[Food Series] Ginger Leek Risotto with Rosemary Prime Strip Steak

The first time I had risotto, my husband and I were traveling in the south of France, of all places. I was wearing a yummy chocolate-colored sweater that I had purchased the week before, as we made our way, small shop window to small shop window, through the winding cobblestone streets of Paris. For most of my adult life, I have been intimidated by risotto, for no apparent reason, until one day last year when I was standing in my mom's kitchen watching her make it and I said, "that's it?!" "Yes," she replied and now I always have arborio rice stocked in my pantry. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of Arborio Rice
2 Leeks
1/2 cup chopped Brown Onion
1 inch piece fresh grated Ginger
1 clove of Garlic
1 tablespoon Lemon Zest
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 tablespoon fresh Rosemary
1 cup Dry White Wine
2 1/4 cups Chicken Stock
2 1/4 cups Beef Stock
1/2 cup grated Goat Milk Gouda
1/2 cup grated Sharp Cheddar
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 6oz Prime New York Strip Steaks
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a medium size sauce pan, combine your white wine, chicken stock and beef stock and set it on the back burner on low heat to keep it warm. Slice your leeks, finely dice your onions and grate the garlic and ginger, then toss them in a deep pan (or a dutch oven with the lid on) on medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute them for about 5 minutes. Add to the pot the arborio rice and saute for another 5 minutes until the edges of the rice are translucent. Then, add just enough of the warm wine and stock mixture to cover the rice and reduce the heat of the risotto to low. Make sure to stir your risotto frequently and each time the wine and stock mixture has absorbed fully into the rice add more just to cover the top of the rice. Repeat this process until the wine and stock mixture is gone! This usually takes about 45 minutes. You can use this time to grate your cheese, zest and juice the lemon and preheat your broiler. To prepare your strip steaks, sprinkle them lightly with salt and pepper and freshly chopped rosemary. Place the steaks in the broiler and cook for 5 minutes (our steaks were about an inch and a half thick) on each side for a perfect medium rare. When all of your wine and stock has been absorbed into the risotto toss in your gouda and cheddar cheeses, lemon juice and lemon zest and simmer for just a minute, then serve and enjoy!

[Food Series] Double Ginger Lemon Cupcakes with Cocoa Glaze

After a relaxing day of picnicking, our almost three year old decided she wanted cupcakes. Let me preface this by stating that I am not a baker. I dabble, but we don't do a lot of sweets in our house in general, so I racked my brain to come up with something comprised of ingredients we already had at home. This is one of my favorite ways to cook anything! I call them my improvised kitchen compositions and they are my babies. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cupcake
1 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Ground Ginger
1 1/2 ripe Bananas
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
2 Eggs
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Half & Half
Zest of 2 Lemons
Juice of 1 Lemon

Cocoa Glaze
2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
2 tablespoons Honey

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, ground ginger, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl mix the brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract, half & half, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mash the banana and put it in with the other wet ingredients, then slowly blend your wet and dry ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Carefully pour your cupcake batter into a non stick cupcake pan making sure to only fill each each about three quarters of the way. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. Try the toothpick trick, stick a toothpick through the center of a cupcake, if it comes out clean, they are done! To make the Cocoa Glaze, simply wisk the cocoa powder, lemon juice and honey completely , then drizzle on top of the cooled cupcakes. Enjoy!

[Food Series] Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

Our family just recently started receiving our produce through a community supported agriculture (CSA) delivery service. Everything is locally grown, seasonal, organic and delivered to our doorstep. When I open my front door, once a week, and our box of goodies is sitting there, it's almost like I won the lottery and can't wait to open it up to see what we've won! This week was a ton of butternut squash, so I decided to make soup! This is a seriously healthy, nutritious and hearty meal, perfect for a cozy, winter family dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 lbs Butternut Squash
1 tablespoon ground Ginger
3 Bay Leaves
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 15oz can of low sodium organic garbanzo beans
4 cups water
Pepper
1 tablespoon Pine Nuts
1 Avocado

This recipe is seriously easy!! First peel and remove the seeds from the butternut squash, then cut into one inch cubes. Throw everything (except for the pine nuts and avocado) into a soup pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and let it simmer. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread out the pine nuts on a lined baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 3 minutes, making sure to watch them closely so they don't scorch. Thinly slice the avocado. When the butternut squash is easily mashable with a fork (approximately 20-30 minutes), use a hand held immersion blender to puree the soup, directly in the pot. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with avocado slices and pine nuts and devour! I served this up with leeks in olive oil. Heavenly.

[Food Series] Ginger Salmon En Croute

You know when you suddenly find yourself in the middle of an impromptu dinner party for 6 and you decide to make something that was barely a thought which only the second before flew into your head?! Well, I found myself doing just that a couple of weeks ago. In the middle of grating some ginger and seasoning up some salmon for my pop up guests, I turned to my mom and said, "How about I do some sort of puff pastry salmon?" "Like an En Croute?" she replied and I just looked back at her confused and said, "Sure!" (whatever that means!) Well, whatever it meant, it was a big hit! And, it was still pretty delicious when I ate it cold, for lunch the next day! Enjoy!

Ingredients
6 Salmon Fillets
3 tablespoons freshly grated Ginger
6 Green Onions
2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
Salt and Pepper
Phyllo Dough
3 tablespoons Butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and set your butter in a bowl, on the stove top to melt. Peel and finely grate the ginger and split the green onions in half, length-wise. Place (approximately) 8 sheets of the phyllo dough at the bottom of your baking dish and brush the top layer with melted butter. In a small bowl, mix together the salt pepper, sesame oil and ginger. Place 3 salmon fillets on top of your buttered phyllo dough, then brush the salmon with your ginger mixture and a little butter. Lay three of the green onions on top of the salmon, then cover the salmon with 8 more sheets of phyllo dough. Brush the top of the phyllo with more butter. Delicately fold up the edges to seal the salmon in the package. Repeat this process for the remaining 3 salmon fillets, then place both of your neat little packages into the oven for 15 minutes and serve pipping hot!