In a tale that would read more like the begets in Genesis and Matthew, I somehow stumbled onto a couple of blogs that did TWD (Tuesday’s With Dorie) and then on to BB (Barefoot Bloggers), a group that makes Ina Garten’s recipes at least twice a month, with a bonus recipe thrown in.
Cool!
I like Ina. She is a mix between Martha Stewart and my BFF, Paula Deene.
I have always liked trying new foods (unless it is something like collard greens~~please Southerners don’t be hatin’) but because Superman’s desperate love for all things meat and potatoes, corn and the occasional green bean, anything else is akin to Kryptonite.
“Broccoli!?!?! You made Broccoli?!?!?! You are making 3 pounds of cheese sauce to go on my 2 broccoli spears, right????”
I showed Superman the BB site, and asked if it was ok if I began to participate because I would occasionally have to purchase an extra ingredient or 2, and some of them are Kryptonite.
Superman is generous to a fault to me, and said “Sure you can”. But I am kind of thinking that he thought that the extra ingredient or 2 would be steak, potatoes or maybe the occasional green bean.
The first BB recipe that I should have made was a Cream of Wild Mushroom soup. Pothole, Ohio doesn’t even know what fresh Shiitake mushrooms are, let alone carry them in the grocery store, and to make matters worse, I would be the only one eating it for days on end, and this girl just isn’t all that fond of Shiitake mushrooms.
So, it didn’t happen.
When I saw today’s recipe Butternut Squash Risotto that Rachel of Rachel likes to Cook choose I couldn’t wait. I love squash, (Kryptonite) and I have never tried Risotto before. Perfect!
Or not.
I looked at the recipe.
Butternut squash~~check
Pancetta(Italian bacon)~~I doubt any grocery store in this area has even heard of this, let alone carry it. But that’s ok, I can substitute bacon. I have bacon.
Shallots~~nope. I have never seen these in the area stores either. But that’s ok. I can substitute onion.
Saffron threads~~bwahahahahahaha! Even if some place in or around Pothole would even consider carrying this, it is waaaaay beyond the realm of my pocketbook.
Arborio rice~~check (but very surprised to find it)
With all this substituting and leaving out, I thought that that isn’t even Ina’s recipe anymore. Then I read that it is ok to subsitute.
I halved the recipe because I kind of figured that I would be the only one eating it, but rice, bacon and squash all are fine with me.
This dish is fabulous.
I had just finished making it, when Superman got home from work. I took a bite out to him and said “Superman, you just have to try this rice I just made”
Notice I convienently left out the word Squash…muahahahahha.
He loved it, Internet. L.O.V.E.D it. Loved it so much that he took it all to work, and I didn’t even get leftovers.
So, I made it again. This time not halving it because…hellooooo….cook wants leftovers!
I dare you to make this.
Double-dog dare you.
Did I mention that this dish is fabulous???
Here is the recipe straight from the Food Network site.
Butternut Squash Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 ounces pancetta, diced ~~substitute bacon
- 1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large) ~~substitute onion
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine ~~can leave out or use stock like I did
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads ~~bwahahahaha
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut it into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer.
In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice plus the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total. Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan. Mix well and serve.
~~~
I love butternut squash!!!!!!!!
Don’t see too many recipes with it in it, and can’t have most of the stuff in your recipe, but oh how I love squash!
Gotta go…
On my way to Whole Foods to get some more frozen (aka no prep work for me) butternut squash 🙂
BTW, Berlin Bulk Foods has saffron.
I plan my dinner menu on Mondays and tonight we are having Chicken Parmesan Rissotto…is that close enough???
I loved your post today. The food always looks great but the writing today was just fab. It was really fun to read. I’m glad Superman loved his dinner so he can keep up his strength.:)
Your post is great. Your photos superb as always! You are lucky you have a great chicken stock adviser!
Nice photos…I thought the risotto was great too.
I’m definitely going to try this recipe.
But…….about collard greens. Those nasty, wet, green slimy things barely ever passed my lips when I spent summers in the south as a child. But the Farmer and I vacationed in Charleston one summer and ate at a fantastic restaurant called Anson’s. Mel Gibson resportedly at there 34 times while filming “The Patriot” so I was guessing we couldn’t go wrong. It was the most delicious meal I’ve ever eaten. Hands down. And I’ve eaten alot of really good meals.
Included on the plate were collard greens and I figured I’d just push them well off to the side and be done with them. But everything was so delicious that I figured maybe they’d worked some magic on the collard greens. They were fabulous. I was literally licking the plate.
