Baby Bella and Asiago Risotto

This recipe originally called for porcini mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, but I decided to mix it up a little bit by using different types of both the mushrooms and cheese. This is a pretty basic recipe for risotto - but adding the mushrooms makes it very hearty and perfect to serve on a chilly night.

As with all risotto, you have to be around to stir it frequently, but it doesn't require constant stirring. When I make it, I usually use almost all of the broth it calls for, but sometimes you may find that it reaches the creamy stage before all the liquid has been used up. Either way, enjoy!

Baby Bella and Asiago Risotto
from Everyday Food
Makes 4 servings

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese, plus more for garnish

In medium saucepan, heat broth over low heat. Keep warm.

In large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high. Add mushrooms; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to plate, set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onion and 1 tablespoon butter to saute pan; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, 1 minute.

Add 2 cups of warm broth to rice mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue to add broth, by cupfuls, stirring occasionally and allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more, until rice is al dente, about 25 minutes total. You may not need all the broth.

Remove risotto from heat. Stir in Asiago, remaining tablespoon butter, and the sauteed mushrooms; season with salt and pepper if necessary. Garnish with additional Asiago if desired and serve immediately.

Lamb Chops with Garlic-Parsley Crust

We rarely eat lamb, in fact the first and only time we had it was last year when we decorated the tree. So Chuck requested it again to make it a "tradition". I have several recipes saved and decided on this one, since it used small cuts of meat and I love anything with an herbed crust!

I bought about a pound of loin chops for our purposes, which equaled 6 small chops. They definitely took MUCH longer than the recipe called for to cook all the way through, so have your meat thermometer ready and make sure you start them off in a very hot skillet. Overall, they were delicious - the garlic and herbs in the crust really made the dish!

Lamb Chops with Garlic-Parsley Crust
from Everyday Food
Makes 2 servings

2 tablespoons plain dried bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 small cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving
olive oil
kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper
1 pound loin lamb chops

In a medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, and 2 teaspoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Press lamb chops firmly in mixture to coat one side of the meat.

In a medium skillet, heat about a tablespoon of oil over medium. Place chops in skillet, crumb side down; season with salt and pepper.

Cook until crust is browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn, and cook 6-8 minutes more until medium-rare. (A meat thermometer should register around 145 degrees F).

Transfer to a plate and serve with lemon wedges.

Winter Wonder Cookie Bars

I found the Razzle Dazzle recipes website last Christmas season and printed out a ton of recipes from it! (Be warned - if you go here, you may need over an hour to spare!) This recipe has been at the back of my dessert file for the whole year and I finally decided to try it.

Oh my, I am glad I did. My mom said they "taste like they belong in a bakery" and my sister asked me where the "little bites of heaven came from". They are GOOD! But you must like white chocolate, because between the melted chocolate and butter and the chips swirled through these bars, it is the prominent taste.

The final result is a dense yet cakey bar FULL of goodies. The original recipe called for macadamia nuts but I opted for dried cranberries. You could certainly do both, either, or something different! Oh, and you can certainly buy equivalent amounts of chips as opposed to the baking chocolate. Seriously, make these soon - you won't regret it!

White Wonder Cookie Bars
from Razzle Dazzle Recipes
Makes 16 bars
12 ounces white chocolate
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (or semi-sweet)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cupwhite sugar
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts, toasted (or 1 cup dried cranberries)

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease one 9-inch square baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Chop 1/2 of the white chocolate into very small pieces. Chop the remaining white chocolate and the bittersweet chocolate into large chunks, set aside. (If you are using chips there is no need to chop anything.)

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Do not allow the butter to bubble or to color. Remove from the heat and add the finely chopped white chocolate. Do not stir the chocolate in, set aside.

Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla together until thick and lemon colored, about 5 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and add the butter mixture. Mix just to blend. Add the flour mixture and mix just until the flour is mixed in. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the two chocolates and the nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the brownies are just set, about 30 minutes (mine took 38 minutes). A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs still attached. As with all brownies it is better to underbake than to overbake. Allow to cool about 1 hour then cut into squares.

Roasted Shrimp with Creamy Caper Dipping Sauce

Who doesn't love shrimp cocktail? (Well, I guess if you are allergic to shellfish you don't - sorry Dad!) This recipe gives a little twist on the classic appetizer by roasting the shrimp and changing up the dipping sauce.

The original idea is from Ina Garten but I really only took her idea to roast the shrimp and ran with it from there. She recommends leaving the tails on, but I find it much easier to just completely peel the shrimp. Buying the frozen EZ-Peel shrimp makes this quick and easy!

