Corn Risotto-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Seamus and I have had a BUSY couple of weeks. Two weekends ago, we took a trip to Shi Shi beach with our friends, and Seamus proposed to me! Of course, I said yes, and we have been celebrating ever since!

Because Seamus is so thoughtful, he planned his proposal the week before a planned trip to see both of our families. We spent 5 days in Chicago/Wisconsin celebrating with Seamus's family and then headed off to South Dakota to celebrate with mine. We ate fantastic food along the way, including an incredible dinner at Ruxpin Chicago and my mom's ancho-chile pork ribs in Yankton.

And in the midst of all of our celebrating, my dad's US Senate race is heating up! Most recently we hosted a Rally to Restore Sanity in South Dakota where the Yankton County Democrats came together for hot dogs and potluck with speeches and singing together.

It's our first night back after our vacation, and it is our first time cooking together in a long time,  so I thought I would bring out my favorite cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen, and find a recipe that we haven't tried yet. Flipping through the book, I saw this recipe for stuffed peppers. I always think of Seamus when I see stuffed peppers because that was the first successful meal he ever cooked for me (and the first time I ever had a stuffed pepper was that time!), so this recipe was the perfect capstone to a celebration of our upcoming nuptials!

P.S. -  Happy Fourth of July!

Corn Risotto-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Courtesy of The Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perlman

Ingredients:
8 large fresh poblano peppers
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup Mexican beer
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 cobs), or 1 1/2 cups frozen and defrosted corn kernels
3/4 cup monterey jack cheese (I used well over a cup, oops!)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon milk (I used lime juice)
Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Prepare Peppers: 
Place chiles directly onto gas burners and turn flame to high. Using tongs, rotate chiles frequently until their skins are blistered on all sides, about 4-6 minutes each. If you don’t have a gas stovetop, you can roast the chiles under the broiler (also turning frequently). Put blackened chiles in a bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap. NOTE: Deb says you can skip this step entirely if the skins don’t bother you.

Make Risotto: 
In a medium saucepan, heat your stock to a low simmer. On a separate burner, heat a larger saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add olive oil and heat through. Add onion to hot oil and sauté until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Add the rice to the pot and stir for a minute or two, until it becomes lightly toasted. Pour in the beer, scraping up any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the beer simmer for a minute or so, until it’s almost disappeared. Ladle one cup of warm stock into rice mixture and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing stock to absorb before adding more, and stirring often. Along with the final addition of stock, add the corn. Total cooking time for the rice is about 30 minutes, after which it should be creamy and tender. Once all the stock and corn are added and stock is absorbed, stir in the monterey jack cheese and salt and pepper to taste (I found I needed a fair amount of salt and pepper, perhaps due to my low sodium chicken stock). Remove risotto from heat.

Assemble and Bake: 
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chiles from bowl and gently rub off the skins, which should remove easily. Cut a slit lengthwise in each chile and remove the seeds and membranes as best you can. Leave the stems on – they’re cute. Fill each chile with risotto and arrange stuffed chiles in a baking dish. Sprinkle with the queso fresco. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until top begins to brown.

To Serve: 
In a small dish, whisk together the sour cream and milk (or lime juice) with a pinch of salt. Drizzle the mixture over the hot chiles. Garnish with cilantro.

Farro Risotto with Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes, and Lemon

A funny thing about Shea's brother and sister-in-law (Brian and Hally), is that every once in a while, they will give us an anonymous gift. Last year, they sent us a gift card with no name attached, and this year, they sent us a gorgeous America's Test Kitchen  cookbook. It is always fun to receive a gift in the mail, but it is even more fun when you get to do some detective work around where it came from!

Shea has been doing most of the cooking at our house lately; I have been tied up in work, and Shea has been taking the opportunity to cook some amazing meals for me. I am one lucky gal!

Tonight, Shea made this amazing recipe with all of my favorite ingredients - Parmesan, arugula, cherry tomatoes, and farro. It is even more delicious than it sounds. I HIGHLY recommend!

Farro Risotto with Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes, and Lemon

Courtesy of The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/s teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/8 teaspoon dried
3/4 cup farro
1 and 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water
6 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 ounces (2 cups) baby arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon juice

Directions
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and pinch salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Stir in farro and cook until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth and water and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to simmer, stirring often, until farro is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Stir in tomatoes and arugula and cook until vegetables are softened, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in Parmesan, butter, and lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Carolina Gold Rice Risotto

Seamus and I started watching a new cooking show last year called "Mind of a Chef" on PBS. One of the seasons focused on chef Sean Brock, a master chef who cooks amazing Southern food with only the best ingredients. One of the ingredients that he talks about regularly on the show is Carolina Gold Rice.

