Risotto doesn’t reheat well so with your leftover risotto you should make risotto balls. You can keep them in your freezer and pull out to use anytime. You can use my mushroom risotto recipe that I posted February 4th made with black trumpet mushrooms or you can use any other risotto recipe. These are FORKING delicious as an appetizer, snack or side dish and hold up very well in the freezer. They should be served with a small side of marina sauce for dipping.

Basically you need your leftover risotto, a small scoop or spoon, some panko that you should season with at least salt and pepper and flavors that match your risotto. Your risotto ball should be stuffed with either cheese, meat & cheese or peas and cheese. I just stuffed mine with small cubes of fontina cheese and it went perfect with the flavors of the mushroom risotto I made.

Set your oven at 400 bake. Scoop out some risotto and insert a small cube of cheese.

Cover up the cheese and roll the ball in your seasoned panko.

Place your risotto balls on slightly oiled pans.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-13 minutes just to add a little color and crispness.

They are HOT so let them cool a little. Serve what you want and when completely cool you can freeze them and use when you want.

Forking Good!

Mushroom Risotto

Whenever I get those black trumpet mushrooms I know it’s forking time to make risotto. I love the taste of Black Trumpets the most of the mushrooms. They are the closest tasting mushroom to a truffle for me. I usually mix black trumpets with chanterelles and sometimes a mix of other mushrooms but this time I had some jarred truffles and just added them in. Risotto is a forking easy dish to prepare. It only takes 20-25 minutes to prepare, but you are stirring almost the whole time. You just fry or toast your arborio (or arborio type) rice with olive oil and onions (or shallots) till vegetables are translucent and rice looks slightly toasted. Then you add your wine and stir till it’s absorbed. Now you slowly add your stock a couple cups at a time until absorbed. Then add your cheese and seasonings. Add more stock maybe and adjust seasonings if needed. Some people finish the dish with cream but I don’t care for that because the cheese you add produces the right creamy in my opinion. I usually never make a very big batch of risotto because this is the one dish that doesn’t reheat well. If you have leftover you should reward yourself and your loved ones and make tasty breaded risotto cakes with the leftover.

Ingredients (give or forking take)

1 lb arborio rice

1 onion , pealed and small chopped

1 clove garlic chopped fine

1 small hot pepper of your preference (I used a chili de arbol but would have used a fresh cherry pepper or med banana pepper if I had them)

2oz. butter (I don’t always use butter)

maybe 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil ( you need enough to lightly forking coat the rice and vegetables)

almost 1/2 bottle of dry white wine

I think I used about 5 1/2 cups of mushroom stock (that was mostly home made from the stems but also used some jarred mushroom base)

1 lb. of black trumpets cooked or already sautéed

a few ounces of (crappy..sorry I had them) canned truffles You don’t need these…..(they forking sucked sorry I had these)

at least a forking cup…Think it was more of shredded Parmigiano Reggiano when I have it I also add just a little sharp provolone for that really awesome taste.

about 1/2 t. Thyme

about 1/4 t. basil

about 1/4 t. oregano

about 1/4 t. rosemary

pinch saffron (important)

fresh grated nutmeg ( not much…If you can pick the taste out you forking over did it)

a few cracks of fresh ground black pepper

dash of ground red pepper ( Aleppo or cayenne)

dash of white ground pepper

Directions

In a sauce pan fry up your rice, onions garlic and hot pepper with your olive oil and butter till onions are translucent and your rice looks slightly toasted. Add your dry white wine and stir till absorbed. Now you can start adding the stock a cup or more at a time till absorbed. (your stock should be heated up and not cold) I note your are stirring this whole time. Now add your already sautéed mushrooms. Add your grated cheese and seasonings. Taste and adjust as needed.

This risotto is more delicious than what you will get from most forking restaurants.

Forking Truth

This rice is absolutely forking delicious and a completely original recipe by me! I was inspired by the flavors of Thai Stuffed Leaves called Miang Kum. I also had these Limquats and wanted to create something special with them. I remembered from eating Miang Kum how wonderful the whole lime pieces were. Normally I forking hate whole pieces of lime or lemon but with certain flavors they are magical and are like fireworks in your mouth.

Ingredients and directions

1 chopped Limequat (small chop)

1/4 C. Chopped Red Onion

1 Thai Chili Fine Chopped

2 T grated ginger (I clean and freeze mine so it’s easy to grate)

1/2 C. Toasted Plain Coconut

1/4 C. Toasted Cashews rough chop

Set all this aside

For a sauce you pour on the rice you need

8 oz. of pitted dates chopped

2 T. Grated Red Onion

1 Cup water

1 teaspoon anchovy paste

Cook this up in a sauce pan

For about 5 minutes on medium high heat till it looks like it’s sort of coming together and set aside.

Prepare 3 cups of cooked rice. ( I used Pink Madagascar)

Stir in cold ingredients then stir in sauce from your sauce pan. Stir till mixed and serve with a few leaves of spinach. (I used heirloom red spinach)

This is forking delicious!

Forking Great!

The recipe for the Grilled Beef Rolls with Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce  is by Chef Andrew Zimmern and was published in Food and Wine Magizine.  The recipe is very easy to make and is a wonderful refreshing light snack or meal when you serve it in a Summer Roll or is delicious as is as an appetizer.

Grilled Beef Rolls

2 lbs. Ground Sirloin

3 Garlic Cloves Minced

3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Rice Wine or Sherry

1 Tablespoon Asian Fish Sauce

1 Tablespoon Sambal or other Asian Chili Sauce

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

40 jarred brined – drained-rinsed and patted dry Grape leaves

Vegetable or peanut oil for grilling

I made this recipe twice and the first time didn’t have fish sauce so I substituted some minced anchovies and really forking liked it. This 2nd time I made it I used Red Boat Fish Sauce that’s made of anchovies but different with bells and whistles as fish sauce is. I made one sample to see how it taste. I don’t know why but when I used the fish sauce I didn’t  like the bitterness and found the flavor too strong and added about an inch of fresh grated ginger and 3 additional tablespoons of sugar the second time I made them to balance out the taste.

(Be Cool and pretend you don’t notice I rolled the example the wrong way. I was on a roll and didn’t forking feel like photoing more. It worked and still was good.) The best way are grape veins inside.

Directions just combine ingredients.  Place a small cigar shape of meat in grape leaf near stem, fold sides over meat and roll up in a mini burrito shape. You can grill them but for me they will fall threw the grill so I just roasted them off on a covered pan in the over at 350 for about 15 minutes.

One of two pans

(I rolled most of them right I think I only forking rolled two of them wrong)

I made a bunch and froze all but what I would eat in the next two days.

Then I put them in Summer Type Rolls. I used lettuce, Carrots, Zucchini and Mint.

I soaked the Rice Paper in warm water for a couple seconds till it softened.

I rolled them just like the leaves.

My Companion doesn’t care for Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce so I made a simple dipping sauce of combination of Sambal with Peanut Butter and water.

Forking Good!

The Forking Truth