It all started when... my friend and I were having a conversation in my kitchen. I was telling her how I make a "pretty awesome" mushroom risotto. She responded with her opinions and high praise for the boxed version of mushroom risotto she usually makes and swore that it tasted just as good. And naturally I said to her... IT'S A CHALLENGE!!
Over the next week or so we developed a boxed vs. homemade challenge. We discussed likely categories--and narrowed it down to:
Round 1: Mushroom Risotto
Round 2: Brownies
Round 3: Lasagna*
Rounds 1 and 2 were Homemade vs. The Box. *Round 3 was Homemade vs. Homemade. It just so turns out that, I would win Round 1 and my friend would win Round 2. Therefore, making Round 3 the ULTIMATE challenge where we were both able to bring out our best lasagna recipes and make that for 8 people.
**Side-bet: There was also a very interesting Cornbread Casserole Challenge which took place on the same day. The winning casserole was this recipe:
Corn and Onion Casserole
http://www.bigoven.com/72310-Corn-and-Onion-Casserole-recipe.html
In addition to this recipe, add some ham steak--dice that up and drop that in there before you put it in the oven. Also, the cook recommends less cream of corn because it came out kinda runny.
My notes on my own food challenge are as follows:
I wouldn't do anything differently with my mushroom risotto recipe. I spent a lot of time and stirred with much love when making it. I can only suggest the same for you--Good luck!
Mushroom Risotto
6 to 8 cups of chicken broth
Crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced or 1 oz. dried wild Italian mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter for fresh mushrooms
5 tbsp. butter for the risotto
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups of arborio rice
3/4 cups of white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmasean cheese
salt to taste
Prepare chicken broth. If using dried mushrooms, soak in warm water 20 minutes. Drain mushrooms, reserving liquid. Strain mushroom liquid. Rinse mushrooms under cold running water. Squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible. If using fresh mushrooms, saute in 2 tbsp. butter until golden, set aside.
Heat broth in medium saucepan. melt 1/4 cup butter in a large saucepan. When butter foams, add onion. Saute over medium heat until pale yellow. Add rice and mix well. When rice is coated with butter, add wine. Cook, stirring constatnly, until wine has evaporated. Add drained dried mushrooms and reserved mushroom liquid. Stir in 1 or 2 ladles of broth, or enough to cover the rice. Stir over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding broth a little at a time until rice is done 15 to 20 minutes.
Rice should be tender but firm to the bite. Stir in Parmasean cheese, 1 tbsp butter and sauteed fresh mushrooms, if using. Season with salt. Place in a warm dish and serve immediately.
I could have done a little more research on my brownie recipe... but I went with what I know. I opened up my America's Test Kitchen Cookbook and I chose to make the Ultimate Fudgy Brownies. And indeed that's what they were. They could not be described any other way--I used both bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate--Ghiradelli's. I made them the night before the challenge--my challenger's brownies were still hot out of the oven... Her fudge was better--it was sweeter and more gooey. Mine was like the fudge you get from those old fashioned candy stores, where it's more dense and the bittersweet chocolate you could taste. If you like dark chocolate, you probably would have voted for mine.
Last but not least, there came the Homemade Lasagna Challenge. I made a half sausage and half eggplant lasagna, but I mixed it up on this one by making two layers with sausage and the middle layer had eggplant. This lasagna was a veggie-friendly lasagna, each layer additionally contained spinach, mushrooms, a ricotta mixture (recipe used off the box of no-cook lasagna by Barilla), and mozzarella (always!). The sauce I used was my favorite, Paul Newman's Own--the types of tomato sauce were Tomato & Basil and Sock-a-rooni (my favorite because it has bell peppers in it--and lots of seasoning!!!). I was very disappointed to find out that the pasta didn't cook all the way through because I may have prematurely pulled my lasagna out of the oven. The other deciding factor for most people was the fact that my friend's lasagna had meatballs stuffed in to it (IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!), and I think I was a little light on the sausage in mine. Greatest lesson learned on this one--don't forget if you're cooking for people, know who your feeding! (OH! I forgot to mention that I was cooking for 8 men... what was I thinking trying to sneak that eggplant in there! hahahahaha.)
This may be in too close imitation of Miss Rachael Ray... but here goes... I had 30 minutes to make dinner and I had s'more shrimp in the fridge... And it just so happens that the other day I was watching Food Network and in this episode of "30-Minute Meals", Ms. Ray makes Beer Braised Shrimp with Louisiana Salsa and Rice--Granted I only saw the salsa and the rice part... but it sure caught my attention. That's the whole meal!
