chicken and sage risotto

The Italians have always been in the business of selling us things that are simple, delicious, and that we are usually too lazy to make ourselves. Risotto is one such thing.

It doesn't take long. It's not even particularly hard. It does, however, involve a concerted effort on your part, and you can't skip any steps.

The only gripe I really have with it, and that you might if you're a multi-tasker like me who likes to walk away and do other stuff while your food cooks, is that you have to stand over the stove most of the time, with at most a one or two minute break where you can run off and do whatever it is you have to do. But I promise it's worth it.

The lovely thing about risotto is that while you have to cook it a certain way, it is immensely flexible. Use rehydrated dried porcinis and mushroom stock. Use bacon. Use spring vegetables and veggie stock. Use shrimp or other seafood and fish stock. The possibilities are pretty much endless.

Here, I used chicken, 'cause I had it, and fried up a few sage leaves to go with it.

And it was awesome.

~*~

Serves 2
Total time: ~45 minutes

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 onion, diced
2-4 cups of liquid: half of white wine, half of chicken or veggie stock, or whatever strikes your fancy
4 tbsp butter
few sprigs thyme
5 sage leaves

Onions and rice in.

Melt 2 tbsp butter in skillet over medium heat. If you like your onions soft, add them first and cook until translucent, then add arborio rice. If you like your onions slightly crunchy (this is what I do, and I think they add a nice textural balance when you're not using any other vegetables) add them and the arborio rice to the butter simultaneously, stirring to coat the rice. Toast onions and rice for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper, but be careful if you've got salty broth. 

Stirred.

Now comes the subjective part. The amount of liquid you use will depend on the surface area of your pan, the heat of your stove...numerous factors. I usually just add a glug of wine, then alternate--stock, wine, stock, wine. The more wine you add, the tangier and more citrusy your risotto will be (not a bad thing) and the more stock, the earthier. Find your happy balance. Alternating keeps both pretty even.

Anyways, add a glug (about 1/4 cup) of liquid and stir. Stir every 30 seconds or so until the liquid has all evaporated.

Juicy.

Once it has evaporated, add some more liquid. If you add too much at once your risotto will not cook the way it should--I know it's tempting to dump all your liquid in, but you must persevere.

Nifty mid-pour photo. I should probably invest in a tripod.

More cooking...

Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking and burning.

And more cooking. I wish you could see the rice plumping up more dramatically, but from squinting at the pictures I don't really think you can. Oh well. Just know that it happens!

After about half an hour, give your risotto a taste. It should be al dente, not too hard. Once it reaches this point, melt 1 tbsp of butter in a separate pan. I let the butter brown before I add my chicken. Be careful not to burn it!

Once butter is browned, toss in diced chicken.

All those brown butter bits! Yum.

Your chicken should cook for a good 8 minutes--pink chicken is a no-go. If you're worried, cut into your largest cube to check for doneness. Once it's done, toss it into your risotto along with a splash more of liquid, and stir to meld all those yummy flavors.

Fried sage is one of my favorite things ever--if you haven't tried it you simply must. It makes a great crispy topper and really ties all the flavors together. It's as easy as it seems--just toss them in and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until crisp.

Once almost all of the liquid is gone from your risotto, add in your last tbsp of butter for creaminess. You can even add a touch of cream if you'd like, but I think it's just fine without. Plate and top with sage.

Bam. Easy, gorgeous weeknight dinner in under an hour.

vegan banoffee pie cups

I am currently in a phase where I am having pangs of nostalgia for London. I mean, sure, there's some things I don't miss about London, like the cheapest meal you can find being $12 or more (damn you, exchange rate!) But there are some things...like the bakeries, that I just can't seem to shake out of my brain.

I got to try a great many things that I loved. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to have banoffee-anything, though, primarily because the feature ingredient is made using condensed milk. So, like so many things, I am left to dare to dream up my own version.

Now here's the thing about desserts--they're often a total pain in the butt, and they can be really clunky. I mean, I already put all this effort into making dinner and now I have to fumble around with pastry and wash twice as many dishes? Or, in the opposite situation, I put three hours into making a gorgeous berry pie and now you want me to make dinner?

Dessert shouldn't have to be a headache. If you can minimize effort and still create the feeling and nostalgia of the dish? Well, that's our goal. Why bake a graham cracker crust if you don't need to? And if the final product is cute and extremely, ever so wonderfully, portable? We don't have much to complain about.