Carolina Gold Rice was nearly impossible to find for many years, but the Anson Mills company has made it their mission to produce and share this product with people all over the world. Seamus and I had to try it ourselves to believe it, so we thought we would make the Anon Mills recipe for risotto in order to truly enjoy the delicate rice that we had been looking forward to trying for so long.


Carolina Gold Rise Risotto
Courtesy of Anson Mills

EQUIPMENT MISE EN PLACE

For this recipe, you will need a small heavy-bottomed saucepan for the broth, a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan for the rice, a wooden spoon, and a 6- or 8-ounce ladle.

• • 3½
    cups Rich Homemade Chicken Stock or, if you must, one 32-ounce carton low-sodium chicken broth

  • 2
    tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3
    shallots, minced (about ⅓ cup)

  • 7
    ounces (1 cup) Anson Mills Carolina Gold Rice

  • ½
    cup dry white wine or vermouth

  • 1
    tablespoon minced fresh thyme

  • 1
    Turkish bay leaf

  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2
    ounces (½ cup) finely grated Parmesan Reggiano

1.   
   Heat the chicken stock in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan until it simmers. Pull the saucepan to the outer periphery of the burner, or, if your range is electric, lower the heat setting and keep the stock just below a simmer throughout cooking.
2.   
   Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan over low heat until it foams. Add the shallots and sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the shallots are translucent and have nearly melted into the butter, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, increase the heat to medium, and sauté, stirring, until the grains are coated with butter and have turned opaque, about 2 minutes.
3.   
   Add the wine, stir, and reduce to a glaze over medium-low heat. Ladle in 1 cup of hot stock and add the thyme, bay leaf, ½ teaspoon salt, and½ teaspoon pepper; stir once to make sure the grains are just covered with liquid. Cook the rice, uncovered, at the barest simmer, until the liquid has nearly evaporated and the rice begins to look dry. Add another ladle of hot stock. Continue to cook the risotto in this fashion, adding stock as needed, until the rice grains have expanded and no longer have a hard starch center, about 20 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan. The risotto should look creamy but not wet. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.
4. 
   
   

Poppy's Seafood Gumbo

It's Superbowl Sunday and we had a party! The Seahawks weren't in the superbowl this year, but we still thought it would be fun to bring everyone together to day drink and eat tons of food.  Shea and I have both been hankering to use our new cookbook that our great friend Dorothy gave to us when she was staying with us a couple of months ago, and the superbowl was the perfect occasion!

We had a party at our apartment in West Seattle with a bunch of our good friends; our apartment is small, so we had to get cozy to watch as the Broncos beat the Panthers. The gumbo was a big hit; nobody left our house hungry, that's for sure!

Poppy's Seafood Gumbo

Courtesy of Louisiana Eats!: The people, the food, and Their Stories by Poppy Tooker

Ingredients
2 lbs shrimp, shells and heads on
1 onion, chopped, peel reserved
3 stalks celery, copped, tops and bottoms reserved
6-8 green onions, thinly sliced, parings reserved
1 pint oysters
2 lbs okra sliced into 1/4 rounds
1/s cup oil, plus additional for frying
1 cup flour
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 lb gumbo crabs
2 tbsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

Directions
Peel shrimp, reserving heads and shells. Make a stock by combining shrimp heads and peels, onion skins, celery bottoms and tops, and green onion parings in a stock pot. Cover with water in excess of 2 inches over discards and boil for 15 minutes. Strain and reserve liquid.

Drain oysters and reserve oyster liquor; set aside.

Fry okra in very hot oil until lightly browned.

Make a dark roux with the flour and 1/2 cup oil, cooking to the color of milk chocolate. Add copped onions, stirring until the roux darkens to a bittersweet chocolate brown. Add celery and bell pepper. Saute for 5 minutes then add the gumbo crabs, tomatoes, okra, thyme, bay leaf, shrimp stock, and oyster liquor. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 45 minutes or longer.

Ten minutes before serving, add shrimp and green onions. Add hot sauce and salt as needed. Serve on top of cooked rice.

African Peanut Soup

When I was living at Karinsplass in Minneapolis during college, I used to frequent a nearby grocery store Co-op for bowls of warm soup  and monster cookies. My favorite soup that they served was an African peanut stew; I always felt like it was my lucky day when that we being served up on a cold, blustery, Minnesota afternoon.

