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Three Cheese, Seafood And Asparagus Risotto

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Three Cheese, Seafood & Asparagus Risotto

Three Cheese, Seafood & Asparagus Risotto

No, I am NOT in a rut darn it :-P . So what if I have done two citrus pies and now two risottos as my last four posts? I LIKE them, I cook them, I inhale them (well not really inhale… my lungs might not appreciate that) then I tell you about them. We all go through food phases and lately anything citrus and different risottos have been my weaknesses.

I splurged for this dish. We are so NOT that family that can afford to get seafood anytime we want, as much as I may wish we could.  Things like going out to seafood restaurants or buying shrimp or even fish are rare treats here. Add in that my husband doesn’t even LIKE seafood and I get it rarely. But Russ is out of town helping take care of his dad after surgery (I miss my darlin man!!!! *sobs*) and my oldest son and his family are here visiting so this seemed like a perfect chance to splurge and use seafood. So I bought some crab and shrimp and got cooking. I have to say, I am in love with this risotto. It’s rich and creamy (and we all know that those are my downfalls) with a wonderful seafood flavor (use less crab if you want the shrimp to shine) along with a burst of lemon and cheese flavors. This is a perfect family treat as well as a dish that would be great for a special occasion. So as I always say… get to cooking! This makes a lot so feel free to cut the amounts in half is serving just a few people.

Three Cheese, Seafood & Asparagus Risotto

  • 1 lb uncooked large shrimp
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 lb asparagus, tough ends chopped off & the rest cut into about 1 inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 12 ounce bag arborio rice
  • 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 4 to 5 cups chicken broth, brought to a simmer and kept hot
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, heated then mixed with the chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine (don’t use something you wouldn’t drink)
  • 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
  • 1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
  • 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan (plus more for on top)
  • 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
  • zest and juice of one lemon (no more than 1/4 cup juice however)
  • 8 ounces fresh crabmeat
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  1. First things first- get the shrimp ready. In a medium saucepan, combine the 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Melt over medium high heat. Add in the shrimp and saute for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. You don’t want these completely cooked because they will finish cooking when they get mixed into the risotto. When they are done, put into a bowl and set aside (and clean your pan and put it away because I’m anal that way).
  2. Now the asparagus- Take the pieces, put into a microwave safe bowl with 3 tablespoons water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave at full power for 4 minutes. Drain then set aside.
  3. In a large saucepot, melt  the 3 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add in the chopped onion, garlic and rice. Saute, stirring frequently, until the rice has become translucent and the onions and garlic are softened and limp, about 5 minutes.
  4. Add in the wine and continue cooking, stirring constantly until the wine is absorbed.
  5. Stir in about 1 cup of the chicken broth. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until all the broth is absorbed.
  6. Continue to add broth as needed, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until the rice is al dente and looks creamy (and utterly delicious)
  7. Stir in the 3 cheeses. Continue stirring until they are melted and thoroughly incorporated into the rice.
  8. Stir in the dill weed, lemon zest and juice.  Stir in the 4 tablespoons butter and stir until melted and combined.Then fold in the shrimp, crabmeat and asparagus, being careful not to break up the asparagus.
  9. Put into a serving dish, sprinkle with more Parmesan and serve. Get ready for some big time kudos here :-)

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Now It’sThai(m) For Something Completely Different

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I'm never going to be a world class photographer but what my photos don't show is that the food I make is darn good :-)

I’m never going to be a world class photographer but what my photos don’t show is that the food I make is darn good :-)

Sorry. I couldn’t help myself there. I managed to find a way to mix one of my favorite shows (Monty Python) with a really really… no, I mean REALLY bad pun based on one of my favorites types of food.

It was “snack night” here in the Cupcakes household. We have that far more often than I’d like to admit to. But most of you can probably identify with it. You have every intention of cooking but this pesky thing called life gets in the way. Today life meant Wal Mart. Jordans homebound teacher was here and then we had to go to Wal-Mart to get his meds so by the time we got home, it was too late to make the wings I had planned on making. So frozen pizza came to the rescue. The problem with that is that while the guys like frozen pizza, I’m not a fan. Not of it or of fast food which is the other snack night staple. So I usually end up making myself a Lean Cuisine; preferably Salmon With Basil or eating junk food which I know is bad for me.

But tonight at Wally World, I saw a reduced chub of ground turkey that was calling to me, saying “Janet… Jannnnnetttttt, take me homeeeeee. Cook meeeeee… you know you want meeeee.” I wasn’t sure whether to be frightened or aroused so I grabbed it and hid it in the cart under the Oreos. Then came figuring out what to do with it. As hubby and I walked to the car (God; I once said I would never refer to my husband in print as “hubby” and look at me. How the mighty have fallen.) I was reeling off possible ingredients to use to make meatballs from it, at which point he told me he hated me because I was able to visualize a dish in my mind without a recipe whereas he can barely do that WITH a recipe. I don’t think he was appeased when I said that maybe I could do that, but I sure couldn’t chop wood the way HE could. Go figure.

