Autumn Risotto

Here's another Italian dish from my repetoire. Risotto is one of my favorites, probably because of the abundance of parmasan cheese (ask any of my roommates--I'm obsessed with it). And I make a kick-ass risotto. However, this batch was one hitch kick shy of amazing. My theories on the less-than-stellar performance: 1) no meat, sausage or pancetta adds another element of savory, but I didn't have any, 2) I accidentally grabbed vegetable stock instead of chicken stock at the store, and 3) I totally spaced out on adding the sage, so the only seasoning was parmasan cheese, not necessarily a bad thing, just not all it could be. I also made a rookie mistake of confusing butterCUP squash for butterNUT squash. Who named these? (Butternut squash is yellow, buttercup squash like a small, green pumpkin).

Even so-so risotto couldn't ruin my Monday night. My Monday-night ritual involves coming home from work dragging myself outside for a jog (made significantly better by the addition of Coldplay's Viva La Vida to my music collection), after which I cook a something new and then sit down to watch Gossip Girl. It's beautiful.

Squash and Apple Risotto: (adapted from Food & Wine and Giada di Laurentiis)

4 cups chicken stock

3 tablespoons butter

2 ounces pancetta

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 butternut (or buttercup) squash

1 1/2 cups arborio or short-grain white rice

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used marsala, which is not at all dry, it was alright since a lot of the other ingredients are a bit sweet)

1/2 cup chopped apples

1/2 cup grated parmasan cheese

1 teaspoon dried sage (you could experiment here with other fall-ish herbs/spices, thyme for example)

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, bring the stock to a boil, reduce heat to low while sauteing the vegetables and rice. In another sauce pan, melt the butter and saute the pancetta, onion and squash until the onion is translucent. Add the rice and stir to coat with the oils. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated. Ladle in 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the rice mixture and stir until stock is almost absorbed. Repeat with remaining stock. I added the apple about halfway through. The rice should be creamy and tender to the bite. Take off heat and add cheese, sage (or other herbs), and salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

More Mushrooms.

We're already aware of my affinity towards mushrooms. (I still can't believe I refused to eat these things as a child). The fungi is to me one of the quintessential fall ingredients. It's so hearty and earthy. This meal is certainly that. The recipe is from Food and Wine, the source of much inspiration for fall for me (more to come next week). Though I must boast that I one-upped the gourmet cooking magazine by substituting the called-for gnocchi with some homemade ravioli still in my freezer. Take that Food and Wine!! I know I've already talked about it, but HyVee only had two kinds of fresh mushrooms (portobello and cremini). They didn't even have shiitake when I went yesterday. So I had to buy dried oyster mushrooms and reconstitute them, which was fine because then I used the water to boil my ravioli in and my kitchen smelled like dirt all evening. At first, I wasn't really crazy about this dish. (I probably should have used real cream instead of buttermilk, as it did go a bit chunky). But at the end, I was literally spooning the sauce from the skillet into my mouth. Megan came home and I couldn't lick the plate. Ravioli with Wild (sort of) Mushrooms: (serves 6) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons butter 2 pounds mixed mushrooms, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup onion, chopped 1/4 cup marsala cooking wine 3/4 cup chicken stock 1/2 cup cream 1 teaspoon thyme salt and pepper to taste 2 pounds stuffed pasta 6 tablespoons parmasan cheese Heat olive oil with butter in skillet. Add mushrooms and onions, cook until mushrooms are browned. Add marsala and cook until evaporated. Add the stock, cream and thyme, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil Meanwhile boil a pot of salted water and cook pasta until the ravioli floats to the surface. Drain. Add the pasta to the mushrooms and simmer, stirring for one minute. Stir in parmasan cheese.

New and Improved Shrimp Scampi.

This is the second meal I made from a recent Gourmet magazine. It just looked so enticing in their photos.

It reminds me of shrimp scampi, but I find it appealing in that garlic is not an ingredient. Don't get me wrong, I love garlic. I put it in anything that should be salty (so not desserts). I recall making shrimp scampi one time in college right before going to lacrosse practice. It was during the winter, so we were practicing indoors at the rec center. As we were running around the track, I burped. Someone (Pauts) came up behind me right afterwards and said, "What is that smell?" It was my garlic. I've been wary (or not so much) ever since.

I, predictably, strayed from the recipe when I discovered we didn't have cilantro or sherry. Basil and marsala were my substitutions. And oh my, the garlic was not missed. The ginger gave the dish a mild sweetness tempered with the butter that I haven't experienced with the root herb before. (I'm used to it with spicy and citrusy Thai food). And the marsala added depth you don't get with just a butter/garlic combination.

Shrimp in Ginger Butter Sauce:

6 ounces large shrimp, peeled

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 teaspoon grated (or crushed) ginger

2 tablespoons marsala cooking wine

2 teaspoons dried basil

Heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Saute ginger 30 seconds. Add shrimp and saute two minutes. Add marsala and saute until shrimp are just cooked through (one to two minutes). Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper.