Tag: #comfortfood

A Risotto Sighting

On By Leslie Byars RegisterIn Buy the Book, mains, sides, The Recipes

I don’t write much about my husband, Jon—and it’s not because there’s not a lot to tell. He’s a very colorful character. He is witty, clever, and always the life of the party—which is ideal since I like to throw parties.

He is also one of the biggest pranksters I’ve ever met. For instance last weekend we went to watch football and eat dinner at a friend’s house. As we were leaving (after several Blantons), Jon decided it would be funny to hide ALL of our friend’s toilet paper. We both receive a text from our friend at 7:54 a.m. No need to say more. You get the idea now. Meet my 55-year-old husband! (This is also a good way to see if he is really reading my blog like he says he is. I’ll report back.)

So, I know you are wondering what this has to do with risotto. Well, I’m getting to that. Hang on. It gets better.

The rest of my story happened in the historic city of Venice, Italy.
Everyone needs to visit Venice at least once in their lifetime.

One of my favorite risotto memories happened at the original Harry’s Bar in Venice. I’ve always been enamored with this nostalgic watering hole and eatery. Several years ago, we were in Venice and I insisted that we go there for dinner. I had eaten at the Harry’s Bar in Florence, but this is the original one and it was on my bucket list.

For any of you that may not have been there, this restaurant is tiny, maybe ten tables—max! It’s that small. We were seated upstairs at a table for two. My chair was touching the chair behind me from the next table. It was a tight squeeze.

“It must be the small-town girl in me coming out, but I always love a good sighting.”

I look over my shoulder, and my elbow is one inch from Will Ferrell’s. Jon looks at me and says, “If Will Ferrell poots, we will be the first to know.” (slightly paraphrased)

So, if you have any appetite left after that, let’s make risotto!

The first step when making risotto is having the correct type of rice. For these recipes you will need an Italian shortgrain rice called Arborio rice, available at most grocery stores.

When preparing risotto for company I like to pre chop the ingredients and place them in cute little bowls near the stove. That way during the party, I can ask guests to help me throw this recipe together. It’s the perfect job for the guest who insists to plant himself in the middle of your perfect cooking triangle.

“Risotto is a fancy Italian word for rice cooked slowly in broth. It sounds easy already.”

I love ordering risotto at Harry’s. It’s a big deal when it comes to the table—it is “presented” and then poured into its own serving dish, and it’s delicious. When I make it at home, I like to follow the basic recipe from Harry’s cookbook and then add my own touches to change it up. It makes a wonderful side dish to go with any meat and stands alone as a vegetarian main course. I once made it for a dinner party of 22! And, believe it or not, it warms up nicely in the microwave and freezes well too.

All you will need is a little time.

Risotto Primavera

Serves 6 to 8

¼ cup olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 zucchini, cut into ¼-inch pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch pieces

8 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into ½-inch slices

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Basic Parmesan Risotto recipe (see recipe below)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add garlic and remaining ingredients, cooking until tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. This can be done in advance and frozen.

These perfectly cooked vegetables can also be added to any pasta or used as an omelet filling.

Midway through cooking the Basic Parmesan Risotto recipe, add half of the cooked vegetables, and continue recipe as instructed. (The extra vegetables can be frozen for another use.)

There are many variations of vegetable risotto. So don’t be afraid to experiment with what is in season. Sometimes I use only a variety of mushrooms, which pairs nicely with beef.

Basic Parmesan Risotto

Serves 6 to 8

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, minced

1 ½ cups Arborio rice, short-grain

½ cup white wine

5 to 6 cups chicken broth, warmed

2 tablespoons butter

¾ cup Parmesan cheese

Heat oil to medium-high. Sauté garlic, onions, and rice until tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine, then gradually add chicken broth, 1 cup at a time, until each cup is evaporated. (This will take about 15 to 20 minutes.)

Stir in butter and cheese, and serve immediately.

Top with additional Parmesan if desired.

Yields 6-8 Servings

Basic Parmesan Risotto
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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 1 ½ cups Arborio rice, short-grain
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 5 to 6 cups chicken broth, warmed
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ¾ cup Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat oil to medium-high.
  2. Sauté garlic, onions, and rice until tender, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add wine, then gradually add chicken broth, 1 cup at a time, until each cup is evaporated. (This will take about 15 to 20 minutes.)
  4. Stir in butter and cheese, and serve immediately.
  5. Top with additional Parmesan if desired.
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Don’t be afraid to make risotto. It comes together easily.
Until next time. Ciao!

Breakfast Lessons

On By Leslie Byars RegisterIn breads & pastas, brunch, desserts6 Comments

‘Trailer for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents….’

When I was in high school, I woke up every Sunday morning to Roger Miller’s voice singing King of the Road throughout the house on my dad’s stereo. He thought it was funny to wake my sister and me up for church that way. His thoughts were similar to the old proverb “If you’re going to hoot with the owls at night, you better be able to soar with the eagles in the morning.”

It was always worth getting out of bed, because that was Dad’s day to cook breakfast.

My dad could give breakfast lessons. He’s got it down to a science.

His specialty is made-to-order eggs. He can make them any style. He adds a little hot sauce before serving. The order in which you wake up is the order in which you are served!