So in the end, I decided to try to make a version of sauced Thai meatballs from it. If I do say so myself, it turned out pretty darn good. The eating parties were torn only about whether I should omit the lime zest from the sauce with me saying it needed to go and my husband saying it was yummy as it was. So I’m going to put the lime zest as optional. All in all though, I was pleased with these. The meatballs were tender and flavorful; the sauce was sweet, hot, sour and salty all in one, which is a combo that can’t be beat. How authentically Thai they are I couldn’t tell you. Call them Americanized Thai. Whatever you call them, try them. They’re yummy! Now to see if I can remember the ingredients correctly hehe.

Saucy Thai Turkey Meatballs

      • MEATBALLS-
      • 1 pound ground turkey
      • 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
      • 1 egg yolk
      • 2 green onions, finely minced
      • 1 stalk celery, finely minced
      • 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
      • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
      • 2 cloves minced garlic
      • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
      • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
      • 2 tablespoons Spice Hunters Thai Seasoning Blend (I wish I could give some sub if you don’t have it but it has some ingredients not readily available at the grocery store. Just trust me and go buy some. This stuff has SO many uses it’s worth getting some just because)
      • 1 teaspoon fish sauce (Nam Pla… you can’t taste the fishiness. I promise)
      • 2 teaspoons orange zest
      • 1/4 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
      • SAUCE-
      • 1/4 cup honey
      • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
      • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
      • 2 cloves minced garlic
      • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
      • 1 teaspoon grated lime zest (optional)
      • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
      • 1/4 cup sweet Thai chili sauce
  1. Meatballs- easy peasy, all those other weird ways of saying it doesn’t take much to do this. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and Just get a large mixing bowl and using your hands or a large wooden spoon if you’re squeamish, mix everything together.
  2. Shape into golf ball sized meatballs (you can do them smaller, but this is what I chose. I got 14 meatballs out of this) and put onto a foil lined, greased baking sheet.
  3. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until an instant read thermometer stuck into one reads at about 160 degrees. If you remember, turn them once during cooking so they brown evenly. If you don’t it isn’t that big of a deal.
  4. Sauce- while meatballs cook, prepare your sauce.
  5. In a medium saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients. While stirring, bring to a boil. Turn off and remove from heat..
  6. When  sauce is done, you have the option of straining it to get rid of the garlic pieces. Personal choice. I wanted it smoother looking so I did but if you really want the little bits of garlic and don’t mind the look of them, keep them in there. Otherwise, strain through a fine mesh strainer. Then set side until the meatballs are done.
  7. When meatballs are done, toss them GENTLY in the sauce.  Sprinkle with more minced green onions and sesame seeds.Serve over a bed of rice (preferably Basmati) or rice noodles.

 


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Is It Live Or Is It Memorex?

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Who else remembers that commercial? The line of course pertaining to the idea that you couldn’t tell (I am assuming everyone was dumb and had their eyes closed) whether or not something you were listening to was live or done on a Memorex cassette tape (those funny looking things that predate CD’s). Even then, I have to admit that I thought the premise was rather lame. Helloooooo. If there is not a sweaty “hair band” in front of me shaking their locks and belting it out (as they drink heavily, hit on all the women and quite possibly smoke pot onstage) as the walls and floors shake and everyone holds up Bic lighters, then it AIN’T live. I was poor so it probably wasn’t Memorex either but some crap quality store brand of cassette. Just sayin’
Point is, usually, it is pretty easy to tell the difference between the real thing and a heavily doctored up imposter. Hostess Ho-Ho’s? Yum. Little Debbies Swiss Rolls? Imposter. Coke? Real thing. Pepsi? Imposter (giggles as I imagine the Pepsi drinking crowd getting angry) Cartier Jewelry? Real. Anything worn (or body parts of) by Paris Hilton? Fake. You get the idea.
But sometimes… just sometimes… a fake can be almost as good as the real thing, just in a different way. Like this recipe here- Extra Crispy Oven Fried Chicken. It’s crunchy and crispity (yes, that is now a word because I said so), tender and juicy (that was already a word. Damn, that means I can’t make it into one) with all the flavor you expect from a good piece of fried chicken. What DON’T you get? A large portion of the fat grams and calories.  Mind you, I won’t say to you “Hey! You can eat this 3 times a day and lose weight! It’s better for you than celery!” but I will tell you that it cuts down on the fat appreciably, especially if you use boneless, skinless breasts. It also definitely tastes far better than celery. Then again, maybe you love celery. In which case, you’re probably reading the wrong blog. Chocolate? Real thing. Celery? IMPOSTER!!
This is extremely easy. Just get out the chicken (any part of the bird will do… except maybe the lips and testicles), and go cook.

