Ham and Pea Risotto

When Michael and I first started dating he bragged about this risotto that he could make. We never got the chance to try out his infamous recipe until a few months after we got married. Let me just say I didn't marry my husband for his culinary skills. He knew that it had ham and saffron but had no basic knowledge of how to actually make a risotto and neither did I at the time. This recipe was developed from that error and many other trials where we ended up eating chicken mcnuggets rather than a well prepared risotto. I was a little put off on trying to make risotto after those instances until I moved up here and saw the absolute abundance of ham and other various pork products. These are a porky people. Anyway the ham here is really delicious I guess it makes sense being a mere 45 minutes from Virginia. So I decided to try once more on the perfect ham risotto with the english twist of peas. I don't know why but ham and peas are super yummy together they compliment each other so well. So here you go I hope you get to try it and don't be afraid if it doesn't work the first time. Learn from your mistakes like I did and maybe you will discover something tasty. 

excuse my photos risotto doesn't photograph well :)

Ingredients

4 Slices of bacon cubed and rendered

4 cups of chicken stock

1 pinch of saffron

1 onion diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup of cured diced ham in 1/2 in pieces

1 1/2 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

1 cup frozen english peas

2 TBS butter

Parmesan cheese for garnish

First render the fat from the bacon and remove cooked bacon to drain on a towel. Remove all but 3 TBS or so of the bacon fat (just enough to coat onions and rice) Brown the ham slightly and set aside with the bacon. Sautee the onions and garlic until translucent and soft then add in the rice. Stir and make sure every grain of rice is coated in fat (add more fat if needed)

In a separate medium sauce pan bring chicken stock to a simmer with the pinch of saffron. 

Once onions and rice are all coated you can deglaze the pan with the white wine. Make sure to keep stirring. Once all the liquid seems to have evaporated you can start ladling in the stock about a half cup at a time stirring in between each addition. Continue this way until rice is tender and the consistency is creamy. Once you get the consistency you desire then add in the peas and the meat that has been set aside. Stir in the butter and heat for about 2 minutes so the peas have time to cook slightly. Top with the cheese and eat. It should be creamy and smooth and absolutely delicious and incredibly indulgent. 

Enjoy!

Krystle

Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a tutorial on how to bake the basic chocolate chip cookie. These cookies come among some of the most requested things for me to bake, not only by my family but often anyone who has tried them. The thing that I don't get is cookies are really easy to make, and also really easy to screw up. If you miss a step or don't mix them long enough you will have a totally different cookie than you would if you mixed it too much or just enough. Mixing the cookies is a big part of cookie perfection, so is baking time for that matter. I feel like cookies are all to easily overbaked and then they turn into little rocks with chocolate in them. That is not good eats for anyone. Also bear in mind that the chocolate you use is going to change the flavor of the cookie tremendously so if you want to up the yum factor a bit try switching up brands and levels of sweetness. I like to use Ghiradelli  and Guittard when I bake cookies. So I hope my few cookie baking tips help you out because when chocolate chip cookies are done right nothing can beat them. NOTHING!

First step is assembling your ingredients. I find it best to have them all laid out so you know you have everything and you don't forget the all important salt or baking soda.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt (I use kosher)
1 cup UNSALTED butter at room temp (very very important)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (not imitation if you are going to make cookies make them taste good)
1 pkg (12 on) chocolate chips ( I substitute 1/3 cup each of semi sweet, milk, and dark chocolate chips)
1 cup walnuts *optional but they do make the cookies better in my opinion.

Next step is all about preparation. You need to preheat your oven to 375' having a hot oven waiting for you is crucial for a crunchy bottomed cookie with a soft tender middle.  Then you need to prepare your cookie sheets you can either use a silpat or cut parchment to the size of your sheet and just place it in no need for extra grease or butter. If you properly prepare your cookie sheet you will have cookies that come off without breaking almost every time.

Then comes the mixing. If you don't have a stand mixer save yourself some heartache and use a hand mixer don't try and cream butter and sugar by hand unless you want to be there all day.

Cream the butter and sugar together until the color changes to a light yellow almost off white color. This means that the butter and sugar are fully incorporated and they won't be grainy to the touch. Once this happens you can add your eggs one at a time lightly beating until incorporated then add in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, soda, and salt and whisk lightly to make sure they are well combined.  Then add in the flour mix to the creamed butter mix one serving spoonful at a time making sure to scrap down the sides of the pan and get it all mixed in. After it is all mixed in the mixture should still be light in color and texture. Then you can add in your chips and walnuts and mix by hand using a rubber spatula as to not break up the delicate morsels of chocolate with the high powered machinery.

Then using a small ice cream scoop portion out 1 dozen on each cookie sheet (this recipe makes aprox. 4-5 dozen cookies.) If you are only making a few then put the remaining dough on plastic wrap and roll into a roll and you can refrigerate or freeze for as long as you need them but they won't last long. You can just slice them as you need them.

Once they are all doled out and in there final resting place put them in the hot oven for 8-10 minutes turning once to assure even cooking. Then take out of the oven let them rest for at least 5 minutes (they usually only make it to about 3 minutes) before eating or transferring to a cooling rack or plate.

I hope this helps the cookie baking dilemmas and I hope you make and eat these cookies because they truly are the best.

Enjoy!
Krystle

Cinci Style Chili

It has recently come to my attention that I have been seriously slacking in the posting on my blog department. I apologize I have been a bit preoccupied, however I have been writing my recipes down so I will complete a little back log and hopefully give you something to read and eat. So in my family there is a tradition of Cinci Style Chili on Christmas Eve. I know it isn't near Christmas but whenever its a little chilly out and I am feeling a little nostalgic I think of this Chili. When I was living in TX it was impossible to get at a restaurant and the frozen was decent but there is nothing like homemade. I have found a restaurant here that serves it and it is super yummy but I decided it would be wise to have my own recipe. This chili isn't a chili you think of when you think of traditional spicy chili. It has more of a Mediterranean  flair with cinnamon and chocolate. It is very savory and for me smells like the holidays.

Ingredients

1 qt cold water
2 lbs ground beef
2 cups crushed tomato
2 yellow onions diced
1 TBS oil (veggie or canola)
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBS dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
2 TBS cider vinegar
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp clove
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt

In a large stock pot sautee the onion and garlic in oil until soft not brown. Add in water and then ground beef. Mix until all the meat is broken up. You want this to be a very fine texture and you aren't browning it you are basically boiling it with the water and spices. Add in all the spices and let cook on medium heat stirring occasionally for 4-6 hours. After about 2-3 hours go and check on it and remove layer of fat/oil that is on the top.

For traditional serving suggestions see below.
 3 way - Spaghetti, Chili, and Cheese.
 4 way- Spaghetti, Chili, Cheese and Onion
 5 way- Spaghetti, Chili, Cheese, Onion, Beans

Coney Dog- Hot dog, Mustard and Chili. YUM.

Hope you enjoy this I surely do. Oh and it keeps well in an airtight container in the freezer for future enjoyment.

Enjoy!
Krystle