This is the perfect thing to have at your next dinner-or-any-kind-of-party. Your guests will feel spoiled but you'll have plenty of time to put on your party dress, because it's so easy!

~*~

Serves: ~4, will depend on size of your containers
Adapted from here, here, and here

~4 ripe bananas

whipped cream

1.5 cans coconut cream (available at Trader Joe's)*, chilled
1 vanilla bean, seeded
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar**

caramel

3/4 cup brown sugar
remaining 1/2 can coconut cream
1 whole can coconut milk
1 vanilla bean, seeded
pinch of salt

crust

9 double graham crackers (18 squares)
1 heaping handful pecans
3 tbsp canola oil

*Trader Joe's now has coconut cream, which is basically like the solidified cream at the top of your normal coconut milk can...but a whole can of just that stuff! If you don't have access to it, you can take a few cans, refrigerate them overnight, and scoop off that top creamy layer instead. Just accept that you'll have to make a few coconut curries after you've made this!
**I didn't add any, and I found that while the cream was a bit too savory on its own for me, it balanced the sweet filling really nicely when the whole thing came together.

Additional note: I must be too used to meringues, because I was expecting some sort of magic expansion to happen...but when you whip up the coconut cream, the amount you put is pretty much equal to the amount you get out! So if you need extra, which you might, crack open another can and make some more.

Caramel, cooking, and coconut cream, whipping.

Chill your coconut cream (or coconut milk cans) for your whipped cream in the fridge for at least an hour prior to using, or pop in the freezer 10 minutes before you begin (don't forget it there for too long!)

Start by cooking your brown sugar in a dry pan until it starts to melt. When it is mostly melted, add a whole can of coconut milk. Your sugar will seize up and harden into clumps, but don't worry--once your coconut milk comes back up to temperature, those lumps will melt! Stir frequently and let your caramel cook. When you've taken all of your coconut cream out that you're using for your whipped cream, add the rest of the can to your caramel and stir.

In the meantime, whip your coconut cream using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract, and sugar, if using.

Crusty.

Break your graham crackers into manageable-sized pieces and grind them in your food processor. Add in your pecans and canola oil, pulsing until the mixture just comes together.

Once your caramel has turned dark brown, and has cooked for about 40 minutes, remove it from the stove and let it cool.

Cut your bananas into thin slices.

Some assembly required.

Start your layering. Press some of your crumb base into the bottom of your cup. Add a layer of banana slices. Spoon over some caramel, then add more banana slices. Repeat until you are almost at the top. Lay down a layer of whipped cream, another banana layer, then a final layer of whipped cream. Add a banana slice as your garnish.

It's divine. Enjoy!

stout braised short ribs

Like so many things that are luxurious and delicious, short ribs are made to seem like they are difficult to cook. Usually we're suckered into paying $25 a plate for 'em, or something similarly outrageous.

But short ribs no longer have to be relegated to the birthdays-only corner of your world. Secret's out: not only are they a breeze to cook, they aren't even that expensive to make! I went to Whole Paycheck and bought the happy "Step 4" meat, and it cost about half of one of those restaurant plates (and lasted us two meals).

All you need is time. While you do have to prep early, and the TLC in that early preparation is very important, aside from that you are pretty much just putting stuff in a pot and shoving it in the oven to let the appliance do all the work.

I'm here to convince you that this is a perfect dish to cook on a weekend, or even a weeknight if you're home just a little early. You can make it in bulk, since it matures very well, or even make it ahead of time when you've got a spare moment.

Now you can laugh at the menus and splurge on the regular, with no great damage done to your wallet.

~*~

Inspired by Smitten Kitchen and the stout pulled pork at The People's Pig.

Serves 2-4
Time: ~3 hours

1.5 lbs short ribs (about 5 pcs)
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig thyme
1 large 650 mL bottle chocolate (or regular) stout (or 1.5 regular sized bottles)**
1 can tomato puree

**Note: This dish comes out and bludgeons you with stout flavor--as a result, it is slightly bitter. I like it, but if you are particularly bitterness-averse, I'd recommend that you alter the recipe. You can balance it out with some salt, honey, brown sugar, or lemon juice; use a beer that is less bold than a stout; or replace part or all of the beer with stock. You can also cook the recipe all the way through, as is, then (if you find later that you were more bitter-averse than you thought) pull the ribs out and experiment with the sauce as you like to remove the bitterness. Then, add the ribs back in and reheat.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, put in a few tbsp of oil (enough to just coat the bottom). Place your short ribs on a plate and lightly coat each side with cocoa powder, then sprinkle a pinch of salt overtop. When a drop of water causes oil to sputter, place your short ribs into the pan. If your pan is too small, work in batches--do not crowd the meat. Brown each side of each piece until a dark brown crust forms. Each batch takes around 15 minutes.