Here's the recipe: (use the link... then you can print it out easier!)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/beer-braised-shrimp-with-louisiana-salsa-and-rice-recipe/index.html
Maybe I have to watch the episode again because I'm still figuring out which beer would make the best to cook with... Also, don't be shy with the lime juice--it's all you need to make the salsa's dressing. The rice is good too! It's like a reallllllllly easy pilaf.
Enjoy!
When I got Omaha Pork Chops as a gift from a very grateful mommy of twins (;o) Thanks Jenn!), I thought to myself, "I want to do something different than what I usually do with pork chops." I mean this is top-grade meat... I can't just throw a rub on it and fry it on the pan--that wouldn't be right. I also coupled it with my scalloped potatoes.
Smothered Pork Chops
4 bone-in rib pork chops (6 oz each) 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
salt and pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra as needed
2 onions, halved and sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried
2 tbsp water 3 oz bacon (3 slices), chopped fine **see below for substitute
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1. Pat the chops dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Brown the chops on both sides about 6 minutes, then transfer to a large plate.
2. Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the skillet and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until lightly browned about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the water, scarping up any browned bits, then transfer to a bowl.
3. Add the bacon to the skillet and return to medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon fat in the pan (you should have at least 2 tbsp but if not, substitute vegetable oil for the missing bacon fat).
4. Whisk the flour into the fat left in the skillet and cook over med-low heat until golden about 5 minutes. Whisk in the broth, scraping up the browned bits. Return the chops to the skillet and cover them with the onions. Add the bay leaves, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pork is completely tender, about 30 minutes.
5. Transfer the chops to a serving platter and tent with foil. Continue to simmer the sauce until thickened, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chops and sprinkle with the crisp bacon before serving.
**Substitute for bacon: I used one 6 oz. Italian sausage--casing removed. You would prepare it similarly to the bacon (as described in Step 3) but while frying it, be sure to break it up with a spoon--like when you're frying ground beef. When I used the sausage, it did not produce enough oil, so definitely add some veggie oil--as explained in Step 3.
Tip of the Day: Be sure to heat the oil that you add to "HOT!" level, because it will make a better roux for the gravy.
Do you remember back in September when I made Shrimp Linguine? Back then I called it Seafood Linguine with a Mushroom and Garlic Cream sauce. This time, I was so much better.
Ok... I will divulge something a bit more personal than I usually do on my bloggie... The reason why I haven't been blogging lately is because I haven't been feeling myself. I think getting back in to it... and by IT... I mean cooking... I've actually started to feel "normal"... or close to normal again... Anyways, that's enough of the mushy stuff...
And on with the good stuff:
Tip#1: I used Shrimp (20-25 a pound) this time--totally so much more yummier (such bad english!)
Tip #2: Use Crimini Mushrooms in this one... they hold up well and taste good
Tip #3/Note: I'm still trying to figure out what vegetable would go good in this pasta... (Please ignore the fact that I used frozen peas and carrots in this one.)
Tip #4: Use the full amount of prescribed garlic
Tip #5: Be generous with the garlic & herb spread
Done!
Oh wait!!! I almost forgot... Please note: In the background, it's a glass of Organics Orange Blueberry Italian Soda--oh yes! do it! and tell me bout it later. :o)
Happy 2009 everybody!!
It's still winter and it's still cold. I continue with my theme for this winter... don't ALL cooking shows do some sort of Comfort Foods special. So when I was a kid, my mom used to make this killer Etouffee recipe! She used real crab and tons of shrimp and lots of butter and lots of... what do they call that... oh yeah, LOVE. (keehee) It's really jus some kind of seafood stew that you serve over rice. It's not as spicy as gumbo, unless you make it that way.
If you want to get technical about it: When I google "etouffee", here's what I came up with... "Etouffee is a Creole and Cajun dish typically served with shellfish or chicken over rice, similar to gumbo". There's more... but need I say more...
Here's the link to the recipe that I found:
http://www.nolacuisine.com/2006/12/28/shrimp-etouffee-recipe/
I have a confession to make... Occasionally, I have a slight over-seasoning problem. I can even tell you exactly what happened this time. I was being a good cook and tasting while I was cooking... you know, making sure the sauce was coming along the way I wanted it. Anyways, so I'm coming close to the end and I'm thinking... there's not enough creole taste to it. So I put a lil more creole seasoning in to the pot--what I didn't realize was that the shrimp AND the crab (before I have cooked them up) where "marinating in that same seasoning... In the end, people seemed happy with it... but I grumbled to myself. Next time, NO canned crab and careful with the creole seasoning!!
