The first meal I made was Beans & Greens Risotto and Cherry Shortbread Crumble. The Beans & Greens Risotto was not so good. First of all, I didn't have the diced tomatoes the recipe called for, which I think seriously inhibited the flavors. Second, my risotto did not cook as well as I would have liked. That was my first (and only) time making risotto, so maybe I did something wrong--but I followed all the directions. I loved the Cherry Shortbread Crumble (I used fresh cherries ) but Mike didn't think it was so great. I think it might not have been sweet enough for him.
Beans & Greens Risotto
1 quart vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 15-ounce can of small red beans or pinto beans, drained
1 small head escarole, chopped (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Roman or Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
lemon wedges (optional)
1. In a saucepan, bring the broth and tomatoes to a boil and then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan on medium-high heat, cook the garlic in the oil until just golden, a few seconds.
3. Add the rice and stir until the grains are well coated with the oil.
4. Ladle the hot broth and tomatoes a cup at a time, stirring often. After each addition, let the rice absorb most of the broth before adding more. Add the beans with the last cup of broth.
5. When most of the broth is absorbed and the rice is tender but still al dente, stir in the escarole, in batches if necessary, until it wilts but is still bright green. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot. Serves 4.
Cherry Shortbread Crumble
16 ounces frozen pitted, sweet cherries without sugar or 3 cups fresh
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup crumbled shortbread cookies or pecan sandies (about 8 cookies)
1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Put the cherries into an unoiled 8-inch square baking pan or a 9-inch glass pie platae. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinammon and add 2 tablespoons of water to the dish.
3. Bake for 15 minutes, and then remove from the oven. Top with the crumbled cookies and bake until the cherries are bubbling and the crumbs are browned, about 10 minutes more.
Serve wa rm, atroom temperature, or cold. Serves about four.
The second time I cooked from Simple Suppers was a lot better. I made Summer Panzanella, which is a bread salad, and it was delicious. Mike and I both loved it. I changed a few things, obviously: I used balsamic instead of red wine vinegar (which I think made a huge difference in flavor) and I used less olives than the recipe called for because Mike is not the biggest fan of olives (and really, neither am I). I also made Butterscotch IceBox Cookies, which were really good but would have benefited from peanut butter or Nutella or something like that. The recipe also makes way too many cookies and I ended up throwing out some of the other dough because I never used it despite having freezed it.
Summer Panzanella1/2 loaf of crusty French or Italian bread
4 tomatoes
1 large ball of fresh mozarrella (about 5 ounces)
1/2 red onion
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup pitted olives [I used kalamata olives]
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or cider vinegar [I used balsamic]
1 tablespoon olive oil [It really should be extra-virgin here, I think, because the flavor adds a lot]
salt and pepper
1.Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the bread in half lengthwise and place in the oven until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes
2.Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients and place them in a serving bowl: Cut the tomatoes and fresh mozzarella into 1/2 inch cubes [I just hacked them up] (about 4 cups of tomatoes and 1 cup of mozzarella), peel and thinly slice the red onion [again, I just chopped it], cut the basil leaves into thin strips and chop the olives. Add the vinegar and oil to hte bowl and toss well.
3. Cut the toasted bread into cubes (7 to 8 cups). Add the bread cubes to the bowl and toss well. Let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes before serving, to allow the bread to soak up some of the juices.Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4. I cannot stress how yummy this salad is. I love it. I want to eat it now, just writing about it.
Butterscotch Icebox Cookies
This cookie dought can be kept in the freezer for up to at least two months, so whenever you want warm, freshly baked cookies (with none of the additives found in commercially prepared frozen cookie dough), just slice it and pop it in the oven.
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups unbleached white flour
1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and salt. Mix in the flour until well blended.
2. Divide the dough into 3 parts. Shape each third into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 8 inches long. Wrap the logs with waxed paper or plastic wrap and palce in the freezer until firm, at least 1 hour.
3. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375. With a sharp knife, slice the logs into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. PLace 1 inch apart on an unoiled baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until the cookies retain a slight indentation when lightly touched in the center and are golden brown on the bottom. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet while they're still warm.
Note: For crispier cooks, add 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda with the flour. For puffier cookies, add 1 tablespoon of baking powder with the flower.
For delicious sandwich cooks, spread peanut butter or Nutella between the bottoms of two cooled cookies.
I wish I had Nutella on hand when I had made these. I think they would have tasted better. They were good, but they were too much effort for relatively good cookies. I won't make them again, probably. Furthermore, I like preservative-laden storebought cookie dough, so ha.
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