Recipes for week of January 17 2009

I have been looking at these two recipes for quite some time, I am not sure most people enjoy risottos as much I do.
I sure hope you guys will enjoy this dish. I love risottos because you can have one delicious meal in one dish just add a salad and you are done. Here at home we love seafood risottos and also sausage and spinach so this is a new one for my list.
HMMMMMMMMMM…….. I LOVE POACHED PEARS usually I make it with Port wine and I serve it with pistachio gelato or vanilla ice cream, This one caught my attention when I saw the picture on page 106. Sounds sooooo good, served warm on a cold winter night.
Bom apetite!!!

Ingrid


Asparagus – Wild Mushroom Risotto with Parmesan Pg. 76

Ingredients
2 tsps Olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups sliced wild mushrooms (any combination of porcini, cremini, shitake, chanterelle, oyster, etc)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 cup Arborio (Short grain) rice
2 ½ to 3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth or more if needed
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (no need to thaw) asparagus spears 91-inch pieces)
½ cup freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley

1 – Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring a few times, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and cook for 1 minute, untill fragant. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until translucent and coated with the oil, about 1 minute. Add a cup of the broth and the asparagus and let simmer, stirring, until liquid is almost entirely absorbed. Continue adding broth in ½ cup measurements, waiting until the liquid is almost entirely absorbed before adding the next ½ cup, until the rice is tender (about 20 minutes from start to finish).

2 stir the parmesan and cook until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the risotto into warm bowls. Top it with parsley and serve it immediately.

Orange Poached Pears with Fudge Sauce Pg. 294

Ingredients

1 cup Orange juice
1 orange, left unpeeled and cut into 14 inch thick rounds
¼ cup sugar
5 whole cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 pears, peeled with stems intact
1 cup prepared fudge topping or sauce

1 - In a medium saucepan, combine the orange juice, sliced orange, sugar, cloves and vanilla. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a simmer. Add the pears, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the liquid thickens and reduces and the pears are tender, about another 20 minutes.

2 – Warm the fudge topping in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave for 1 minute on high, until warm.

3 – Remove the pears from the liquid and transfer to shallow dessert bowls. Remove the cloves, from the poaching liquid and spoon the liquid over the pears. Spoon the warm fudge sauce over the top and serve immediately.