Pancetta, Crimini and Goat Cheese Risotto

Risotto is one of my favorite dishes, there are so many ways to make it but this I think is my favorite (today anyway) This dish is salty, creamy, buttery... what more could you want out of a rice dish??

To make this risotto we use Arborio rice, you can find it most places these days.

Also we use some pancetta, crimini mushrooms, goat cheese and in my opinion risotto isn't risotto unless it is topped with parm. You will also need about 6 cups of stock, whatever you have on hand, tonight I used the beef stock I made last week but anything will work.

Drizzle the pan with a little olive oil and brown up the pancetta, then add a little butter (real butter please) and the sliced mushrooms... mmmm don't these look yummy?!? Let these cook down then remove from pan but leave the oil...

Add the dry rice into the oil and let cook for about 10 min or so, while this is cooking start heating your stock you will want it simmering...

Add a ladle of the stock, stir and cook until the liquid is gone and then add another ladle... repeat until rice is soft... Risotto is easy but it does take about 30-40 min of your attention you want to add your stock slowly so your risotto will be creamy and you should be stirring almost constantly. When your rice is soft and creamy stir in a blob of goat cheese

and then... top with parm. We use a veggie peeler to sliver it, we like big ol chunks in ours. It is so yummy, the creamy rice with the texture of the mushrooms and the almost chewy pancetta... oh it is so good!

Collard Greens

I have heard the words before, I have seen the HUGE, slightly frightening bunch of them in the produce section. I have heard my friends in the south talk about them like everyone knows what they are... I have always been curious but I was too afraid to ask. Then, about 2 weeks ago I met this wonderful lady in the store, she was an older woman looking a little lost in the spice area so I offered my help, we talked for a while about food and the such, as she started to walk away she said (to herself) Oh I still need to get my collards... so I held my nose and jumped in hoping not to look like a fool. She showed me where they were and told me all the ways she had ever had them. Some ways took all of the "healthy" out of eating a veggie and I was starting to get a little discouraged but then this method came out so I thought I would give it a try. I loved them, the rest of the family was good with them. I wouldn't say they were much excited about them, they are after all "green" LOL

So my 2 cents.. try these. The taste is sort of like a spinach but they have a bit more texture. If you are like me you are always trying to find ways to get more veggies to your family, and if you guys eat spinach then you should like these.

First things first, clean them.. they are HUGE so the easiest way I found was to let them soak in a sink full of cold water for a bit, give them a little toss every few minutes. Then move them to a large surface so you can start prepping them.

I am sure I could have found a prettier leaf to show but oh well... see the thick stem? That needs to go. I tried a few different ways and I found it easier to run a knife down both sides. Once you have stemmed it (hmmm wander if that is even a word.. oh well it is on this blog LOL ) you want to cut it into bite size pieces. It is easier to stack a bunch up and give them a nice rough chop.

Next you want to shove them down into the biggest pot you have (depending on the size of your pot, you may need to do this in 2 bunches) Then add water.. how much? I couldn't really tell you, the greens were all the way up to the top so you don't cover them like you would when you boil anything else, you are more steaming them so I added a few glasses full, turned them on med heat and let them go for about 20-30 min ( I think I should have let them go just a little bit longer maybe as long as an hour if you have the time.)

Then drain them and try to press out most of the water. While they sit, saute some onions and garlic in a little olive oil, add the cooked and drained greens into the onion mixture and saute for about 15 min. Before serving hit it with a BIG splash of red wine vinegar OR the juice of maybe 1/2 lemon. There you have it I hope you try it out. They really are yummy!

Taco Shells

Tacos... some like them crunchy, some like them soft. Some like them with fish, steak, chicken... is there anyone that doesn't like some sort of taco? I use to buy the shells that come in the box, you know the ones, it is almost a crap shoot... are you going to get shells or "chips" this time?? Will your taco dinner turn into nachos because someone dropped the box of shells?!?

Then there is the cost
store bought taco shells 2-3 bucks for 12.
store bought corn tortillas 2-3 bucks for about 80 tortillas

More than the cost there is the taste and nothing comes close to a freshly made taco shell!
There is a learning curve but it is very small, and if you give your self about 10 extra min the first time and you will be a pro at the end of dinner and you will know just how crunchy you want yours.

