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(TCF Sept) Its a risso kind of month
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This entire month has been filled with nothing but fresh dried, smoked and cured meats, creamy risottos, a variety of cheeses, many kinds of mushrooms, and hours upon hours of making stocks. So what i have for you today is a wild mushroom risotto with Prosciutto, Asagio cheese, Pan fried chicken with melted Parmesan cheese and fresh Heirloom brandywine tomatoes. My computer decided to reject my camera and cell phone pictures and even my sneaky webcam attempt failed. But I will give the recipe anyways because of the hours i put into not only the making but the making of the ingredients.
Risotto- Before anything touched the dry, white, football shaped rice in my cabinet i had to make the stock for this wonderful starch filled substance. I went out and caught about twenty pounds of shrimp one day. After about an hour I had the shrimp headed and shelled and portioned the finished product into a few bags to go in the freezer. I took the shells and sauteed them in butter with yellow onion, celery, carrots and garlic. after a good sear I put a few splashes of white wine and deglazed the bottom of the pot. I added a touch of fresh thyme, parsley, whole pepper corns, a few bay leafs and a pinch of salt and enough water to fill the pot. After a good hard simmer for about four hours I strained the stock and put it back on the stove. I reduced it by half and skimmed off the fat. I always have reusable quart containers available because its great for storing stocks in the freezer and fridge.
I took yellow onions and sauteed them until they were translucent. I added the rice and stirred until they turned opaque with a small white dot in the middle and they were coated evenly with oil. I added warm stock one ladle full at a time, stirring constantly so the rice wouldn't burn. After it reached the creamy consistency I was looking for I pulled it from the stove and spread it out on a pan to cool in the fridge. Doing this allows me to use the risotto all week long. I recommend using a basic vegetable stock until your familiar with the different flavors created by different stocks. I use shrimp because a good bit of my cooking is seafood based. Also different wines effect different stocks. For white fleshed meats such as fish, chicken, or shellfish, use a white wine. For Dark red meats like veal, pork and such, use red wine.
Well after many debates with my chef and finally winning him over. We started to make our own cured meats. Three months ago we started curing a log of pancetta and yesterday I cut a few slabs to take home. I diced it and rendered it down until it was slightly golden. I added diced onions and fresh garlic. After a few minutes I added a handful of mushrooms (shitakes, portabella, and cremini)and sauteed until they were caramelized. I deglazed the pan with white wine and pulled them from the pan. I added butter, some of the already cooked risotto and some more stock. A few minutes of quick sauteing brought it up to temp. Then I added fresh Asagio cheese and prosciutto. A few more flips in the saute pan and I added the mushroom mixture back to the pan. a few stirs and this portion is done.
During the cooking of the pancetta I seared a chicken breast that I had coated with fresh black pepper, sea salt, and thyme and seared it in olive oil. I browned it on each side and placed it in a glass dish. I deglazed the pan with white wine and poured it on top of the chicken so when it finished cooking it would still be moist. I put a few slices of shaved parmesan onto which melted into a golden brown crust on top.
I just sliced the tomatoes, placed a good spoonful of the risotto on top and sliced the chicken. Now a few of you may be wondering a few things like 1: SO MUCH WHITE WINE, and 2: Fresh tomatoes with a hot rice. O_O. Well I love wine so of course I use as much as possible. Normally its only a splash or two tho and in my family we put fresh tomatoes with a good bit of our cooking. I just love the flavor of a fresh, sweet tomato with a good salty risotto. SO YUMMY, well pics will be up as soon as i can get to another computer
Risotto- Before anything touched the dry, white, football shaped rice in my cabinet i had to make the stock for this wonderful starch filled substance. I went out and caught about twenty pounds of shrimp one day. After about an hour I had the shrimp headed and shelled and portioned the finished product into a few bags to go in the freezer. I took the shells and sauteed them in butter with yellow onion, celery, carrots and garlic. after a good sear I put a few splashes of white wine and deglazed the bottom of the pot. I added a touch of fresh thyme, parsley, whole pepper corns, a few bay leafs and a pinch of salt and enough water to fill the pot. After a good hard simmer for about four hours I strained the stock and put it back on the stove. I reduced it by half and skimmed off the fat. I always have reusable quart containers available because its great for storing stocks in the freezer and fridge.
I took yellow onions and sauteed them until they were translucent. I added the rice and stirred until they turned opaque with a small white dot in the middle and they were coated evenly with oil. I added warm stock one ladle full at a time, stirring constantly so the rice wouldn't burn. After it reached the creamy consistency I was looking for I pulled it from the stove and spread it out on a pan to cool in the fridge. Doing this allows me to use the risotto all week long. I recommend using a basic vegetable stock until your familiar with the different flavors created by different stocks. I use shrimp because a good bit of my cooking is seafood based. Also different wines effect different stocks. For white fleshed meats such as fish, chicken, or shellfish, use a white wine. For Dark red meats like veal, pork and such, use red wine.
Well after many debates with my chef and finally winning him over. We started to make our own cured meats. Three months ago we started curing a log of pancetta and yesterday I cut a few slabs to take home. I diced it and rendered it down until it was slightly golden. I added diced onions and fresh garlic. After a few minutes I added a handful of mushrooms (shitakes, portabella, and cremini)and sauteed until they were caramelized. I deglazed the pan with white wine and pulled them from the pan. I added butter, some of the already cooked risotto and some more stock. A few minutes of quick sauteing brought it up to temp. Then I added fresh Asagio cheese and prosciutto. A few more flips in the saute pan and I added the mushroom mixture back to the pan. a few stirs and this portion is done.
During the cooking of the pancetta I seared a chicken breast that I had coated with fresh black pepper, sea salt, and thyme and seared it in olive oil. I browned it on each side and placed it in a glass dish. I deglazed the pan with white wine and poured it on top of the chicken so when it finished cooking it would still be moist. I put a few slices of shaved parmesan onto which melted into a golden brown crust on top.
I just sliced the tomatoes, placed a good spoonful of the risotto on top and sliced the chicken. Now a few of you may be wondering a few things like 1: SO MUCH WHITE WINE, and 2: Fresh tomatoes with a hot rice. O_O. Well I love wine so of course I use as much as possible. Normally its only a splash or two tho and in my family we put fresh tomatoes with a good bit of our cooking. I just love the flavor of a fresh, sweet tomato with a good salty risotto. SO YUMMY, well pics will be up as soon as i can get to another computer
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