Kitchen Conundrum

Dressy Pasta “Risotto” aka Macaroni and Cheese – French Fridays with Dorie

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#FFWD Dressy Pasta Risotto-5561

The first recipe up for January for French Fridays with Dorie is called Dressy Pasta “Risotto”.  It’s not really a risotto at all. The “risotto” part actually comes from slowly cooking the pasta in (chicken) broth until it is nearly totally absorbed by the pasta, like it would be if it were arborio rice. Other than that, it’s more akin to a fancy mac & cheese.  What would be a quite ordinary dish becomes extraordinary with the addition of freshly grated Parmesan, heavy cream and a dollop of mascarpone. The rich sauce tasted much like the one I use for potatoes gratin, and I was tempted to add a dash of nutmeg to it, but everyone who had a spoon in the pot said to leave it alone. I know when I am outvoted, and truth be told, it didn’t need it. (Although, I may try it again with this addition another time.)

It is important to only salt after you’ve used the broth and the Parmesan as they both tend to be rather salty already and you don’t want to overdo it!

This was a super fast and very easy, one pot recipe-making for minimal fuss and a quick clean up. Everyone really enjoyed it too, an empty crock and some spoons was all that was left. I can easily see myself making this again.

#FFWD Dressy Pasta Risotto-5577

While I cannot share the actual recipe, you can (and should!) buy the book and cook along with us. It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. Looking forward to next weeks! For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.

Buy the book:

greenspan

frenchfridayswithdorie16

 

 

Cardamom Goat Cheese Phyllo Triangles with Spiced Maple Yogurt Sauce

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Cardamon Cheese TrianglesHere’s one from the archives that would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving dinner appetizer menu. These sweet, spicy and delightfully delicious bites are the epitome of Fall and Winter. While they are baking, your home will fill with the warming scent of cardamom.  They are really easy to make and you might want to make a double or triple batch depending on how many guests you have.

 

Cardamom Goat Cheese Phyllo Triangles with Spiced Maple Yogurt Sauce
 
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Cardamom Goat Cheese Phyllo Triangles with a Spiced Maple Yogurt Sauce Makes 12 Triangles
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
Filling:
  • 6 oz. goat cheese, softened
  • 1 tbs. honey
  • 1 ½  tsp. ground cardamom
  • 6 Sheets of phyllo dough
  • ½ stick butter, melted
Sauce:
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt, vanilla flavored
  • 1 tbs. maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • 3 slices of bacon (or Morningstar Farms Breakfast Strips*)
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, the honey and the cardamom until well blended. Set aside.
  3. Arrange the bacon in a frying pan and cook until crispy. Crumble or cut into bits. Set aside.
  4. Brush each sheet of phyllo dough with the melted butter and layer together. Brush the top layer with butter and cut the phyllo into three strips and again into four squares.  Add a dollop of the cream cheese mixture onto the phyllo square and fold into triangles pinching the edges to seal shut.  Brush each finished triangle with butter.
  5. Place triangles onto a baking sheet and bake for 15- 20 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on a baking rack.
  6. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, maple syrup and the pumpkin pie spice.
  7. To serve, spread a spoonful of the yogurt sauce on the bottom of a plate, arrange the phyllo triangles and sprinkle with the crumbled bacon.
  8. * For those who refrain from Pork.

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

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Chicken and Dumplings-2510It’s near 20 degrees in NYC today and the girls and I spent the day in the city at a blogging holiday party. We had tons of fun and afterwards, we wandered up Fifth Avenue to check out the holiday windows of the large department stores. They are always so lovely! But sadly, the cold was just too much for us and we had to call it quits before we turned into ice pops.

We made our way back to Penn Station and headed home shivering the entire time!

The best cure for cold weather is serious comfort food. Knowing that we are having roast turkey and mashed potatoes later in the week, we opted for a stew instead. But I didn’t want beef. Chicken and Dumplings seemed to be the perfect next choice and it was!

My aunt, in North Carolina, made the best Chicken and Dumplings growing up. She is a real down home, Southern kind of a lady and makes everyone feel welcome the moment they arrive, sweet tea in hand. Not only was her fried chicken the best, but the homemade bacon that they cured in their smokehouse was out of this world and I have never had better. But the real treat was her Chicken & Dumplings.  I remember how she rolled out her dumplings thin and cut them like pasta rather than dropping balls of dough by spoonfuls into a boiling cauldron of chicken stock. The result was a hearty stew with bite fulls of dense, dough, creamy sauce and chunks of herbed chicken. A very filling and a very comforting bowl.

I don’t have her recipe but I’ve been making them this way for years and they are reminiscent of the ones she made. I may not remember or know if they are as good as hers, but my family loves them and a 6.3 quart French Oven yielded just enough tonight that there was only one small bowl left over. But next time, I’ll have to make more dumplings- because that’s the first thing to go as everyone spoons them out of the pot and it’s good to have some leftover because  the dish is always better the next day!

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
 
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Chicken and Dumplings
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
For the Stock:
  • 1 3-4lb Whole Chicken ((You can use ¼'s or ⅛'s as well))
  • 2 stalks Celery (Chopped in large chunks)
  • 2 large Carrots (Chopped in large chunks)
  • 1 medium Onion (Diced)
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 2 sprigs Thyme (Leave whole)
  • 2 sprigs Rosemary (Leave whole)
  • 2 sprigs Sage (Leave whole)
  • 3 cloves Garlic (Finely chopped)
  • Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
  • Water (To Cover)
For the Dumplings:
  • 3 cups Self Rising Flour
  • 1½ cup Chicken Stock (Use the just made stock)
Method
  1. For the Stock. In a large pot (I used a 6.3 French Oven) over high heat, add the chicken, herbs and chopped vegetables. Add enough water to cover and submerge the chicken. Bring to a boil and lower the flame to medium-low heat and simmer for an hour and a half or until the chicken is fork tender. At this point, remove the whole chicken from the broth and set it aside to cool. Leave the broth on the low flame to continue simmering.
  2. Once you are able to touch the chicken, go ahead and remove the meat from the bones. Set aside the meat and discard the carcass.
  3. From the broth, remove the stems and stalks of the herbs. If you want, you can now also skim the top of the broth to remove any impurities. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. For the dumplings. Remove 1½ cups of stock from the pot and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, add the self-rising flour* and the stock. With a fork or your hands, knead the liquid into the flour to form a dough. Continue kneading until all the flour is incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it's about ¼" thick. Cut the dough into 2" squares with a knife.
  5. Turn up the heat on the stock and once it is boiling, drop the squares of dumplings into the pot, stirring so they do not stick together.
  6. Return the chicken pieces to the pot and stir to combine. Continue cooking for another 5-8 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through and the stock has thickened some.**
  7. Serve in large bowls.
Notes
* Self Rising Flour- If you don't have, you can make your own. For every 1 cup of ap flour add 1½ teaspoons Baking Powder and ¼ teaspoon Salt and mix well.

** If your sauce is not as thick as you would like, in a separate bowl, make a slurry consisting of 2 teaspoons Corn Starch and a 2 tablespoons of Stock. Mix well to remove any lumps and add this mixture back to your stock which should continue boiling for another minute or so. Keep stirring to combine. Lower the flame back to a simmer and the sauce will become thicker as it continues to cook.

 

Chicken and Dumplings-2502

Enjoy and Stay Warm!