Butternut Squash and Zucchini Risotto

Holy fast and easy risotto! I didn't know such a thing was possible, but I ate my words today along with copious quantities of this delectable dish. Amazingly, it didn't take more than 1/2 an hour from start to finish, and was not very dish-dirtying, either! I definitely recommend following the "variation" noted at the end by the recipe's author, cooking the butternut squash and zucchini separately to speed things up a bit. I also put the onions in a blender to chop them up very fine, as I don't like the texture of thick-cut onions, even when minced. I added the butter which was delicious, and I found that substituting the white wine for some of the stock (the recipe originally said 3 cups stock instead of wine) gave it a really delicious yet subtle flavor. Might also up the quantities of butternut squash as well.

Butternut Squash and Zucchini Risotto:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic – crushed

1 small onion

1 zucchini

1/2 butternut squash (poke holes in the squash and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes to make cutting easier) - I would even use a full squash

1 cup arborio rice

About 3 cups stock (can be real or made, vegetarian or chicken) or 2 cups stock, 1 cup white wine

Generous grated Parmesan cheese

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Peel and cut all the vegetables into small pieces (about 1/2 cm.). In a large pan, heat the olive oil to medium heat and add the onions, cook for 5 min. and add the garlic. When the onions are soft and almost transparent add the zucchini and butternut squash, cook for 10 min.

Add the risotto rice and start adding the stock, a little bit at a time. Let the rice absorb the stock before adding some more. Repeat until the rice is soft and has a creamy texture.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

good variations:

* Replace some of the stock with white wine (if you do that, add the wine at the beginning and later add the stock.
* Add peas or green beans – It makes the risotto look more appealing (color contrast).
* Add 20 grams of butter (a little less than half a stick) at the end, it makes the risotto even more creamy.
* To save time, make the onions and risotto rice in one pan and the vegetables in another. It can cut down the time to make this dish to 1/2 a hour.

Source: http://bakingforthecure.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/butternut-squash-and-zucchini-risotto/

Great Side Dish: Roasted Asparagus with Sesame Ginger Soy Dressing

This one comes directly from Dishin and Dishes, a blog I found while searching for a recipe that used roasted asparagus and Asian flavors. This was divine - our guests were sopping up the plates with bread. Modified slightly as I roasted the asparagus for less time than the original recipe calls for.

1 bunch asparagus
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
1 green onion, chopped
1 thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. sesame oil
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 lime, juiced
1 T. honey

Preheat oven to 400º.

Combine onion, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice and honey in bowl. Mix well with whisk.

Place asparagus in single layer on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast uncovered in oven about 8 minutes. Remove and drizzle with dressing.

Source: http://www.dishinanddishes.com/2010/03/27/roasted-asparagus-with-ginger-soy-sesame-dressing/

Menu: Ahi Tuna Burgers with Wasabi Aioli, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Spinach Salad with Soy-Sesame Dressing

What a perfect summer menu for the grill, and about as simple as it gets! We threw this together in about 20 minutes.

To serve 4:
Ahi tuna burger:

* 1.5 pounds sushi-grade ahi tuna, finely chopped
* 2 large basil leaves, chopped
* 1 scallion, chopped
* 1/2 heaping tablespoons black sesame seeds
* 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon honey
* About 1 teaspoon sesame oil (start with 1/2 teaspoon and see if you need more)
* Lemon zest

Mix all ingredients together using your hands to form patties. Grill until medium rare (sear on high on a very hot grill).

Wasabi aioli:

* 1/2 tablespoons wasabi paste
* 1.5 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise (such as safflower)
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Juice of 1/4 lemon
* Juice of 1/4 lime

Mix together and top burgers. Note: the wasabi packs a real kick; if you don't like the sinus-clearing capacity, you may want to scale back on the wasabi.

Adapted from a mix of Bethenny Frankel's and Martha Stewart's recipes (mostly Bethenny's, which was simpler). Sources: http://www.bethenny.com/2010/06/21/wasabi-tuna-burgers/ and http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/tuna-burgers-with-wasabi-mayonnaise

Garlic mashed potatoes:

* Cut 4 potatoes up; boil; drain; and mash
* While mashing, throw in some butter, salt, milk, cream, and minced garlic (to taste)
* (You could also use pesto, or wasabi paste in these potatoes as well)

Source: This is one of the hubs' signature dishes.

