Popcorn

Yes, popcorn.

I love it, but pretty much only eat it at a movie theatre (yes, re vs. er is on purpose).

And yes, I go for the "buttered" popcorn. Whatever that slop is, I know it's not real butter, but I want it, and I want salt too.

Last weekend, as I was looking at the offerings from the farmers at the University District Farmer's Market, here in Seattle, I spied popcorn. On the cob.

That was all it took.

I had to buy some.

I acquired 3 bundles of three cobs.

Here are two bundles still hanging out and drying in the kitchen, and one bundle that I've just de-cobbed. Is that a word? It should be.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Butternut squash risotto. It was my weapon. I wielded it stealthily, and with it, I won. Yes, nerd gets hot girl. It can happen.

When Dorothy and I started, finally, dating, after maybe two to three years of knowing each other, I made dinner for her. A dinner to woo. A dinner to win - to win a heart.

And it was a butternut squash risotto that did it. At least as I remember it. What else was served I don’t remember, perhaps duck, but the risotto is the stuff of legend. She still gets teary eyed when she thinks of it. Guys, that’s pretty good! Learn to make risotto, and even the nerdiest of nerds can win. I’m proof.

So, tonight, after a long hiatus (someone finally admitted it’s fall because she brought home a butternut squash, which when she sees in the markets starting in August, she usually starts wailing “No, no, no, no, no…” because she really really really doesn’t want summer to end), butternut squash risotto has returned to the table. My goodness, that was a long parenthetical phrase, eh?

And I do it differently than most. I don’t like the squash to be a purée, all mixed in. I like to see the squash in the risotto.

1. So here’s what I do.
2. Cut the peeled neck of the squash into rice-grain sized pieces - oh and I included some diced mushrooms
3. Sauté them
4. Add garlic and a few herbs, continue to sauté until the squash is almost cooked through
5. Set aside
6. Make the risotto (arborio rice toasted in olive oil, then cooked with at least 3x by volume homemade chicken stock)
7. When just on the point of being done, stir in the squash, bring to temp, then take off the heat and stir in parmesan

What? You want a recipe? Isn’t that enough? What? Isn’t that recipe enough? Eh?

That’s how I cook. Some of this, some of that, and oh, and that looks right.

So, here for you others:

Butternut risotto

Prepare the squash

1. Cut the neck off one butternut squash
2. Peel it completely
3. Half it longitudinally
4. Place a sliced half cut side down on a cutting board
5. Slice the squash into 1/8 inch slices the long way (longitudinally, not crosswise)
6. Take half the pile of slices, place them on the cutting board so the largest piece is on the bottom, and slice the stack into 1/8 inch sticks
7. Cut the sticks into 1/4 inch long pieces
8. Continue with the other quarters of the squash neck until you have about 2 cups of grain sized squash pieces (reserve the remainder for some other application, and, if the neck didn't give you enough, start working creatively with the "bulb" end of the squash (seeds and such scooped out and discarded) to give you enough rice sized nubbins of squash love). Yes, that was a lot of cutting. And you could do it faster and better with a mandolin. I recommend you do - but it can be done by hand
9. Sauté the squash in olive oil over high heat until it is just almost soft. I repeat: Until almost soft all the way through but not quite
10. Reserve

Make the risotto

1. Heat to a simmer a quart of chicken stock
2. In a large pot, over high heat, stir together a cup of arborio rice with about a tablespoon of olive oil
3. Get it sizzling
4. Dump in a cup of stock
5. Turn heat down to medium high - you want to keep things boiling but not super vigorously
6. Stir it, and stir it, and stir it
7. When almost dry add another cup of stock
8. Stir it and stir it and stir it
9. When almost dry, add the last cup of stock (yes, there’s another cup or so of stock left)
10. Stir it and stir it and stir it

When almost dry, test a taste, or taste a test, or huh?

Is the rice done? Is there a hard core still?

If there’s still a hardness and not doneness, add more stock and stir and stir over heat for about a minute or two. Repeat testing and adding stock and stirring until done.

When the rice is done, stir in the squash with about 2 tablespoons of stock and stir gently to combine. Bring to a simmer temp as quickly as you can without burning things - seriously hot heat, a few stirs, you're done.

Then, add 1/2 to 1 cup of finely grated paremsan cheese, off heat, stir gently to combine (yes, you get to decide how cheesy the risotto is - no matter where you end up, it’s going to be good).

Serve!

So, yes. Butternut squash risotto. It was a heart winner. Or was it? Was it the risotto or was it me?

Well, 16+ years later, she still tells people about the butternut squash risotto that I wooed her with. She doesn’t go on and on about me. But I got the girl. That’s what matters. To me. I won. Boy oh boy, did I win.

Served tonight with sautéd summer squashes and roasted chicken and a bit of the roasting juices - now that's a whole other winner winer chicken dinner if your are wooing a person...

You will likely be lucky.

Oxtails and Conversation

I love when someone cooks for me. It tells me they are confident in their cooking skills. And most of the time, it's a dish I've never tried. So I learn something.

Tonight was one of those nights. Our friends Chuck and Barb played scientists on these Guinea Pigs with two recipes from the latest Saveur (issue 177). In the article "Reinventing Jamaica" were two recipes we sampled tonight: Braised Oxtail with Butter Beans, and Coconut Rice and Red Beans.

Oxtails with Butter Beans
Coconut Rice and Red Beans

I've been reading my way through this latest issue, and since I read in bed before turning off the lights, my attention is waning by the time I get to the Jamaica article. It's near the end of the issue. And, frankly, I probably wouldn't have made either recipe. Although I love a good stew, or meat braise, I don't usually make such dishes. My cooking style leans more to fresh and quick cooking ingredients. Mostly because I don't start thinking about what's for dinner until dinner time. So a braise is out. Even on the weekends when such dishes could be done - I don't think of it until 4:00 PM or later, and the roasts (gorgeous organic grass fed beef from Skagit River Ranch) are frozen, and a trip to the store for something would unnecessarily delay the cocktails... Not happening.

We greatly enjoyed the dishes our friends made, and I think I will really really try to add them to our repertoire. If not the oxtails (because I won't remember to start them so far ahead), at least the rice dish. It was delicious.

The evening reinforced that dinner is most fun when you've got company and conversation, and much wine.

A wonderful night out. Thank you Chuck and Barb.