Pumpkin risotto

Leftover apple pie- best one Momma Tallo has made yet!!

I know folks, you’re probably pumpkined- out, post Thanksgiving and all, but this was a great way to use up leftover pumpkin puree!!

A quick note about Thanksgiving- this year was small, just Mom, Greg & I, and I had to work the day before and the day after, so there wasn’t much time for me to whip up anything grand, nor reason to- we three have our turkey day favorites and try to do the big meal as small as possible.  I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing and satisfying meal- we sure did!

So on to what I made over weekend… pumpkin risotto!  I had made a batch of these (and added chopped cranberries) Saturday morning and was left with about a cup of pumpkin puree. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, and then I remembered an episode of Giada at Home when she made pumpkin risotto with bacon & goat cheese.  It looked phenomenal.  I wasn’t going to go the whole 9 yards with the bacon, but I took the premise and ran with it.

I made a basic risotto, and added the pumpkin puree to the simmering chicken stock.  (Use vegetable and this would be a perfectly awesome vegetarian meal.) At the end I added a teaspoon of nutmeg, and a dash of ginger and ground cloves, as well as salt, pepper, & grated cheese.  Along side it I put a roasted chicken breast with a white wine & rosemary pan gravy that I made with the pan drippings, a tablespoon of cornstarch and wine. Delish!

Check out my new block of parmesan cheese: it looks like Vermont.

Vermont cheese.

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Me & Joy.

I’m having a blog obsession these days.  I’ve been following Joy the Baker for a couple of years now, and though I love her recipes, I think what I love the most is her writing.  She’s a smart sassy gal, with a good head on her shoulders and I thoroughly enjoy her little bits of life advice.  Especially her Halloween post last month, amen sister!  There’s something about the way she writes and communicates her feelings toward food and how she cooks that I find myself repeatedly thinking, “Yes! Exactly!”

I’ve made two of her recipes in the past couple of weeks so I decided to share them both here.  One was her Big Fat Bolognese sauce, and the second was Banana Cranberry Bread.  Make both now and have a fantastic weekend.  While I type this I’ll admit, the banana bread is in the oven and my oh my, does my kitchen smell amazing!!!!!!!!  Thank you Joy! Keep doing what you’re doing!

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Next Stop…Toro

Next up in the tour of South End eateries…drumroll please….Toro!  Yay!  If you live in Boston you’ve heard of it.  You’ve either waited for hours for a table or put off going because of the wait.  See, Toro is delicious, helmed by none other than celebrity Chef Ken Oringer, it is also tiny.  And doesn’t take reservations.

Well folks. There’s a trick to it.  The restaurant opens nice & early on Saturday, 4:30, to be exact, you go, give your name to the hostess, sit at the bar for a drink, and when they begin dinner service (5pm) you will be promptly seated.  Much later than 5 and you’re waiting for upwards of 1-2 hours.  No joke.

Luckily, Bri-guy and I were aware of this scenario and also has 8pm Symphony tickets (I know, we’re such adults) so the 5pm dinner was perfect.  We had plenty of time to savor each course, enjoy our wine leisurely, and make it in time for the show.

Toro has been on my “list” now for ages, and I perused the menu before going, but wasn’t sure where to start.  Through the magic of the interwebs, (thank you Twitter) I connected with fellow HWS alum and Boston blogger, Anna, from dear friend.  I’ve seen her write about Toro before and knew she was a big fan so I wanted to see what she recommended for food.  And boy, she did not steer us wrong!  She suggested the corn  (it’s a KO specialty), and the Patatas Bravas- such delicious potatoes! As well as a couple other courses. Thank you Anna!!

Trust me, order the Maiz (grilled corn on the cob, rolled in butter, spices, & cheese. HELLO).  It’s the best thing ever.  And the Medjool dates. And the duck drumettes.  If only to say “drumette.”  And the churros.  Oh I was so happy.

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but it was awfully dark in there and the photos I did take just don’t do the food justice.  All I can say is go. Saturday, 4:30 go to Toro.

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Buffalo Chicken Sammies

Oy.  Yes, I said sammie.  It sounds so much cuter than sandwiches, just has a fun lil’ ring to it, don’tcha think?

Well anyway.  I love football season for many reasons.  #1 may be that it gives me a reason to whip up tasty game day food and drinks on Sunday afternoons.  Recently I wanted to try something a bit different and use my slow-cooker for the day.  I wanted the flavor of Buffalo wings without having to actually make wings.  I went to the internet and found a bunch of options, but finally settled on this version.  Part of what I love about cooking is the preparation in the kitchen, the hanging out, chopping stuff up, it’s relaxing to me.

Everybody's ready to go!

Sauteeing the veggies

Everybody into the pot... chicken, veggies, & the makings for the sauce.

Weird, I know, most people love slow-cookers so that they can just throw a bunch in and call it day.  Guess I like more of a challenge.  The chicken hung out in the pot for a few hours and then it looked like this: time to shred!

Once it was shredded I put it pack in a large pan on the stove to warm things up and added some extra hot sauce (Frank’s of course) and butter (see the bowl to the top left of that picture) and the remnants of the slow-cooker

Throw this on top of a toasted bun with some blue cheese dressing…. HELLO delicious.

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Squash Soup & New Adventures

Yes. More soup.  It’s cheap, easy & healthy.  A veritable trifecta in the kitchen.  I have been seeing squash and squash recipes everywhere lately so I wanted to tuck into a nice warm bowl of squash soup.  It’s funny, because a dear friend of mine, Ms. Kate, (please please please read her blog here, it’s phenomenal) made squash soup the same day.  We hadn’t spoken in awhile (she now lives in Vermont) but she called with some good news and we chatted and laughed about how we both are making the same things lately.  I was planning to make chili this weekend, but it didn’t happen and when I checked out Kate’s latest entries, well whadya know, chili!!  One of the many reasons we are friends.

 

Anyway, back the soup going on here in Boston.  I discovered a great squash soup recipe last year, made it for a dinner party with friends, and for my family’s Thanksgiving, but I wanted to try something different.  And, I again didn’t want a big bowl of cream.  I discovered this recipe, and tweaked it just a bit.  I used dried ground ginger, and only used a teaspoon, I added a touch of nutmeg and ground cloves for some extra oomph.  It made plenty for dinner, lunch the next day, and a couple of guys ready for the freezer.

Next up, I’ve been meaning to share with you some culinary adventures… Since Bri-guy’s new place is oh-so convenient to some of Boston’s best restaurants, we’ve made an effort to start crossing off some of them on our list.  You know, the mental list you keep of everything you want to try?  Now that most of them are a stone’s throw from his condo we’ve been  trying to go to a new place every other week or so.  This past weekend we tried Addis Red Sea.

I’ve heard about it for years, and we kept walking past.  I reintroduced him to Indian recently down the block at Mela, so we thought, ok, let’s go Ethiopian next.  Sure, why not.  Let’s just say, at least we tried it.  It wasn’t bad, but it won’t be a the top of our favorites list.  Some people really love new flavors & textures, but,  I have such a boring American palate.

The next day after a long trip to the ‘burbs for skis and more furniture, we had a very late lunch/early dinner down at Picco.  Now this is what I’m talking about…

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