Sun-Dried-Tomato and Pesto Risotto with Sweet Italian Sausage

Risotto is one of my absolute favorite dishes, so I decided that I should learn how to make it. Now, cooking risotto is a meticulous process, but the result is WELL worth the effort. In fact, Cam said that this is his favorite dish that I have cooked. And it doesn't even have bacon, butter or mayonnaise in it!

And you have to remain vigilant while cooking risotto because if you stop stirring for even a moment, the rice will stick to the bottom of the saucepan and ruin the dish. As a funny aside, while I was making this the power went out at Cam's house, so the poor man held a flashlight over me so I could see what I was cooking! Thank goodness for great boyfriends and gas stoves!

Thanks to Food & Wine for the recipe. I made some changes and I will make note of those in parentheses. And the website said that the below recipe serves four people. Cam and I ate it as a main dish and it could have easily served six to eight people. And when it says to use a large saucepan, bust out the largest one you have!

Servings: 4 (actually, more like 8)



Ingredients:

5 cups canned low-sodium (make sure it is low-sodium!) chicken broth or homemade stock (I used 6 cups)

1 cup water (I used 2)

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped, about one cup (I recommend finely chopping the onion)

2 cups arborio rice (I used Rice Select Arborio Rice that we found at The Fresh Market. As a side note, you can also use Carnaroli Rice, which we saw at The Fresh Market)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/4 teaspoons salt (you could actually leave this out as the dish is quite salty)

1/2 cup dry-packed or oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (I used oil-packed)

1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

3 tablespoons store-bought or homemade pesto (I used Classico Traditional Basil Pesto)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (I used Digiorno shredded Pecorino Romano cheese)

3/4 lb of Sweet Italian Sausage (We got our sausage at The Fresh Market)



Directions
In a medium pot, bring the broth and water to a simmer. In a large saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the rice to the pot and stir until it begins to turn opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until all the wine has been absorbed.

Add the sun-dried tomatoes and about a ladle of the simmering broth to the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the broth has been completely absorbed. The rice and broth should bubble gently; adjust the heat as needed. Continue cooking the rice, adding a ladle at a time and allowing the rice to absorb the broth before adding the next ladle-full. Cook the rice in this way until tender, 25 to 30 minutes in all (yeah, it took about 45 minutes). The broth that hasn"t been absorbed should be thickened by the starch from the rice. You may not need to use all of the liquid, or you may need more broth or some water.

Stir in the pepper, pesto and cheese.



For the Sausage:
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add 3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, meat crumbled, and cook over high heat, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the sausage to the risotto.



Serve the risotto with additional cheese (we totally didn't do this as it was rich enough).


Cam sautéed some asparagus to go along with the risotto. It was an amazing meal. I will be making it again and again.

Brownies, for the record

So, for the record, I didn't skip cooking a meal last week, I made brownies. BUT they were from a box. So, I'm not going to post a recipe. But I highly recommend Duncan Hines Triple Chocolate Decadence brownies.

Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

So, I found this craptastic Chicken with Black Bean Sauce recipe on the Epicurious site (great site, crappy recipe!). It is from Bon Appétit magazine's December 1990 issue. And that is where it should have stayed.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was that this recipe did not taste good. So bland. And it combined some of my favorite ingredients! In fact, the only thing it was good for was helping me practice my onion chopping skills.


Mmmmm...onions.

You can find the black bean sauce necessary for this recipe in the oriental section of your supermarket. Not that I am suggesting you actually make this recipe.

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips

Pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons purchased oriental black bean sauce

Steamed rice

Directions:
Combine teriyaki sauce and garlic in medium bowl. Add chicken and season generously with pepper. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Heat oil in wok or heavy large skillet over high heat. Add bell pepper and onion and cook until onion is almost tender, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. Add chicken with marinade and black bean sauce. Stir until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Serve over steamed rice.


It looks good, doesn't it? Don't be deceived!

Has anyone ever made a good Chicken with Black Bean Sauce? I'd love the recipe!

Overnight French Toast

I have made this Overnight French Toast a couple of times. The first time, I followed the recipe below exactly and it was amazing. The second time, I pretty much halved the recipe because it was for less people, and it was still amazing. So, the photos are for the halved-version of the recipe, but the ingredients and directions are for the full recipe.

Ingredients:

18 slices of regular bread (flavor of your choosing) OR 12 slices of Texas Toast-style (1" thick slice) bread (I used Kroger Texas Toast style bread)

1 cup of Sugar

1 Tablespoon of cinnamon

7 eggs

8 oz of cream cheese, softened

1 stick of butter, softened

2 cups of milk (I used skim)

Powdered sugar (optional)

Syrup (optional)



Directions:
Combine the sugar and cinnamon. Place six slices of bread on the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish. If doing three layers, sprinkle 1/3 cup of sugar/cinnamon mixture on bread, if doing two layers (with Texas Toast bread) sprinkle 1/2 cup of sugar/cinnamon mixture on bread layer. Repeat for next two (regular bread) or one (Texas Toast bread) layers.

Using a hand mixer, cream (blend or beat to the soft and smooth consistency of cream) softened cream cheese and softened butter together (please make sure they are both softened!). Beat in eggs and milk and pour over layered bread. Don't worry if you see chunks of cream cheese/butter in the dish. It will cook down smooth. Refrigerate overnight, covered.



The next morning...
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes and sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional), syrup or topping of your choice. Would work well with a jelly/jam/preserve topping.


We served it with eggs over easy and crispy bacon. And because the layers are already sectioned, this cuts and presents beautifully. You are going to LOVE this recipe!

* A special thank you to Kole for getting this recipe from her aunt!

Banana Spice Pie

Monday night we had girls' night at my friend Amy's house, so Sunday night I made Banana Spice Pie. While Key Lime Pie is my absolute favorite pie (at the moment), this Banana Spice Pie is a close second. Thank you to Kraft Foods for the recipe. They call it Banana Caramel Spice Pie, but I don't use the caramel, so it is just Banana Spice Pie.

It's super-duper easy, and with a few low-fat/fat-free modifications, it isn't THAT bad for you.

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 4 hr 10 min
Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 large ripe banana, sliced (make sure the banana is fairly ripe, but not super mushy ripe)

1 6 oz. OREO Pie Crust

2 cups cold milk (I used skim milk, even though Cam says that is not real milk. The boy also likes pimento cheese, so what does he really know about food?)

2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O White Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling (Make sure the boxes are instant! White Chocolate JELL-O pudding mix is also available in fat-free, though I have a hard time just finding the regular version.)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed (I used low-fat Kroger brand - it's cheaper and tastes the same. And try to use it thawed - it makes the pie much fluffier.)

1 cup caramel ice cream topping (optional - I don't use this, but I bet it tastes really good)



Directions:

Place banana slices on bottom of crust. Blend dry pudding mixes and cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour in cold milk and beat with a wire whisk 2 minutes (it feels like forever!) or until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Optionally, serve topped with caramel topping. Store leftover pie in refrigerator. Though I can almost promise you there will be no leftovers.


So delicious and creamy!