Lombardy Risotto with Zucchini

I feel I have too much experience in the kitchen to not have tried out a Risotto until I was 27 years old...but the truth is, I had never made a Risotto until this very year.

And there's always been a lot of hype regarding Risottos.

And now I get it.
I totally get it!

Freaking. Delicious. Nuff. Said.

Confession:

Growing up, a common weeknight meal centered around pan-fried meat, a canned veggie and box of either Rice-A-Roni or Pasta-Roni.

Risotto is like Rice-A-Roni. On steroids. With pizzazz. And without preservatives.

Every bite was a heavenly reminder of what childhood family dinner was...or could have been.

(Honestly, not complaining - I had the luxury of consistent meals, AT HOME...WITH MY FAMILY, that's pretty awesome and my parents actually taught me a lot about cooking and loving food, so more power to a box of Rice-A-Roni!)

Ingredients/Directions: 
From  Cuisine of the Alps

Remove stems from 3 small Zucchini and slice thinly. In a large skillet melt 2 Tbsp. Butter over medium high heat. Add the zucchini slices, saute 2-3 minutes until golden. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add 2 more Tbsp. Butter and saute 1/2 cup minced Onions and 1-2 cloves of crushed Garlic for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup short-grain Rice, saute until grains become golden. Pour in 2 cups of Broth. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Add 1 more cup of Broth, the zuchini, and 1 cup finely chopped Parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until all the liquid is absorbed. Add remaining 1 cup of Broth. Continue cooking a little longer, until the rice is just tender. Stir in the remaining 1 Tbsp. Butter and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese. Serve while still moist and creamy.

Avocado Salad with Bacon Dressing

So, something I wanted to do with all of our foods this year was include foods with aphrodisiac qualities - I apologize if you didn't really want to know that about me or us, but it's the truth of how I went about planning this meal. So I conducted some research and discovered loads of great recipes, including this recipe for Avocado Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing.

Interestingly enough, we had filled up on all the other dishes of the night and didn't have room for this one one top of stuffed peppers, slices of bread topped with apples and brie, stuffed figs and wrapped asparagus. So, it became the following days lunch. And it was oh-so-delicious.

Ingredients/Directions: 

The Avocado salad is easy, just thickly slice an Avocado.

For the dressing, you'll need to cook 1/3 lb. Bacon in a large skillet and let cool/drain on paper towels. This isn't the time for soft, chewy bacon, you definitely want it to be a bit crisp. Now, you'll need to save at least 2 Tbsp. of Bacon Fat for the dressing, although, if you just pour it all into a glass jar or tin can, you could save it up and make delicious things like Tortillas...or even cookies, but that's up to you.

Heat the bacon grease in a small sauce pan and add 1-3 cloves of minced Garlic (three is REALLY strong, but that's what the original recipe calls for - so adjust as desired), 1/4 cup Water, 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (or Homemade Vinegar...or not homemade) and 1 Tbsp. Sugar, simmer until sugar is dissolved.

Season with Salt and Pepper and stir in 2 Tbsp. of chopped Parsley.

Drizzle over Avocados and ENJOY!

Pancetta and Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus

And then we made these.

And they were DELICIOUS.

Step 1: Steam the Asparagus
Step 2: Roll our Puff Pastry, sprinkle with salt, pepper and Parmesan. Slice. (enough strips per stalk of Asparagus.

Step 3: Wrap Asparagus in Pancetta.
Step 4: Wrap Pancetta wrapped Asparagus in Puff Pastry.
Step 5: Brush with Egg Wash and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Step 6: Bake at 325 (or whatever is recommended by the puff pastry package) until golden.
Step 7: Enjoy...there's no other choice.

Feta Stuffed Figs Wrapped in Bacon

So...if you haven't caught on yet, out annual Valentine's Meal was a showcase of appetizers which we ate in various courses starting with the Apple Brie Bread and Feta Stuffed Peppers.

Next, we started on some meaty, bacon-wrapped dishes such as these delicious morsels.

Figs, stuffed with Feta, wrapped in Bacon - easy as it sounds.

Bake at 425 until the bacon is fully cooked.

Feta Stuffed Cherry Peppers

For one of our first "Valentine Dinner Extravaganza's" we made these spicy, flavorful little morsels and were not, at all, bummed to make them a second time.

They're vinegary, pickly, not-to-spicy, refreshing and creamy.

They are easy.

The original recipe suggests Peppadews, but our lack of grocer options have lead to our using Cherry Peppers.

Once you have your pickled peppers there are just a few steps:

Step 1: Remove seeds from peppers.
Step 2: Remove seeds from one cucumber and dice.
Step 3: Place 2-3 cucumber cubes in the shell of each pepper.
Step 4: Stuff remaining space of the pepper with Feta cheese.
Step 5: Place in mouth, bite down and enjoy!

Apple and Brie Toasts

One of our all time favorite food combinations is Apples + Brie.

Occassionally, we'll buy a round of brie, dice up some apples, sprinkle the apples with cinnamon and nutmeg, surround the brie by the seasoned apples - bake and dig in with a baguette.

Want something that required an ounce less chopping but held the same flavors - we put this together for annual "Valentine's Dinner Cooking Extravaganza".

Sliced bread.
Topped with sliced apples.
Sprinkled with Cinnamon.
Topped with sliced brie.
Baked for 10-ish minutes until cheese is melty.

Easy Peasy and Absolutely delicious!

Refried Chili

Extended Shelf Life: Avocado

Because sometimes, even when you take crappy photos, the dish was worth documenting and making a little reminder to yourself that quick meals can be delicious and can even incorporate canned foods you'd rather not admit are in your pantry ;)

So, if you find yourself hungry with a pile of tomatoes, a few ripe avocados, a can of refried beans, a block of bream cheese, a can of tomato sauce and a ice cube of roasted jalapenos, rest assured that cooked together, served on top of Fritos with cheese and fresh avocado - it will yield a meal that you can easily enjoy.