Seamus is on a little bit of a soup kick right now, which I have been thoroughly enjoying. I saw this recipe while browsing on the internet, and I showed it to Shea. He seemed intrigued, and decided that he was going to make the soup this week.

The soup turned out fantastic, and even better than I remember the soup that I originally fell in love with in Minneapolis. Seamus substituted one can of coconut milk with chicken broth, which I think lightened the soup up perfectly while still maintaining the richness of the peanut flavor.

African Peanut Soup

Courtesy of Kiersten at Oh My Veggies.com

ingredients

• 3 cups vegetable stock or water
• 2 (15-ounce) cans coconut milk
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 4 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 1 teaspoon seeded and diced hot chile pepper
• 4 cups chopped sweet potato (1/2-inch pieces)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomato (1/2-inch pieces) or 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon wheat-free tamari or other soy sauce (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Berbere spice mix (optional)
• 3/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, for garnish

instructions

1. Place the vegetable stock in a 3-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the peanut butter, cilantro, and peanuts, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove about 1 cup of the liquid and place it into a small bowl. Add the peanut butter and stir until creamy. Return the mixture to the pot, stir well, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the cilantro, stir well, and garnish with peanuts before serving.

notes

Variations:

You can sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in 1 tablespoon of oil before adding the vegetable stock.

Replace the peanut butter with almond butter or other nut butter.

For a lighter soup, replace one can of coconut milk with an equivalent amount of vegetable stock or water.

Add 2 cups of chopped spinach, chard, or kale once the peanut butter is added.

Butternut Squash Casserole with Leeks, Prosciutto, and Thyme

It is certainly starting to feel like Fall in the Pacific Northwest, and that means it is time to eat more squash! If you know me, you know I love to eat squash. I will use any excuse I can to eat any kind of squash I can get my hands on. This dish actually incorporates several favorites of mine; bread pudding, leaks, squash... Yum!

Seamus and I have had another busy weekend hanging out with our good friend Dorothy who was visiting us from New Orleans. We decided to lay low for the rest of our Sunday, and this was the perfect recipe to make while hanging out together. It takes some time (you have to roast the squash and bake the casserole), but if you have the time, it is totally worth the day of delicious smells and tastes that are the result!

Butternut Squash Casserole with Leeks, Prosciutto, and Thyme

Courtesy of Justin Chappel at Food and Wine

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 leeks—white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (about 4 cups)
6 large eggs
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
8 ounces baguette, crusts removed and bread cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 ounces thinly-sliced prosciutto, cut into thin strips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400° and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking ceramic baking dish. In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the squash on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast for about 25 minutes, until tender, tossing once halfway through. Let cool.
2. 
   
3. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, melt the butter in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
4. 
   
5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the half-and-half, cheese, 1 teaspoon of salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Stir in the bread and let stand for 10 minutes. Fold in the squash and the prosciutto. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake for about 1 hour, until lightly golden on top. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Thyme-Basted Pork Tenderloin with Oyster Mushrooms

Shea and I both had really hard weeks at work and we knew that we needed some comfort food on this Sunday evening. Shea had been eyeing this recipe for a couple of weeks, and I am glad he did. The earthiness from the mushrooms paired with the fresh herbs, perfectly cooked pork, and interesting garnishes make this an extremely special meal. Right after we finished eating we both agreed that this was a company-worthy recipe, and that we even make make it for my parents who are visiting us next week!

We used chantrell mushrooms mixed with oyster mushrooms because it is Chantrelle season and we live in the Pacific Northwest. Both of the types of mushrooms were fabulous, but I have to admit that I am partial to Chantrelles and would probably use them exclusively the next time I make this meal.

Thyme-Basted Pork Tenderloin with Oyster Mushrooms

Courtesy of Food and Wine

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• One 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds oyster mushrooms, trimmed and torn into 1-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, 2 minced and 2 crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 large thyme sprigs
• Toasted walnuts, for garnish
• Chopped shallot, for garnish
• Chives, for garnish
• Flaky sea salt, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the grapeseed oil until shimmering. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast the pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 135°, 18 to 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the olive oil. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until golden, about 15 minutes. Add the minced garlic and the parsley and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.
3. Set the pork over moderate heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, the crushed garlic and the thyme to the skillet and cook until the butter is foamy. Baste the meat with the butter just until the butter browns, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and cut into thick slices. Spoon the mushrooms onto a platter, top with the pork and drizzle with the brown butter. Garnish with walnuts, shallot, chives and flaky salt and serve.
5.