Omelets to order, no problem! This silly picture was taken during an Iron Bowl weekend. Dad normally doesn’t cook breakfast in a Bear Bryant hat!

For pancakes, he’s got several different batters he likes, but the secret step is adding melted butter to the batter before cooking them. No butter is needed with the syrup when you do that.

And, he is particular about his biscuits too. He likes them extra crispy and brown. He hollows out part of the filling to make them a skinny biscuit. He was ahead of his time.

He always warms the plates and syrup in the microwave. He knows exactly how many seconds per plate. Thank goodness he has my mother to assist with all of these steps.

The extras, well, he’s got that figured out too. He spends about 15 minutes (total) driving all over town, to the hospital cafeteria, hotel coffee shop, and donut shop picking up his favorites from of all of these spots (bacon, sausage, donut holes, biscuits…) that are cooked and ready to serve. It’s a spread—guaranteed to hold you over for a few hours!

The first recipe I want to share is from my grandmother, better known as Mama Lil. I have her recipe box, and this one is in there. My grandfather’s name was Jesse, and she named these Hungry Jess Pancakes. They were always delicious, but I tweaked them to be even better! Instead of the oil, I do Dad’s melted butter trick. And I lightened the salt a tad (even though she survived 97 years on a highly salted diet). They will not disappoint and wonderful for dinner too on a cold, winter night!
Seeing Mama Lil’s handwriting is so comforting.

Hungry Jess Pancakes

Makes 10 pancakes

2 eggs

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons melted butter

Vegetable oil

Crack eggs into the bowl of a mixer; beat well. Add buttermilk, and mix until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Add to the buttermilk mixture; beat well. Add the melted butter. Set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet to medium to medium-high. Evenly coat the bottom of the skillet with vegetable oil. (I like to brush the vegetable oil onto the skillet with a basting brush.)

With a 1/3 dry measuring cup, pour batter into the skillet, making 3 pancakes at a time until batter is gone.

Keep in a warm oven on a baking sheet until remaining are cooked. Serve with warm maple syrup.

Garnish with fresh berries.

Yields 10 pancakes

Hungry Jess Pancakes
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Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • Vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Crack eggs into the bowl of a mixer; beat well. Add buttermilk, and mix until thoroughly combined.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Add to the buttermilk mixture; beat well. Add the melted butter. Set aside.
  3. Heat a large nonstick skillet to medium to medium-high. Evenly coat the bottom of the skillet with vegetable oil. (I like to brush the vegetable oil onto the skillet with a basting brush.)
  4. With a 1/3 dry measuring cup, pour batter into the skillet, making 3 pancakes at a time until batter is gone.
  5. Keep in a warm oven on a baking sheet until remaining are cooked. Serve with warm maple syrup.
  6. Garnish with fresh berries.
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Plates are by Golden Rabbit, $16 each. Retro alarm clock, $18. Enjoy Life glass, $12, all from The Art of Simple, Seaside, Florida; 850/231-6748, theartofsimple.com. The watering can is from Shoppe, Birmingham, Alabama; 205/224-4450, shoppebham.com
Serve this for breakfast, brunch, or even dessert. It transports well and makes a wonderful gift. Thanks, Cindy, for sharing your mother’s special recipe.

Judy Bishop’s Banana Bread

Makes 2 (8 ½ x 5-inch) loaves

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 ¾ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

4 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

1 ½ cups walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to shortening mixture, and mix thoroughly. Add buttermilk and bananas. Continue mixing until combined. Stir in walnuts.

Bake for 50 minutes.

Learn from Leslie: The nuts land where they land in the baking process. If this bothers you, then pulse the walnuts in a food processor and then add to the batter. I personally like the random, toasted pieces of walnuts throughout the bread.

I keep the knife in the pan for easy cutting access! Who could resist?
I love the combination of bacon and cheese grits. Why not just make it happen from the get-go? These grits are often requested as the “plain” grits at my house. My family prefers these over a baked grits casserole. These are also tasty under a pork chop.

Quick Creamy Cheese Grits with Brown Sugar Bacon “Spoons”

Makes 5 cups

4 ½ cups water

1 cup grits

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

6 to 8 slices American cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown Sugar Bacon “Spoons”:

6 slices of bacon, cut in half 

1/4 cup light brown sugar

 Coarsley ground black pepper

Leslie Likes: Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray a cooling rack on both sides with cooking spray.  Place rack onto baking sheet. Cut bacon slices in half, and position on rack. Sprinkle with brown sugar and black pepper.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes until bacon is done. Loosen from rack, and allow to cool completely. These can be made ahead. 

Quick Creamy Cheese Grits:

Bring water and salt to a boil; add grits, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until thickened. Add butter, cheese, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook until thick and creamy. Remove from burner, and cover.

My first attempt at making real spoon shapes. Unfortunately, they were too flimsy to be used as dippers after they were baked. But kinda cute huh?
Start every day with a good breakfast and a smile on your face! Besides, don’t they call it the “free” meal?
I would love to hear from you. Don’t be shy about making comments or asking questions. And, if you have a family recipe that you think is unique and delicious, please send it in. I would love to try it! Until next week, Leslie