Misc. Recipes

Recently I made the following two recipes and served them with some steamed frozen Oriental Vegetables and Southern Sweet Tea.
This was the first time I had made risotto. I had heard that it was very time consuming and really hard to make, so I never attempted it. I am still taking the on-line cooking course through Rouxbe.com and the lesson I had starting a couple weeks ago was on rice and one of the recipes was making risotto, so I figured I’d better do it! I found it very rewarding and tasty on top of it and decided it was well worth the extra time involved and it really wasn’t that hard.

Root Beer Barbecue Chicken

Source: CuisineAtHome.com

1 chicken - cut into 8 pieces (3½ lb.)
Vegetable oil
Salt
black pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups root beer
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Sliced tomatoes
Preheat oven to 400°.
For the chicken, coat chicken with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast 45 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce.
Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush grill grate with oil.
For the root beer sauce, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, 2–3 minutes. Add root beer, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, molasses, Worcestershire, and pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add lime juice.
Dip chicken into barbecue sauce to coat, then grill, covered, 5 minutes. Dip pieces in sauce again, turn over, and grill until charred and crisp, 5 minutes more. Serve chicken with sliced fresh tomatoes on the side.

Basic Parmesan Risotto

Source: Rouxbe

Step 1: Preparing Your Mise en Place
1 cup Superfino Arborio - (Rice)
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup onions
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt - (or to taste)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine or vermouth
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Note: For the liquid, use a light chicken or vegetable stock. If your stock is very strong in flavor, you can use a combination of 1/2 water and 1/2 stock so you don’t over power the flavor of the rice. Always keep in mind that more or less liquid may be needed to cook this dish. It’s always better to have too much than not enough.
To prepare your mise en place, place the liquid into a pot, season with the salt (if needed) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and keep hot.
In the meantime, finely dice the onions and garlic. Finely grate the parmesan cheese.
Note: For this dish, it is important to use rice that is suitable for risotto.
Measure out the rice, olive oil and white wine. Set aside.
Step 2: Starting the Risotto
Place the oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pan and heat over medium to medium-low heat.
Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sweat until soft and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes. Next, add 1/4 cup of the hot cooking liquid to soften the onions further. Let the cooking liquid completely evaporate before moving onto the next step.
Step 3: Toasting the Rice & Deglazing
Once the liquid has completely evaporated, turn the heat up to medium-high and add the rice all at once. Stir to coat the rice in the hot fat. Monitor the heat so the aromatics do not burn. Toast the rice for a few minutes until the perimeter of the grains are translucent.
Once toasted, add the garlic and cook, stirring just until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Deglaze with the wine. Stir the rice until the wine evaporates.
Step 4: Cooking the Risotto
Once the wine has evaporated, slowly add the hot liquid cup by cup. Stir often to coax the starches out of the rice. Adjust the heat so the liquid is always gently boiling. Once the liquid has been absorbed, then and only then, add the next cup. Stir frequently.
Continue to add liquid and cook the risotto until it reaches the al dente stage (or until it is done to your liking). Start tasting the rice for doneness around the 15 minute mark.
Step 5: Finishing the Risotto
 1 to 2 tbsp unsalted butter
 extra-virgin olive oil - alternative
 extra parmesan cheese - (for serving)
Once the risotto has been cooked to your liking, taste it for seasoning. Stir in the butter (or olive oil) and cheese. Cover and let rest for 1 to 2 minutes.
Just before serving, add a bit of hot liquid to loosen the consistency, if necessary. Plate on warmed dishes and drizzle with a bit more olive oil and add a touch of parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Cooking Risotto ahead of time:
Cook it until about 3/4 done. Pour it onto a tray to stop the cooking process. Spred into a thin layer so it cools as quickly as possible. Cool slightly and then transfer to the refrigerator. Place in air-tight container and place in the refrigerator for up to three (3) days.
To reheat: Place a little HOT liquid into a pan and add the cold rissoto. Gently stir to combine and stir over med-high heat. Continue to add HOT liquid until the risotto is cooked to your liking. Check for seasoning as things that have been refrigerated tend to need a bit of added salt.

Southern Sweet Iced Tea

6 small sized tea bags
1/4 t. baking soda*
1 1/2 cups  sugar
Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil. Add a pinch of baking soda to the water and add tea bags. Remove from heat and cover. Allow to sit for at least 12 minutes. Pour into gallon pitcher and add sugar. Then fill with cold water. Refrigerate.
*The soda takes out the bitterness and darkens the tea....this small amount doesn’t change the taste. Print this post