Extra Crispy Oven Fried Chicken

  • 6 bone in, skin on chicken breasts (again, that’s what I used because it’s what we had. Use your favorite part. Just adjust cooking time for smaller pieces or dark meat)
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • 1 11/4 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons sage
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
  • 2 teaspoons good quality paprika
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons seasoned salt. (I use Janes Krazy Mixed Up Salt which is my go to seasoned salt. Has been for ages.) The range is broad because seasoned salts vary in saltiness. I use about 2 with the janes but with some that would be far too much.
  1. Combine the butter and the oil together in a large foil lined baking pan. Trust me on the foil part. tilt the pan back and forth to mix them together. Preheat your oven to 350.
  2. Mix the panko, flour and seasonings in a large bowl or gallon size ziploc bag.
  3. Wet each piece of chicken and dredge it in the flour mixture, pressing it into the chicken if needed (which it will be)
  4. Lay each piece as you dredge them, skin side down, into the prepared pan.
  5. Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes (again, adjust your cooking time depending on what part of the chicken you’re using. Boneless breasts will cook much quicker as will wings. Large pieces of dark meat will take longer. This is based on bone in, skin on breasts.
  6. Flip each piece of chicken over and continue cooking  about another 20 minutes or until the chicken has reached an internal temp of 165.
  7. Let rest in pan for about five minutes. Before serving, feel free to lay these on a paper towel lined plate to absorb some of the excess oil if you feel the need.

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You Say Pizza I say…Well… I Also Say Pizza. Sorry.

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Growing up in Chicago I learned to love pizza. Contrary to popular legend (and silly TV travel and food shows that keep the myth alive) not all of Chicago pizzas are deep dish. Deep dish has its place sure, but ya know what? I didn’t have deep dish pizza until I was an adult. All the pizza I had as a kid growing up on “Da Sout’ Side” was thin crust and cut in squares not wedges thankyouverykindly. To this day, it’s how I prefer my pizza. On that note, tell me/us about YOUR favorite pizza. What kind of crust, what toppings? My favorite is a thin crust with sausage, mushrooms and extra cheese. Preferably from Artese pizza in Chicago… which I haven’t had since I was about 15 *sobs*. These days I settle for chain pizza because the rural part of Kentucky isn’t exactly a hot spot for good pizza. We also make it home made. My hubby is the pizza king around here when it comes to traditional. I’m the one who likes to shake things up and do it differently. Gee… imagine that. ME? Not doing things the normal way? Nahhhhhhhhh.

One thing I’ve been making for years is what we call pizza bread. Basically, it’s what they call Stromboli or Calzone (both different but similar enough that I feel no guilt using the names more or less interchangeably. Doubt the pizza police are gonna get me :-P ) but…not. Calzones are usually a half moon shape and strombolis are usually rolled. Mine is neither. It’s one big huge…well… stuffed pizza.  But I cheat by using frozen bread dough. This IS me after all. You know I try to bring you things that are tasty, usually quite bad for you hehehe but as easily done as possible. No exception here.

This is cheesy and gooey and meaty and saucy and…ok, so obviously it has all the flavor levels of pizza.  Suffice it to say that it’s yummy. This is great for a light meal with salad or cut into strips for snacks while watching  TV or hidden somewhere where nobody else can find it and heated up when you’re alone…

 

I have specific filling ingredients listed here but you can sub your favorites. Just be careful not to overstuff. No matter how well you think you have it sealed, put too much sauce, too much cheese or too much filling in it and it WILL break open and make a mess.

Stuffed Pizza Bread

  1. 2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed (lay it out on foil, lightly grease it & leave till thawed)
  2. 1/2 cup pizza sauce (spaghetti sauce works fine too)
  3. 1/2 cup Tyson Italian Sausage crumbles
  4. 4 ounces (about 10 thin slices) hard salami
  5. 4 ounces Canadian bacon
  6. 12 ounces shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
  7. 1/2 to 2/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
  8. 1 large beaten egg for egg wash
  9. 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella, provolone or “pizza” cheese
  10. Basil Oil for drizzling and extra sauce for dipping if desired
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • On a lightly floured board (or counter like I do :-P ) roll one loaf of the thawed dough out to about 8×11 or the approximate size of a sheet of copy paper.
  • Transfer to a large greased cookie sheet.
  • Layer the dough with the pizza sauce and toppings.
  • Roll out other loaf to about one inch larger in diameter than you did the other.
  • Brush beaten egg all around the edges of the filled loaf.
  • Carefully drape other loaf on top and seal edges with your fingers. Fold under if necessary.
  • Brush top of stuffed pizza thingamajigger with beaten egg then sprinkle with shaved Parmesan. Drizzle with basil oil.
  • Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
  • Let rest for about 15 minutes before cutting or you’ll just have cheese everywhere. Sounds yummy yes, but rather unfair to the poor sods who get the middle of the loaf with no cheese in it :-P

