Panko-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Over Jasmine Rice

I knew I wanted something with some crunch for dinner last night, so when we decided to make Brussels sprouts, I devised this recipe as a way to incorporate that.  I found it to be not only incredibly tasty, but also really fast and easy with minimal prep work – just what the doctor ordered for a cold, rainy, Tuesday.  I think the lemon juice was what really made this dish shine, so don’t do without it.

Panko-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Over Jasmine Rice

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed with outer leaves removed and an 1/8″ or so “X” cut into the stem end

2 cloves marinated whole garlic, minced

1/4 cup sliced baby bellas

1 tbs. olive oil

1 tbs. Brummel &  Brown

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (remove for vegetarian, otherwise this is lacto-ovo vegetarian)

1/2 cup Japanese-style panko bread crumbs

1/2 tsp. dried sweet basil

Non-stick cooking spray

1 cup jasmine rice, cooked according to package instructions

Boil a pot of lightly salted water large enough to submerge all Brussels sprouts.  Boil Brussels sprouts six minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, heat tablespoon of olive oil and Brummel & Brown until melted.  Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté six minutes until garlic is golden brown and mushrooms are tender.

Preheat broiler.

Drain Brussels sprouts and place in 5 cup casserole dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Combine well with garlic, mushrooms, and residual olive oil and Brummel & Brown.  If not completely coated, add an extra few teaspoons of olive oil.  Season well with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Toss with juice from lemon.  Cover with Parmesan.  Combine dried sweet basil and panko bread crumbs and sprinkle over top of Brussels sprouts and cheese.  Spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray.

Place uncovered casserole in broiler and broil 3-5 minutes until bread crumbs are golden brown.  Serve over cooked jasmine rice.

Butter and Balsamic Braised Radishes with Green Beans

Zak really loved this recipe, although I personally thought it fell a little bit flat.  It was tasty enough, but I thought it could have used a little extra “zing” of some sort – next time I make it, I’m going to add something else (maybe pine nuts, lemon zest, a little white wine or another vegetable to the medley – I welcome any suggestions in the comments!).  However, he raved enough about it that I thought it was worth a post.  I will be sure to come back and update this post when I make it another time in the future.  I served this alongside the Fried Green Tomatoes from yesterday, so maybe I was just so enamored with those I didn’t get a good read on the quality of this dish.

Butter and Balsamic Braised Radishes with Green Beans

Adapted (loosely) from ruhlman.com

Serves 2

2-3 tbs. salted butter

1 tbs. olive oil

1 tbs. Brummel & Brown butter substitute

1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

6-7 small radishes, trimmed and quartered

5 cups green beans, trimmed and halved

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 cup jasmine rice, cooked according to package directions

Melt butter in large sauté pan over medium-low heat.  Add olive oil and Brummel & Brown.  Add garlic and sauté until light golden brown.  Add balsamic vinegar.  Add radishes and green beans and season with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Cook 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently so vegetables are well-coated with butter mixture.  When complete, the radishes and green beans should be al dente.

Serve over jasmine rice.

Pasta with Calamari and Sweet Pepper Olive Oil Sauce

This pasta dish was so light and flavorful I couldn’t stop eating it until my bowl was basically licked clean.  The flavors were a great balance of sweet and spice and the calamari was cooked perfectly.  I was also pleasantly surprised about how well it heated up today as leftovers for lunch.

Pasta with Calamari and Sweet Pepper Olive Oil Sauce

1/2 box rotini pasta, cooked according to package directions

4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 medium shallots, sliced

1/4 cup button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 large red bell pepper, diced

1 hot Hungarian pepper, diced

1 16 oz. bag frozen calamari, tentacles and bodies, with tubular pieces cut into rings

5 tbs. olive oil, divided

3 tbs. Brummel & Brown, divided

1 cup sweet white wine (I used Barefoot Muscato)

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

4 green onions, sliced, whites and greens separated

Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of Brummel & Brown over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan.  Add garlic, shallots and whites of green onions and sauté until light golden brown, roughly 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and sauté until lightly browned, roughly 2 minutes.  Add red bell peppers and hot Hungarian peppers and sauté 2-4 minutes until their juices have been released, stirring frequently.  Add remainder of oil and Brummel & Brown and add calamari.  Sauté, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes or until calamari begins to shrink in size.  Add wine and turn heat to high, reducing by half.  This should take about 3 or 4 minutes, by which time the calamari will be fully cooked.  If you’re unsure, do a taste test.  Add the cooked rotini to the sauté pan and thoroughly combine with the vegetables and sauce.

