The cure is a bottomless pit of goat cheese: Spinach and Goat Cheese Risotto

There is little in this silly world that I love more than my family,my friends, my pup, and my wine ;) And then, enter goat cheese. And the world turned upside down. Then! This dish warped my sense of reality all together! If you ever have a little time to cook up some heaven, please do! It reheats wonderfully and is great for those chillier days where you need a nice warm carby-cheesy-flavorful-food-hug. 

I found this from www.seriouseats.com and it has truly become a staple in the Fenton/Kaub cook book. Its a weird risotto recipe since it doesn't require the labor intense, patience wringing, sloooooooow addition of broth to the rice. From beginning to end it will probably take about 45 minutes.

Spinach and Goat Cheese Risotto (45 minutes)

Ingredients

×          1 tablespoon olive oil

×          4 tablespoon butter

×          1 medium onion, finely chopped (the finer, the better)

×          2 cups Arborio rice (Risotto Rice fool!)

×          3/4 cup white wine

×          4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

×          2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

×          5 oz spinach, washed and dried

×          Nutmeg (please use fresh, but if not … that’s … ok… too)

×          2 handfuls Parmesan cheese

×          1/2 lemon

×          4 oz goat cheese

Instructions

Saucepan #1 (small/medium)

1.       Melt a tablespoon of butter plus a splash of olive oil, a good grating of nutmeg, and the second clove of garlic

2.       When the butter has melted, add the spinach and cook until wilted down (about 5 minutes)

3.       Cool and puree in a food processor or chop by hand

Saucepan #2 (large, deeper - all the rice is going in here)

1.       Melt 1 tablespoon butter plus olive oil

2.       Add the onion and a clove of garlic and cook gentle until soft but not browned (~10 minutes)

3.       Add the rice to the onion and raise the heat to medium-high; toast, stirring constantly, until the rice begins to look translucent (5-7 minutes)

4.       Add the wine, stirring, until absorbed 

5.       Add stock to the rice little-by-little, stirring continually. Salt as necessary. (10-15 minutes)

6.       Turn off the heat and add the remaining butter, Parmesan, and the spinach mixture. Stir to incorporate well.

7.       Serve with a goat cheese crumbled on top

Orecchiette? Oh-rah-what? Orecchiette with cherry tomatoes and arugula

Another gem from my favorite online recipe goddess at www.smittenkitchen.com. On her blog she hand makes the pasta, but let's be serious, after work you hardly want to hand-make pasta, so I'm just going to take the complex part out of it. Truth of the matter is this dish is fabulous for dinner then equally  fab for lunch reheated the next day.... and I loathe leftovers. 

As far as finding the pasta goes, I had to search for a while in the pasta section, but it was there! If you don't want to hunt, or you just don't care, any kind of softer, smaller pasta will do. I think its totally worth the hunt - it’s a marvelous pasta! 

 Orecchiette with cherry tomatoes and arugula (25 minutes)

Ingredients

×          2 cups dry orecchiette

×          2 tablespoons olive oil

×          2 cloves of garlic, minced

×          2 small shallots, finely chopped (PS you should always have these handy!)

×          1 pint mixed red and yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered (or you can be boring and just use red)

×          2 cups fresh arugula, de-stemmed, roughly chopped

×          Salt and pepper

×          Parmesan

Instructions

1.       Cook pasta fully, strain and set aside

2.       Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat

3.       Add garlic and shallots. Sauté until soft but not browned (about 5 minutes)

4.       Add chopped cherry tomatoes and cook until they have softened but not lost completely lost their form (about 3-5 minutes)

5.       Add pasta, reheating it in the sauce and seasoning with salt and pepper

6.       Add the arugula, stirring it until it has just wilted

7.       Add parmesan and enjoy!

Not Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup

So I found this on my favoritest of favorite cooking websites: www.smittenkitchen.com This woman is a genius and she’s funny! But I seriously have never eaten something from this site that has been less than stellar.  If you were smart, which I assume you are, you would frequent her website often.

This recipe is good for a Sunday and amazing to reheat throughout the week. Its shockingly filling and will fill the house with the most heavenly flavors one can imagine. It takes about one and a half to two hours to prep and cook this fantastic soup. And the first time it will be a little tricky, but trust you me, it is well worth your patience.

 Not Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (1.5-2 hours)

Ingredients

×          1 ounce dried mushrooms (porcini, morels, or shitakes)

×          1/2 cup olive oil

×          2 sprigs of rosemary

×          4 sprigs of sage

×          1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

×          3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

×          1 1/2 teaspoons salt

×          1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper

×          1 pound white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

×          1 pound shitake mushrooms stemmed, cleaned and thinly sliced

×          3 cups beef stock

×          3 cups vegetable stock

×          1 cup heavy cream

×          2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

1.       Soak the dry mushrooms in 1 cup of warm water for 20 to 30 minutes, until plump.

2.       Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter to remove grit and reserve, along with the reconstituted mushrooms, until needed.

3.       Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium flame. Bundle the rosemary and sage together and tie with kitchen twine (I use a ‘sachet’ bag to make sure all the little needles don’t run away) When the oil is hot, add the herb bundle and sizzle for a few minutes on both sides to infuse the oil.

4.       Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown.

5.       Turn the flame to high and add the white mushrooms and shitakes. Alter the heat if you think it is too hot, just turn it down!

6.       Cook for 10 minutes, during which the mushrooms will give off their liquid (which should evaporate quickly due to the high heat) and deflate significantly. Stir occasionally.

7.       Add the chicken stock and the dried mushrooms along with the soaking water.

8.       Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the herbs, then add the cream and butter. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and keep at a very low simmer until ready to serve.