Confession time: until I made this creamy risotto dish I’d never purchased or even used a vanilla bean before. I know — total baking blasphemy! Last month, after I read Amanda Hesser’s book, Cooking for Mr. Latte, I really wanted to bake the Vanilla Bean Loaves. Especially since they were based on a recipe from the High-Rise Bread Company right here in Cambridge. Unfortunately, the sticker shock of purchasing all of the vanilla beans needed to make something that I might not even like bordered on the ridiculous. So back on the shelf went those little dainty Whole Foods bottles, and off I went to find cheaper treasures, like Maple Wallaby Yogurts.

Inevitably though, as chance would have it, I became mesmerized with a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that called for the simple addition of a vanilla bean. This caused me to completely cave to my inner need for gourmet greed. A quick stop by Williams-Sonoma on my way home was all it took. Afterwards, I felt strangely satisfied knowing that my tiny vial containing two skinny black pods would soon become a “secret ingredient” in that evening’s dinner. The bean didn’t let me down. The hint of vanilla played off the sweetness of the squash nicely. I was a little worried that it might taste too much like rice pudding, but that definitely wasn’t the case. In the end I actually cooked some spicy turkey sausage and crumbled it into the risotto for a little extra protein, and I absolutely loved being able to see the small dots of fragrant vanilla decorating the squash and rice.

Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto (Originally published by Giada De Laurentiis)

4 cups vegetable broth (Note: I used low sodium chicken broth)
1 large vanilla bean
3 cups peeled cubed (1-inch wide) butternut squash, about 12 ounces
2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon
3/4 cups finely chopped onion (from 1 onion)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives (Note: I used thyme)

In a medium saucepan, warm the broth over medium-high heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add them, and the bean, to the broth. When the broth comes to a simmer reduce the heat to low. Add the butternut squash to the simmering broth and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. (Note: I actually cooked my squash cubes for about 15 minutes. It took quite a while for them to become tender.) Using a slotted spoon remove the butternut squash to a side dish. Turn the heat on the broth down to very low and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition to of the broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Discard the vanilla bean. Turn off the heat. Gently stir in the butternut squash, Parmesan, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and salt. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chives (Note: or thyme). Serve immediately.

Le Creuset has had a big sale going on at amazon.com for a while now and it made me wonder if perhaps, just maybe, that might possibly mean they’re going to introduce a new color. And wouldn’t it be a lovely thing if that meant they finally released a pink version of their dutch oven for Spring?! I’d die and go straight to pastel heaven if that happened. Come on Le Creuset! Make a girl’s dreams come true! My KitchenAid needs a friend.

Everyone’s favorite Food Network hottie, Giada De Laurentiis, graces the cover of the latest Crate and Barrel catalog that arrived in my mailbox this week. She’s rolling out speciality oils and spices and grinning all the way to the bank. I poke fun now, but I’m a total celebrity chef junkie so no doubt a bottle of that oil will inevitably find its way into my kitchen. I truly don’t have any self-control whatsoever.

That same catalog got me ridiculously over excited about a so-called cookware stand that could potentially cure the mess that is my pot and pan cupboard. Then I flipped out over a set of pristine bowls printed with fresh herbs that look so real I did a double take. In addition, these tomato and lettuce dish towels printed in vibrant red and green would be the perfect purchase for any cook in need of a little winter cheer. That means me. I looked like a drowned rat by the time I got home last night after a day of traipsing to and from the office in torrential downpours.

As 2007 quickly ticks down to 2008, I sit in my pajamas at 4 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon listening to football commentators babbling on the TV and preparing for more holiday snow to cover the ground. It seemed like an appropriate time to take a look back at what I’ve cooked this year. Outlined below are some of my favorites.

During my nostalgic trip down memory lane I noticed that the images of these dishes actually illustrate our move back to Cambridge in June. The black granite countertops of our old kitchen are replaced by the light stone countertops and our infamous free Red Sox World Series table from Jordan’s Furniture.

In addition, I remember bringing my silly Butterfly Cake to Easter Dinner with Chris’s family and the rave reviews that accompanied the consumption of the Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake I made for his grandmother’s birthday. We moved into our new apartment and celebrated by scouring our brand new oven when a glass dish full of homemade macaroni and cheese exploded. I baked scones, attempting to recreate the amazing breakfast treats Chris and I ate at an inn in Vermont, and I tried to give everyone in his office sugar shock with weekly deliveries of whoopie pies and cookies. We redesigned Erin Cooks and I finally let my guard down and shared with you all of my favorite party recipes including the top secret artichoke dip. Frankly I’m not sure how or if my hips and thighs will survive 2008, but rest assured I’m not intending to stop cooking anytime soon.