I guess the lesson is that if you hate collard greens you just haven’t had them prepared correctly. Perhaps the culinary student could be on the case!!
– Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
That looks very good.
I second your bwahahahaha to the saffron threads. =)
You mean to tell me that with Superman in the house you can’t afford Saffron threads? 😕
Truth is I don’t think most could unless they were willing to sell one of their children.
Looks good, hubby would gladly try it, I would try as well as my mom managed to convince me a few years ago that squash isn’t as bad as I had made it out to be as a child. The kids however 🙄
BTW – I left a comment for the Chef about the stock/broth topic.
Great post! love your pictures. Dont tell your son, but I used broth. (Gasp)
Welcome to Barefoot Bloggers! Your risotto looks perfect! I end up buying most of my specialty ingredients online (amazon has a great deal on risotto) because we might as well live in Pothole, Michigan. Ha! I seriously have such a hard time finding anything around here unless I drive an hour one way. Oh-well. I was able to find Shiitakes at Meijer for the soup, much to my surprise! Love your blog 🙂
I made most of the same subs you did, except I added a tiny bit of curry for the saffron because I was afraid it wouldn’t have much flavor. I loved it, too! Such a great recipe. Yours looks fabulous!
I just started too and this was fabulous!
PS You would LOVE my collards I promise!
I’m so glad you’re here!
Jeff loved it, too, although I didn’t add squash to his. Not one of his handful of sanctioned veggies. Oh, well. More for me!
Ooh yum – I love butternut squash but my husband isn’t so crazy so I rarely cook it .. I think I’ll make this just for me sometime this fall though! 🙂
Love your pictures! Nice blog, I am glad you stopped my to see mine. Can’t wait to read more of your posts!
Are you near Col? I moved up here from there a few years ago.
I might need to add on the dreaded triple-dog dare to anyone who is hesitating on making this one!
You are so right. This dish is fabulous. Words don’t do it justice.
It was good, wasn’t it? You have great pictures too.
By the way, “Pothole, Ohio” sounds to good to be real, so I Googled it. You come up on the first page! But I still don’t know if its a real place or your own name for where you live. 🙂
Tell Superman you want Saffron in your Christmas Stocking. 😉
Your dish looks comforting and yummy. I have an acorn squash; I guess that might work.
Your pictures are so beautiful! This was so good. I think anyone could be wowed by it!
Misty~~I call the town I live in Pothole, because last winter there was more potholes than road.
So glad you loved it, welcome to BB!
Superman will find that Ina’s love of butter and cream will more than make up for the veggies.
Wow, your risotto turned out beautifully! Your pictures are awesome!
No…they really don’t make brown rice risotto, I just don’t normally eat white rice so I thought I could sub the brown. It really did taste wonderful, it just took too darn long to cook!
We love risotto in this house! That sure looks yum.
(Our family favourite is chicken and sweet potato risotto, followed closely by chicken, mushroom and pea risotto)
*drooling now*
Really pretty risotto. And lovely photos. Glad it was a hit for you.
No need to double dog dare me…this recipe was a perfect choice to usher in the season:D
It looks delicious! I had to stop myself from making it again…my hips couldn’t take it!
Welcome to the Barefoot Bloggers. Glad you liked the recipe–yours looks great!
Oh my goodness that looks good. Fortunately my family will eat all of that. I am going to have to make that one. I am so glad you did something undesserty which I know is almost sacrilegious but even though my family could live on desserts alone….I want stuff like this…. 🙂
I could just see you beeming at superman saying he liked it. He really, really liked it!!
Ginger~~that is one of the reasons that I joined Barefoot Bloggers. Most of their recipes are savory.
Great post – and good to see your husband is being led into a whole lot of new foods. Lucky him!
Butternut squash risotto was one of the first ways I got my Sweet Husband to eat “controversial vegetables” too!
Awesome! I actually have saffron in my fridge from my trip to India and I’ve been wondering what to do with it. I guess I’ll have to try this recipe!!
Thanks!
So glad that you and Superman both loved it…(does that make you Lois?) Great pictures. Welcome to the BBs.
You really should have been a comedian. Very funny story. chocolatechic. or should I call you Lois Lane? BTW the photos look delish. Wish I had a spoon.
AmyRuth
Oh that cracked me up! So glad you liked it!
~Cat
Welcome to Barefoot Bloggers! So glad you loved this. Especially enough to make it again!
Yum! I have seen butternut squash all over the food blog world this week. I need to make something with it asap.