Creamy Parmesan Polenta

My husband calls these (from How Easy Is That?) “fancy grits.”  They aren’t so different from the other polenta recipes in the previous Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, but they’re a nice reminder that we’re not limited to potatoes and rice if we want a starchy side dish with dinner (or lunch, or breakfast).  They tend to get slightly stiff when reheated, so you may want to make a small batch if you’re not feeding a crowd, or just anticipate adding some extra liquid when eating them as leftovers.

Now, I don’t specifically recall allowing a drunk monkey into my kitchen, but that’s the only explanation for the horrible quality of this photo.  But it’s polenta – it’s not like a fancy (or even focused) photo is going to make it any more exciting, you know?

Spring Green Risotto

This risotto (Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics) was incredible – the lemon zest and lemon juice really added a nice zing that other risottos don’t have.  And it’s a great way to eat a ton of vegetables – I’m thinking about substituting spinach and other green CSA vegetables when they’re in season this spring and summer.  This would be great for vegetarian dinner guests if you substituted vegetable stock for chicken stock.

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

Have you ever had a really excellent bowl of Cream of Mushroom soup at a restaurant?  We’re not talking about Campbell’s condensed here, of course, but the creamy, rich, substantial but light kind that you might find on a Friday night at a chic restaurant.  This recipe (Barefoot Contessa at Home) is like that kind of soup, but in a lasagna.  I’ve heard portobellos called “meaty” before, usually when used as a meat substitute on a burger bun.  I don’t think of them as meaty (and I’ll almost always choose a real burger over a big grilled mushroom), but they add a fantastic flavor to this lasagna.  It was also the perfect excuse for me to use up all the odds and ends of half-used boxes of lasagna noodles in the cabinet.  The béchamel, which incidentally always makes me giddy when it thickens up without too much effort, absolutely requires the nutmeg for this recipe.

Unfortunately for him and fortunately for me, my husband is not a big mushroom kind of guy.  So, I made a pan of this and froze the majority of it in lunch-sized portions for myself.  Yum.

Creamy Rosemary Polenta

Consider this a dressed-up version of grits.  Yum.  I made a half-batch, and it only took half of the recommended time to cook, so this was a very quick side dish.  Next time, though, if I make a half-batch, I’ll be sure to saute the garlic first.  The cornmeal cooked so quickly that the garlic was still pretty crunchy by the time it was served.  Still, this was excellent.

Barefoot Contessa at Home

Caesar Salad with Pancetta

Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of this decadent salad (Barefoot Contessa Parties!) on the night I made it, so this is a photo of the leftovers.  The dressing was just lemon-y and garlic-y enough, and I’d definitely make it again, but I only used about half of it on the salad.  The dressing recipe allowed for a substitution of mayo for egg yolks, which I used, being a little nervous about raw eggs.  I also only used about half of the recommended amount of pancetta, and that was plenty.  I roasted the tomatoes per the directions, but I could have easily skipped that step.  I’m already looking forward to making this when the romaine starts showing up in our CSA boxes this summer!

Parmesan-Roasted Asparagus

As much as we’re trying to cook seasonally, the landscape (both on our table and outside) can be pretty bleak in Minnesota in January.  I am ashamed to admit that I don’t even know where these asparagus spears were grown, and I’m going to try not to think of the carbon fuels that were burned bringing them to Minnesota, but I could not resist when they were on sale (buy one, get one free) at our grocery store.  They were delicious.  If you haven’t tried roasting asparagus before, I highly recommend it as a pleasant diversion from the usual steaming.

Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

This recipe (Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics) is the type of recipe that made me want to start this project.  It’s simple, it’s healthy, and it contains ingredients that we like.  But before this project, I would have admired the picture, taken note of the ingredients, thought, “I should really make that sometime,” and then the time would never come.  It’s not that we don’t eat salad, it’s just that I get into the routine of making the same kind of salad every time, so we get into ruts.  The challenge I’ve had lately is to really focus on these great winter vegetables without over-doing any one thing until we get tired of it.  Butternut squash, for example, plays a large role on the pages of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks.  We love it, but if we eat it more than once or twice a week, we’ll turn orange, and we’ll never want to see another squash again.  So, spacing things out has been key, while still putting a heavy emphasis on seasonal vegetables.  Because really, it would be kind of silly to be roasting a butternut squash in July.  I used apple juice instead of apple cider in the dressing (a substitution suggested in the recipe itself).  The parmesan was nice, but not necessary – there were enough other flavors going on without it.

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, pp. 172-173

Parmesan Chicken Sticks

More “kid food” masquerading as adult-worthy fare.

Barefoot Contessa Family Style, p. 200

Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash

I made a lot of risotto when we were first married.  It’s inexpensive, it’s easy to keep all of the ingredients on hand, it doesn’t take too long to make, and it’s a fairly easy way to have a meatless meal.  Mostly, I used Mark Bittman‘s recipe and added spinach.  Then, for a while, risotto fell out of favor here, partly because my husband grew tired of it, and partly because it’s kind of hard to stir something for 30 minutes when trying to keep a toddler entertained.  So, welcoming risotto back into our repertoire was like welcoming an old friend back into the kitchen.  The recipe on pp. 86-88 of Barefoot Contessa Family Style is very similar to the recipe I’ve used for years, but it adds prosciutto or pancetta and roasted butternut squash.  It was a delightful way to end a busy Sunday, and it didn’t even dirty that many dishes.  Eating the leftovers for the next few days for lunch felt downright decadent.  Note:  saffron is expensive.  If you know someone traveling to Spain or Israel, ask them to bring you some, because for some reason it is very affordable there.  It’s a wonderful souvenir to bring home because it’s lightweight, and takes up so little space in luggage.  My sister brought me back an ounce or so from her last trip to Spain, and it will last me a long time.