binder for a few recipes to try (yes, I have a binder dedicated to crackers - get over it). I settled on five. They are: Cheddar-Cayenne Coins - 1st made 13 Dec 2008; Bleu Cheese Shortbread - 1st made 1 August 2003; Rosemary Cheese Bites - 1st made, um today; Parmesan Rosemary and Walnut Shortbread - 1st made 14 May 2006 on Mom's Day*; Parmesan Rosemary Icebox Crackers - 1st made, um today too.
So today I made all five doughs and now have them in the fridge and I'm damn tired (also made stuffed plum tomatoes).
Tomorrow is the Cracker Challenge.
So noting the quantity of cheese in the above recipes, I grated lots o' cheese. and unfortunately, I also grated my thumb as well - crap-tacular. I needed one of those finger condoms that the people who compete on cooking challenge shows get - where do I find those? My fix, inelegant as it was, was a paper towel wrapped around my thumb. It's the tinniest** of cuts about the size of a grain of arboiro rice - tiny, but it bled like a ... you know what.
So it's summer and I seem to roast tomatoes in one way or another every weekend. This weekend, as last weekend, it's roasted plum tomatoes with fresh bread crumbs, garlic, parsley (from the garden) and bleu cheese. It takes relatively crappy tomatoes and makes them sublime.
I went to Bailey's today and got some jewel-like yellow and red grape tomatoes in preparation for the 4th of July.
I'm working on a menu for the 4th of July - California French Bread - evil itself, but so very stupidly good. Corn cakes with something on top - not sure about the something, but I'm thinking avocado w/lime and sour cream. And then those beautiful tomatoes w/ scallions, basil (from the garden) and a vinaigrette. Still thinking.
Photos to come... ]
* totally made up holiday for card companies - just saying.
** I had no idea tinniest was spelled that way - who knew?
This is one of my favorite meals. It's easy, quick-ish and tastes outstanding. I've learned though to make it even quicker. This is one of those recipes that calls for things I use quite often so I look at my recipes for the week and find all the common denominators for them. So this weekend (Sunday) I minced a lot of garlic, grated a bunch of Parmesan and spun up some bread crumbs in the food pross monster. It's amazing to me how a little advanced prep saves so much time later in the week. I love to cook for my family - it's fun (most of the time) not a chore, but when you come home from work - already tired and not really up to doing much more it's great to have something mostly ready to go. I'm ready to make it again right now.
Here's the recipe: Baked Chicken with Parmesan and Garlic Crust
If you can't access it - it's worth signing up - I'm not kidding. Just do it.
Comments from the Counter:
It only takes two slices of bread to make the breadcrumbs - don't use the cardboard they sell at the store - ugh.
I don't use the basil, but I do modify the mayo by adding either lemon juice or lemon juice and zest (depending on how ambitious I am)
Either thin cut chicken breasts or pound out regular ones to make them thin-ish.
Coat the 9 x 13" pan w/cooking spray to make sure nothing sticks.
Always check the temperature - 160 degrees minimum.
Very good leftover too.
