A Birthday Dinner

Another new recipe success! My birthday was this past Saturday and I decided to try this alfredo recipe. It's been staring at me for a while, but the butter content has been keeping me from making it. That, and the boyfriend said he wasn't a big fan of alfredo. I am, so it was a treat to myself. It was SO creamy, and SO easy! Oh, and the boyfriend ended up liking it too! I servied it with baked/seasoned chicken breasts and whole wheat italian bread with a store-bought tomato spread.
The only modification I may make for next time is to try it with that liquid I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray instead of real butter. That would cut the calories at least in half!

Fettuccini Alfredo
(Adapted from Two Picky Eaters and Elizabeth's Cooking Experiments)

18 oz fettuccini pasta
4 cups heavy cream
2T lemon juice
4-5T minced garlic
2 sticks unsalted butter
4-5 cups grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in a large pot per package instructions and drain. Leaving pasta in the strainer, stir together the heavy cream, lemon juice, minced garlic and butter in the pot. Cook over medium/high heat until the butter is melted and the garlic loses its bitterness. Reduce to low heat, add the pasta back to the pot and toss. Add the grated parmesan, salt and pepper and toss pasta until sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

Pesto and 4-Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

First of all - I'd like to apologize for my photography. In the first place I'm not looking to have any fancy photography, but I'd sure like the lighting to be better than it has been. It must be something about the compact fluorescent lights I have that makes everything glow orange and hardly allow for a non-blurred pic. Anyhoo - on to the mushrooms. These were good, though I'm not sure they were the best choice to go along with BBQ and Risotto (and I'm sure some folks would scoff at the thought of BBQ and risotto together...). Something about pesto thrown in that flavor set just didn't bode well with me. I'll have to think of another meal these could go with.


Pesto and 4 Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
(Adapted from Taste of Home bulletin board)

2 pkg large fresh mushrooms
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
6T jarred basil pesto
Olive oil for coating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Using a Tablespoon or Teaspoon measurer (depending on size of mushroom) hollow out the inside of the mushroom by twisting the measuring spoon back and forth, discarding debris. Brush inside and out with olive oil.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine cheeses and pesto reserving 1/4 cup parmesan cheese for later. Stuff the cheese-pesto mixture into the mushroom caps. Arrange the caps on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the mushrooms with the remaining parmesan cheese.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.

The side dish...

Risotto!
Prior to last fall, I'd never had nor heard of risotto (hangs Italian head in shame). The boyfriend and I went to a local bed and breakfast where we were served a multi-course dinner that included risotto. Yum! Unfortunately, arborio rice is not sold nearby (nor is saffron) - so it took me a while to acquire some. Then well, time flies, recipes go on the figurative back burner and I never did make it. That, and I was under the impression that it was a difficult dish to make. Ha! It so is not. All it involves is just a bunch of stirring. That's it. So if you've never made risotto out of fear of difficulty--fear no more and try it! I've made it twice now and I am an impatient, low-talent cook! If you're the type that needs more photos, check out this site--it shows step-by-step photos (although you'll see I skip at least one step and I do not use wine).


Risotto Alla Milanese (Double Batch)

10 cups (80 oz or 2 1/2 boxes) chicken broth
1/2 tsp saffron powder
6T butter + 2T
2 pkg (4 cups) arborio rice
6-9 oz. (1 wedge) parmigiano reggiano cheese, freshly grated
Black or white pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan or pot, melt the butter on medium heat until butter becomes foaming. Add the rice and stir for about 3 minutes, until rice is well coated.

Add 1 cup of broth to the rice, constantly stirring to prevent the rice from sticking. When the rice begins absorbing the liquid, add more broth. Hint: Keep the burner's heat on medium, not high. High heat will cause the broth to evaporate more quickly and not be soaked into the rice. Repeat this step of adding broth and stirring, keeping the rice at the consistency of a dense paste (~2 minutes per cup). About midway through the amount of broth, add the saffron and pepper with one of the broth additions. Continue the process until all of the broth is gone. Add the 2T butter and the freshly shredded cheese and stir to combine fully. Serve immediately.

Another Great Meal

Last week it pained me to try and pick a meal to make. So many recipes, so little time (and tummy space!). I finally whittled the Saturday night dinner down to Barbecued Chicken, Risotto, and Pesto and 4-Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms. All three recipes were keepers. I'll split them up between 3 posts.

So first we have the Barbecued Chicken. I've never made my own BBQ sauce before (unless you count the olde standby of ketchup/mustard/brown sugar) and had seen a recipe out there that was balsamic vinegar based. I had doubts, as I was worried it would taste like vinegar since that is the main ingredient. Turns out that vinegar taste boils off with cooking. The original recipe called for medium heat, but at that rate it was never going to boil/reduce. So I just used high heat for the duration. I kept checking on it to stir but that was really unnecessary--it didn't need any attention until it began reducing. Anyhoo - definitely a keeper! Although next time I'll spring for the boneless/skinless thighs instead of bone-in/skin-on, only for the sake of packaging the recipe. (Imagine trying to eat a barbecued chicken thigh with bone in a cubicle with dress clothes on--not too convenient!)

Barbecued Chicken

(Adapted from Mommy Cooks and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme)

4 cups balsamic vinegar
3 cups ketchup
1-1/3 cup brown sugar (or Splenda mix)
8T minced garlic (in a jar)
4T Worcestershire sauce
4T dijon mustard
Black pepper, to taste (if desired)

Combine all ingredients in a medium to large saucepan and stir to incorporate all. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil mixture at medium to high heat until it reduces by about 1/3, or reduces to desired thickness--about 20-25 minutes.*

*I had this at a full rolling boil on high heat for at least 20 minutes. It did not seem like it was going to reduce, then all of a sudden it took off. It required very little stirring.

Note: This was a rather large batch. It will cover 2 large packages of chicken thighs or drummettes which breaks down to ~3-3lb bags of frozen chicken breasts (thawed!). So it caqn easily be halved.

Cover 4 standard cookie sheets with foil. Using tongs or a fork, dip each piece of chicken into the pan of sauce, then arrange on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-40 minutes (drummettes ~20, thighs 20-30, breasts 30-40).