roasted beets and carrots

Well, I really haven't been cooking much, as evidenced by the dearth of pictures on my camera and phone. But a couple weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went to the farmer's market that is in the Triangle on Wednesday afternoons. We got some carrots and beets, and I roasted them with some olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and herbes de provence. Because I chopped them so small, it really only took about 25 minutes to roast them at about 400 degrees, turning them once. I made a simple risotto to eat with it, which is always delicious and filling.

I haven't eaten beets much and wouldn't say I'm crazy about them, but my boyfriend is a pretty big fan, so he gets them fairly often. I really liked the colors of the roasted beets and carrots, and they were nice and tender and flavorful after roasting. If beets are at least this good every time I have them, I'll be a fan soon enough.

roast chicken with dijon sauce

So the boyfriend and I have started a bit of a routine on the days he does to personal training sessions with his friends that I cook dinner for him. On the one hand, sometimes I have a bit of a self-conscious meltdown it's a little bit stressful because he's a really good cook and I have more luck with baking. On the other hand, because he's not in the kitchen, I can fumble around and not feel too anxious about it. And by the time he gets home here, it's mostly coming together and I can just ask one or two questions about doneness of meat, etc.

This wasn't my most impressive attempt, but it was good. He made a simple risotto to go with it. I picked this recipe because it is SK's go-to chicken recipe. He decided we should add the mustard earlier in the sauce process rather than later and try to let it thicken up a bit.

Since we were cooking together, I had to scale back the cooking photos. He's pretty nice about a final product picture, but I think he thinks I'm a little insane while I take a bunch of the process. Is he wrong? Is he right? Uh, maybe.

The sauce is on the thin side but can be thickened up by reducing the sauce over high heat for several minutes. This concentrates the flavors as well, and if you haven’t used a low-sodium broth, you might find the results a little salty. Just a word of warning.

3 pounds chicken parts (thighs, drumsticks, and/or breasts), with skin and bones [I used skinless, boneless breasts]
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup reduced-sodium or sodium-free chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons smooth Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives or the green parts of scallions

Preheat oven to 450°F with a rack in middle. Pat chicken dry and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet (if you’ve got a cast iron skillet, it is great here) over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Working in 2 batches, brown chicken, skin side down first and turning once, about 5 minutes per batch. I like to take a lot of care in this step, not moving the chicken until the skin releases itself and has a nice bronze on it, which will provide the best flavor and seal in the most juices.

Return all chicken, skin side up, to skillet and roast in oven until just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter, then add shallots, wine, and broth to pan juices in skillet and boil, scraping up any brown bits, until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cream and boil until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. To thicken the sauce further, turn the heat to high and boil it until it reduces to a consistency you prefer.

Strain sauce through a sieve into a bowl, if you’re feeling fancy (I never am, but if you don’t, you might find some chicken bits scraped up from the pan in your sauce. We don’t mind.) Whisk in mustard, chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with sauce.

mushroom risotto + roasted brussels sprouts

First of all, I always thought it was just "brussel" sprouts and not "brussels" sprouts. Not that it really matters because you get the s sound in there either way, but now I'm going to pay special attention to the way I say it. Anyway, I've never eaten brussels sprouts before, but I saw them pop up a couple times on food network and smitten kitchen, so when we saw them at the grocery store we bought a bag. And then they sat in my fridge for about a week, lonely and uneaten. Finally, just before they would probably go bad, we decided to make them and see how they turned out. I think roasting was good, and the more they were roasted, the better we liked them. Our conclusion was that our batch was a few minutes shy of what we would have liked but that overall, brussels sprouts are getting a bad rap and aren't so bad. Along with the brussels sprouts, we made risotto because, well, we love risotto and it's always delicious. Both the brussels sprouts and risotto recipes were from allrecipes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

*we didn't measure and just put in the amount that we thought fit however many sprouts we had

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and yellow leaves removed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

garlic, chopped [we added this]

parmesan, grated [we added this at the end after the oven]

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).

Place trimmed brussels sprouts, olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, and garlic in a large resealable plastic bag [or mix by hand in a bowl, like I did]. Seal tightly, and shake to coat. Pour onto a baking sheet, and place on center oven rack.

Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, shaking pan every 5 to 7 minutes for even browning. Reduce heat when necessary to prevent burning. Brussels sprouts should be darkest brown, almost black, when done. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt, if necessary. Serve immediately [with parmesan cheese grated on top].

Mushroom Risotto

6 cups chicken broth, divided [we probably used 4-5 cups]

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced [we didn't use this]

1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced [we used 8 oz regular mushrooms]

2 shallots, diced

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

sea salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons finely chopped chives [didn't use]

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat [or boil water and add bouillon cube].

Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. 

Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

roasted garlic, thyme, and broccoli risotto

I admit it, I'm on a risotto kick. I can't help it. First, I had that absolutely delicious butternut squash risotto. I also had overbought, somewhat intentionally, risotto rice in bulk from Whole Foods, so it's just been looking at me from its clear IKEA food container on my teensy pantry shelf. Second, it's a little funny to me to realize that sometimes I can look in my fridge and truly have nothing to eat that constitutes any sort of meal in its own right (fruit, cheese, baguette, lunchmeat, whatever), but have 85% of the ingredients that I need (and 100% of the ones I deeply care about using) to make something considerably more complicated and time consuming, like risotto. Tonight, I peeked into my fridge and saw (yes, I'm going to tell you everything in my fridge):

