Risotto

In July, my friend Erin & I went to a Novel Cuisine class at Kitchen Conservatory, a small cooking school in St. Louis. These classes are a combination book club/cooking class. The July class was on Nigel Slater's memoir Toast, a collection of childhood memories associated with food. The chef prepared a meal (rarebit puffs, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, & trifle) while we discussed the book.

It was so much fun that I took Sarah there last weekend for her birthday. This class was on The Secret Life of Lobsters. Guess what was on the menu? You got it. Lobsters. Lots of lobsters. We watched as the cook made fresh lobster stock and steamed live lobsters. Then we dined on lobster risotto, lobster bisque, lobster salad, & lobster potstickers.

I was surprised at how easy the risotto was to make. I had always thought that risotto needed constant attention. Not so. The chef just stirred in some stock, then let it simmer until absorbed before adding more stock.

I had already decided to make risotto at home last week, so I took a cue from Kitchen Conservatory's recipe. I used chicken broth instead of lobster stock and mixed in mushrooms & spinach. Then, I topped it with parmesan cheese & sauteed shrimp. It was creamy, but not as flavorful as the lobster version. Though, I will try a different risotto recipe sometime this fall.

In Search of the Perfect Mac & Cheese Recipe

My quest started with Alton Brown's Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese. The sauce, which is made with eggs, evaporated milk, and sharp cheddar, is mixed in a pot with cooked macaroni. It was very creamy, but the taste wasn't what I am looking for. It was almost too cheezy. I think the sharp cheddar was too much, though it was better reheated the next day.

Attempt #2 was a spur-of-the-moment adaptation of the same recipe. I used monterey jack instead of sharp cheddar (less 1/2 cup) & added some steamed broccoli. Much better. The cheese wasn't so overwhelming, and it was pretty good cold the next day.

Next experiment: Baked mac & cheese. Anyone got some good recipes?

Curry Lime Chicken Wings

There is a new Borders bookstore in town, and I went there a couple weeks ago on my lunch break. I browsed cookbooks while lunching on a cheese & tomato melt & pot of Earl Grey tea. And I couldn't resist copying down a chicken wings recipe from Tyler Florence's Tyler's Ultimate cookbook.

Since I had the day off yesterday, I made these for a late after grocery shopping lunch. They were an excellent combination of spicy, tangy, and slightly sweet. Here's what you do:

Put chicken wings on a baking sheet or in a baking dish or whatever you prefer. Drizzle them olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake at 425 about 30 minutes or until they are crispy.

Meanwhile, blend 1/2 stick of softened butter with 2 teaspoons of red curry paste, the zest & juice of one lime, a tablespoon of honey, and a splash of soy sauce.

When the wings are done, toss them in the curry butter. The butter will melt and coat the wings.

Me as an M&M

Spaghetti with Browned Butter

One summer, when I was in college, I worked as a hostess at The Old Spaghetti Factory in St. Louis for like 30 seconds. Really, it was more like a few weeks. And that was a few weeks too many.

The place didn't take reservations, so there was often an hour+ wait. The manager was a nut who refused to let the hostesses keep a list of available tables, so tables were always getting double-sat on busy evenings. Hostesses were responsible for getting together to-go orders, which meant venturing into the steamy kitchen. Rats...big river rats...lived under the infamous trolley car.

Like I imagine with so many restaurants, once you work there you never want to eat there again. And that's what happened with The Spaghetti Factory. Employees could eat for free before their shift, so I had my lifetime supply of the Pot Pourri, "A sampler of Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese, Meat, Clam, and Marinara Sauces."

I haven't eaten there in well over ten-years. In fact, the last time I ate there was the night Sarah & I got looped up on red wine with dinner before getting our tattoos. For some reason, other than the tattoos, I've been thinking about that place recently. After foraging in my kitchen for dinner tonight, I decided to pay homage to OSF with some spaghetti & browned butter with grated ricotta salata...mostly because I have the cheese in my fridge I am curious about what to do with it.

And now I feel like puking.

I think I burned the butter, instead of lightly browning it. And the cheese is so dry. Thank god I have an entire bottle of cabernet to keep my palate moist!