Mushroom Risotto & Grilled Chicken

Tonight's dinner came together in about an hour.  I have been wanting to make this for some time now and my nonna gave me chicken broth on Sunday, so it gave me the perfect opportunity.  You can use whatever broth/stock you have on hand.  First get the stock heating up, set up the chicken to marinate and then get on to the rest of the risotto recipe!

It turned out so delicious that we scarfed it down, almost forgetting to take a picture.  And we had to stop ourselves from eating it all up tonight so we'd have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:

1 pkg (227g) sliced mushrooms (put more if you like)
5-6 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 tbsp butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1-3/4 cup arborio (risotto) rice
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or do a mix of Parmesan and Asiago)

Directions:

1. Bring the stock to a boil in a pan, then reduce the heat and keep simmering gently over low heat while you cook the risotto.
2. Chop the mushrooms into smaller pieces.   Heat 2-3 tbsp butter in a frying pan.  Add the mushrooms and fry for 1-2 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes; remove from heat.
3.  Heat the olive oil and 2 tbsp. butter in a large, heavy-bottom pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, until softened.
4. Reduce the heat, add the rice, and mix to coat in oil and butter. (If it seems really dry or sticking a lot, add some more butter or oil.) Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes, or until the grains are translucent.
5.  Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute until reduced.
6. Gradually add the hot stock, a ladelful at a time.  Stir constantly and add more liquid as the rice absorbs each addition.  Increase the heat to medium so that the liquid bubbles.  Cook for 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy. (You may find that the rice is cooked, but you still have some stock leftover; that is okay.)
7. Add the mushroom/garlic mixture when you have about one ladleful of stock left. Season with salt and pepper and add remaining stock if necessary.
8. Remove pan from heat and stir in 1 tbsp butter and the Parmesan cheese.
9. Serve immediately and grate some Asiago cheese over top.

Grilled Greek-Style Chicken

Ingredients:

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
The juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp dried thyme **
1 tsp dried parsley **
1/2 tsp dried oregano **
1 tsp garlic powder **
salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine lemon juice and spices in a medium bowl.  Place chicken breasts in bowl to marinate in the juice and seasoning.  Let it sit for at least 5 minutes, but longer is better. (Discard the juice when you cook the chicken.)
2. Meanwhile preheat your grill over medium-high heat.  (I like to use my Griddler indoors, but a BBQ is always great.)  Spray the grill with cooking spray or oil.
3. Cook on the prepared grill until the breasts are no longer pink inside and juices run clear, about 10-15 minutes per side.  If you are using a grill like the Griddler and closing the lid, you will probably only need about 10 minutes, but will cook the breasts in 2 batches.

For an extra burst of flavor, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over each breast.  For extra juiciness, place a dollop of butter on the breasts as you cook them.
**I never really measure my spices.  I just sprinkle them in until it looks like there's enough!**

Sunday night pizza

It's been a long tradition in my family to have a big pasta lunch on a Sunday afternoon with the entire family (I mean my Nonna, Nonno, mom, Zias, Zios, etc.). And it isn't just pasta that we're having either: there's always meatballs or fatine, fagioli or eggplant, salad; basically there is a lot of food. So dinner is usually much more laid back and casual: homemade pizza. And by homemade I mean homemade dough, sauce, sausages or cappicolo, and then vegetables from the garden and sometimes even my grandfather's cheese too. Even when the family get togethers aren't everyone, pasta still is the lunch and pizza still is the dinner. The pizza always tastes a little different - depending on who made it: Nonno, Nonna or my mom - but it's always good. Everyone has their preference, but I would never choose one over the other because they really all are amazing!

In trying to learn how to make pizza like my elders, I soon realized that I too had to develop my own way. Mostly because neither my grandparents nor my mom measure while making dough ("It's more about the feeling of the dough..."). Plus they are often making two big trays of pizza that will feed almost 20 people!

I've played around with some different pizza dough recipes (the one below doesn't have to rest all day to rise) and added some of the tricks of the trade I've learned from my family. And I think my pizza always tastes a little different each time too. Today I'm going to share with you my most recent pizza endeavour: one with toppings similar to my family's and one that is my own creation that has become pretty popular with my husband, mom, and others. My grandfather will always choose a pizza with sauce (but not too much) over one without (unless it has anchovies on it!)

PIZZA DOUGH

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

1. In a medium bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Mix / knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth or Saran wrap. Let rest for about an hour.
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 equal rounds. Pat or roll into a round. Grease two pizza pans with a piece of cold butter (this will give a nice golden color to your crust), then olive oil, then dust with coarse cornmeal (this will give a nice crunch). Transfer dough to the pan. Drizzle olive oil on the top and rub it around so the dough is nice and greased. As you prepare your toppings the dough will rise a little bit more.
4. Spread your toppings and bake in a preheated 450F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is nice and golden underneath and the toppings are cooked and delicious looking. Let it rest for a few minutes before cutting into it.

This recipe will make two round pizzas pictured below. The crust is between a thin and thick crust. If you only let it rise for a few minutes, you will probably get one pizza.

The great thing about pizza is you can put whatever you want on it and it will probably still taste amazing. This is a bit more of your common toppings.

TRADITIONAL TOPPINGS: sauce, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, tomatoes, minced garlic, mozzarella

Spread as much pizza sauce as you like on the crust. In a pinch you can use tomato paste thinned out with some water and even some seasonings. Or if you like a chunkier sauce, you can used a can of crushed tomatoes (drained of course; and it won't spread like a normal sauce). If you like garlic you can always take a crushed clove and rub it all over the dough first. If the sauce isn't seasoned, it's always nice to have some oregano and basil sprinkled on the dough. Add the toppings listed above. These are the common toppings used in my family. Red peppers always make an appearance as does my grandfather's cold cuts (prosciutto, cappicolo, salami, dried sausage). Drizzle some more olive oil over top of everything.
Bake the pizza in the oven till it is almost done. Add as much cheese as you like and pop it back in the oven till the cheese is melted and pizza is done. Keep in mind that when you do it this way, the sauce will dry up a little bit as the cheese isn't protecting it as much (although the oil will help a little), but the cheese will stay nice and gooey instead of getting hard and crusty.

My husband loves this pizza - the more sauce the better he always says!

"GREEK" TOPPINGS: My spinach and feta pizza

2 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 - 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Feta cheese

Drizzle olive oil on top of the dough and spread it around. Sprinkle dough with salt, pepper, basil, oregano and thyme to your taste. You can also rub a crushed garlic clove after rubbing the oil to enhance the garlic flavor. Spread garlic, onions and spinach on pizza. Drizzle more olive oil over top. This is important so your toppings don't completely dry out. Crumble feta cheese over toppings. Bake in preheated 425F oven for about 15-20 mins until crust is cooked and golden brown and toppings are cooked.

I absolutely love this pizza, and have made it several times for company with good reviews!