Mushroom Risotto
When the weather turns cold and the wind begins to howl, nothing warms me up faster than a bowl of creamy risotto. Shockingly, I have never had Risotto until last year! To be honest with you, it was always the last thing I considered ordering because I love pasta so much, but one night at a local Italian place I decided to forgo my usual and try their Mushroom Risotto. It changed my world. From that moment on I knew risotto would...
Pan Seared Polenta with Chicken and Tomato Sauce
Last year I had the opportunity to attend a mushroom event in Dallas where we were provided a cooking demo by Chef Kent Rathburn of Abacus restaurant. My favorite dish of the event was a polenta cake with mushroom ragu. A few weeks after the event I received the recipe for the polenta with mushroom ragu and have made it a few times to great acclaim. While the mushroom ragu is lovely, I love the polenta part of the recipe best of...
Beef Empanadas
When I entertain I like to have a wide variety of foods available to snack on. It keeps things from getting boring and it keeps the palate active. So, when I plan a party of a gathering where little bites will be served I always make something with a Tex-Mex flair. These empanadas are the perfect party food because they are easy to eat, they are filling, they look pretty on a platter, and they taste fantastic! The filling is not too...
Pancetta Risotto Cakes
Do you remember a few months ago when I posted that a recipe I created won a contest and the prize was a trip to San Francisco? At the time I was not able to share the recipe due to the ‘super-secret’ nature of the contest. Well, the contest is over and I am free to share, and share I shall. These are my Pancetta Risotto Cakes and they are among my favorite appetizers to prepare, and consume. They are hearty enough to...
Porchetta
When I was at the FoodBuzz festival back in November I had something that was life-changingly good. It is called porchetta. Porchetta is a pork shoulder with the fat and skin attached. It is slowly cooked so the skin becomes crunchy while the meat becomes ridiculously tender. The skin, attached to the fat cap, is easily removed after the porchetta finishes cooking and I like to chop it into small pieces to garnish the meat. ...
Seared Filet with Mushroom Cream Sauce and a Giveaway!
**UPATE** The winner, as selected by Random.org, was comment 14 – Brad! Congrats to you! It is getting down to crunch time for Christmas and I know I have been getting some last moment gifts together for my friends and family. The folks at Omaha Steaks know how stressful this time of year can be and have offered me the chance to make the season a little tastier give one of my readers a $50 gift card! If you like steak, or you...
