Starchy Sides

March 23, 2010

Risotto Cakes

I am sucker for texture.  As a low sodium cook, it is essential to trick the senses with an unusual spice or unexpected crisp.  When someone is overcome by food that is exciting, they do not have the time to miss the salt.  It’s like a magician distracting the audience from noticing the cards already tucked up his or her sleeve. When it comes to noodles and rice, I also love to have a bit of broiled crunch on the top. Whether it is mac and cheese or in this case, risotto, the oven-fried pieces make the traditional “mushiness” all […]

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February 12, 2010

A Super(bowl) Makeover Story

I don’t know about you, but I rolled home last sunday full of chili, chips, and chicken wings.  I love Super Bowl Sunday for a variety of reasons – mainly good time spent with friends and the excuse to be overly-gluttonous.  But I forgot that on Super Bowl Sunday, even more so than on my second favorite holiday of the year – Thanksgiving – our eyes become much bigger than our stomachs.  And I came home on Sunday evening with a tupperware tub full of spicy, ginger chicken wings that needed to be consumed. Now, wasting food annoys me more […]

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December 16, 2009

Sticky Tummy Bread Pudding

Let’s start the morning with a shot of some beautiful, homegrown eggs. Cage free and totally enchanting with their varying shapes and colors. They were a most special gift from some good friends who are raising chickens of their own and I could not wait to use them. Well actually, I had no other choice. I am leaving for a bit of a holiday break and with two dozen eggs, a fresh loaf of no sodium bread, a whole block of Heluva good cheese, and a bunch of fresh kale, I was tasked to use up the goods as quickly […]

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December 10, 2009

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – Part Two

So you’ve perfected the turkey roulade. Now its time to get cracking on those scrumptious side dishes: saffron rice with dill and tart cherries and butter braised sprouts and easter radishes I apologize for the rather sepia toned pictures of the meal. With low light in the kitchen and some tan colored plates, it is rather difficult to get appetizing and colorful pictures of the food. So my delicate wordsmithing will have to do the trick for now. More professional photography to come soon. Promesso. On to the rice. Ingredients: 1 cup white rice (short or long grain) 1/2 cup […]

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