Late Summer Vegetable Risotto

I finally made a trip out to the Barton Creek Farmers Market (open Saturdays 9 - 1), and loved all the delicious food! It reminded me a lot of the downtown Austin farmers market in terms of offerings, but the scene is different. Bonus is easy parking! Anyway, I pickedup some delicious tomatoes and wanted them to shine in a risotto since I haven't made one in ages. The tomatoes with the goat cheese offered that special something I was looking for.

Want to make this a vegetarian risotto? Forgo the bacon and use 2 tablespoons olive oil and replace chicken broth with your favorite vegetable stock!

Late Summer Vegetable Risotto

2 cups diced tomatoes (I used red and green tomatoes)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
2 ears corn, kernels removed
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 large shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine, at room temperature
5-6 cups chicken broth, warmed
Salt and pepper to taste
2 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and roast about 20 minutes. In the meantime, heat a large pot of water to boil, then cook green beans about 2 minutes to slightly cook yet keep some crunch. Heat a large skillet on medium heat and warm additional 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast corn and green beans about 10 minutes, until cooked and slightly charred. Set vegetables aside, keeping warm.

Cook bacon in a dutch oven over medium low heat until crisp. Remove bacon, preserving drippings. Stir remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil into bacon drippings and warm, then stir shallots and garlic into drippings and saute one minute. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add wine and cook another minute, stirring.

Start adding broth to rice mixture, 1/4 of a cup at a time, stirring constantly. As rice absorbs the broth, add additional liquid. This should take about 25-30 minutes. If the rice is absorbing the liquid too quickly, turn down the heat. After the 25-30 minutes, mixture should be creamy. Stir in goat cheese and mix to incorporate, then add parmesan. Stir in vegetables and crumbled bacon and serve, with additional parmesan on the table. Enjoy!

Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto

So I realize I just did an extensive post on corn, but maybe you didn't know just how much I love corn. When I opened the August issue of Bon Appetit to find that they had a whole section devoted to corn, I turned into a giddy little girl. You will too (I don't care who you are) after you make this recipe.

I took a few small liberties, but the credit all goes to Bon Appetit. I can already tell this will be a favorite in my house for many summers to come!

Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto
*includes a few tiny tweaks from yours truly :)

4 bacon slices, chopped
5 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 6 large ears)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted and divided
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces tagliatelle
3/4 cup coarsely torn fresh basil leaves, divided

Cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, stirring often. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet. Add corn, garlic, 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper to drippings in skillet. Sauté over medium-high heat until corn is just tender but not brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer 2 cups corn kernels to small bowl and reserve. Scrape remaining corn mixture into processor. Add 3/4 cup Parmesan, 1/3 cup pine nuts and 1/4 cup basil leaves. With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube and blend until pesto is almost smooth. Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot. Add corn pesto, reserved corn kernels, and 1/2 cup basil leaves. Toss pasta mixture over medium heat until warmed through, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer pasta to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil leaves, 3 tablespoons pine nuts and reserved bacon. Serve pasta, passing additional grated Parmesan alongside.

Sweet Iowa Corn

If I'm going to take a month off of blogging without telling anyone, I better come back with one heck of a post, right? Well, what better way to start off a new cooking adventure in a new kitchen (that's right folks, Apron has adventured to a new - blue - kitchen!), than with fresh Iowa corn?

Smuggled in my suitcase across the country after a relaxing trip to visit family in Des Moines, I was the proud owner of 6 ears of corn that I decided to use in 2 days. See this tasty take on a soup and salad dinner.

Fresh Corn Chowder

2 pieces bacon, diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
1 Anaheim pepper, seeded and chopped
3 ears corn, kernels removed
4 small red potatoes, cubed
1 cup half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped tomato

Heat a 3 quart cast iron on medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and reserve drippings in pot.

Add onion and garlic to bacon drippings and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir in pepper, corn kernels and potatoes. Cover and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in half and half and season with salt and pepper. Use an immersion blender to break up larger pieces of vegetables, maintaining some smaller chunks. If you don't have an immersion blender, either transfer to a blender in batches, or keep chunky.

Serve topped with bacon pieces, cilantro and tomato.

Shrimp and Roasted Corn Salad

2 ears corn, husks removed
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups romaine, shredded
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup cotija cheese

Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. Rub corn with 1 tablespoon oil and cook on cast iron until corn begins browning on all sides. Remove and let cool slightly, then remove kernels.

Meanwhile, prepare dressing. Add pepper, cilantro, cumin and salt to a food presser and pulse. Add in sour cream and honey and pulse.

Toss dressing with roasted corn, romaine, tomato and cheese.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet on high heat. Toss shrimp with salt and pepper and saute in skillet 2-3 minutes until done.

