Buttery Risotto with Portobello and Parmesan

In an effort to make some comfort food on Sunday night and also clean out the cabinets a bit, I found this recipe on Epicurious. I adapted it to use Arborio rice because I discovered that the barley I have in the cabinet is not pearl barley, and would likely have taken to my 30th birthday to cook.

While trying to discern if I had pearl barley or not, I learned more about barley than I suspect many health food store employees know. (That's not to disparage very knowledgeable and helpful health food store employees!) Now I am 75% sure that the Goya barley in my cabinet is hulled barley (aka barley groats), but of course the package only says "barley," hence my uncertainty. Hulled barley is more nutritious than pearl barley because it is less processed/refined (not sure of the correct term here); only its outermost hull has been polished off. However, pretty much the only use for hulled barley is in stews and soups. And I like stew...but Sunday I wanted to throw some grains, butter and cheese in a pot and call it dinner.

This was the first time I've ever scraped the gills out of a mushroom. My initial reaction was that this sounded really fussy, but I figured out pretty quickly that the gills would have discolored the risotto, probably making it an unappetizing gray color. Point taken.

I would use more portobello next time (this was about 6 oz). Since I cut the amount of grain ingredient in half, I sort of made a half recipe, but I kept the portobello at full force. There are just never enough mushrooms. I'm frequently disappointed by the shrinkage of mushrooms.

Snowtorious B.I.G.

We had a little snowstorm here in DC. Nothing too big, just 2 feet or so. Luckily, the National Weather Service was forecasting a snowpocalypse, so I was well-prepared with food when the snow started falling.

I made Ina Garten's Butternut Squash Risotto with Saffron on Friday night, which is, as always, absolutely delicious. Maybe not so photogenic, but the perfect stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal for a snowy evening. This was the first risotto recipe I ever made.Saturday, there was no way I was going out until the snow stopped falling, and everybody needs a hardy breakfast before they shovel snow. Ambitiously, I attempted to make an omelet, maybe the 2nd or 3rd I'd ever made. I started with Basil Pesto Chicken & Turkey Sausages from Trader Joe's (love TJ), onion and red pepper. After I removed them from the pan and added some more butter, I started on the eggs. Unfortunately, the end result was more hot mess than omelette. I think I made (at least two) mistakes, 1) I cooked the eggs too long before tossing the filling inside. Then when I tried to flip it, the egg was too dry and rigid, causing it to break rather than fold, 2) I used too much filling for the size of the pan/amount of egg.

But enough with the critique; it tasted really good! I tried it again on Sunday, but hadn't really learned my lesson, and cooked the egg a bit too long again.

Here's Saturday's hot mess:

Sunday: Please allow the oranges to distract you from the ugly plate, and the structurally unsound pile of eggs.

My omelet-making experience got me thinking about this habit of trying something without really having any good idea of how to do it. Obviously, one learns to cook through experimentation, but I'm sure even my first and second efforts could have been more successful had I done some kind of research beforehand. The sort of pathetic part is, I'd still like to learn how to make an omelet that doesn't fall apart, but haven't sought out the advice yet. Any ideas on where to start? A good-old cookbook, like Joy of Cooking? The web? Blogs?

Generous Amounts of Kale

As the days of my neighborhood farmers' market season dwindle, I'm trying to indulge in the convenience of its location and its delectable fall produce bounty. Last week I bought some Empire apples, a few squash, and a GIANT bunch of kale. I'd been meaning to make this soup and the Sam's Club size bunch of kale seemed to be made for this recipe: Cannellini Bean Soup with Kale. I'll admit, however, as delicious as it was, now that I ate it...7? times in one week, I don't think I'll be making it again anytime soon. It was especially good with a grilled cheese at Serving 4 or 5. I also made The Barefoot Contessa's Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash....to.die.for. Even without the saffron, for which I couldn't bare to shed $18.99 at Giant. I remember the first time I ever made this recipe (my first ever risotto) with a dear old friend; we hunted down saffron threads at Treasure Island grocery store in Chicago, then sweat over the stove for what seemed like hours before devouring the creamy richness. Sorry no pictures...I ate it too fast!