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!
<3 Erin

January - Sweet Potato Biscuit Makeover
February - Soup Not a “Stoup”
March - Nutella Knows Best
April - Butterfly in the Sky
May - Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
June - When Recipes Attack
July - Erin and the Secret of the Scones
August - My Big Fat Fluffy Brownies
September - Edible Bribes
October - Haunted House in a Box
November - Toll House Pie Redux
December - Super Top Secret Artichoke Dip (Begrudgingly) Revealed

Just a moment ago I was looking up the recipe for Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Pistachio Fudge online and I came across the actual clip of her making it on YouTube. So I sat through it thoroughly enjoying Nigella in all her glory of shiny black curls and smoldering looks when it dawned on me that I’d never added any butter to my mixture when I made it for the party. Had I been so distracted by Texas Spice’s presence in the kitchen that I’d left out an ingredient? Then I checked the Food Network website and discovered that it didn’t mention butter at all in the recipe. I should have used the BBC website. At least they got it right.

My fudge came out just as sickeningly sweet as you can imagine a gigantic pot of melted chocolate and condensed milk would be, even without the small addition of butter, but it totally annoys me that it was left out. That seems to happen quite frequently actually. What you see on the cooking shows isn’t always duplicated in the recipes they provide to the public. Smarten up copy editors! Anyway, one piece of this decadent fudge will completely wreck you and probably make your dentist shutter in horror, but it will be worth it. After all, Christmas comes but once a year and obviously this gives us free reign to be complete and utter gluttons. Note: The images below are a doubled version of the recipe which I poured into a 9” by 13” pan. I also used half dark, and half milk chocolate.

A Lot of Chopped Chocolate	Serious Nutcracking
Melt	Pour, Smooth, & Chill
Give Them a Toothache

Chocolate Pistachio Fudge (Originally published by Nigella Lawson)

12 ounces 70 percent dark chocolate, chopped or 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
Pinch salt
1 cup shelled pistachios

Melt the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter, and salt in a heavy based pan on a low heat.
Put the nuts into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin, until broken up into both big and little pieces.
Add the nuts to the melted chocolate and condensed milk and stir well to mix.
Pour this mixture into a 9-inch square foil tray, smoothing the top.

Let the fudge cool and then refrigerate until set. You can then cut into small pieces approximately 3/4 by 1 3/4 inches or cutting 8 by 8 lines in the tin to give 64 pieces.

Once cut you can keep it in the freezer, no need to thaw just eat straight away.

I despise reading commentary on women’s weight. People are now referring to curvy Nigela Lawson as a “porker.” Honestly, it’s bad enough that they hide her in that ridiculous jean jacket and black skirt in almost every episode. Sort of like how they used to stuff Carnie Wilson behind things like pianos and rocks in all of those Wilson Phillips music videos because she was heavier than her two skinny counterparts. Nigella’s husband apparently enjoys her body thoroughly so as long as she’s cool with curves and caramel croissants — who cares! If anything, I think she should show them off more and ditch those cardigans.

Zane Lamprey cracks me up. He’s like the frat boy big brother I always wished I’d had. Zane and I were first introduced last fall when my boyfriend and I finally purchased our first HDTV. As many of you are aware, once you have HDTV you’ll pretty much watch anything in high definition from The Secret Life of Garden Gnomes to Paint By Numbers with Bob Vila — as long as it’s in crystal clear HD you’ll tune in. MOJO is an HD only channel that our cable company offers. It airs a ton of extremely random programming including a hilarious drinking centric show called Three Sheets.

Three Sheets is essentially Zane Lamprey doing a boozed up travelogue. His job, as he likes to describe it, “Is to drink.” I love to giggle along to his shenanigans with a companionable glass of wine in hand. One of my favorite episodes aired recently and it involved a trip to Japan and the impressive consumption of what appeared to be gallons of Sake.

Not only is Zane a sure thing TiVo season pass on Mojo, but he’s also just premiered a brand new show on The Food Network called Have Fork Will Travel. The episode I caught involved Zane’s adventures in Marseilles, France. He chatted up the locals, tried some traditional bouillabaisse, ate six pounds of local cheese, and drank a lot of wine. I thoroughly enjoyed his slightly more sober commentary, even if I did miss seeing the traditional “Morning After: Zane’s Got a Hangover” scenes. I think I may have a bit of a crush on the dopey dude, but in between the debauchery and sarcasm are actual quality shows with intriguing locations and little known facts to wow your friends with.

(Originally posted on the Well Fed Network’s blog Edible TV)