I made this a few nights ago, then reheated for a nice hearty meal to enjoy during our massive snow storm. If you are cooking vegetarian, simply change the chicken stock to vegetable stock. This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten, but in her risotto she incorporates pancetta and saffron. I wanted to keep it lighter and simpler. Enjoy!

1 large butternut squash (2 Lbs.)
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 cups chicken stock
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 large shallots, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove the skin and seeds from the squash, cut into 1/2 cubes, put into a bowl with the olive oil, add 1/2 Tsp. of both salt and pepper, and toss with your hands. Put the cubes on a sheet pan and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until soft. Remove from oven, put back in the bowl and hand mash with an immersion blender. Cover bowl with foil and set aside.
Heat the stock in a covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer.
In a large, heavy pan, melt the butter and sauté the shallots on medium-low heat until they are clear, but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 ladles of stock to the rice with 1 Tsp. salt and 1/2 Tsp. pepper. Stir and simmer until the stock is absorbed, about 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total.
Put the risotto mixture on very low heat, toss in the mashed squash, and once the squash is blended in, toss in the Parmesan cheese and toss until the cheese has melted.

Wine served: Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc

One night, our friend Lynn had us over for dinner. She told us she was making “slum”.
“You’re making what?,” I asked.
“Slum….slumgullion,” Lynn responded casually.
“Well…what kind of wine do I bring?”
“Anything red,” She quipped.

And so, that night I learned about slumgullion. Lynn told us this was a dish her family made, but that the recipe might have been born out of the depression era. Essentially, slumgullion is a kind of stew where you put into it, whatever could be found. Usually some kind of meat, a pasta or other kind of starch such as beans, any vegetable and crushed tomatoes. Lynn’s version contained spaghetti, crushed tomatoes, onion, sharp cheddar cheese and 2 Lbs. ground beef. I loved it and the history behind this dish, so I decided to make my own. I stuck to Lynn’s recipe closely, but added just a few more ingredients. One of the things I did was to make homemade spaghetti. This recipe can be followed, but I think the point of slumgullion is to use whatever you have and make it your own. A side of garlic bread would fit nicely with this meal. Have fun!

Ingredients
1 Lb. spaghetti
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Lb. ground beef
1 large organic carrot, cut into thick slices
2 “stick of butter” size pieces of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 Tsp. smoked paprika
1 15.5 ounce can cannellini beans
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, put about 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and cook the carrots and onions until tender. Add the garlic and toss into the mixture for 1 minute. Add the ground beef and cook. Then add the beans and heat through. Add the cooked spaghetti and crushed tomatoes and heat through. Add the smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Last, toss in the shredded cheese and blend until melted.

Wine served: 2011 Secoli, Ripasso Valpolicella

This recipe is from Jamie Oliver. I have to say that when I first heard of it I was skeptical, but wow…..this is really outstanding. The only things I changed is that instead of using a 3 Lb. chicken, I used 3 Lbs. of chicken thighs I had in the freezer, and instead of zest from 2 lemons, I used one. I used what I had. The sage and minimal amount of cinnamon flavor come gently through the chicken. The only thing I would suggest is: use fresh sage….it pays off. I don’t think it would taste the same if you substituted fresh for dried. Enjoy!

Chicken in Milk

1 (3 Lb./1.5 kilograms) organic chicken
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces (115 grams) or 1 stick of butter
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 good handful fresh sage, leaves picked
2 lemons, zested
6 garlic cloves, whole
1 pint (565 milliliters, or 2 cups) milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (190 C) and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Season it generously all over with salt and pepper, and fry it in the butter, turning the chicken to get an even color all over, until golden. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the butter left in the pot. This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan, which will give you a lovely caramel flavor later on.
Put your chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. (I remembered 4 times) The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce which is absolutely fantastic.
To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide on to your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds.

Wine served: 2002 Louis Latour, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1st Cru

Anyone who is familiar with my blog knows I’ve been learning how to cook for a little over a year now. I usually find a recipe and follow it as close as I feel comfortable, but occasionally I strike out on my own to see how much I’ve learned. This sauce is an example of my testing the waters, and according to Sandy, I hit a home run. She was first impressed with my bravery in adding garbanzo beans to a tomato sauce, and secondly surprised at how much flavor the garbanzos absorbed without falling apart. I served this up on top of some thick chicken drumsticks that I floured and browned, then covered it all in a casserole dish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and cooked at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 14.5 ounce can organic diced tomatoes
1 15.5 ounce can garbanzo beans
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 Tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 cup heavy cream
Splash of red wine
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

In a large skillet on medium/low heat, add oil and cook onions until slightly tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding tomatoes, garbanzo beans, salt and pepper, paprika and heavy cream. Cook on a high simmer until it bubbles for 20 minutes or until reduced by 1/3.

As I said, I put this on top of chicken drumsticks, but it would be great by itself served with a loaf of crunchy bread.