Recipe: Seafood Risotto

I made this for a friend of mine who was here a couple of weeks ago... and still have some in the freezer that I'll get around to eating ;). It turned out really well!

Ingredients:

1 lb. of 30 - 40 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb. of small bay scallops
2/3 lb. of lump dungeness crab meat
2 cups of asparagus, blanched and diced
3 1/2 cups of arborio rice
1 1/2 cups of dry sherry
5 1/2 cups of chicken broth
4 tbsp. of butter
2 tsp. of salt
2 tsp. of white pepper
3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
3 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. dried oregano
2/3 cup shredded parmesan
2/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola
2 tbsp. of olive oil

Directions:

In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the seafood and stir to evenly distribute the butter. Add the salt, white pepper, minced garlic, and dried oregano. Continue stirring frequently, cooking the seafood. All of the seafood should cook in about 8 - 10 minutes. When the shrimp turn a nice shade of pink, you know you're done. Add the fresh basil and tarragon, stir to incorporate and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the arborio rice to the oil and stir to coat all rice kernels with the oil. Continue heating and turning frequently until the rice starts to turn a light brown color. Not all rice kernels will turn brown, but you don't want any getting too brown - those will be burnt! Once the rice has started to turn color, add the dry sherry to the pot and stir to incorporate. Continue stirring until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice - but not so much that the rice starts sticking to the bottom of the pot! Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and repeat this process - stirring until the liquid is absorbed. Once absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Continue this process until you're out of chicken broth and all of the liquid is absorbed.

Add the diced asparagus and the seafood mixture you completed earlier to the pot and stir to evenly incorporate. Add the parmesan and gorgonzola cheeses and stir to incorporate evenly. Turn off the heat and let sit for about 3 minutes. Serve as a main course.

Makes 8 main course servings.

Recipe: Garlic Pepper Pork

This dish was inspired by one of my favorite Thai dishes. While not exactly the same as you’d get in a Thai restaurant, this version is still quite tasty. I add asparagus because I think this dish deserves a vegetable and asparagus absorbs the flavors very nicely and gives it a nice balance. If you have green or pink peppercorns around, reduce amounts of black and white pepper to 1/3 tsp. and add 1/3 tsp. of whole green or pink peppercorns to diversify the flavors further.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs. of boneless pork chops, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp. of minced garlic
1 tbsp. of minced ginger
1 tbsp. of low-salt soy sauce
2/3 tsp. of ground black pepper
2/3 tsp. of ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. of dried basil
1/2 tsp. of ground cumin
8 small dried chile peppers (I use dried ancho chiles)
10 oz. of fresh chopped asparagus (see NOTE if you use frozen)
2 tbsp. of hazelnut or almond oil

Directions:

In a large wok, heat the hazelnut oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the pork to the wok and sautee until the pork is nearly done, about 4 - 6 minutes. Add all of the other ingredients to the wok and continue sauteeing stirring constantly for another 4 - 5 minutes until asparagus is cooked. (NOTE: if using frozen asparagus, you will need to cook another 2 - 3 minutes and add 1/2 tsp. of cornstarch in the last minute to thicken the mixture). Remove from heat and place immediately into a serving dish.

Serves 4.