Spinach salad with soy-sesame dressing:

A great compliment to the Asian flavor of the burger, and a nice light dressing that's still flavorful enough to stand on its own (we didn't think it needed much more than the almonds as garnish in the spinach).

Mix together:

* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
* 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Toss over half a bag of fresh spinach, and add slivered almonds.

Source: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=337547

Pineapple-Mustard Glazed Chicken with Pineapple-Cilantro Salsa

Normally tropical fruits are not my thing, but this was worth the deviation. Just about perfect timing for listening to half a podcast of This American Life! Note that the original recipe had about 1/4 of the glaze - I made more for the rice to sop up.

* 1 cup pineapple juice
* 8 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
* 4 tablespoons yellow mustard
* 1-2 cups cubed fresh pineapple
* 3-5 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
* Dried chiles to taste
* 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* White rice

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bring pineapple juice, brown sugar, and mustard to boil in small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until glaze has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, cook rice.

Mix pineapple, cilantro, onion, and chiles in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Line baking sheet with foil. Place chicken on sheet and brush with glaze. Bake 15 minutes. Brush again with glaze, then broil until cooked through and golden, watching closely to avoid burning, about 5 minutes longer (I found it took about 10 minutes longer because the breasts were very large).

Put chicken breasts over bowls of rice, spoon salsa and leftover glaze over chicken and serve.

Adapted from Epicurious

Iron Chef'ing the Leftovers: Pesto Salmon Pasta

So, I wanted to use up the leftover salmon from last night's dinner, and also had a bunch of homemade pesto to use while it was still fresh. So, the result: iron chef'ing a tasty recipe using the ingredients I had. This pasta was deliciously creamy and once again, very easy! (The hubs, who is looking over my shoulder, gives a ringing endorsement, as does the dog, who is actively licking up my leftovers as I type.) Adapted from busycooks.com.

Serves 2.

--1 portion salmon (about 1/3 of a pound)
--1/2 pound angel hair pasta
--About 6 ounces basil pesto (I used the homemade recipe posted below)
--1/2 cup half and half
--1/2 cup sour cream
--Generous Parmesan cheese

While boiling water for pasta, preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake salmon in a dish with some olive oil on the bottom, for 15 minutes. Cook angel hair pasta and set aside. Combine pesto, half and half and sour cream in a saucepan, on medium high heat for about 2-3 minutes, then add some cheese. Cut the salmon up into chunks and stir in with the pesto sauce. Put on pasta and add more cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Soy Glazed Salmon with Lemon

Made this EASY, light, super fast salmon dish for dinner tonight. Literally took 5 minutes to prep, 15 to cook. I'm just getting back in the habit of menu planning and remembering how happy cooking makes me, so I'm trying to add a few extremely-low-effort-yet-high-return dishes to my repertoire as I rev back up for summer, post morning sickness-induced cooking hiatus.

I threw in a bunch of baby carrots in the dish to cook with the fish, and they came out tender and juicy. I'd highly recommend serving over white rice to sop up the flavorful glaze. I was running low on a few ingredients, so I started with a base of Soy Vay teriyaki marinade from Trader Joe's and added dashes of brown sugar, white wine, fresh lemon, olive oil and soy sauce, but I bet it'd be delicious on its own without a base as well.

Makes 4

* 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons dry white wine, or water
* 2 pounds salmon fillet
* Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. with a rack in the center. Make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir brown sugar, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, and white wine until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Cut salmon fillet into 4 equal-size pieces; arrange, skin side down, in a single layer in a baking dish. Pour glaze over the fish, and turn to coat evenly.
3. Bake until fish is opaque but still bright pink inside, basting every few minutes with glaze from baking dish, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

(Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/soy-glazed-salmon)

Fresh Basil Pesto

Here's a good basic recipe for fresh pesto from simplyrecipes.com. I didn't follow the measurements, just tossed in the ingredients in rough proportion to one another; I used pine nuts and shredded parm. Really tasty with a simple pasta or on flatbread.

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

Ingredients

* 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
* 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
* 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.