1/4 bottle of white wine, creme fraiche, parmesan, feta, eggs, corn tortillas, a can of tuna, lemon simple syrup, a bag of unopened baby carrots, butter (three types), beer (Shiner light blonde - a 12 pack going on its 4th week in my possession even though I like it), salsa, mayo, mustard, jelly, unopened caramel syrup, and a jar of active dry yeast

And since I pretty regularly have scrambled eggs in a tortilla with salsa (dinner last night) or breakfast food (french toast and scrambled eggs for lunch today), I was feeling unenthused about another round of that ingredient combination. I remembered hearing about a thyme something-or-other risotto so I googled that and came upon a Jamie Oliver recipe, which I knew had to be the one. I didn't exactly have all the precise ingredients (as you can compare the ingredient list to my fridge, you'll see that I was missing onion/shallot [which is rather inexcusable], celery, fresh thyme, bread crumbs, and almonds), but I felt like I could substitute in things (or just pretend they weren't listed) and if it didn't work, I'd only have myself to blame. This is the best part of cooking for one: if it isn't perfect, you don't have to sweat it. You don't even have to eat it, but I usually do.

Luckily for me, I thought it turned out quite well and scarfed the whole thing down. Maybe a more ladylike version of scarfed, but not much more impressive as I have now gotten into the habit of sitting on my rug and eating at my coffee table while craning my neck to watch tv (with my new controller! I live in the 21st century!!). I must apologize for being so chatty. I'm reading Tina Fey's Bossypants and it is so totally hilarious I can't even not laugh like a lunatic, so it's good that I read it by myself in my solitary confinement studio apartment. Somehow reading that and being chatty are related.

 So yes, when the garlic comes out, you just chop off the top and then squeeze out the soft, mushy roasted garlic cloves. This makes it look considerably neater than the process was and neglects to show that it was all over my hands, which I proceeded to happily lick off before washing them and continuing with cooking. It's amazing how garlic goes from insanely overpowering to pleasant and almost sweet after being roasted.

Since I rather significantly diverged from the real recipe and also made about 1/4 of it (which means probably more than 1 serving but shhh), I'll just post what I actually made instead of parading his recipe as if I actually followed it. I take this as a sign of my growing confidence in my ability to cook instead of my actually being a foolhardy dumdum to think that Jamie Oliver's recipe isn't God's wish for dinner.


.75 large head garlic, whole and unpeeled [or you know, whatever's lying around]
1 cup (or so) chicken stock [I boiled some water in a saucepan and threw in half a bouillon cube and used what I needed]
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Some frozen broccoli [however much you want to eat, I cooked mine for a couple minutes first]
1/2 cup risotto rice [arborio rice, as I've learned]
1 wine glass worth of white wine [or just pour some in, like me!]
salt
dried thyme [sprinkle a few pinches]
black pepper
1/4 cup of creme fraiche
grated parmesan [okay, even I will not ever stoop to the sawdust stuff]

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Roast the whole garlic head on a dish in the oven until soft, about 30 minutes. [Yep, just stick it in there and let it hang out until it gets soft and will burn the heck out of your fingers.]

Heat the stock. In a separate pan heat the olive oil, garlic, and broccoli, and fry slowly for about 4 minutes. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.

The rice will now begin to fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the  wine and keep stirring.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Separate the roasted garlic cloves and squeeze out the sweet insides into the risotto. [If you are me, this will require you making a mess of several instruments in an effort not to burn your fingers before giving up and alternating between squeezing out the garlic and whimpering and then mashing it between your fingers into the risotto like a 4 year old with a banana.]

Add the thyme and black pepper to the risotto. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer, so the rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladles of stock.

Remove from the heat and add the creme fraiche and Parmesan. Stir gently. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Eat as soon as possible while the risotto retains its perfect texture.

butternut squash risotto

I have had the recent incredibly good fortune to start dating someone that I not only really like, but who is a very good cook. The night I made the honey apple challah bread, he came over and made some delicious homemade granola bars. Last week, we went to a farmer's market and picked up some squash and decided to make a butternut squash risotto topped with chicken. It was crazy good, and I mean it. I was even lucky enough to get the leftovers. We just used an allrecipes recipe, and by we, I mean I read it and occasionally helped get stuff together while he cooked. It really was pretty straight foward, though, and I really want to make some risotto again because it was very yummy.

I only took a picture at the end because, you know, I'm trying not to come across as the total nut that I am. That said, he still thinks I'm ridiculous for taking pictures of all of my food. The good news is that it isn't so ridiculous that I can't still sneak in one or two pictures without feeling too silly.

2 cups cubed butternut squash
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
5 cups hot chicken stock [we probably only used 3 or so cups]
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste

As per some of the allrecipes comments, we decided to roast the squash in the oven for a while first. Set the oven to 400 degrees, place the squash on foil on a cookie sheet, and cut them in half. I believe he rubbed them with some olive oil and cinnamon before putting them in the oven. It took about 30 to 40 minutes to soften them up. We let them cool (and helped the process by sticking them in the freezer for a bit) and then scraped out the insides into a bowl and mashed it up further.


Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir for 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking and stirring until the rice is glossy from the butter, and the onion begins to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes more.

Pour in the white wine; cook, stirring constantly, until it has evaporated. Stir in the mashed squash and 1/3 of the hot chicken stock; reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the rice, 5 to 7 minutes. Add half of the remaining chicken stock, and continue stirring until it has been absorbed. Finally, pour in the remaining stock, and continue stirring until the risotto is creamy. Finish by stirring in the Parmesan cheese, and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutritional Information (for 1/4 of risotto recipe)
355 total calories
13g total fat
46g total carbs
9g protein