Risotto x 2

I’m running behind this week. Sadly, this means anyone desperate for the next great “cooking is like writing” metaphor are out of luck. However, those of you who like yummy food that impresses people will get a double dose of risotto recipes.

I never had risotto until a few years ago, and frankly, I had no idea what I was missing. It’s a versatile food that can complement almost any flavors you wish, and, though it’s usually a side, it can even stand alone as a main dish.

Many people will swear up and down that their way is the only right way to make it. I have no such belief but hope you enjoy one of these risottos tailored to enhance your next Mexican or Italian dinner.

Mexican-Style Risotto

5–6 c. chicken broth

¾ c. white wine

5 T. olive oil

1½ c. diced onions

¾ T. basil

1 T. cumin

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. onion salt

1½ Arborio rice

½ lb. ground sausage

1 c. chopped spinach (I used frozen)

15-oz. can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)

1 c. shredded provel cheese (or melty cheese of your choice)

Warm chicken broth in one pot and wine in another. Keep warm and covered. In a medium pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil. Add onions and cook on medium heat. After 2 or 3 minutes, add leaf basil (fresh is best), cumin, black pepper, paprika, and onion salt, and continue cooking until onion is translucent. Stir in rice until glistening (add extra oil if needed), and cook 3 minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile cook sausage on medium high heat in a skillet; when sausage is halfway done, mix in the spinach. Continue cooking until sausage is lightly browned. Then remove from heat.

So many pots, so little time!

Immediately after starting sausage, add warm wine to rice pot, keep stirring, and cook until liquid is nearly gone. Cooking on medium high, ladle in just enough chicken broth to cover the rice and cook until liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process.

After most of the broth (4 cups or so) has been absorbed, stir in the sausage mix, onion salt, and chickpeas and add in more broth. Before adding the last cup, check the firmness of the rice. Continue adding broth and letting it be absorbed until rice is chewy and tasty. Don’t overcook—if you don’t use all the broth, that’s just fine.

Stir in provel (and a little extra broth if you want it creamier). Taste, and if you wish, add more cumin, onion salt, or black pepper. Serve.

Italian Tomato and Bell Pepper Risotto

2 T. cream cheese

1 T. sour cream

5–6 c. chicken broth

¾ c. white wine

3 T. butter

1 c. finely chopped shallots

1 c. diced onions

4 cloves finely chopped garlic

1 T. oregano

1 tsp. coriander

1½ c. Arborio rice

1 T. butter (or olive oil)

1 c. bell peppers (1 ½ peppers)

1½ c. diced Roma tomatoes

1/3 c. brown sugar

1 T. sea salt

½ c. parmesan

sprinkling of paprika

Stir together cream cheese and sour cream, and put in fridge. Warm chicken broth in one pot and wine in another. Keep warm and covered. In a medium pot or Dutch oven, heat butter. Add shallots and onions and cook on medium heat. After 2 or 3 minutes, add garlic, oregano (fresh is best), and coriander and continue cooking until onion is translucent. Stir in rice until glistening (add extra butter if needed), and cook 3 minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile heat a Tbsp. of butter or olive oil on medium high heat in a large skillet or sauté pan. Add in bell peppers. After 2 or 3 minutes, add in tomatoes and cook until peppers are just starting to soften (but are still firm). Stir in brown sugar and remove from heat.

Immediately after starting pepper-tomato pan, add warm wine to rice pot, keep stirring, and cook until liquid is nearly gone. Mix in the sea salt. Cooking on medium high, ladle in just enough chicken broth to cover the rice and cook until liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process until all but last cup or so has been added. Check the firmness of the rice. Continue adding broth and letting it be absorbed until rice is chewy and tasty. Don’t overcook—if you don’t use all the broth, that’s just fine.

Stir in pepper-tomato mix, cream cheese mix, and parmesan. Taste, and if you wish, add salt or more parmesan. Sprinkle with paprika. Serve.

Pre-paprika picture, but the one at the top of the post has the red stuff sprinkled

Jonathan Schkade is the author of six books for children, including Icky Sticky, Hairy Scary Bible Stories. He's also a  network co-representative for the Southern Illinois region of SCBWI. To learn more about Jonathan, you can read omens in scattered grains of rice or visit his site: www.jonathanschkade.com.

Suffering and Lasagna

Lately, I’ve been working on amping up tension in scenes that are perfectly pleasant but not all that exciting. In the process, I’ve come to a conclusion: liking your characters too much can be dangerous. When you become enraptured with your characters, you never want anything bad to happen to them. You never experiment with their motivations, let them make big mistakes, or throw suffering at them as often as necessary—which, of course, is nearly constantly. 

I realized I was playing it safe, and I promised not to take it easy anymore. As a result, even in happy, restful scenes, I now find myself looking for the splinter or the stubbed toe, the tiny suffering that will linger and develop into a true obstacle—a deadly infection or debilitating limp—in the next chapter. Always ask if a character is suffering enough. If not, the reader might not have enough to root for and enough reason to worry.

Is your character lonely? Perhaps, she needs to be lonely and afraid. But is a general fear enough? No way! Add in a specific fear, a terrifying sight or sound. But is even that enough? Perhaps not. While this could end up in a ridiculous place, piling on a bit more suffering is almost always a good choice. You can’t like your characters so much that you sacrifice tension in the process.

Likewise, being in love with your own recipes can limit their development. When you enjoy the product too much, you might become afraid of experimenting, of switching out one ingredient or one technique for another. For many people, lasagna is one of those unchanging recipes, because, let’s face it, lasagna is almost always good.

After poking around a few places, though, and tweaking some ingredients, I stumbled into a lasagna recipe that tops all those I’d made before. I just hope that when the time comes I won’t be too afraid to change it up one more time, even if I have to suffer some along the way. 

Sweet and Savory Lasagna

Meat Sauce
1 lb. ground beef or sausage
1 1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 tsp. garlic salt
cloves garlic, minced
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 c. red wine
1 T. Italian seasoning
1 T. chili powder
1 T. brown sugar

1 package lasagna noodles

Ricotta Mixture
2 eggs
1 c. grated parmesan cheese
15 oz. ricotta cheese
5–10 oz. chopped spinach
2 1/2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 c. milk
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. basil
1 T. parsley

1 lb. shredded provel cheese (or mozzarella if you must)

Cook beef, onion, and 1 tsp. garlic salt in skillet until mostly browned. Drain. Add the second teaspoon of garlic salt, garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomato, and wine, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add Italian seasoning, chili powder, and brown sugar, and cook uncovered for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Set aside.

Cook lasagna noodles as directed on package, drain, rinse, and set aside.

In large bowl, beat two eggs. Stir in parmesan, ricotta, spinach. Refrigerate.

Melt butter, then add flour. Cook 2 minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly. Whisk in the milk and cook on medium high for about 3 minutes until thick. Stir in pepper, nutmeg, basil, and parsley. Pour into refrigerated cheese mixture and mix well.

Spray large baking dish (13x9x2) or lightly brush with olive oil. Layer 1/3 of noodles, 1/3 ricotta mixture, 1/3 meat, and 1/3 provel. Repeat layering twice more. Bake at 375˚ for 30–35 minutes or until golden brown and heated through.