The Cast
corn tortillas
oil
(I use peanut oil because your house doesn't smell like the alley behind your local burger joint when you are done frying. Plus peanut oil has a much higher smoke point.)
deer fryer
(you can do this in a pan but it has to be deep enough to "fold" the shell)


Heat your oil to about 350-375

Slowly drop your tortilla in the oil and when it floats.... (about as long as it takes you to pick up the spatula)

When it is floating like this (above).... put a metal spatula down in the middle...like this (below)...

This will take maybe 30-40 seconds for crunchy. Drain your shells (a cooling rack on a cookie sheet works well, you can even shape the softer shells over the rods, just dip the tortilla in the hot oil and when they float remove them and "straddle" them over the rods)
And there you have it, enjoy!

Real Mashed Potatoes

There are somethings you just shouldn't do... boxed mashed potatoes is one of them.. oh I have been guilty at times of falling into the "they are so much faster" pit. But really people, they are potatoes you buy in a BOX! It just isn't right.. not to mention they don't taste anything like a real mashed potato. Now I know there are many kind of mashed potato and I am a fan of most of them.. I like the bacon, cheesy mashed, the roasted garlic and rosemary mashed, the oh you get the idea I like me some mashed potatoes. But there has to be something said for the classic. I have tried so many other peoples mashed potatoes through the years and some of the things people pass off as mashed potatoes.. well they should be ashamed! (And we all know you know who you are! lol)

Here is one thing I must say first.. I am a little.. well.... chubby. I really shouldn't eat mashed potatoes and we don't too often. I have tried the foe mashed potatoes (cauliflower) and they are not too bad but this isn't the time to talk about saving calories. Please, if you are going to use skim milk and fat free/fake butter you are better off using the boxed potatoes. This here is a place for real food people!

OK
potatoes... I am sure some are better than others we use small baking potatoes that you buy in the 10# bag.

peel em, cut them up (they cook faster) and toss them in some cold water and bring them to a boil.

When you can poke your fork through the thickest part it is done...

Put your potatoes in your mixer bowl (you can use a hand masher if that is all you have but they may not be as creamy) with about a ladle full of the potato water

Once you get them pretty much lump free you need to add the secret ingredient.. now if you have a week heart you may want to sit down for this... or if you have a fat phobia... you will also need to sit down for this.. ok you ready....

CREAM BABY!! Yes heavy whipping cream you can use half and half but really people why would you when you can use heavy whipping cream? Please for your sanity sake don't look at the nutrition facts they are not pretty but lets hope these potatoes are a treat and now part of every meal you eat!

Once you have over come heart failure of using real cream then take the real butter and salt and add to taste. These are the most creamy potatoes you will ever put in your mouth. Now get off of your butt and go take a walk gotta start burning off these calories you are gonna take in when you make these!

Country Fried Steak

This meal is not good for you, it isn't healthy and it isn't in the slightest something you should eat.. that being said it tastes really really good! This is my oldest son's favorite meal of all time so every once in a while I like to make it for him. Home made always tastes better than the $10.99 platter at the local joint for the same thing. Not to mention when you are feeding 2 teen age boys you need 2nds!

It took me a while to figure out how to fry. It use to drive me nuts I mean really how hard is it to fry a piece of meat? I tried and tried with no luck.. then my dear friend clued me in. Here is the golden rule of frying.. don't mess with it! I was so afraid I would burn it that I was always messing with it, then I would end up with all of the lovely crust in the bottom of the pan and a naked piece of meat. Not good!

The ingredients
cube steak (today I used pork because that is what was on sale)
flour
eggs
panko
milk
oil for frying


If you want a good breading on your meat you need to do a few things.. first make sure your meat is dry please, the coating will stick much better.

Next set up your breading station... Dry -- Wet -- Dry In dry #1 I have seasoned flour. Sometimes spices burn so I find if you season up the first flour then you have the flavor but you don't risk burning the spices. So my flour is seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder and sage.
In the Wet we have a few eggs and a splash of water beaten.
Dry #2 flour and Panko bread crumbs. (half and half)

So you take your raw meat...

and go through your dry-wet-dry station you will end up with something that looks like this.. Yummy huh?!? LOL
You will want to use a heavy pan, cast iron is good for this but I have far too big of a family and far too small of a cast iron skillet. So I used my big ol pan for this. Just make sure it is deep enough, you are going to have a good amount of oil.