Clockwise from top left: ribs, ribs + cocoa, in the pan, browned.

Do not rush! This is what builds the flavor of your dish.

Once short ribs are browned on all 6 sides, remove to plate and let them rest. Add diced onion, celery, carrot, and garlic into the pot. Stir together and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon in order to lift up all the caramelized bits. Let vegetables cook around 10 minutes, until softening.

Clockwise from top left: resting ribs, cooking veggies, tomato and stout in, then ribs in, ready to go!

Open up your stout and pour in about a cup. Scrape the bottom thoroughly again in order to remove any caramelized bits left behind. Add the rest of your stout, thyme, and tomato sauce. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir. Bring mixture up to a simmer and let cook about 10 more minutes.

Nestle your short ribs in your braising liquid, along with any juices that may have collected on the plate. They should just barely be peeking their little heads out.

All nestled again, a close-up this time for good measure.

Cover and place in oven. Bake for 2.5 to 3 hours or until meat falls off the bone and gives way easily to a fork.

(Right now your house smells amazing!)

Pull pot out of the oven and let short ribs sit (yes, this is difficult, but use your self-control!) for at least five minutes, ideally 20, until the fat has separated and floated to the top. If you are making ahead, you can stick them in the fridge at this step, then, when you're ready to re-heat, scoop off the solidified fat.

You can see the oil settled on top.

Using a spoon, skim off as much of the oil as you can, while spooning up as little of the liquid as you can. I removed about 3 tbsp from mine. Reheat if it has cooled significantly.

This dish is immensely versatile, so serve with sauce over whatever you feel like or whatever you can dream up--mashed sweet potatoes, rice, quinoa, couscous, plain pasta, grits, or just stick your face right in there and enjoy.

vegan ranch dressing

Ranch being a buttermilk-based phenomenon, it is something I pine over frequently. Vegan ranch dressings are never around when you want them--for example, when I've got a slice of pizza in front of me, or happen to be eating barbecue. Plus, I mean...buttermilk, sour cream, and mayonnaise? I like them separately, but all at the same time is a little crazy.

I knew we could do better!

I finally cracked and made one. And let me tell you--it wasn't too far off. I started with the base in the recipe, but it wasn't...piquant enough for me. Blitzing in some whole cornichons solved the problem, adding a nice tang.

The vegenaise is definitely key--without it the dressing is still yummy but lacks some of its body and richness. I am a dill fan so if a whole handful seems excessive to you, you can cut back and taste it before you add more.

For anyone who's trying to eat something less fatty, trying to feel less bad about the amount of ranch you put on things (uh, hello, that's me), or trying to skip out on the dairy products, this is a winning substitute. It even has a little protein! Now your sad vegan friend who has been coerced into coming to your Super Bowl party will have their very own dressing in which they can dip their vegetables.

~*~

Adapted from here

1 block silken tofu

1 handful dill

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika (optional--gives it a pinkish tinge, if you don't want that then skip it!)

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 cornichons (a tbsp of capers or some more vinegar would do as well)

1 heaping spoon vegenaise

Drain most of the water off of your silken tofu and scoop it into the bowl of your food processor. Add dill, garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, apple cider, cornichons, paprika (if using), and vegenaise.

Lots of dill!

That's my sous chef Moo in the corner...

Blend. You may need to stir one or twice to get everything to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wasn't that easy?

lemongrass tofu

We've been a little meat-heavy over here at GEW, and so I thought today it would be appropriate to direct lunch in a different...direction.

Tofu is one of those things that is cooked so wretchedly a lot of the time that there was a long period of my life where I had almost entirely lost patience with it.

Then, I went to Taiwan, and there, they treated it right. When made with love, tofu really can be delicious.

Because you do the prep-work for this dish overnight, it takes about 25 minutes to make the next day, which is about all the time I really want to spend making lunch anyway. Blending the lemongrass into a pulp and cooking it makes it edible, instead of the horribly woody chunks you sometimes encounter in unfortunate soups. And with the addition of the cornstarch-boosted sauce at the end, it feels like something you'd eat in a nice Asian café...though it's so yummy you may not even think of it as your usual "healthy" or penitent meal.

