Mushroom, Irish Cheddar and Asiago Risotto with Pancetta

I don't know about you, but bacon makes everything taste better to me. Bacon in the form of pancetta makes life worth living after a rough week, and mixing it into mushroom and cheese risotto makes all your worries lose their point. Here is a risotto recipe I originally made religiously with Gouda (and without the pancetta) but have adapted to what I happened to have on hand. I hope the drool runs down your chin as faithfully as mine did when I smelled the aroma of crispy pork belly mixed with mushrooms and cheese. You can substitute any kind of mushroom available, as long as you have 16 oz. (less if you don't love fungi as much as I - I pity the fool!), and bacon would be an acceptable substitute for the pancetta.

Enjoy!

Mushroom, Irish Cheddar and Asiago Risotto with Pancetta

3 Tbsp. olive oil

16 oz. mixed mushrooms (crimini, button, wild, etc.), thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, diced (roasted garlic is even better!)

2 shallots, diced

1 cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup vermouth or other white cooking wine

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup half and half

1 tsp. sage

4 tablespoons butter

6 slices pancetta or bacon

1/2 cup grated Irish cheddar (or other aged white cheddar)

1/2 cup grated Asiago

sea salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Transfer skillet contents to a bowl and set aside.

Add pancetta to skillet and cook on medium heat, turning over every 5 minutes until crisp. Drain, crumble and set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil, garlic and shallots to skillet. Cook 1 minute, until shallots are translucent. Add Arborio rice, stirring to coat. When rice turns golden (about 2 minutes), add vermouth, stirring constantly until fully absorbed. Add broth to rice, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until absorbed. Continue adding broth until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes. Slowly stir in half and half until incorporated.

Remove from heat, stir in mushrooms (and their juice), sage, butter, crumbled pancetta and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

Homemade Vegetable Broth

For those of you who throw away the onion and garlic skins, broccoli and cauliflower stems and only keep the mushroom caps for cooking, shame on you! All you need is a one-gallon freezer bag to enjoy something some people pay $2 a quart for in the grocery store.

When you peel a carrot or potato, set the peels aside, along with mushroom stems; broccoli and cauliflower stems; onion, shallot and garlic peels; celery hearts; corn cobs; and any other parts of your vegetables that you would normally discard. Make sure you rinse so no dirt gets into the mix, then allow your remnants to dry on a paper towel. Toss them into your gallon freezer bag, stick it in the freezer, and when the bag is full... make delicious and nutritious vegetable broth!

You can use the broth as the base for soups and stews, steam your rice in it, and if it has enough flavor, just sip it when you're in the mood for something warm and delicious.

When you're ready to begin, make sure you have an extra fresh carrot or two, a few ribs of fresh celery, some cubed potato, and if you want to use the broth for something like French Onion Soup or want it to be dark and flavorful, toss in some fresh mushrooms.

In a large stock pot, dump the contents of your freezer bag into the bottom, then add any fresh ingredients. Add water to cover everything, then get the mixture bubbling. Just before it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to allow it to simmer - never boil a sauce or a soup!

Toss in some fresh peppercorns, sea salt crystals, mustard seed, coriander seed, hot pepper flakes, and whatever other herbs and spices you like. I grow fresh rosemary year-round, so I like to toss several sprigs (rinsed first!) into the pot.

If you happen to roast your own garlic, be sure to toss in some of that, along with the leftover skins.

Simmer your broth for 1-2 hours, until everything is soft. Use cheesecloth to strain everything, then squeeze the vegetables to get the rest of the liquid out of them. Discard or compost the solid stuff, then use your broth for whatever you like - just be sure to use or freeze it within 3 days.

Enjoy!

I'm baaaaack!

After a short hiatus, I'm back.

You may be wondering where I went for so long. The short answer is: nowhere.

The long answer is: I went to a specialist to see if he could help me figure out why I had 4 sinus infections in a row between October and January. After a sinus CT scan and an allergy test (I am allergic to glycerin and didn't know it, so I got all false positives on the poke test, so they took a blood test),  I've discovered that I have a deviated septum with a spur, preventing almost all air flow on the right side of my head (hence the ear infections and my ability to always know when a sinus infection is about to start because the right side of my nose becomes an impenetrable fortress), and I'm allergic to several seasonal allergens plus milk and wheat.

FAIL.

I hate my life.

A few years ago, after several ER visits, specialist visits, vomit sessions, etc., I learned I was allergic to wheat, so I removed it from my diet for a while. Then I started adding it back in, one whole wheat grain at a time, until I didn't feel any symptoms. Back then, the only gluten-free options were mediocre, and my best bet was total avoidance.

Things have come a long way. I found gluten-free rice flour pasta (on sale for 99 cents a box!!!) at Harris Teeter, and Annie's has been making a rice flour mac n' cheese for a few years, but I'm allergic to the milk/processed powdered cheese, so I can't have it any more. Before I knew I was allergic to the milk, it was my go-to for that childhood favorite. Rice flour pasta is a big step up from whole-wheat pasta, mainly because of the texture. Whole-wheat pasta can get pretty grainy and unappetizing, but rice flour pasta tastes virtually the same.

Blue Diamond almond milk is my savior. Coming from a family of "milk addicts" (minus my sister), it was a little depressing to learn I couldn't have cow's milk. Blue Diamond Original almond milk is delicious and smooth. I have only tried it for drinking (I can't bring myself to cook anything with milk as an ingredient because I'm scared of what the results might be with dairy-free substitutes...). I tried Silk brand almond milk, but it was too grainy and had a little more residue than I'm comfortable with.

I have a new project I'm working on as a side job, and it happens to be coming up with 20 gluten-free recipes from freezer to table, so I'm glad that I will benefit from this project.

I apologize for my absence and promise I won't go so long between posts.

Cheers!

Liz