Asparagus is my favorite vegetable so I jumped at the chance to try the Asparagus Parsley Pesto Risotto Bake featured in the April issue of Rachael Ray’s magazine. Admittedly, I was a little freaked out by the whole “risotto bake” part of the title. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was going to work, but my curiosity at testing out the baking capabilities of my new Target Chefmate Dutch Oven won out over my apprehensions. Not to mention, that as much as I love risotto, it can be a bit labor intensive stirring a hot pot of rice continuously for 20-30 minutes. In fact, I’ve been known to read a book in order to combat culinary boredom during that step.

Anyway, the dish ended up having a decidedly “Spring-like” feel, taste, and look and I really loved that the asparagus stayed crisp and turned a gorgeous shade of green after its brief baking time. Unfortunately, the first evening that I ate it I really wasn’t happy with the outcome. I felt that something was missing, but then I ate leftovers of the dish on two consecutive days and it was 3000 times better. In fact, I would actually go so far as to categorize it as delicious! Upon sitting overnight the lemon and parsley pesto really had a chance to flavor the dish to a whole new level that just wasn’t there during the initial serving. To remedy this issue, next time I plan to bake the Arborio rice completely in chicken stock (substituting extra stock for water) and also adding lemon juice, white wine, and extra zest to the dish as well. Practice makes perfect…

Onions Again	Toasty Rice
Add the Stock	Parsley, Pine Nuts, Parmesan, and Lemon
Add Cheese & Asparagus, Bake Again	Spring Has Sprung

I find it fascinating that as much as I hate cutting and working with raw chicken breasts, I really enjoy making meatballs. Probably because it’s the one time that I actually enjoy getting messy and I have lots of good childhood memories of making meatballs with my mom. Although, since she dislikes touching raw meat as much as I do, I’m sure she was simply grateful that I was naive enough to think that rolling out all of those little balls was fun.  Anyway, I made Rachael Ray’s Double Chicken Dumpling Soup the other day. Sorry Rachael I refuse to use the term “stoup” — although I’m sure it will end up in the dictionary eventually. Fortunately, as odd as I sometimes find Rachael’s terminology, I truly loved the flavor of the nutmeg and Parmesan spiced chicken meatballs, especially when combined with one of my absolute favorite things in the whole world - potato gnocchi.  I’m a total sucker for a hearty soup so this will definitely make an appearance on my dinner table again.

Eat the Rainbow	Get Messy!
Simmer	Meatballs First

We’re obviously all more than aware that I can cook, but I bet you didn’t know that CK can also hold his own in the kitchen. The below dish is actually a replication of the first meal that Chris ever made for me. We both had a bit of a crush on Giada de Laurentis and spent many lazy Sundays watching the Food Network together, so it was only appropriate that he made a recipe from her show. This dish of farfalle pasta topped with mushrooms, peas, and freshly grated cheese is very hearty. You can also vary the flavor of the meal by using different types of sausage. In the past we’ve used Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage, but in the below instance we bought Spicy Italian Sausage. I actually prefer the spicy version as it gives the dish an unexpected “eyebrow raising” tang.

Grocery Shop	Remove From Casings
Brown	Ask Erin to Assist
Boil	Bake the “Fake Bread” in the Oven
Set Sausage Aside	Add More Olive Oil
Saute Mushrooms	Pour in Peas
Combine	Re-add the Sausage
Stir in the Pasta	More Olive Oil
Top With Parmesan	Seriously Impress Your Girlfriend

It’s fairly obvious from the selection of recipes I’ve featured so far on erincooks.com that I am a Food Network addict. When I was living on my own after college for the first time I was made thoroughly aware of the fact that I was extremely deficient in the cooking department. After living on Pasta Roni and Skillet Sensations for a few weeks I’d had enough. One of the first actual meals I cooked was a Spinach Lasagna that I found on Kraftfoods.com. I vividly remember being incredibly proud of myself for putting together this dish on my own. I had always enjoyed baking cookies or cheesecake, but I’d really never tried to make dinner. Thanks to one good kitchen experience I had the courage to keep trying my hand at new recipes and the Food Network became my constant inspiration, especially Everyday Italian. I think I could eat pasta for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if left to my own devices. Thankfully I do have some modicum of self-control. Anyway, Giada’s Chicken Ragu recipe is super easy, although I’ll caution that I’d probably just use diced boneless, skinless chicken breasts next time and not boneless chicken thighs. Personally, I wasn’t a big fan of the chicken thighs (I hate dark meat). However, I am a big fan of garlic, cheese, and red sauce. I use Pastene Kitchen Ready Tomatoes as a base and then add garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, and just a little brown sugar (like a tablespoon). Trust me, it’s delicious!

Shallots, Thighs, Linguine, & Rosemary	Chopped & Minced
Cook Until Golden (Add Shallots & Garlic)	Wine
Add Rosemary & Mix	Pour in the Marinara
Meanwhile, Boil	Strain
Simmer	Combine

Garnish & Serve

Risotto is my second favorite dish to make (behind any kind of soup). What I love about risotto is that you can just toss in fun combinations of veggies, handfuls of grated cheese, and dinner is done (well after you stir it until your arm is ready to fall off, but personally I can use the upper body exercise). In this particular instance I used zucchini, summer squash, and mushrooms. My basic risotto recipe is from the Williams-Sonoma Complete Pasta Cookbook but you could also use this one and vary the vegetables.

Slice, Dice & Chop	Gather
Pat Dry, Salt & Pepper	Saute the Onion in Olive Oil
Zucchini, Squash & Mushrooms	Arborio Rice & Wine
Add Stock Slowly	Stir, Stir, Stir, Stir, Stir…
Combine Garlic & Veggies	Season
Stir, Stir, Stir, Stir, Stir…	Set Aside
5 Minutes on Each Side	Add Veggies (Stir…)
Rest	CHEESE!
Stir (One Last Time)	Fall Risotto & Turkey Cutlets