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I’m About To Turn One Hundred!! (Giveaway Time!!!!) (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

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Hey everybody! Thanks so much for having entered my giveaway! Using random.Org, the number picked was #20. That means that the winner is Sandie of  http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/ Yay!!! I’ll email sandie and she’ll have two days to get back to me. If not, I’ll pick an alternate winner. Congrats Sandie!! :-)

Yes, yes, I am old. But not THAT old darn it! I am not turning 100 in real life though I will be 47 later this month (please feel free to send me bifocals, Geritol and a walker… and chocolate; lots of chocolate. What?! Old people need chocolate. For their hearts… and livers… or something.). This post, right here, the one you’re reading now, this post here, yep, these words, all these strung together letters (ok, I’ll stop now. Sorry. :-P ) is my 100th post!! I feel this calls for a celebration. Like maybe giving one of you a subscription to Food Network Magazine (alternate prize if you’re outside of their subscription area). That and CHICKEN FAJITAS!! Why fajitas you ask? Cause it’s what I wanted and made for dinner and it just happened to be on the day that I made my 100th post ;-) In other words, no particular reason lol.

These fajitas are the worlds easiest chicken fajitas. Heck with cooking the chicken, making a home made sauce and all that rot. This is more of a prep and technique than it is a recipe. You know me; if I can make something a little bit easier for you and make a few people think “DOH! Why didn’t I ever do that?!” and give them more time to spend on the important things like family or reading or eating Twinkies, I’m all for it. So that’s what I did today. Tomorrow or Sunday we’ll get more involved when I make  Savory French Onion Bread Pudding With Gruyere Cheese and in the next few days, I will also be making duck with some sort of yummilicious glaze or sauce; I’m still working on that one. :-)

As for the giveaway, I don’t know about you, but I love Food Network Magazine. I thought about a regular cookbook but I thought it would be more fun to give a gift subscription to them. It’s something, that if you win, you’ll receive for 12 months and I thought that was way cooler than a one time gift :-D . To enter the giveaway, you can do three things; each of them will get you an entry. 1) make a comment here and if you want, tell us all your favorite Food Network Show; that will get you one. 2) Like my facebook page (Look up “From Cupcakes To Caviar” on facebook or find the link right here on the right side of the blog; that’s me :-P ) and let me know in your comment that you did; that’s a second entry. 3) Follow me on either Networked Blogs in facebook or Google (here on the blog at the bottom) and let me know ; that would be a third. I will randomly choose someone from all the entries. I will keep this going until August 10th, then I’ll pick the winner. :-)

On to the food!!! Again; not a recipe really so much as it is a method using convenience products and a couple of fresh ones. They taste wonderful and are so so easy; great for a rushed night or just when you’re feeling lazy. Not that I’M  ever lazy *cough cough*. Just trying to help you out is all. In this, I used Frontera Skillet Sauce (these were created by Rick Bayless. Look him up if you’ve never heard of him. He’s a wonderful chef.). I used the Classic Fajita Skillet Sauce but added more lime because I like the lime zing in fajitas. If you don’t, feel free to omit the lime in this. You can find these sauces at pretty much any decent sized grocery store in the same section as the taco shells and such. This feeds four with a little bit of leftovers (maybe more if you’re not feeding teenage boys :-P )

Chicken Fajitas

  • 2 small deli rotisserie chicken, skinned and deboned.
  • 1 pouch Frontera Skillet Sauce
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, sliced
  • 1 orange or yellow pepper, sliced
  • 1 medium red onion, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • juice of one lime
  • fresh cilantro
  • corn and/or flour tortillas
  • cheese, sour cream, cilantro, tomatoes, all the toppings you would use on tacos even though technically they don’t go on fajitas :-D
  1. In a large pan over low heat, saute the veggies until soft. Turn the heat up at the end (and stir frequently) to brown them. Be careful not to burn them.
  2. Stir in the chicken, sauce and lime juice.
  3. Serve with toppings in tortillas.
  4. See how easy this was? :-P The most time consuming part is pulling the chicken off the bones and slicing the veggies.

 

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