Put enough oil in your pan to come halfway up the side of the steaks. Bring your oil up to temp over med heat. Once your oil is heated place the steak in the pan (away from you please so you don't splatter grease on yourself) then leave it alone... I would love to tell you just how long to leave it but I can't it depends on your meat, heat, ect... but when you see the golden sides (the same color you want in the end) and it releases from the pan easily then it is ok to flip...

do the same thing on the other side and you are almost there!

Once you have cooked all of your meat (doesn't it look YUMMY?!?)

discard most of your oil you want to leave a few tablespoons of oil in the pan. Return to heat and add a few tablespoons of flour whisk this and let it cook 2-3 min. lalalallala Ok time up??? ok you have made a rue! WOOHOO! look at you!

OK back to gravy... slowly whisk in milk until you have the amount of gravy you want. Then slowly bring this to a boil (whisking often please, you don't want to burn the milk!) Once you are at a boil, turn down your heat to low it should get to the consistency of gravy very quickly.



Once there just turn it off top your steak with it and sink your teeth into a good old fashioned home cooked meal! Of course you will not be American if you don't make potatoes with it.. check out the next post for the potatoes! Happy cooking ya'll!

Soft White Bread

I was talking to a friend the other day that asked if I had a soft bread recipe, I haven't made a soft bread in a while so I had to test a few different ones. I have this book called "The Bread Bible" and this recipe is in there.. it is a long recipe, and luckily I found it posted online so for time sake I am just going to link you to the page and post the pictures from the loaves I made.

This is a good recipe... it may seem a little daunting when you read it but I promise it is very simple. And I skipped the step that tells you to form the loaf, I did not care how pretty it looked as long as it tasted good so after the last rising I just blobbed half in one loaf pan and half in the other and baked it from there. And you will see we ended up with a very nice looking bread and it tasted wonderful!

Make the starter let it sit overnight...

Throw the flour on top and let it sit until the started starts bubbling up into the flour

Mix it until it pulls away from the sides

Plop it in the pan (do not "form it" after it rises again it is in a loaf form without you getting sticky dough and flour all over your table. Now aren't you glad I saved you from that mess! :o)

Cover it and let it rise again

Bake it and brush it with a little melted butter. Now isn't this the prettiest loaf of white bread you have seen in a long time?!?

Now slice it and make sure you have honey to drizzle on this beautiful bread! Enjoy!

Super Easy Ciabatta Bread

Have you ever walked into a grocery store and seen the flat rectangular loaf of bread that looks like it is hard enough to use for a weapon? That my friends is Ciabatta bread, and to channel my inner Martha It IS a good thing! The price however... not a good thing the loaf in the store runs you about 5 bucks you can make it for about 50 cents and you get to eat it fresh out of the oven and that alone is worth the time to make this.

But making your own bread is a lot of work right?? No my friends it really isn't, it is a lot of time BUT WAIT, most of that time you just need to let it sit and for this bread even more so.. I only spend about 15 minutes of my time (if that) to make this bread then it takes about 30 min to bake up.

4 cups bread flour
2 cups warm water (not hot but warm, hot water will kill your yeast it should be about as warm as your body temp if you hold your wrist under the water it will feel slightly warm)
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (yes for you out there that have made bread before it is 1/4 yeast, I know that isn't much but it rises over night so it is plenty)
salt (I like about a tablespoon to 1 1/2 tablespoons)
honey (a about a 4-5 second squirt)



So just about every day we make this bread. After dinner I toss everything in a BIG (please make sure your bowl has plenty of room for the dough to double or more) stir it with a wooden spoon for just a few minutes it will be a sticky dough and that is just what you want.



Take the spoon out and cover with plastic wrap.
Now go put this on your washer or somewhere that it won't be in the way... then go on about your night. You want this to sit anywhere from 12-24 hours...

When you are ready for it, flour up a surface turn the dough out and kneed it (pull the top over itself and then push it away from you with your palms make sure your surface is really floured and your hands are floured) for maybe 2-5 minutes until it is easy enough to move to the pan...
then spread a thin layer corn meal on a sheet pan and place your dough on the corn meal and bake at 425 for about 20-30 min you will see it get a light golden brown.

Today we cut this in half and made pizza on it. But it is wonderful with any soup or stew... if you have leftover make croutons, bread crumbs... the list just goes on and on... we make individual loaves and make panini on it.. I will post that soon. If you love good bread you owe it to yourself to try this at least once. You will be amazed how yummy this super easy bread is.

Thanks to my friend at foodwishes where I got the technique for this bread.