Jeremy's Risotto

Jeremy makes this and it is so yummy. He walked me through it and I tried to recreate. I didn't measure, so the amounts below are estimations.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp oil

1 shallot

1 cup arborio rice

~ 1 carton stock, maybe a little less

1/2 cup of white wine

1 lemon

~ 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large pan and add the oil. Add the minced shallot and saute for a few minutes. Add in the rice and mix until completely covered in the oil and shallot mixture.

2. Add a bunch of stock, about 2 or 3 cups, and the white wine. Bring to a boil and then simmer - stirring continuously the entire time so that the rice can absorb the liquid. Keep adding stock as it cooks down. Simmer for about 20 minutes - again, stirring very frequently.

3. Add the lemon juice and the parm. Simmer for a few more minutes while stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook until it is no longer runny.

Ginger-Honey Salmon Marinade

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter, melted

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients to make the marinade. Place fish in container with marinade, pink side down. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

Bake at 350, tightly covered with tin foil, for 20 minutes.

Halloween Severed Finger Cookies

Cookie ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 tsp spiced rum

2 3/4 cup flower

1 tsp baking powder

sliced almonds

Preheat over to 325.

Mix the butter and powdered sugar together in a large bowl. Add the egg and rum, mix. Stir in the flower and baking soda.

Roll the dough into finger-shaped cookies and place a few inches apart on a cookie sheet. Press an almond slice into the end of each cookie. Use a butter knife to make knuckle creases.

Bake for 20 minutes. Once cool, dip end into raspberry sauce, directions below.

Raspberry Sauce:

1 cup frozen raspberries

1 tsp corn starch

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/8 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about five minutes.

Baked Flounder with Parmesan Breadcrumb Crust

Flounder was on sale! This is super easy.

Ingredients:

3 flounder fillets

3/4 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup panko

4 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat over to 425.

2. Combine the parmesan, panko, melted butter and oil to form a crumbly mixture.

3. Lightly butter a baking dish.

4. Lay fish flat in the baking dish and cover with the breadcrumb mixture.

5. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven at let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Potato Pancakes

Potatoes were on sale! This made way more than I thought it would, about a dozen pancakes. Originally, the recipe I followed called for about a 1/3 of each of the following but I had three potatoes so I made a lot.

Ingredients:

3 russet potatoes

1 1/2 large yellow onions

3 eggs

3 tbsp chopped parsley

3 tbsp flour

3 tbsp panko

1 tbsp thyme

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper

Olive oil for frying

Shread the potatoes and onions together into a bowl. Squeeze out the excess water with your hands and put the potato/onion mixture into a large bowl. Add egg, parsley, flour, panko, thyme, lemon juice, and s&p. Mix throughly.

Add oil to a pan such that the entire bottom is significantly covered, about a little less than 1/2 cup for the pan I was using. Heat the oil on high. Reduce to medium hear and then drop about a 1/2 cup-sized ball of the mixture into the pan. Flatted out with a spoon. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side. I patted them with a paper towel to remove excess oil and also added a little more salt to the uncooked side facing up.

Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Orange Frosting

These cupcakes were absolutely amazing.

For the cupcakes:

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1 can pumpkin

1 3/4 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

For the frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3 tbsp, softened

1 to 2 tbsp orange juice

2 tsp spiced rum

1 1/2 tsp grated orange peel

4 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar and pumpkin in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for ~25 minutes and test with a toothpick.

3. For the icing, mix together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the other ingredient and blend until smooth.

4. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing.

5. Nom nom nom.

Zucchini Gratin

Ingredients:

3 tbsp unsalted butter, plus 1 extra tablespoon

1 1/2 large yellow onions, sliced

2 medium zucchini, sliced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

sprinkle of nutmeg

1 tbsp flour

1/2 cup hot milk

3/4 cup panko

1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add in the onions and cook over low heat for twenty minutes. Add the zucchini. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until tender.

2. Add in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook for another five minutes.

3. Add in the flour and milk and cook another few minutes until it makes a sauce. Pour mixture into a glass pie dish.

4. Mix together the panko and gruyere. Sprinkle over the top of the zucchini mixture. Cut the remaining tbsp of butter into pieces and put on top of the panko/cheese mixture.

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until all browned and bubbly.

Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

2 cups raw pecans, halves

1 egg white

1 tbsp water

1/2 cup white sugar

~1 tsp cinnamon

sprinkle of nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat over to 400 degrees.

Whisk together the egg white and water until frothy. Add the pecans to coat.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in another bowl. Toss in the pecans.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and grease it with butter. Spread out the pecans in a single layer.

Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Bubble and Squeak

Ingredients:

(Left over) mashed potatoes

Butter

Oil

Veggies of your choice. I used:

1 carrot, chopped

1 leek, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 handful green beans, cut into half inch pieces

1 tomato, diced

Either make mashed potatoes or use leftover ones.

Boil the green beans, about 4 or 5 minutes.

While the green beans are boiling. Melt about a tbsp of butter with a tbsp of oil in a pan. Cook the leeks, carrot and onions together. Once they are cooked, add in the green beans and the diced tomato.

Add the potatoes and fry in the pan flipping every few minutes.

Double Spice Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

My co-worker Dan named these.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin pie mix

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla (I used spiced rum instead)

2 cups oatmeal

(chocolate chips)

Preheat to 350.

Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

Mix softened butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg and rum.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Last, add in the oats. I added chocolate chips to the last half of the batter.

Bake ~18 minutes on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Zucchini Pancakes

Zucchini Pancakes

2 medium zucchini, shredded

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 cup flower

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp baking powder

butter

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add shredded zucchini, onion, flower, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Last, stir in the baking soda. Cook on the stove like regular pancakes, about 2 minutes on each side. They won't bubble like regular pancakes do.