~*~

Serves 2
Total time: ~10 minutes prep, ~25 minutes to cook

1 package extra firm tofu, cut into wide slices

5 stalks lemongrass

1 inch long piece of ginger

juice of 1/2 lime

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce (optional, this makes your dish non-vegetarian!)

~1 tbsp water

sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

sides

bok choy
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp soy sauce
handful green beans

The night before you want your tofu, ready your ingredients. To prepare lemongrass, peel off the outermost 2 leaves or any brittle outer leaves. You should be left with a sleek stalk, and the bottom few inches should be white. Cut off this whitish part. Save the tops for soup, keeping in the fridge or freezer. Cut the reserved pieces in half and add to the food processor. Add in peeled ginger, lime juice, garlic, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce if using, and water to help it blend. Pulse until lemongrass is in filament-like fragments--you want it as finely chopped as possible. Stir and pulse again if needed.

Just a little more pulsing to go... 

Appropriately mummified tofu.

Drain your tofu. Lay your tofu brick on a cutting board and wrap it tightly but gently in paper towels or a clean dish towel. Wait for a few minutes, allowing some of the liquid to come out of the tofu. Once dried, cut tofu into slices that are about 3 centimeters thick and lay into a tupperware container. Pour sauce over tofu, being sure every piece is covered. Gently slide tupperware back and forth a few times to spread liquid around, then close and refrigerate overnight.

I keep my slices pretty thick so they're less likely to break. If they do break, though, it's not the end of the world...they will still be delicious!

When you are ready to eat, heat oil in a hot pan or wok. Toss in beans, add salt and pepper. Let them cook until starting to shrivel and brown, about 5 minutes. Add 4 cloves minced garlic and tsp soy sauce. Be careful, as adding soy sauce may make the mixture slightly explosive. Cook green beans until done, about 5 more minutes. When the beans are done, you can remove them to your plate and wilt your bok choy in the same pan, which takes 4-5 minutes.

Side-veggies, at the ready.

As you're working on your beans, heat a griddle pan to medium-hot, until water that is sprinkled on it disappears immediately (very hot, but not burn-your-food hot). Place 2 tbsp of oil or ghee in pan. Once oil shimmers or ghee turns clear, lay down your slices of tofu carefully, so they do not break. Add in some of the lemongrass pulp, then discard the rest of the marinade. Shift slices a little in the pan so that they do not stick. Let the slices cook on one side until they have acquired brown grill marks or caramelized, about 7-8 minutes. Turn them over carefully, so as not to break them, and cook a further 7-8 minutes until the other side has grill marks as well. I like to drizzle over a little more soy sauce while the second side is cooking.

In the pan...

One side done...

Ready for sauce.

Once tofu is done, remove it to plate. In order to make your sauce, add 1/2 cup of water to loosen lemongrass pulp. Add soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Mix your cornstarch in with your 2 tbsp of water in a cup, stirring to remove lumps. Pour this into the pan and stir, letting cook for about 2 minutes. When the sauce has thickened, pour into cup. Add to your tofu as you like.

Bon appétit!

sweet potato shepherd's pie

I take pride in regularly attempting to ruin my boyfriend's Netflix recommendations. See, I like cartoons and nature shows, whereas he's more of the blood-and-guts type. After I watched a few episodes of What Not To Wear, a whole stream of terrible reality shows invaded the queue.

He surprised me by actually watching one of them--Extreme Cheapskates. Yes, this show is about as disastrous as you'd imagine, but one of the couples had a clever name for a very sensible idea--a "fiscal fast," where you spend a few days trying not to spend any money and using up what's in your house.

Now, they do it for a whole week. This is perfect for people who have vast pantries with hidden things, but in my apartment with relatively little storage space it didn't make much sense to do it for that long--we'd be eating straight ketchup by day 4. I knew I could do it for at least a day or two, though, so I set about cleaning out my freezer.

Grass-fed ground beef? Check. Frozen corn? Check. Things were looking promising until I remembered that I didn't have any regular potatoes.

My bag of sweet potatoes caught the corner of my eye. Checking the internet, it seemed like people had done this before. That gave me all the confidence I needed.

