Parmesan Herb Risotto & Leftover Risotto Cakes

If you've never made risotto I am here to tell you how easy it is.

The myth of constant stirring required to obtain the creamy rice texture scared me off for years. But then I took the plunge. I followed the directions on whatever brand of arborio rice I purchased and got to mixing.

Here's why risotto is one of my go-to meals in colder months: it can be fancy enough for company and it's a warm and filling side dish or main meal for everyday, too.

The trick with risotto is to make sure you don't stray too far from the stove. While you do need to stir the rice often, it's OK to take small breaks to chop herbs or rest your arm.

Best thing about risotto? It is so versatile! So many combinations of vegetables, cheese and even shrimp or chicken work well in this saucy rice dish.

And if you are lucky enough to have leftovers, you can let the kids make risotto cakes the next day.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Parmesan Herb Risotto

1/2 cup chopped white or yellow onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups chicken broth, divided
1 cup white wine (Use your favorite. Chardonnay or Savignon Blanc work well in this recipe.)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs (this time I used oregano and parsley)

Note: If you plan to double this recipe use a 4 1/2 quart or a 5 quart pot.

In a 2 quart or 3 quart pot, heat oil and butter until butter is melted. Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes. Add raw rice and stir for another 2 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Add one cup of chicken broth. Continue cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed. Add second cup of chicken broth and keep stirring until broth is absorbed. Add 1 cup wine and stir until no liquid remains.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter, parmesan cheese and herbs. Mix until butter and cheese is melted. Eat while still warm.

Leftover Risotto Cakes

Leftover risotto
1 or 3 Mozzarella cheese sticks
Plain or Italian seasoned bread crumbs or panko (1/2 cup is plenty for 4 risotto cakes)
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Warm risotto in microwave for a minute or two so it is easier to handle. Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of leftover  risotto and form a large ball. Repeat until all of your risotto is used.

Unwrap a mozzarella cheese stick and cut it into pieces about a 1/2 inch long. One cheese stick will fill 4 risotto cakes. Poke a hole in each risotto ball. Insert one piece of cheese into ball and reshape so that the hole is covered and closed.

Pour breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl. Gently roll risotto balls one at a time in bread crumbs to coat.

Heat oil in a skillet. Place risotto balls in skillet and slowly flatten with a spatula. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes and then turn risotto cakes over. Cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, or until a nice crispy brown crust forms.

Remove from skillet and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Serve warm with a green salad or use as a side dish for steak, pork chops or chicken.

Baked Ziti

Baked ziti is the Italian-American version of mac & cheese. The dish is filling, cheesy and so easy to make.

Growing up, baked ziti was a staple at every event — family reunions, birthday parties, any gathering, really. The meal is even immortalized in many episodes of HBO's The Sopranos.

This is also the dinner to bring to a potluck or to deliver some cheer to a favorite family. Add a bottle of wine and a green salad or dessert and you'll truly make someone feel loved.

Baked ziti is perfect for a friend with a newborn, the new neighbors down the street, or a fellow parent with kids who needs a night off from having to prep dinner (friends, you know who you are!) Since I live too far away from Erin to bring a freshly-cooked meal to her door, let's consider today's blog post my way of sending her some virtual home cooking in celebration of baby Elaine's arrival!

Keep in mind that baked ziti is designed to serve a crowd. Each 13 x 9-inch tray will satisfy a group or feed a family of four more than once. Baked ziti is also great for stocking your freezer.

This recipe is made for customizing. I like to add provolone cheese to mine. You can change the pasta shape, but do note: the tubular ziti traps the sauce and cheese inside the pasta, which makes it taste even better.

You can't really mess up this meal. Any sauce and cheese combination that you and your family love will taste delicious baked up with some ziti-shaped pasta.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Baked Ziti 

1 pound ziti pasta
2 to 4 cups of homemade tomato sauce or 1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce
2 to 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 pound (or less) ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded provolone, or 4 to 5 slices, cut into thin strips
1 or 2 teaspoons basil
1 or 2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Spray a deep lasagna pan or baking dish with cooking spray. The pan should be at least a 9x13x2-inch size. If your family is small, divide the recipe into two deep 8 x 8 pans. Cook one and freeze the other.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Place pasta in large bowl.

Add 16 ounces tomato sauce and all other ingredients except the Parmesan cheese and a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Feel free to add more or less tomato sauce and cheese to suit your taste.

Mix well so that everything is combined.

Tip: My mom and my brother just mix everything up right in the baking pan, but whenever I do that I end up accidentally shooting a few spoonfuls onto the floor. So I use a bowl.

Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking pan. If you like, top with more tomato sauce (I skip this step.) Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. You can throw in some provolone here, too.

For freezing: Wrap baking dish in foil and freeze for another day. When you are ready to cook the baked ziti, follow the instructions below after it has thawed in the fridge.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes to an hour or until the ziti is browned on the edges and bubbly. If the cheese on top starts to brown, cover it with foil for the rest of the cooking time.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 or 15 minutes. Serve with a side of extra tomato sauce and your favorite wine.

At my house, my husband and sons fight over who gets the crunchy corner pieces, like this one.