What a delicious meal for me and my sweetie!

Chilled Thai Corn Soup

I don't often make soups, and when I do it's typically a variation of chicken noodle. So when my roommate requested soup, I decided to switch things up! At a recent trip to the farmer's market, a chef from Parkside was sampling a chilled corn soup, but the recipe had so much heavy cream, I decided to try my hand at making one that was slightly more healthy. Enjoy!

Chilled Thai Corn Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
6 ears corn, husks discarded and kernels removed
1 red bell pepper, roasted, halved seeded and roughly chopped
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large pot and warm olive oil. Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add corn kernels. Cook about 5 minutes, then stir in red pepper and cook additional 2 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and water and simmer 10-15 minutes. Use an immersion blender to smooth out the soup, then stir in cilantro, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper.

I served with toasted caprese sandwiches, featuring ciabatta bread, fresh mozzarella, fresh sliced tomatoes, baby spinach leaves, fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper.

Hawaiian Hamburgers

This is a new creation that I was SO excited to try this weekend. Inspiration actually came from a few different places for this one. My friend Brittney loves making a version of this burger with her boyfriend, which reminded me that I absolutely love the Hawaiian Fajitas at Hula Hut (I get them every year for my birthday). I was excited to use a whole pineapple, I've never cut one before! It was actually really simple though and totally worth it.

Hawaiian Hamburgers

2 red bell peppers, halved, seeded and cut in strips, divided

1 red onion, diced, divided

1 poblano pepper, halved, seeded and cut in strips

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 large ears corn

1 pineapple, cut into 1/2 inch rings

2 pounds ground sirloin

1/4 cup cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided

1 lime, zested and juiced

Sliced cheddar cheese

1 (6 ounce) can pineapple juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

6 kaiser rolls, sliced

Sliced tomato (optional)

First, fire up the grill. Combine red pepper, onion, poblano, salt and pepper and olive oil on a large sheet of foil, reserving 2 tablespoons each of red pepper and onion. Cook veggie mixture on the grill on foil about 20 minutes until soft. At the same time, cook corn on grill as well, in shuck, or wrapped in foil. Once veggies are removed, cook directly on grill about 5 minutes on each side, or until nice grill marks are formed.

While veggies are cooking, combine remaining peppers and onions, sirloin, cilantro, salt and pepper, lime juice and 1 tablespoon soy sauce and then form into 6 patties, about 1 inch thick. Cook on grill about 5-8 minutes on each side or until done. Top with cheddar cheese for last minute of cooking.

While burgers cook, combine remaining soy sauce, lime zest, pineapple juice and brown sugar in a sauce pan and simmer until reduced to about 1/3 cup. Place kaiser rolls on grill for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted.

For serving, place patty on kaiser roll with grilled pineapple, sauteed veggies, pineapple teryaki glaze and sliced tomato. Serve with grilled corn and grilled mango.

Pesto Tilapia

One of my favorite things to do with my food processor is to make pesto. I just recently got this latest kitchen toy last Christmas, for the sole purpose of making the pestos I'd seen in cookbooks and magazines for years.

Pesto Tilapia
pesto

3 tablespoons pinenuts

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 bunches basil leaves (about a cup and half)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
fish
1 pound tilapia fillets
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

To prepare pesto, cook pinenuts in a skillet on medium heat until lightly toasted, about 3 to 5 minutes; set aside. In the same pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add garlic and roast a couple minutes. Add pinenuts and garlic to food processor and pulse. Next add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and pulse. Add basil and pulse again. With the processor on, stream in olive oil until reaching desired consistency (I use about 1/4 cup).

Heat a large skillet on medium high (I used a castiron) and drizze with olive oil. Season tilapia heavily with black pepper, and add a bit of salt as well. Sprinke cumin over fillets as well. Place seasoned side down in the skillet and season the other side as well. Cook about 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with a teaspoon of pesto spread across the top.


I served this with grilled corn and seared broccoli for a healthy, balanced meal.

Grilled Chili Lime Corn
4 ears corn, shucked
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 limes
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. Place corn on pan and begin grilling, turning occasionally. In the meantime, add all other ingredients to a micowave save bowl and heat until butter has melted. When corn is about done, begin brushing chili lime butter on all sides and turning to get a lovely toasty brown color on it. Serve with extra chili lime butter on the table.


Seared Broccoli
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 heads broccoli
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a medium skillet on medium heat and swirl in 1 tablespoon oil. Add minced garlic and saute for one minute. Add broccoli and sear, turning occasionally, around 8 minutes. Season with red pepper and salt and pepper. Drizzle additional olive oil as needed to prevent drying out.




The final product plate including pesto!