And let me tell you, it paid off. It turned out so much more spectacular than I imagined! It was even followed by a request to make it again, and soon, which means it wasn't just crazy old me who enjoyed it.

I don't say this often--because I am frequently a purist--but I like this so much more than the original! It will definitely be a staple in this apartment as the frigid Oregon winter encroaches, and it should be in yours, too!

Yum-o!

~*~

Serves 2-3
Total time: ~45 minutes

4 small or 2 large sweet potatoes
4 tbsp salted butter
2/3 cup, divided, + 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1 rib celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn
1 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash sweet potatoes. Pierce skin with knife several times on either side of each potato. Place on a plate and cover with 2 wet paper towels. Microwave for 6 minutes. Turn sweet potatoes over and microwave for another 6 minutes.

Once sweet potatoes are done, cut in half and use a spoon to scoop out the insides into a bowl. Add 3 tbsp of butter and 1/3 cup of broth. Whip, whip, whip away! If you need your mixture to be warmer to melt your butter, you can zap it occasionally in the microwave or do this in a pot over the stove. Once butter and broth have soaked into the potatoes, add your next 1/3 cup of broth and whip until you have a light, airy mixture.

Unmashed...

Whipped into shape!

In an oiled pan over medium-high heat, cook garlic, celery, and carrot until they begin to soften. Add your ground beef, then add salt & pepper. Cook beef until brown.

Add a handful of frozen corn or whatever veggies you like to your beef mixture.

Corn is pretty much required in shepherd's pie!

Create a well in the center of your beef mixture (push the beef to the sides of the pan so that there is a clearing in the middle). Put in 1 tbsp salted butter in the center and 1 tbsp flour, stirring to remove lumps and mix the flour into the butter. Let cook for 2 minutes, then mix to distribute it through your filling. Add your extra 1/2 cup broth and stir. Once broth has soaked in and a gravy-like sauce forms, about 2 minutes, you can take your pan off the stove.

Almost there...

Spray a thin coating of cooking oil onto a loaf pan. Load in your beef mixture. Lightly spread your mashed sweet potato over top. Bake for 15 minutes until bubbling slightly.

Before baking...

All done!

Let it set for 5 minutes, then scoop away!

three bean lamb chili

I think it's some sort of taboo to post two recipes centered around the same ingredient in a row, but I just can't hold this one back from you. It's really that good!

We'll do something non-lamby tomorrow. I promise!

I like chili a lot, but the unfortunate truth is that there are a lot of really sub-par chilis out there. Too heavy, too ketchup-y, too little vegetable matter...maybe I'm just picky. Most leave me wanting something more. I've been tweaking my recipe for a while now, and I think this one came out the way I've always wanted it to--just pure satisfaction!

The key is in the lamb. Get the best lamb you can find--you've probably got someone selling it at your local farmer's market. If not, grass fed beef is usually available, and you can get it at Whole Foods in a pinch. You really can taste the difference in grass-fed anything, I promise. The meat is more of a seasoning--because of all the beans--but it's an important one nonetheless. Don't skimp!

The peppers add a brightness, the spices all the flavors that should be in a chili without being overly one-note. Add your desired toppings--sour cream, cheese, chives--if you'd like, but you might find, like me, that it's perfect just the way it is, scooped up with a wedge of sourdough bread.

~*~

Time: ~1.5 hours
Makes ~8 servings

2 tbsp bacon fat or vegetable oil
1 lb ground lamb
2 small onions, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
2 poblano peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp red chile or paprika
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 28 oz (big!) can diced tomatoes, or 2 standard-size cans
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans


Brown your lamb over medium-high heat in your bacon fat/vegetable oil, stirring to break the lamb into bite-sized chunks. Once lamb is browned, add onions, garlic, and peppers. Stir to coat.

Isn't it pretty?

Let your veggies cook until they are just becoming translucent, about ten minutes. Add in your spices and worcestershire sauce, and stir.

The cast of characters...

Looking yummy!

Let the mixture cook for a further 5 minutes, then drain your beans and add them. Add in your whole can of tomatoes. Add in one further bean can full of water, about 1.5 cups.

The three different kinds of beans each add something special to the mix.

Stir, turn the heat down to medium, and cover the mixture, letting it cook for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes or so to make sure it doesn't stick. Uncover, and cook for 30 more minutes, stirring frequently, again, so it doesn't stick.

Serve with your favorite bread. Enjoy!