Packet Potatoes

It's finally starting to feel like summer here in Illinois: hot and humid. That means the last thing I want to do for dinner is turn on the oven. Thank goodness for my grill.

These potatoes come out tender and mellow with just a little bit of crispness around the edges. The combination of garlic and rosemary is a savory favorite of mine and milk adds sweetness that tastes so good with the onions.

This is an ideal side for a main dish like grilled chicken or London broil. The leftovers hold up well and can be turned into breakfast after a quick toss in a skillet with some chopped red or green bell peppers to freshen them up. Serve alongside some fried or scrambled eggs.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Packet Potatoes
Inspired by Guy Fieri

3 pounds potatoes (Yukon or Russet or Idaho), thinly sliced into rounds
1 small to medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup milk (2% or whole)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried or fresh rosemary leaves, crushed or chopped

Heat grill to medium.

Mix all ingredients in large bowl.

Take a 20-inch sheet of aluminum foil and fold it in half. Place half of the potato mixture on foil and fold up edges about a 1/2 inch. Repeat for the remaining potatoes.

Top with another piece of foil and crimp around all edges, wrapping bottom foil up.

Place foil packets on heated grill and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Wearing oven mitts, use a large flat spatula to remove foil packets from grill and place on a cookie sheet. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Remove top piece of foil and serve — straight from the packet or after you transfer potatoes to a serving dish for a nicer presentation.

Family Lasagna

If you've made our Sunday gravy and traditional Italian meatballs, then roll up your sleeves, because you are ready to tackle old-fashioned, Old World lasagna.

Fear not — if you mastered the tomato sauce and meatballs, you're practically Italian already!

I call this "family lasagna" for two reasons: It's more than enough to feed a crowd of relatives (or friends) and you can put everyone to work helping you make it. The process might seem a bit much, but I remember having lots of fun as a kid, sitting around the kitchen table with my parents, my siblings and sometimes my grandparents, chopping meatballs and sausage and mixing up the ricotta cheese filling before building the lasagna.

Yes, there are many short cuts, like using no-boil lasagna noodles or cooking ground beef with some Italian seasonings instead of making meatballs. But trust me. I've made lasagna the quick way numerous times. The final result just can't compare to the real thing.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Family Meat Lasagna

20 wavy lasagna noodles (usually 1 and 1/2 boxes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 (15 ounce) containers of ricotta cheese
5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
6 cups or more of homemade tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked meatballs, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked Italian sausage links, chopped (mild, sweet or hot)

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, adding 1 tablespoon olive oil to water to prevent sticking. After draining noodles, place them on parchment paper.

While lasagna noodles are cooking, mix together ricotta, parmesan cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.

Set up a lasagna prep station, with all ingredients in easy reach.

Cover bottom of a deep 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with 1 cup tomato sauce. Layer 5 lasagna noodles on top, slightly overlapping them.

Top noodles with 1 cup ricotta mixture, 1/2 cup chopped meatballs and 1/2 cup chopped sausage. Top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella and 1 scant cup tomato sauce.

Layer another 5 noodles on top of first meat and cheese layer. Repeat the cheese, meat, mozzarella and tomato sauce layering two more times. Top final noodle layer with tomato sauce, ensuring that corners are covered with sauce. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese on top.

Cover lasagna with foil lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 15 minutes more. Lasagna is done when it is bubbly.

Depending on your oven, it can take as long as 90 minutes to cook. You can also bump up the temperature to 400 degrees — just check the lasagna more frequently.

Remove from oven and let lasagna sit for about 15 minutes. Then slice and serve.

**Note on make-ahead preparation: You can prepare the lasagna the night before. Just refrigerate and bake within 24 hours.

**Note on freezing lasagna: If you plan to freeze an entire lasagna, it's best to freeze before cooking. Thaw, then cook as directed above.

Parmesan Spaghetti Squash

I can't pass up a giant vegetable. When I was perusing the stack of squash at the grocery store, all the other orbs paled in comparison to this glorious gourd. So I popped it into my car-shaped grocery cart, and my son steered us through the rest of our shopping trip. (He's the designated cart driver.)

It wasn't until the clerk rang us up at check-out that I discovered my squash was five pounds. FIVE POUNDS. All the recipes I read for preparing spaghetti squash called for a two pound squash. Whoops. Guess I got a little greedy there.

If your spaghetti squash isn't quite as ginormous as mine, you might not need to bake it for quite as long. But I wouldn't cut down the amount of Parmesan cheese. You can never have too much cheese.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Parmesan Spaghetti Squash

1 large spaghetti squash
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, microwave squash for about five minutes. This will soften the squash and make it easier to cut in half. Allow the squash to cool for a minute so you don't burn your fingers, then slice it in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds.

Season cut sides of squash with salt and pepper and place cut-side down on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the flesh is tender, about 45 minutes if your squash is a five-pound behemoth. It will probably take closer to 30 minutes for a smaller squash. Use a fork to shred the squash into strands and place in a bowl.

If your squash has released lots of liquid into the bowl, try to drain some of it off. Stir in butter, basil, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with extra Parmesan sprinkled over the top.

P.S. Want more squash? Try making acorn squash in the microwave. Yep. The microwave, people. Too easy for words.