Roasted Shrimp with Creamy Caper Dipping Sauce

idea from Ina Garten

Makes 4 servings

For the shrimp:

1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon olive oil

kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

For the dipping sauce:

1/2 cup mayo

1 tablespoon capers, drained

1 teaspoon lemon juice

kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place shrimp on a sheet pan, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 7-9 minutes, until just pink and cooked through.

Combine all ingredients for the dipping sauce in medium bowl; mix thoroughly.

Serve shrimp with sauce alongside.

Goat Cheese Toasts

I like this recipe because it's so versatile - if you don't like a certain herb or the topping, just change it out for something that you like! I did exactly the same thing to the original recipe since it called for olives and Chuck doesn't like them. So I decided to add the roasted red peppers and adjusted the seasonings accordingly.

Along those lines, I don't have amounts posted next to most of the ingredients, since it is such a "taste" thing. But as long as you start with your base of goat cheese and cream cheese, you can't go wrong! This is easily halved or doubled, depending on your number of guests.

Goat Cheese Toasts

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Makes 18 pieces

18 slices (1/2" thick) sliced baguette bread

olive oil

4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese

2 ounces cream cheese

parsley

basil

salt and pepper to taste

18 strips of roasted red peppers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Arange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend goat cheese and cream cheese in food processor (this is easier if the cheeses are room temperature) until smooth and creamy. Add the parsley, basil, salt and pepper and pulse just to blend.

Spread the cheese mixture in a thin layer over each toasted slice of bread. Top with a strip of roasted red pepper.

Note: If you need to make these in advance, toast the bread and keep it in an airtight bag. Store the cheese mixture and red pepper strips separately in the refrigerator and assemble just before serving.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I know, I know, more pumpkin...but I had one last can hanging out in my pantry, and while browsing Cate's blog I saw this recipe so I decided to make one last thing! I have never made any other pumpkin bread besides my regular one, so I was excited to try a different version, especially since it included chocolate chips!

This recipe only uses 1 cup of pumpkin, but I doubled everything to use the whole can and ended up with two loaves. I brought one to Brooke for hosting the get-together, and Chuck and I are hoarding the other one because we love it so much!

The only change I made was to bring the pumpkin pie spice down to 1 teaspoon per loaf. I needed to bake it a few minutes longer than it called for - just keep testing it until the toothpick comes out clean!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

from Fresh from Cate's Kitchen

Makes one loaf

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I used 1 teaspoon)
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter with the sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the pumpkin.

Stir together the milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with milk.

Fold in the chocolate chips, then pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 5o minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pizza Pockets

This weekend a few of some of my fabulous new friends decided to get together for a potluck lunch. Brooke graciously hosted and made tasty pumpkin trifle and hot toddies, Jenn made delicious chicken marsala, Lauren made a genius pasta idea from Giada that involved marsala as well, and Sarah made a wonderful broccoli side dish. Of course I expected the food to be delicious, but the company was great as well - I can't wait to do it again soon!

You may be asking, what did you make, Colleen? I volunteered to make my favorite course - the appetizer. I wanted it to be something pretty substantial and I was willing to spend a fair amount of time on it since it was the only thing I was making. I have made these before with great success, so they were a perfect choice!

Like I said, these take a little bit of time (ignore the 15 minutes prep time Giada writes on the original recipe, please!) but are worth it! I use regular sausage and frozen spinach instead of arugula, but that's pretty much it on my modifications. I like the greater volume of spinach it gives you - more filling!

Don't be shy about stuffing the little squares of pizza dough, the dough is fairly forgiving and can really hold a good dollop of the mixture. Get ready for some bites of cheesey goodness!

Pizza Pockets
from Giada De Laurentiis
Makes 24 pockets

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces Italian turkey sausage (I use sweet Italian sausage)
1 cup tightly-packed arugula (or 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, drained and thawed)
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (13.5-ounce) package of store-bought pizza crust (recommended: Pillsbury)
All-purpose flour, for rolling out pizza dough
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (or pizza sauce)

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium-sized, heavy skillet. Add the sausage and cook until crumbled and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula and cook until wilted. Turn off the heat and let cool about 10 minutes. Add the cream cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to a thin 20 by 12-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise. The cut each half into 8 equal rectangles.

Spoon topping onto 1 side of each of the rectangles. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the rectangle with egg wash. Close the rectangle of pizza dough over the topping. Use a fork to seal and crimp the edges. Place the pizza pockets onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of each pizza pocket with egg wash. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce over low heat in a medium saucepan. Serve the hot pizza pockets with the marinara sauce alongside for dipping.