On a day (or days, just sayin’) like this:
(glorious and scenic parking lot, in the rain. View from my dining room window. It’s enthralling, you’re welcome)
What is a flutter to do? Oh I KNOW, it would be time to bust out with some bad ass domestic type goddessness of the highest order. Oh, I can throw down. Oh yes, I can.
Boredom busting domestic measure #1
Risotto.
Don’t even try to front, risotto is hearty, delicious and it takes FOREVER to make. What better way to waste time?
you start out with some onion and butter. You can use olive oil, but meh, I like cholesterol.
(forgive the hot sauce splatter on the counter. perhaps my time would have been better spent cleaning my kitchen, whatever)
add in your arborio rice and stir until coated in said delicious cholesterol.but don’t let the rice get brown it will keep the rice from absorbing the liquid. Which is, in this case, chicken stock and white wine
start stirring in your liquid. it smells delicious….
liquid is all sucked into the rice….oh so yummy
The thing is, the end is kind of anti-climatic because I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. BECAUSE I WAS TOO BUSY EATING. Oh man, it was delicious. Here is the recipe for your next rainy day:
Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto ala Alton Brown
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 5 ounces wild mushrooms, cooked and coarsely chopped, approximately 3/4 cup
- 7 ounces asparagus, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces, approximately 1 1/2 cups
- 2 ounces grated Parmesan, approximately 1/2 cup
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
In an electric kettle or medium saucepan with a lid, combine chicken broth and white wine and heat just to simmering. Keep warm.
In a large 3 to 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sweat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the grains are translucent around the edges. Be careful not to allow the grains or the onions to brown.
Reduce the heat to low. Add enough of the wine and chicken stock just to cover the top of the rice. Stir or move the pan often, until the liquid is completely absorbed into rice. Once absorbed, add another amount of liquid just to cover the rice and continue stirring or moving as before. There should be just enough liquid left to repeat 1 more time. It should take approximately 35 to 40 minutes for all of the liquid to be absorbed. After the last addition of liquid has been mostly absorbed, add the mushrooms and asparagus and stir until risotto is creamy and asparagus is heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Taste and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper
seriously? I found myself with more time and more rain. *twiddles thumbs* what to do, what to do?
Oh! I know, this:
I am so artistic that I even amaze myself. *snort*
You know you want to make this. So here is the recipe:
Cranberry Cornmeal Cake ala Giada
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup cake flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
- 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons orange zest (from 2 large oranges)
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
Directions
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.
Place the cranberries in a sieve set over a medium bowl. Spoon the flour over the cranberries and sieve the flour into the bowl. Set the flour-dusted cranberries aside.
Mix together the cornmeal, baking powder, and orange zest with the flour. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the egg yolks and whole eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce the speed to low and add the orange juice. Add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the cranberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake until the cake is golden, about 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool. (The cake can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight in a plastic container.)
You would think that would take up the rain and the time. However, you would be wrong. No, you see, my boredom was such that I dragged The Boy to the 24-hour-store-which-shall-not-be-named to get custom paint blended. At 11:30 at night. In the rain. Why, you ask? To do this:
our place looks a fair bit cleaner than it is. All hail tricky photography!
Oh, look at all that laundry, nevermind…
by 3 am we were stuffed, painted and sleepy and by then and only then did it stop raining.
