I’ve made this risotto as a side dish for many meals. It pairs very well with seafood, chicken, or even pork and makes about four servings. This is the basic form of the recipe which can be modified to your liking. I even made a lunch out of it once by adding sautéed mushrooms. Hard to go wrong!

Effort: Medium/Low (lots of stirring)

Time: 35 min

Ingredients:

3 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock

1 cup Arborio Rice

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

1/4 cup White Wine (on the dry side is best)

1/4 cup Pine Nuts

1/4 cup Fresh Basil

1/4 Onion (yellow or sweet), minced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Prep work:

Toast the pine nuts in a pan on the stove. Be sure to toss them around in the pan to make sure they don’t burn.

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Grate the parmesan if it is not already pre-grated. Chop the fresh basil into thin strips. Mince or finely chop about a quarter of a large onion and mince the garlic cloves. I use my trusty microplane and mince everything straight into the pot as I am cooking, but you can prepare it ahead of time if you prefer.

Warm your stock to near boiling. I just use a glass measuring pitcher and stick it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Bringing it together:

Heat the olive oil in a pot; add onion into the pot as the oil is heating. Sauté the onion for a couple of minutes until it begins to sizzle and turn translucent. Then add the garlic and stir it around for another minute.

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Add the Arborio rice to the pot and stir it around for 2 or 3 minutes until all the grains are coated and the rice starts to smell nice and rice-y.

Add the first cup of stock and stir until the rice has soaked it in, add the second cup and repeat, stirring fairly regularly (about once a minute or more often if you are impatient like me).

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Once the liquid has been absorbed, add the final cup of broth and stir until it’s about half absorbed, then add the wine, Parmesan, pine nuts. Incorporate everything well, then add the Basil. Finish with salt and pepper to your taste. This is an instance when I really like to use my truffle salt since the flavor has a chance to shine through the simplicity of the risotto. There you have it a fantastic side dish for dinner, or turn it into satisfying lunch by adding sautéed veggies. Buon appetito!

This recipe made a very satisfying dinner alongside Herbed Risotto and Roasted Sweet Potatoes. I used an entire wild Alaskan salmon filet tonight, but I have used use pre-portioned frozen salmon in the past with plenty of success. The mayonnaise helps prevent the fish from drying out during baking and helps with the even distribution of lemon and herb flavors. I recommend using as fresh parsley and dill if you can for brighter flavors, but if access is an issue, dried herbs can be a decent stand-in. Effort: Low Time: <45 min

Ingredients:

½ cup Mayonnaise (can substitute half with ¼ cup Greek Yogurt)

1-2 tbsp Flat-Leaf Parsley, finely chopped

¼ tsp Dill, finely chopped

¼ tsp Tarragon, flaked

1 Garlic Clove, large, minced

1 Lemon

Salmon Filet (approximately 1.25 lbs/4 portions)

Prep work:

Slice the lemon in half. From these halves, cut about 6-8 thin slices. Juice the remainder of the lemon to form 1 tablespoon needed for the recipe.

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Bringing it together:

1. Mix together the mayonnaise (and yogurt if you’re going that route), lemon juice, chopped dill, chopped parsley, tarragon, and garlic. Preheat the oven to 400°F (~205°C).

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2. Place the salmon on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment. If you are worried about the salmon skin sticking, consider spraying the lined sheet with cooking oil before laying the filet(s) down.
3.  Spoon the mayonnaise spread in an even layer over the fish. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper according to your taste. Then, arrange the lemon slices on the fish in line with each portion.

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4. Bake the fish in the oven for 25-30 min. Broil on high the last 1-2 min if you want it to brown a bit and form a crust. Take it out, let it cool a bit, and cut it if it is not already pre-portioned. Plate it up with a salad or a couple of sides et voilà; dinner is served!

This quiche was whipped up one day for a lovely brunch. In other words, I woke up too late for breakfast but wanted it to seem intentional (That’s the key, y’all—call it brunch). I definitely took some creative liberties in naming this dish, but hopefully nobody minds…

Effort: Medium

Time: <1hr

Ingredients:

4 Eggs

1 cup Half-and-Half OR ½ cup Whipping Cream + ½ cup 2% or Whole Milk

½ cup Bacon (~3 strips)

Feta Cheese ½ cup cubed or 1/3 cup crumbled

Spinach 4 oz fresh or ½ cup frozen

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Pepper

¼ tsp Onion Powder (or 1 tbsp minced onion)

¼ tsp Garlic Powder (or 1 small-medium clove garlic, minced)

¼ tsp Dried Basil

½ tsp Dried Oregano

1 9-inch Pie Crust

Prep work:

Cook the 3 (or 4…) bacon strips in a skillet on medium heat until browned and slightly crispy. Don’t overcrowd the pan, or it won’t crisp up as nicely.

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Remove the bacon from the pan and transfer it to a paper towel to blot some of the grease. Now is a good time to either collect your grease or dispose of the majority.

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If you are using fresh spinach, as I was, you can use the same pan with the light coating of bacon grease to quickly sauté the spinach. Put about 4 handfuls or basically as much fresh spinach as will safely fit in the skillet; it reduces in volume significantly. Toss it around until the leaves have mostly turned a vivid, dark green and remove the spinach from the heat. If you are using frozen spinach, thaw it and try to wring out some of the excess water.

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Chop the bacon into small strips and the feta into small cubes. If you are extremely concerned about dimensions, I would say strips of about 4mm and cubes of about 6mm, but honestly it is a matter of personal preference and what you have on hand.  Crumbled feta should work just as well for this recipe.

Bringing it together:

1. Put the 1 cup of half-and half and 4 eggs together in a large bowl. Whisk them together until they are thoroughly mixed. If you have not yet developed a whisking technique, I recommend breaking the yolks first. Otherwise, you waste energy just sort of bouncing them around while you swirl the whites.

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2. Add the salt, spices, and herbs and whisk a bit more.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and position the rack just below the middle of the oven.

4. Prepare the pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan according to the recipe or package instructions. By far my favorite pre-made pie crust is Wick’s. It appears to be available only in the northeastern quarter of the U.S., but it is a great local product. I buy it at Payless (a.k.a. Kroger in in disguise).

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5. Layer the cheese, bacon, and spinach in the pie shell. Try to distribute it as evenly as you can. If you are concerned about over-browning your crust, you can fashion a shield out of foil. For the edges which you can remove 30 min into the bake time.

6. I put my pie on a pan for easy carrying. Give the egg mixture a final stir (the herbs will have probably floated to the top), and gently pour it over the pie shell.

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7. Pop ‘er in the oven for about 45 min. Don’t forget to remove the foil shield after half an hour if you put one. To test for doneness, insert a knife into the center as though you are preparing to cut a slice. If it comes out without egg-y residue then it is ready. Let it sit for 5 minutes, grab a slice, and enjoy!

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