Risotto with Pesto and Peas

I have a thing for risotto.  I think it may have started shortly after our third anniversary.  Rob took me to this super nice restaurant and I had the most AMAZING roasted shallot risotto that I still daydream about almost six years later. *sigh*

Where was I?  Yeah, so I've tried to make risotto here and there; not too often because it does require quite a bit of attention as you ladle in the hot liquid and stir.  But sometimes I'm willing to make the time sacrifice because, dang it, my mouth wants the results!

This particular risotto recipe caught my eye for two reasons: 1) it calls for ham, which I knew I'd have plenty of after a certain recent holiday.  And 2) it also uses pesto, which I try to always have hanging around in my freezer because it's AWESOME.

Risotto with Pesto and Peas
Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine

1-3 leeks (white and light green parts only), depending on their size, thinly sliced
6 cups water
Salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced ham
1/2-3/4 cup pesto, depending on how much you like pesto
2 string cheese sticks, sliced*
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

*I fully intended to use the shredded mozzarella I typically keep on-hand.  However I accidentally used it all up for Pizza Night so needed to get creative.  Thank God for the boys' snacks!

1.  Carefully rinse the leeks in cold water.  The best way I found is to fill a bowl with water and let the leek slices float in it for a while.  The sandy soil and grit will fall to the bottom of the bowl.

Sand and grit hide in ALL those layers.

Soak the leeks about 10 minutes, swishing a little to help the grit fall off.

2.  Make the broth: Bring the water and 1 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Adjust the heat to keep the broth at a gentle simmer.

My Observation: Honestly you could totally skip the broth part and use a good quality chicken or vegetable stock, and then some chopped green onions in lieu of the leeks. 

3.  Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon butter in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until almost evaporated, about 1 more minute.

Toast the rice a minute for a little deeper flavor

Slowly adding liquid as this cooks helps make risotto creamy and wonderful

4.  Add 2 cups of the hot leek broth to the rice; cook, stirring occasionally, until almost absorbed, about 6 minutes (adjust the heat to keep the risotto at a simmer). Add 1 more cup broth and cook, stirring, until almost absorbed, about 5 more minutes. Add the leeks, peas and 1 more cup broth and cook, stirring, until almost absorbed, about 5 more minutes. Taste the rice: If it is not fully cooked, add a little more broth and continue to cook, stirring, until al dente.

My Observation: If you are using only 1 large leek, be careful how much of it you add back into the risotto.  You want to add about a cup of the wilted leek slices back in so if you have more in the bowl, only add part of it back in.

It may taste bland; don't season yet!!  Taste again AFTER adding the ham and cheeses.

5.  Stir in the ham and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Remove from the heat; stir in the pesto and cheeses. Season with salt.

Hurray for leftover ham!

This turned out SO FREAKING GOOD!!!  It was creamy and lemony and a little bit salty and cheesy and just ohsoyummy.  I gave some Kieran too, because most everything in it was soft or cut into small pieces. He loved it SO MUCH that he got mad when his tray was empty and cried until I shared what was left of mine.

[Side Mommy Note: I didn't think until after dinner that pesto has nuts in it.  We watched Kieran very carefully for any kind of allergic reaction.  Had I remembered beforehand about the nuts I would not have given this to him.  So please be aware if you're thinking of sharing this with an under-2-year-old.]

Oh, and I have a confession to make.  I deliberately waited to eat some of the leftovers for lunch yesterday until after Kieran was down for a nap.  And nope, not ashamed.

Ham & Lentil Soup

At Easter time, I always, and I mean ALWAYS, make sure to get a bone-in ham for one reason.  So that, come Fall, I can make this soup.

Oh yeah, it's that good

Ham & Lentil Soup
Recipe from my mother-in-law

8 cups water
1/2 cup dry lentils
1 smoked ham shank or ham bone
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup barley
1 tsp dried thyme OR 1 tbsp fresh thyme
3 medium strips lemon peel
2 bay leaves
2 cups chopped cooked ham (optional)

1.  Rinse lentils under running water; drain.  In a 5 quart Dutch oven, combine all ingredients except extra ham, if using.

Beans and barley

2.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer one hour or until lentils are tender, but not mushy, anf meat pulls easily from the bone.

Love when I can dump things into a pot and walk away

3.  Remove and discard bay leaves and lemon peel.  Remove ham shank; cool.  Remove meat from bone and chop into bite-sized pieces.  Add this and additional 2 cups cooked ham to the soup.  Cook until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.

Mmmmmmm comfort

This soup has a really cool way of being hearty but light all at once.  I love how it's filling with the grains and meat.  But the broth has this rich lightness thing to it...the lemon peel really brightens it up!  I love to make this soup earlier in the Fall when it's cooling off but you're still not quite happy yet to relinquish those warm summer days. 

Bourbon-Glazed Ham with Strawberry Spinach Salad

I am not a whiskey person.  Rob has given me samples of several different whiskies in the past (BEFORE I was pregnant...don't look at me like that) and it always tastes like what I imagine lighter fluid would taste like.  Ew.

But to cook with it....oh man, magical things happen.  We are particular fans of what happens when bourbon meets pork.  And because we like the flavor combination so much, when I found this recipe as I was searching for what to make for Easter dinner, I was pretty sure this would work well.

I think it actually blows "well" out of the water.  "Fantastic" is probably a more apt description.

Bourbon-Glazed Ham
Recipe from AllRecipes

One 5lb ham
1/3 cup bourbon whiskey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice
1/2 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple rings

1.  Score the surface of the ham, making diamond shapes about 1/2-inch deep. Place the ham in a large, resealable bag (if you don't have a bag large enough, put in a casserole dish and baste the ham periodically).  Add the bourbon, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, honey, and garlic to the bag; refrigerate at least 8 hours, turning the bag over several times while marinating.  

