Risotto Milanese (Saffron Risotto)

Joe taught me how to cook risotto, which is a much different technique than cooking rice. You put rice and water and seasonings into a pan and simmer it for 20 minutes or so, then fluff it up at the end. Risotto is cooked with small amounts of liquid stirred in here and there while the short fat grains become tender and creamy in the sauce.

This risotto with saffron (ground or in threads) is perhaps the most classic preparation. I intended to look up the reason why this recipe is called Milan-style and why it uses saffron and onion together. But Thursday I had a photo shoot on Chicago L trains and a French small plates cooking demonstration.

Commuter on the Skokie Swift

L train pulling into the Merchandise Mart stop

Waiting for the L, Chicago

Train platform stairs, Chicago

This weekend we cooked Thanksgiving casseroles to freeze for a busy holiday week, then made pretzel bread and cheddar-beer fondue soup (recipe to come). Sunday we were at church all morning, attended a meet & greet with our new pastor and had a long worship band rehearsal, then created a slide show of charities we helped for the Thrivent Chapter Board annual dinner that night, and came home late.

I'm not complaining a bit. I love this kind of busy - the kind with lots of good food and great company and a long rainy Saturday cooking companionably with my love. Actually, we're lucky this recipe was written this weekend at all. I bet the Milanese would love the risotto Joe cooked Friday night, though I still don't know why they prepare it this way.

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup onion, minced
6 cups hot chicken broth
2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 tsp ground saffron
1 cup grated Romano cheese
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Melt together the butter and oil at medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion and salt and saute until tender. Add the rice and saute until white and covered with oil, about 2 minutes.

Slowly stir in 1/2 cup broth, allowing the rice to start to absorb the broth and thicken it. Stir in the saffron.
Continue adding the hot broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until the broth thickens before adding the next 1/2 cup. After 5 1/2 cups of broth are absorbed by the rice, taste for tenderness. If rice is still hard, continue stirring and add the rest of the liquid. The risotto is ready when the grains are tender on the outside with a small firm al dente core.

When the rice is ready, stir in half the Romano cheese and the parsley. Divide into 6 portions and top with the remaining cheese.

Serves 6.

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Creamy Baked Leeks

This baked leek casserole reminds me of the creamed onions that were always on my grandma's table at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Joe is sensitive to large amounts of onions, so he enjoys the milder onion-asparagus taste of leeks much better. This is a quick and easy side dish, that comes together in about half an hour.

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp ground mustard
Dash hot sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 medium leeks, tough green leaves removed and halved lengthwise

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with oil.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then whisk in the flour. Gradually stir in the milk and then the cheese until melted. Season with garlic powder, mustard, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.

Arrange the leeks in a single layer on the pan. Pour the cheese sauce over the leeks. Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until leeks are tender and sauce is bubbly.

Serves 4.

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Smoked Cheese-Stuffed Eggplant Rolls (Involtini di Melanzane)

Eggplants have that hearty, meaty texture of some kinds of mushrooms. This is one reason why they are beloved by vegetarians. Cheese-stuffed eggplant rolls are wonderful for a meatless Monday, especially when a friend has just given you beautiful, shiny lavender eggplants from her garden. If you don't have eggplant, a similar dish can be made from other long summer squashes like zucchini.

The creamy smoked of the cheese is the highlight of this dish. We urge you to splurge on some really good melty high-quality kind if you can afford it. The rest of the recipe is really inexpensive, and you are worth it.

Try pronouncing this in-vole-TEE-nee dee may-lon-ZAH-nee. Melanzane is the Italian word for eggplant.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 20-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp capers
1 large eggplant (a long, thin one works best for this recipe)
1/2 pound smoked provolone, gouda, or scamorza cheese, sliced sandwich-thin
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions

Take the cheese out of the fridge and let it warm to room temperature.

Heat the oil in a saucepan until wavy. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Add the oinon and red bell pepper and saute for 2 or 3 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the garlic and saute 2 more minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Stir in the thyme, salt, and capers, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes, or until the eggplant is ready to be stuffed.

Cut off the top of the eggplant. Slice it lengthwise into 1/4 thick strips. On a medium grill, cook the eggplant for several minutes on each side, or until the eggplant is tender and pliable.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x11 casserole pan.

Lay an eggplant slice flat on a cutting board. Place 1/2 slice of cheese on the slice. Rip a basil leaf in half and place each half on the slice. Roll up the slice and place it in the casserole pan. Repeat with each slice. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the rolls. Tear up the remaining cheese and sprinkle over the top.

Bake the casserole for 20-30 minutes,until heated through and bubbly. Serve with a tossed green salad and crusty bread, if desired.

Serves 4-6.

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Sicilian Lemon Chicken

We’ve made this savory lemon chicken dish for a lot of dinner parties, because it’s simple and delicious and serves a crowd well. The original recipe was from Rao’s Restaurant, a famous old Italian place in New York’s East Harlem.

Ingredients

For the Lemon Sauce

2 cups fresh lemon juice (we squeeze from 10-12 fresh lemons, but we'll look the other way if you want to use bottled lemon juice)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

2 1/2 to 3-pound broiling chickens, halved

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp cornstarch

Whisk together the lemon juice, oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.

Preheat broiler for 15 minutes. Place chicken halves on a baking pan and broil, turning once, for about 30 minutes until chicken is browned and fully cooked.

Remove chicken and cut each half into about 6 portions. Shake the lemon sauce and pour it over the chicken. Return to the broiler and cook an additional 3 minutes. Turn the pieces over and cook the other sides for 3 more minutes.

Remove from oven and place chicken pieces on a warm serving platter. Pour the lemon juice into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Stir in parsley and cook for 1 minute. Whisk the cornstarch into the warm water and stir into the lemon sauce. Simmer 1-2 more minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour some of the sauce over the chicken and serve the rest in a bowl.

Make sure you serve this with lots of good crusty bread for sopping up all the lemon sauce!

Serves 6-8.

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Fried Sage Leaves (Salvia Fritta)

Thanks to Lawrence Rice for capturing these luscious leaves. :)

Just as the last leaves fall and the first snows start, a sage bush in the herb garden is still pumping out leaves. That's probably why sage is such a traditional part of Thanksgiving seasonings. In Tuscany, we found that they're in love with sage, too. We swooned over a small side dish of fried sage leaves that accompanied a rosemary-scented porterhouse steak. Now we're fried-sage evangelists.

Sage is a powerful herb, but the light crust and quick frying transforms the leaves into a mellow crispy treat, kind of like a flavored potato chip. These are wonderful alongside any kind of meat, or as a good snack or appetizer. You might find yourself whipping up a batch to sprinkle over a vegetable or grain dish, too.

Actually, we have trouble getting them to the table, since we like to munch on them while we're putting the finishing touches on dinner. Yes, they're that good.

Ingredients

24 large fresh sage leaves

1 egg

2 tbsp water

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt, plus more for sprinkling before serving

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Rinse the sage leaves and pat them dry with paper towels.

Whisk together the egg and water in a shallow bowl. In a plate, stir together the flour and salt. Layer a platter with paper towels to drain the cooked leaves. 

Pour about 1 inch of oil into a large frying pan and heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Working quickly in small batches, dip the leaves into the egg mixture, let the excess drain off, then dip them into the flour and shake off the excess. Drop them into the oil and cook until barely golden - do not let them brown, as this will make them taste bitter.

Drain the cooked leaves on the paper toweling, and set the platter in the oven to keep them warm while you finish the rest of the leaves. 

Sprinkle with salt before serving.

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