Brown Rice Risotto

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour but most of it is just watching and stirring

Cost per serving: $0.50 to $2.00 or more if you use fancy ingredients like expensive mushrooms

Useful leftovers: Very useful! Great reheated or used to thicken soup

This is a great recipe. It takes a long time but there is little work to do. Despite what TV cooks will tell you you don't need arborio or carnaroli rice. The texture of this risotto is surprisingly like the classic risotto but with a nuttier flavor and of course it's a lot better for you. Not only is it a whole grain dish I don't dump a half pound of cheese on it - but you could. My version is vegan but you could use chicken or beef stock instead of the mushroom stock, and you can add bits of cooked meat as a garnish.

This recipe takes over an hour to cook but after the first ten minutes you just have to stir and add liquid when needed, which is every few minutes.

The best rice for this is brown basmati rice. I love the nutty taste which really comes out in this dish. It's really versatile too; you can eat it as is, add nuts, cheese, bits of leftover meat, you can throw it in a soup or you can put it on a tray and refrigerate it, cut it into shapes and deep fry it.

1 onion, minced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 ounce dried mushrooms
2 cups of brown rice
1 clove of garlic, minced
Fresh or dried thyme
4 cups of hot water

Put the wild mushrooms in the hot water. Stir them up and push them down so they are all wet. Keep this stock on a low heat or keep it covered while you make the risotto. If it cools down heat it up again. You want the stock to be just below the boiling point while you add it to the rice over the course of an hour.

Saute the onions in the olive oil with the thyme until the onions are cooked but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the rice and cook for a couple of minutes. It should smell quite nutty.

Add enough mushroom stock to barely cover the rice and stir like mad. Leave the rice over really low heat and every few minutes stir it like mad. You don't want to be gentle, you want to put little holes in the rice.

When there is just a little liquid left in the rice add more to cover and stir like mad again.

If you start to run out of stock and the rice isn't cooked just add some more hot water to the mushrooms.

After 45 minutes or so you'll start to see a nice creamy quality to the liquid in the rice. When you see that and the rice is no longer hard the risotto is done.

Add salt and pepper (be generous as the rice is bland) and if they are tender add the mushrooms from the soaking liquid.

You can garnish the risotto with fresh herbs, cheese, bits of meat, water chestnuts, etc.

Sauteed Celery

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 2 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Cost per serving: $0.25 to $0.50

Useful leftovers: Good reheated and good to throw in soup or use other ways

This is a simple dish but it's unusual and has a lot of flavor and texture.

Celery
Olive Oil
Salt, pepper and a pinch of celery seeds.

Wash and slice a few ribs of celery about 1/4 inch thick. Heat a dry, heavy bottomed pan and add the celery and let it sit for a minute or two until it starts to turn brown. Add a bit of olive oil (just for flavor really) and grind a pinch of celery seeds with your fingers over it, sprinkle with salt and serve.

Takes a couple of minutes, is low in calories and tastes great. Simple and delicious and unusual enough to serve at the fanciest tables.

You can vary the recipe by adding onions, corn, parsnips, parsley, etc. It's great for a bed for entrees.

How to cook Green Beans

Quick, easy and so tasty as a side dish.

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: up to ten minutes

Cooking time: 1 to 5 minutes

Cost per serving: $0.50 to $1.00

Useful leftovers: Yes

I love this method of cooking vegetables. They steam in their own juices and get a little browning action.

Clean, dry and trim some green beans. Cut them into one inch lengths.



Get a heavy bottomed pan hot and add the beans. Do not put oil or butter in the pan first. Don't stir them, let them brown.

When you can see they are about a third of the way done shake the pan and turn them all over to cook the other side.

When they are about a third of the way done on the second side add a pat or two of butter and swirl the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and remove from the pan immediately.

The beans will be crunchy and have a great deep flavor.

This recipe also works with zucchini, celery, parsnips, etc.

Easy, Fast, Tasty, Pea soup

Just one word - YUM!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: up to ten minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Cost per serving: $0.50 and up depending on garnishes

Useful leftovers: Yes


Just like the title says this is easy, fast and very tasty. 

1 small onion or half a big one
1 small carrot of half a big one
1 pound bag of frozen peas, rinsed with hot water
Pinch of thyme, fresh or dried
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Cut the carrot and onion into small dice. Saute gently in the olive oil until they are cooked but not browned. This is called sweating.

Add the peas and enough water just to cover them. Bring to a boil and blend, either with a stick or regular blender or in a food processor. Salt and pepper to taste.

To make it fancy blend it really well then force it through a sieve. This will get rid of any bits of veggies that didn't puree completely and give you a smoother texture.

You can add a touch of cream and a dot of butter if you want a more classic French style soup.

You can garnish this soup many ways. I like crunchy or salty things as they contrast with the mild soup. Croutons, nuts, bits of ham, small chunks of lemon and bits of black olive are all great with this soup. You could put a dollop of yogurt or sour cream in the middle for a nice garnish.

Hartman House Dressing/Marinade/Cheap Drunk

NOTE: For reasons of historical accuracy and general laziness I have not edited this recipe, hence the layout problems and such. Sorry.  It's another thing we created to get plant matter into our kids stomachs. Enjoy!


1 liter     Kalamata Olive oil (1)
1 cup or so cheap balsamic vinegar
1 large wine glass     Latour '63
4 or 5  anchovy fillets, or smoked herring (see NOTE)
1/2   Lemon
1 big blopping tablespoon     Dijon mustard
1 Boatload     garlic, peeled,  little brown umbilicals and any brown spots cut off (2)
1 Boatload     fresh herbs (3)
Wooooseeestershire sauce to taste, probably a teaspoon or so
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
One nasty little pinch of sugar
Salt to taste

1) Juice the lemon and if you want, chop up a teaspoon or so of the zest. Rinse the herbs and dry them on a paper towel. (4)

2) Put the garlic, mustard, anchovies, herbs, lemon juice and zest into a food processor. Add enough balsamic vinegar just to cover it and chop the bejeezes out of it. It doesn't need to be pureed,  it should have lots of little pieces in it.