Yummy marinade! And then I realized my ham was too big for the bag...

2.  Preheat oven to 350. 

3.  Transfer the ham and marinade to a large baking dish; pour the water into the dish. Attach the pineapple rings around the surface of the ham with toothpicks. 

4.  Bake in preheated oven until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, basting about every 30 minutes with the sauce in the pan, 90 to 105 minutes. 

Now, let's say you're a little distracted and you don't fully read this recipe until that whole 8-hour marinade time has been severely shortened.  Letting it sit in the bourbon goodness for 3 hours or so is perfectly fine too.  There's still enough flavor infused into the meat that your taste buds will be shouting for joy.


I also made sure to get a bone-in ham.  Not only does having the bone mean more flavor, but it also helps keep the meat moist.  I also like to make sure I have the ham bone to make a particularly beloved soup (oh don't worry...you'll hear more about that one later on).  If you're really not a fan of having bones in your meat though, getting a boneless ham is perfectly fine.  You may want to baste it a little more frequently to keep it moist.


A great, Spring-y compliment to this dish?  Strawberry Spinach Salad.  This one is so easy I'm not even going to give you a recipe because there really isn't one; everything is to taste.  

Take a bag of pre-washed baby spinach (don't feel like spending the extra $ on baby spinach? Get regular and give it a rough chop) and put it in a salad bowl.  Wash and quarter as many strawberries as you feel like using and toss in with the spinach.  Roughly chop and TOAST about a 1/2-3/4 cup of almonds; add these just before serving (yes, you want to toast them first.  Trust me).  Voila!  Basic Strawberry Spinach Salad. :)

Toasting brings out the oils and gives that crunch a special oomph

Doesn't this just SCREAM Spring time???

I like the salad with a pre-made, creamy poppyseed dressing.  However if you have another tangy-sweet dressing that you like, use that instead.  If I wasn't feeding a 3-year-old this salad, I'd also add a LITTLE BIT of THINLY SLICED red onion.  Not only for that onion zip but also for that gorgeous purple color.


Feel free to round out this meal with, oh say, Scalloped Potatoes. ;) And there you have my Easter Feast!

FYI, don't slice your potatoes too early; they'll oxidize. Lesson learned.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

So now you know my secret that sometimes I get bored with recipes, and sometimes I get stuck.  When this happens I like to ask Rob if there's anything he'd like for me to make that he hasn't had in a while.  Most of the time though he's so open and flexible to whatever I make that this doesn't work too well.  Occasionally I get a helpful response though, like the other day when he said he wanted Chicken Cordon Bleu.

*sigh*  I despise making Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Don't get me wrong I like eating it!  But I have remembering-to-defrost-the-chicken-ahead-of-time issues.  And then there's the whole pounding it out super thin, which I hate doing because raw chicken juice splatters everywhere and it's just a big mess for me.  Oh and the assembly of this....  Ack!!  Slippery raw chicken, recently beaten to death, topped with a just as slippery piece of deli ham and a usually less than flexible slice of Swiss cheese.  I end up using about 53 toothpicks just to get the thing to stay put, but then how am I supposed to get the breading on around all those picks poking out??

Yeah, do NOT love making this one.  But I love my husband and he really doesn't request dishes that often so, dang it, I'm going to make this.  I wonder if I can adapt this though to something that isn't going to drive me insane just in putting it together....hmmmmm.....  I've got it!! 

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Recipe from Jeanna's head

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-5 thin slices of deli ham
1/2 cup (ish) shredded Swiss cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (ish) flour
2 eggs
1 cup (ish) Panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp EACH butter and olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Start a skillet heating over medium-high heat.  Stack the ham slices together and roll into a log.  Slice up the "ham log" so you end up with little ribbons of deli meat (yes, like a chiffonade); set aside.  Create a pile of shredded cheese next to the ham and have 3 toothpicks handy.

A meat chiffonade!

2. Using a sharp paring knife, cut into the side of each chicken breast, but NOT all the way through, making a nice stuffing space (use your fingers a little to gently stretch the space bigger if you like).  Put a little of the ham and cheese inside the chicken and close it with a toothpick.  Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

Endless possibilities for that pocket...

Stuffed full of meat and cheese

See that one little unobtrusive toothpick?

3.  Setup breading station: pour flour into a shallow dish or plate.  Beat eggs in a separate dish.  Pour Panko into a third.  Season the chicken, flour, and Panko with salt and pepper.  Coat each chicken breast in the flour (shaking off the excess), egg, and then Panko.  If you like an extra crispy coating, repeat the egg and Panko steps.

Breaded chicken anxiously awaiting the skillet

4.  In the hot skillet, melt butter and oil together.  Add the breaded chicken breasts and brown on each side.  Transfer pan to oven and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Look at that crispy, golden perfection....

This variation on the usually rolled chicken dish is sooooooooooooo much easier for me to handle.  And with only using one little toothpick, I'm not creating a lumpy breading nightmare for myself either!  Yeah, I can do this. :)

[I have to interject at this point that I've really fallen in love with using Panko breadcrumbs.  For YEARS I have subconsciously resisted using Panko because it's a bit more expensive.  Plus all these chefs on TV keep making these "crispy" coatings using regular crumbs so the fact that I haven't been able to do it yet just means I'm doing it wrong, right?  Yeah.  If you like a great crispy crust, spend the extra pennies and get the Panko.]

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Gavin asked for thirds. ;)