Spinach Risotto

Risotto isn't something I make a whole lot. It's a little time consuming in the sense that you have to stir and stir and stir while adding liquid until it's all soaked up. I like to call it a labor of love. Luckily it wasn't an issue to make since my corn souffle was in the oven I had nothing else to do while I was waiting. I liked this dish, it had a creaminess to it as well as the spinach flavor I had hoped for. I found this on one of my phone apps, but it's also on their site which I linked below.

Spinach Risotto

(Adapted from Epicurious)

a 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water (reviews stated to use the water from cooking the spinach instead of water)
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup long-grain rice
1/3 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth (I used white wine)
1 teaspoon Pernod if desired (I didn't use)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spinach according to package instructions and drain well. Cool spinach completely and squeeze dry by handfuls. (I just added the frozen spinach to the pan to warm up)

In a saucepan bring broth and water to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer.

In a large saucepan cook onion in oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened.

Stir in rice, stirring until each grain is coated with oil. Add wine or vermouth and cook, covered, over moderately high heat, stirring, until wine is absorbed.

Add about 3/4 cup simmering broth and cook over moderately high heat, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, about 3/4 cup at a time, cooking, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until about half of broth has been added. Reduce heat to moderate if necessary to keep risotto at a strong simmer. Continue adding broth in the same manner until rice is tender and creamy looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes.

Stir spinach and Pernod into rice and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove pan from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan. Serve risotto with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.

Corn Souffle

Today's focus is on corn souffle. I've never done a souffle that didn't involve chocolate so this was a new thing for me. I've seen it on menus before, but never ordered it because I couldn't picture how it should be in my head. It sounds fancy and complicated, but it's super easy and is sure to wow your guest. The only problem I had was I forgot the cheese! It tasted great without it, but now I have to make it again to see if it changed it for the better or worse. I think it would be a great base recipe to swap out vegetables and try a different one. The texture was really light and airy making it a very tasty side dish.

Corn Souffle
(Adapted from HEB)

2 cups corn
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

4 large eggs

4 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1. Strip husks and silk from corn. Cut kernels from cobs to make about 2 cups; place in food processor. Pulse on and off until coarsely chopped for 1 cup corn pulp after processing. (I used can corn)

2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a 4-quart saucepan. Add flour; stir and cook 2 minutes.

Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until thickened. Add corn pulp, salt and pepper; cook 2 more minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, heat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 2 1/2-quart casserole or soufflé dish with remaining 1-tablespoon butter. Sprinkle bread crumbs in dish to coat bottom and sides.

4. Separate eggs; place yolks in a small bowl and egg whites in a large bowl. Shred cheese.

5. Whisk egg yolks into cooled corn mixture, one at a time. Beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Stir one-third of beaten egg whites into corn mixture. Gently stir in cheese, then fold in remaining egg whites. Spoon mixture into casserole dish.

6. Bake 30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes and serve while hot.

Hide Party details and Steak Night

Oh my what a busy weekend we had! Friday night was the Hide Party which is a dinner they hold for the donors who bought a steer the previous year. The picture above is a picture of me by some of the top hides at the entry into the party.

Here's a picture of the room:

It had a fancy wedding look to it with 2 different table centerpieces.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of the food. We got there early and they where still setting up so I wanted to wait till they where finished then totally forgot. They had salad, cheese, fruit, boiled shrimp, bacon wrapped shrimp, bacon wrapped chicken, spinach dip, meat station, stuffed mushrooms and several desserts.

Here's the steers we bought last year:

Saturday we headed to Saint Arnold's brewery to celebrate our friend Brian's birthday and dinner later that night. Then on Sunday we had really nice weather so we spent the day outside. We laid down new mulch and smoked meat with fellow teammates Tad and Angela to get ready for upcoming contest.

I haven't shared our Sunday steak night in a while so this week is the whole meal. We had steak with a herbed butter, corn souffle and spinach risotto. Believe me it was mmm mmm good!

We wanted to try an herbed butter similar to the one our friend had ordered through an online deal, but this is what we came up with. Adam's has a nice variety of spices out and I decided to blend this Classic Italian Bread Dipper one with butter. It's original use is to be added with oil and used to dip bread in, but me being inspired by the butter we had really made me want to try it. It turned out really good too.

There's no exact recipe to this you just add your desired amount of seasoning with some softened butter then put it in the fridge to firm back up.

Before:

After:

Captain Louie

I have the obsession of downloading apps on my phone and forgetting to use them. So the other day I started revisiting ones I downloaded and tried out a couple drinks from it. This drink is more of a shot, but it's something different and I need to build up my tolerance again since rodeo season is kicking up again. Ah yes, the Hide Party is tonight so I'll share pictures with you on Monday. If you are a newer reader then you are asking yourself...what the heck is she talking about? Well, the Hide Party is where they have a nice dinner, some scholarship recipients speak and we pick up the hide from the steer we bought the prior year. Tune in Monday and I'll share all the details with you.

Captain Morgan is my favorite rum, so I was excited to find a shot that used it. It's got a little burn going down, but then again I don't do a lot of shots that often. Overall I liked it and will probably try it again.


Captain Louie
(Adapted from Drink & Cocktails App on Iphone)

1/2 shot spiced rum (Captain Morgan)
1/2 shot Kahlua
2 drops vanilla extract

Mix in order into a shot glass.

Beer-battered Asparagus with Garlic Aioli

I love asparagus! I'm trying to venture out a little instead of fixing them the same few ways I know so when I came across this recipe I thought I would give it a shot. The coating is really good....to confess I sat there eating the little chiblets that where leftover lol. The garlic aioli was really good too and it's already got the wheels turning in my head for what else I could use it with. The only issue I had it the chiblets by themselves where much more flavorful then when you eat it with the asparagus. I thought the batter had a really nice thickness to it and held well on the asparagus as well. Overall I loved it and will be fixing it again.

Beer-battered Asparagus with Garlic Aioli

(Adapted from Guy Fieri)

1 bunch medium asparagus, ends trimmed
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, separated
3/4 cup beer, lager or pale ale
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups peanut oil
Sea salt
Garlic Aioli, recipe follows

In shallow pan, soak asparagus in buttermilk 12 to 24 hours. Remove from buttermilk, but do not rinse.

In a large bowl, combine well the egg yolks, beer, flour, cornmeal, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper.

In large deep sided pot, heat oil to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, in a large clean bowl with an electric mixer, beat egg whites to stiff peaks.

Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter mixture.

Dip spears, 1 at a time into batter, then carefully lay in oil. Do not overcrowd pan. Fry in batches, if necessary. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, turning the spears with tongs to ensure even cooking. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with sea salt, to taste. Serve immediately with Aioli.

Garlic Aioli

1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 lemon, zested
4 tablespoons finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt

In a food processor, combine all ingredients well. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Yield: 1 cup