Butternut squash n chicken livers risotto, perfect for the fall

It's the flavors and the colors of butternut squash that make it so well-suited and comforting for the fall season.

I love squash and chicken livers, so naturally, when Michele suggested to make this risotto dish, I was ecstatic. Wolfgang Puck made a similiar recipe, Pumpkin Risotto, but without the chicken livers and king oyster mushrooms.

Ingredients
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 bunch of king oyster mushrooms
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
About 6 cups of hot chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 butternut squash, one half baked in the oven and then pureed; the other half, peeled, cut into small dice, and Sauteed in a little oil and butter until tender
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup of fresh chicken livers
2 eggs

bread crumbs

Directions

Take the diced half of butternut squash and saute them in butter, salt and pepper in a saucepan.

Set aside. In a dutch oven, or a medium sized saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring continuously, just until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Next, add the sliced king mushrooms, cook until softened. Add arborio rice and continue to stir, using a wooden spoon, to coat the rice with the oil.

Add white wine and continue cooking, stirring often, until it has been absorbed by the rice. Pour in enough chicken stock to cover the rice completely, about 3 cups, and continue to cook, stirring often, until all the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, prepare the chicken livers. Rinse the chicken livers ( about 5 - 6) in water. put in a small bowl and pour some white wine over it, let the livers soak for about 10 minutes. Pat the livers dry. In another small bowl, beat 2 eggs, and sprinkle in salt and pepper. Dip chicken liver in the egg, coat bread crumbs. In a pan with vegetable oil, gently fry the chicken livers. Drain on paper towl, set aside.

Going back to the risotto, pour in 1 cup more of the remaining stock and stir and cook until it has been absorbed. Repeat with 1 more cup. Add the remaining cup and cook, stirring, until the rice is al dente, tender but still very chewy, and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Stir in the pumpkin puree and the diced pumpkin and reduce the heat to very low so that the risotto doesn't simmer anymore. Stir in the Parmesan and butter to give the risotto a nice, creamy finish. Spoon, serve immediately into shallow serving bowls.

Buon Appetito!

Mussels, scallops in white wine and frites

We have to admit, although we are tired of watching Bobby Flay throw red and green things in a blender, he does showcase "fun" foods. Despite our complaints about Bobby Flay being a businessman vs an innovative chef, I have to admit that his throwdown for mussels and frites really made us want to cook it at home.

Thursday evening rolled by and I was having a bad day. Michele knows the best way to cheer me up is through food...so in order to stop me from buying a dozen of donuts, he suggested to cook mussels and frites for me the next evening for dinner.

We really love cooking and enjoying a completely relaxed Friday night at home. Michele wanted to be creative so he added scallops to the mussels, and we were in luck- the scallops looked gorgeous at the grocery store that day. We also wanted to add some veggies since we our vacation diet lacked vegetables, so he added yellow and orange peppers as well.

The challenge was making perfect frites. Our pot was overcrowded with sliced potatoes that it took too long to fry, so the frites tasted like it soaked up way too much vegetable oil. But I sprinkled the frites with some salt and cayenne pepper and it was delicious! I think I'm addicted to making homemade fries now!

A bit of Italy in Texas

An 1 hour and half road trip brought us to Texas Hill Country, where there are a few wineries and vineyards. Honestly it's a hit or miss with Texas vineyard hopping, some were good, some were OK, but all in all, it was fun to enjoy the countryside and sip on reds and whites.

We discovered a bit of Italy at Driftwood, TX, at the Manola Estate Winery, which is a southern Italian-inspired vineyard and winery that is located on the slopes of Onion Creek. The climate here is supposed to echo that in Southern Italy and Sicily, for grape vines to soak up warm sun and cool evening breezes.

The estate is built to to have a Tuscany flair. The look is a bit too fabricated and European replica, ( but what in America isnt!?) but it's still cute. We enjoyed a relaxed afternoon there, had dinner at their overly busy trattoria, and bought some cases of wine home.

Can't wait to open those bottles of reds at our new home, with new Texas friends!

Bone with a hole...Rioja Ossobuco for two

Feeling for something earthy and heavy on a chilly weekend? How about a simplified Ossobuco?

Our Rioja Osso Buco, was inspired by Tyler Florence's Amarone Osso Buco Pot roast. We used a Spanish red: Rioga wine instead of Amarone. The Rioga was $10, a much better deal for cooking instead of a $60 Amarone =) Our version is much simplier and easier than Tyler Florence's version, but suited better for two. Michele is a big fan of Tyler Florence's recipes. He says that his recipes are not so complicated and are always very tasty.

We used the remaining half bottle of wine for risotto, our Risotto San Martino. We also didn't use the dutch oven, and used a cooking pot and transferred to a baking dish later on.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pieces veal shank for osso bucco
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 celery stalk, diced
1 carrots, diced
3 chopped garlic
one bunch of parsley
1/2 bottle Rioga wine ( we paired dinner with the other half)
1 can of diced tomatoes

Preparation:

Put flour in a large shallow platter and season it with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Taste the flour to make sure the seasoning is just right. Once it coats the veal it is harder to adjust the seasoning. Dredge the veal shank in the seasoned flour and then tap off the excess (extra flour will burn and make the dish off-tasting).

Heat a large pot over medium heat, with the olive oil and also butter. Slightly whirl the butter around for it to melt. Sear the veal shanks, turning carefully with tongs, until all sides are a rich brown caramel color. Remove the browned veal shanks to a side plate, but leave the leftover sauce at the bottom of the pot.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using the same pot, saute the onion, celery, carrots and parsley over medium heat. Cook the vegetables down until they turn to brighter colors and develop a deep, rich aroma.

Season with salt and pepper; add a little oil if needed. Nestle the veal shanks back in the pot. Pour in the wine and let it simmer down for 20 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half, because that's how it gives it flavor, by the wine reduction.

Add the can of tomatoes and stir everything together, and simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes. Transfer the entire ingredients in the pot into a baking dish. Braise for 1 hour, with turning the meat every 30 minutes.

The sauce should be thick and the veal tender and nearly falling off the bone.

The meat was simply superb...we devoured the entire shank and sucked the marrow gone!