Don't rush the risotto

 A Legible List...

"Menu"

Chinese style spare ribs with napa cabbage slaw (from this month's everyday food issue)

Pasta al Pomodoro (from Bon appetit-the Italian issue this month)

Bacon/leek risotto with poached egg, and crusty bread

Baked potato bar, shaved asparagus with parmesan vinaigrette (inspired from Bon a.)

Healthy(er) breakfast

     This is TAKS week, or whatever it's called.  I can't remember if it's TAKS or TEKS.  Either way it's irritating.  Poor Luke is freaking out.  He is convinced he'll be spending summer vacation whiling away the hours in summer school.  Torture!!  Apparently, my job and his success depends on a good night sleep and a well-balanced breakfast.  Not for me, for him!  How does it go?  You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink?  Right, so on tap is a cheese frittata and fried ham for Tuesday.  Math fuel.  Cinnamon rolls, yogurt with granola and more ham (from Easter of course) for Wednesday.  Reading energy.   As for the rest of the days of the week?  Easter candy should be fine.  

Cheese Frittata

minced onion, however oniony you like

5-6 beaten eggs

shredded cheese, whatever you have in the drawer, about 1 cup(ish) 

cottage cheese or ricotta (about 1/2cup) or milk/cream about 1/3 cup

butter

Find your non-stick skillet.  I use my mid-size.  Turn your oven on 350.  Set your fire at med. high and add some oil or butter.  (I am fond of butter)  A really good splat.  Enough to coat your pan. When your skillet is hot, add your onion and some salt and pepper.  About 5 minuter here.  Turn your fire down a bit and add your eggs and cream/milk/ricotta/or cottage cheese.  (get it?  so you just need to add a bit of a creamy thing to your eggs, whisk them together, then add this to your onions)  NOW, wiggle your skillet around so the egg mixture is evenly distributed.  Watch your fire so it's not too hot.  Add in your shredded cheese and let the heat do its thing.  Just let it cook for about 5 minutes or so.  If it's not firm after that, put it in the oven for a bit and take it out when you like it's consistency.  YUM!

     A word here about my "recipes".  Here is my disclaimer:  I am not a chef.  (Big surprise, I know)  My resources are most often Christopher Kimble of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated, all the lovely trained chefs who put together bon appetit' magazine, and good 'ole Martha from Everyday Food mini-magazine.  I also take great influence from the lay-chef's in my family.  Rachel taught me rice. Heather teaches me to try anything and drink while cooking.  Mom taught me gravy, beans, and chicken broth.  Gaga taught me black bean chalupas, tabouli and sprout sandwiches with spike, avocado and fresh tomato.  Nana taught me to cook with love and reckless abandon.  A clean kitchen is just silly.  It should look like a war-zone after you get your cook on.  My family keeps teaching me and inspiring me, so references will be often.  I will give the shout out when I remember!  

     Don't Rush Me, please

     I hate honkers.  Get over yourself.  Who in the hell do you think your are anyway?  Chill out.  Take a breath.  Now, I've been in a hurry before.  I've honked when someone is obviously not paying attention, or blatantly does something stupid like pull out in front of me.  If I honked, you damn well deserved it.  This isn't about me.   My underlying issue with honkers is that they make me feel rushed.  I do not like to feel rushed.  I work hard to be on time.  In fact, I'm a bit OCD about it.  I am a big fan of sequence.  Love it.  I really really love to do the same sequence of things at roughly the same time in the morning.  Lotion, concealer, powder, eye shadow, liner, mascara, then blush.  I cannot fathom why anyone would do it in any other order, ever.  I was crinkling my head at an odd fellow at the gym yesterday when he was clearly frustrated that I hadn't put the weights back in their proper spot.  I of course went right back and put them out of order again after he corrected them just to make a point, but it sure got me thinking.  As silly as I thought he was, my sequence rituals are just so.  With risotto however, sequence is vital.  Maybe that's why I get an enormous amount of satisfaction when it clumps just right on the plate.  To borrow a phrase from my cousin, "it was my Waterloo" for quite some time.  Little did I know, my love for sequence would carry me to victory.  Once you get the sequence, you can risotto till your heart's content!  Just don't rush it.

Bacon, leek risotto with poached egg (recipe taken from bon appetit April 2011-silly stuff omitted)

Eggs (1 per person, or 2 for Rick)

5 cups chicken broth

1 T olive oil

6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 cups leeks (white and pale green parts only-I wash them, cut them, then spin them and wash them on the salad spinner)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

3/4 cup dry white wine 

3 T finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1 T butter

2 T fine grated parmesan 

additional parm and parsley for garnish

Bring broth to a simmer, med-low.  Keep warm.  Heat oil in heavy large sauce pan (I use my large, deep sided Le creuset skillet) medium heat.  add bacon, and cook until crisp.  Use a slotted spoon, transfer to drain.  Add leeks and cook until soft but not brown, stirring often, 4-5 minutes.  transfer a few tablespoons to a small bowl for garnish.  Add rice to your pan.  Stir 1-2 minutes.  (Incidentally, this is Rachel's trick for rice and it totally works!)  Add wine then pour yourself a glass if you have not already done so.  Stir until absorbed, about 2 minutes.  Now, add your broth a bit at a time, 1/2 cup or so and let it absorb each time.  DON'T rush it!  Stir it almost constantly about 23 minutes.  You want it to spread a bit on the plate.  After 23 minutes or so, add back the bacon, parsley, butter, and 2 T of cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  

Poach your eggs and add these on top of the risotto.  Salt and pepper your egg (that's what she said!)  add your garnish and DIG IN to that DELICIOUSNESS!!!

Wish me luck with my healthy breakfasts,  and Luke too.  Hopefully summer school will not be in his future.