Vegetable Risotto

Hello Blog, I've missed you!  I thought about writing once or twice, but between being out of town from Christmas to New Years, and then getting going with 2011 at work, there wasn't time to cook, let alone write.  It's seems as though it's taken me a while to get into the swing of 2011, but thankfully, it looks like I am finally cruising along in some semblance of a normal schedule.  Time to get back to cooking, and blogging.

I love the smell of fresh starts in the air during the early part of January.  Like many people, I am big on resolutions, although I don't necessarily call them resolutions.  For me, the new year is just a chance to reset and re-invest in some personal goals I'd like to work on.  I even made a vision board- images & words that will help remind me where I would like to be going this year.  One big goal I've had for a while now- get my foot in the door of the wine industry, just might be realized next week.  I have an interview at a winery here in Alameda for a part time job in their tasting room.  I love my current job, and have no intention of leaving any time soon, but it will be nice to build some contacts in a new industry and explore what types of options might be available down the road.  I've built my career on the philosophy that if you find something you are passionate about, the money will follow.  It's worked so far, and hopefully getting my foot in the door at a winery will give me whole new road to go down some day.  I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

One of the other things I would like to work on in 2011 is eating less meat.  It's a struggle in the Munoz house to come up with vegetarian dinners because my husband doesn't really believe it's dinner unless there is meat involved.  I personally would have a pretty easy time going mostly vegetarian.  In fact I was a vegetarian for a few years after college.  So far, I have 2 vegetarian recipes he will eat, both involving black beans.  For 2011 I plan on finding a lot more to add to his "approved" list. The trick is to come up with something that is ridiculously good & incredibly filling, so he doesn't miss the meat.  Risotto was a good place to start.  He loves it, and I figured if I sautéed some of his favorite veggies and tossed them in, he might just be ok with it.  Luckily, it worked and this recipe has been approved by the husband.  It's delicious, and hearty, yet still pretty easy on the waistline.  Success on the first try!

Vegetable Risotto
For the veggies:

1/2 large yellow onion, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 portabella mushroom caps, gills removed & chopped into 1" pieces

1 small yellow squash, quartered & then cut into 1/2" pieces
1 small white zucchini, quartered & then cut into 1/2" pieces
1 small regular zucchini, quartered & then cute into 1/2" pieces
3/4 cup small grape tomatoes, sliced in half
Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Hot Pepper Flakes
1/4 cup white wine vinegar

For the risotto:
Olive Oil
1 shallot, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine (like chardonnay)
4 to 5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper

1. Heat up the chicken broth.  Put the chicken broth in a small pot and heat until it is just barely simmering.  Keep the broth just barely simmering while you are making the risotto.  
2. Start the Risotto.  In a medium sized deep-sided pot heat up some olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the shallots and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes, until they are just starting to soften.  Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.  Add in the rice and stir for another minute or two.
3. Slowly add Liquid to the Rice.  Pour the cup of wine into the rice pot.  Stir occasionally until all the wine has been absorbed.  Once the wine has been absorbed, start adding the chicken broth, a  half-cup at a time, stirring occasionally and making sure all the liquid has been absorbed before you add more. 
4. Saute the Veggies.  While the risotto is cooking, heat up some olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan.  Add in the onions & cook for a few minutes, add in the garlic, cook for another minute, then add the mushrooms & zucchini's.  Season with salt, pepper, oregano & the hot pepper flakes.  Continue cooking over medium heat until the zucchini is cooked through and starting to soften, about 10 minutes.  Add in the tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes, then add the white wine vinegar and stir.  Let cook one more minute and then remove from heat.
5. Finish the Risotto.  It should take about 20 to 25 minutes for the risotto to finish.  You'll know it is done when the risotto gets creamy looking and the grains are soft but still just a little firm when you bite one (al dente).  When it's reached that point, turn off the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.  Season with salt & pepper and then stir in the sautéed veggies.
6. Serve!  Serve the risotto immediately, preferably with some delicious wine.  We drank a 2009 St Francis Chardonnay with ours.

Bon Appetit!

Squash & Sausage Risotto

I know I said in a previous post that I love fall, and I do. But...  November sometimes feels like the one month out of the year that has it out for me.  There is always so much going on.  Thanksgiving looms large on the calendar at the end of the month which normally means a trip home to New Jersey to be with the family, or the family coming in to be with us.  And once Thanksgiving arrives, well, Christmas & Hanukkah are just a hop, skip & a jump away.  I always feel like I need to get the house "ready" for the holidays.  I like to tackle any and all projects that have lingered through the winter, when it was too cold to work on them, spring, when it was too rainy to work on them, or summer, when it was just too nice outside to work on them.  I end up spending a lot of November weekends and evenings  reorganizing closets, rearranging furniture, deep-cleaning the carpets, things like that.