3) With the motor running if possible, add a few drops of olive oil. Let it process for a few seconds to start the emulsion. Slowly add more oil, waiting for it to process every few seconds.

I don't have a big food processor, so at this point I put it into a large bowl and use a wire whisk to beat it like DELETED as I slowly add the oil. You'll want to add more vinegar.

4) Call me first, then rush like hell over to my house so I can have the Latour. Hmm, maybe I'll make myself a steak to go with it. Thanks!

5) Add the Woosterstuff sauce, pepper and sugar. Mix it up and taste it (I like to use a cucumber stick or jicama, but a clean finger works well) before you add any salt, or more pepper or other stuff.

(1) OK, so you'll need a little less than that.
(2) 1 boatload equals a dozen big cloves or so. At least.
(3) A bunch of basil and half a bunch of parsley does well. I use about two cups of herbs.
(4) You don't have to go crazy drying the herbs, they're full of water anyway.

 NOTE: If you are using canned anchovies or anchovy paste you don't have to rinse them. If you are using the fancy salted anchovies then soak them for five minutes in water, then pull their little spines out, pinch off any bones or guts that are left on them (this is why anchovies don't like humans) and rinse them well. You can also use smoked herring, which is really cheap and you can get it in any market. A can costs about a buck. Sometimes they are called kippers or kippered herring. Use the ones in oil, not sauce.

NEXT NOTE: It hardly ever stays emulsified so don't worry about it.

EVEN MORE OF THESE DAMN NOTES:  You might notice that I have these NB type notes and the numbered notes above. I noticed that too. Too much Fledermaus will do that to ya.

SIGH - MORE NOTES:  If you are going to use a different oil, I would recommend cheaper rather than more expensive. You are going to process it with a boatload of garlic and anchovies. Any subtle flavor derived from the precious volcanic soils of Vesuvius are going to be smothered by the fragrant tang of the fruit of Gilroy.

Onions and Peppers

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: Depends on how much you make but for 2 lbs of peppers and an onion figure 10 minutes

Cooking time: 7 - 10  minutes

Cost per serving: cheap

Useful leftovers: Oh yes

This sounds too simple to be good. I almost always have a tub of this in my fridge and I use it all the time.

Onions
Sweet red peppers
Olive oil
Salt

This would be so drab without it!

It couldn't be much simpler. Go to a market where you can get inexpensive red bell peppers. There are some Asian markets near here where I sometimes get them for less than a dollar. 

Number two peppers are fine for this. Those are the ones that are too twisted or have a scar or blemish and can't be sold as a number 1. As long as they are not cracked open or disgusting or old they are fine. Look for crisp ones that have a relatively smooth skin.

I don't care about the skins on the peppers but if you do go ahead and peel them. 

Wash and dry the peppers. Cut the flesh into strips. I don't cook for customers or teachers so I don't care if they are all the same size. Makes no difference here.

Cut an onion into chunks.

Put the vegetables into a dry, heavy bottomed pan. You cannot make this in a thin pan. You'll burn everything. Turn the heat onto medium and when they are just starting to brown add 1/4 cup of good olive oil. Not a fancy olive oil, just not a bitter cheesy one.

Turn the heat way down and stir like mad.  At this point you want to cook the stuff very slowly for at least 1/2 hr.  We don't want a lot of browning but we want everything to be fully cooked and soft. Don't let a molecule of raw onion remain but be careful nothing burns. If you can cook it for 45 minutes without burning it so much the better.

Put the peppers and onions into a bowl and scrape the stuff from the bottom of the pan into the bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and another tablespoon of olive oil. When it is cooled to room temperature put it in the fridge.

Here are some ways that I use this:

As a bruschetta topping, sometimes with smoked herring and lemon or with cucumbers
As a pasta sauce base
As a meat sauce base
As a salad dressing base
Over a rare steak or piece of lamb or sausage
As a salad ingredient
As a filling in a stuffed chicken breast of pork chop
As a flavoring oil'
As a dip

You can vary this many ways. I sometimes add serrano chiles or chunks of potato. I like to sprinkle Cholula hot sauce on it. You can use it to top chile or enchiladas. It's great with sour cream.

These peppers go well with bits of salty things like ham but also with very savory things like grilled meat, sausage, or meaty fish like mackerel.

The best thing in this recipe is the oil! It tastes great. Just sprinkle a little on a grilled Italian sausage, or grilled eggplant or tomatoes. Just great.

Hartman House Spice Rub

You get a whole lotta yum with a few spices

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: None

Cost per serving: Maybe a quarter

Useful leftovers: Keep it dry and cool

I use this mixture a lot! I use it as a general seasoning and a spice rub when I barbeque or smoke meat. It's good on vegetables. You can add other spices or herbs to adjust it for individual recipes.

Notice there is NO salt in this. I mix salt into it when I use it so I can control the amount. There is nothing in here to keep it from hardening. So sometimes, especially if you live in a humid climate, you'll have to scrape or hit it with a spoon. Better than loading it with chemicals to keep it flowing.

Since I never measure anything and you can alter this as you wish the amounts are very approximate.

10 parts Sweet Paprika
2 parts Smoked Paprika
1 part Chipotle powder
2 parts Garlic powder
2 parts freshly ground Cumin seeds
1 part Celery seeds, ground between your fingers
1 part Dried Thyme
1 part freshly ground black pepper

Mix it in a bowl. Make sure there are no lumps. Put it in a container and keep tightly closed.