Top bowls of pasta with green onion greens and grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

Mushroom and Balsamic Chicken with Arancini

As much as I love risotto the day of, I absolutely abhor it the day after.  No matter how I try to heat it up (stove top, microwave, oven), it ends up gummy and lackluster.  So, when I heard about arancini, or fried risotto, I was very curious to try it out.  While most of the recipes I came across called for deep fried balls of risotto, I decided to make patties and pan fry them.  I hate to use all of the oil and there’s something about deep frying that makes me recoil.  The end result here was the perfect way to use up leftover risotto, and something I will certainly be repeating.  The outside was crispy, the risotto was creamy, and the enclosed mozzarella was the perfect molten-y goodness.  These were incredibly easy, although ridiculously messy, to make, and would make a perfect appetizer.

The chicken was also moist and tasty.  I love balsamic and it perfectly complemented the umami of the mushrooms while not overwhelming the flavor of the chicken or zucchini.  Paired together with the arancini, this dish was a real winner.

Mushroom and Balsamic Chicken with Arancini

Serves 2

Mushroom and Balsamic Chicken:

3 medium sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 cup button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup yellow squash, thinly sliced

1 tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbs. butter

1 cup homemade chicken stock

Season chicken breasts on both sides with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.  In a medium sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add chicken breasts and sauté until lightly golden brown on each side (roughly 4 minutes per side).  Add mushrooms, yellow squash, thyme and marjoram to pan.  Continue to sauté until mushrooms are slightly browned and squash is tender.  Add balsamic and chicken stock.  Cover tightly with lid and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove cover and remove chicken breasts.  Cover with foil.  Increase heat to medium-high and reduce balsamic/chicken stock mixture by half.  Add tablespoon of butter.  Serve by spooning vegetables and sauce over chicken.

Arancini (Fried Risotto):

1 1/2 cup leftover creamy risotto

1/2 cup jasmine rice, cooked (or an extra 1/2 cup leftover creamy risotto)

2 eggs, beaten, divided

1 oz. mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

2 tbs. canola oil

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

In a medium bowl, combine risotto, jasmine rice and 1 egg, beaten.  Mix together thoroughly.  Form into patties roughly 3 inches across and 1 inch thick.  Insert cube or two of mozzarella into center of patty.

Place flour in a shallow dish.  Place remaining beaten egg in a second shallow dish.  Place breadcrumbs in a third shallow dish.  Coat each patty with flour, followed by egg, followed by bread crumbs.

Heat canola oil in a large sauté pan until shimmering.  Pan fry risotto patties until deep golden brown and mozzarella is melted, roughly 4-5 minutes per side.

Creamy Risotto

Zak and I are both big fans of risotto.  Yes, the process is fairly labor intensive.  Despite that, the final result is well worth standing in front of your stove for forty minutes or so stirring.  I usually stand at the stove with a book and stir when the whim strikes me.  The frequent or constant stirring of the risotto helps to release the starches in the arborio rice, which is what gives risotto the creamy texture that distinguishes from other varietals of rice.  This particular risotto is decadently creamy and delicious.  To be fair, though, I haven’t met a risotto I didn’t like, and ingredients can easily be substituted based on what you have on hand.  I recommend, however, that you use a good stock while making risotto rather than something boxed or simple water.  The rice really draws in the flavor of the stock, and without a decent stock base, the recipe will fall flat.

Creamy Risotto

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 cup sliced button mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbs. olive oil

3/4 cup dry white wine (I used chardonnay)

6-8 cups homemade chicken stock

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

3/4 cup freshly grated Jarlsberg cheese

1 tbs. butter

1 tsp. dried parsley, for garnish

Combine homemade chicken stock and basil in a medium stock pot or sauce pan.  Cover and bring to a low simmer.

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add sliced shallots, mushrooms and garlic and sauté until mushrooms and garlic are a light golden brown and shallots are slightly caramelized, roughly 10 minutes.  Add arborio rice and sauté until lightly golden brown.  Add white wine to pan, stirring, and simmer until wine is absorbed.  Slowly, one cup at a time, add the simmering stock.  Stir frequently.  As each cup of stock is completely or nearly completely absorbed, add another cup of stock, continuing to stir.  Cook, slowly adding stock and frequently stirring, until rice is al dente or to taste.  This will take roughly 25-35 minutes.  Once final cup of stock is almost totally absorbed, stir in grated Jarlsberg cheese and butter.  Combine thoroughly and serve with dried parsley as garnish.