On top of all that, November is the busiest month of the year at my job.  I work for a small non-profit membership association.  So small in fact, that due to cut-backs over the years, I am now the sole paid employee.  The last one standing, so to speak.  11 months out of the year it's not that bad.  I've learned to adapt to being the only one in the office, and I've figured out how to manage the workload just fine.  Except for November, when I really miss having co-workers, and having people to share the workload with.  I could use about 4 of me, just for the one month.  There are meetings on top of meetings in November- Board Meetings, Delegates Meetings, Committee Meetings, and our year-end Trophy Party. Organizing the hundreds of trophies that get handed out at the party could be a full-time job on it's own in November.  November is the month we prepare the budget for the next year.  It's the month we prepare our annual publication, with all the information our members need to participate in the association the following year, and I have learned that printers do not like it when you miss their deadlines.  It's the month we finalize our event calendar for the following year- over 850 events that need coordinated between government agencies and local organizations. It's insanity really.

So yeah, November often feels like it's out to get me.  Thankfully, I can retreat to my kitchen when I need a stress break and whip up something delicious (and hopefully something quick) with my favorite fall ingredients.  Squash, root vegetables, greens, apples, pears, nuts- they are all in season and the produce stand is full of them.

Tonight's dinner at the Munoz's utilizes probably my favorite fall ingredient, butternut squash.  I can eat roasted cubes of the orange goodness all day long, it's like candy.  I've got a slew of recipes that call for it.  Tonight I am making a double batch, some to use tonight in my risotto, and some to use for Taco Tuesday.  Stay tuned for that recipe tomorrow, but for now...

Roasted Squash & Sausage Risotto
1 large butternut squash, or 2 small, peeled, seeded & cut into small 1" cubes
Olive Oil
1 Tbsp dried thyme
Cayenne pepper
Salt & pepper
1 pkg sweet Italian turkey sausage
2 shallots, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup arborrio rice
½ cup marsala wine
5 cups chicken broth
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Roast the squash.  Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toss the cubed squash with olive oil, thyme, cayenne pepper (how much depends on how spicy you like things), salt &pepper and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet (you may need 2) lined with parchment paper. Roast the squash for about  45 minutes, until it is softened and slightly carmelized.  Take half of the roasted squash, put it in a container and refrigerate for use in a later recipe.
2. Cook the Sausage.  While the squash is roasting, cook the whole sausage links in a pan until browned & cooked through.  Remove from pan, let cool slightly and slice into ¼" rounds. Cover to keep warm.
3. Warm up the chicken broth.  While you are cooking the sausage, bring the chicken broth to a simmer in a small pot.  Keep the chicken broth gently simmering while cooking the risotto.
4. Get the Risotto going.  Run olive oil around the bottom of a risotto pan (dutch oven type pot). Sauté the shallots over medium heat for a few minutes until they start to soften, then add in the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the rice and continue to sauté over medium heat for another 2 minutes or so. Season with salt & pepper. Add the marsala wine and stir gently until almost all the wine has been absorbed. 
5. Add in the chicken stock, a little at a time.  Once the wine has been absorbed, start adding the hot chicken broth, ½ cup at a time, gently stirring over medium heat until almost all the liquid has been absorbed before adding more broth. Continue this process until the risotto is done, about 20 minutes.  You may not need to use all 5 cups of the chicken broth.  You'll know the risotto is done when it gets creamy looking and the grains are soft but still a little firm (al dente) when you bite one.
6. Add in the sausage & squash.  Once the risotto is done, remove from the heat, stir in ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, the sliced sausage & the roasted squash cubes.
7. Serve!  Serve immediately.  A nice merlot goes great with this dish.

Regardless of what you may have heard, risotto is actually really easy to make, and pretty quick to make as well.  Usually risotto recipes call for lots of butter, but I leave it out completely.  I find a little olive oil works just as well, and the chicken broth adds enough richness that I don't miss the butter at all.  You could also use regular Italian pork sausage if you wanted, but I use the Turkey variety to help keep the dish a little lighter.  Just make sure you use the sweet Italian variety- it plays off the spicy squash really well.

Bon Appetit!