Wild Mushroom Risotto

I am a big fan of risotto but, like many things, it intimidated me.  All I heard about is that it is hard to make and is very time consuming.  I do agree that it is very time consuming but, it really isn't hard.  My arm got a little tired from all the stirring but no pain, no gain...right?

What you need:

• 28 oz chicken broth (or veggie)
• 2 c water
• 2 tsp thyme
• olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic 
• 2 4 oz packs of wild mushrooms (or your favorite mushrooms)
• salt and pepper
• 2 c arborio rice
• 1/2 c white wine
• 1/2 c parmesan cheese
• 3 Tbsp parsley

Pour the entire giant can of chicken broth and the water into a large stock pot. 

Add 1 tsp of thyme and bring up to a simmer.  Do not boil!  You just want it heated through.

While the chicken broth mix is coming to temperature, add 2 tbs of oil and the garlic to a large skillet.  Cook for about 2 minutes.

Add in the mushrooms and cook for about 2 more minutes or until tender. 

Add in the other tsp of thyme and salt and pepper.

Add in the rice and cook for 1 full minute.  Stir constantly

At this point, your chicken broth mix should be steaming and ready to add to the rice.

Add broth 1/2 a cup at a time.  Stir constantly and wait till the liquid is absorbed before adding any more.

once liquid is absorbed add more and keep stirring

keep stirring...

Keep going!  Is your arm tired yet?

This process will take about 20 minutes total.  That's right, 20 minutes of constant stirring!  Add 1/2 c white wine.

and 1/2 c Parmesan 

and about 3 tbs of minced fresh parsley.  It takes a lot of work to get your nails to look as good as that thumb nail...

Stir one last time and you are done, my friend!

It is really creamy and worth the arm workout! 

You can serve as the main course or if you have hungry man like me, serve with whatever protein you like.  I sauteed Mike some chicken to go with the risotto. 

 

Either way you have this, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  I'm going to try to experiment with other flavors in the risotto so stay tuned for more risotto recipes!  Do you have a favorite risotto?

Phillies' Season Opener!

The order of my favorite holidays:  Christmas, Halloween, Phillies Opening Day...

There is something about the first game of the season.  You can feel the excitement in the air.  Everyone is excited for the first pitch that signifies that the Phillies season has finally started again after the cold winter.  It means warm weather and for Mike and myself, it is what initially brought us together as a couple.  It was the first passion that we realized we both shared.

The past two home openers have been GORGEOUS!  Warm weather; lots of sun!

This year, we weren't so lucky...

It was raining/snowing!  WHAT?!  Snow on April 1st?!  It was freeeeeezing too.  Mike and I still needed to buy tickets, so we got down to the stadium at 7:30 to make sure we got them.  Luckily, I have the best boyfriend ever and he let me stay in the car and wait for the lots to open, while he went and stood in the rain waiting for the ticket office to open.

 He didn't have to wait there too long; my brother, sister-in-law and some of my brothers friends showed up to commiserate with mike in the freezing rain.  I stayed in the car and read through my google reader!  I did get a little entertainment.  The guy in front of me got out of his car to fill his cooler and he had a case of O'douls!  hahaha!  He is going to have one heck of a tailgate!

I finally got into the lot, which was bittersweet.  I was glad to be parked in the lot but I knew I was going to have to go out into the rain :(

I found my family and I was glad to see that they were still all in good spirits!

We finally got to the ticket window and got our tickets!  Wahoo!

Mike was soaked to the core so, we raced back to the car to get out of the rain and snow.  Even though I wasn't out there the whole time, my fingers were numb.  Now that we have our tickets, I was ready to tailgate!  Well...car-gate..

I had an Irish coffee and Mike had a beer.

I'll tell you what, that Irish coffee warmed me from the inside out!  Also, since we hadn't had breakfast, I instantly felt tipsy.  Unfortunately, we didn't have anything else to eat except fluffer-nutter cupcakes and chips, so...that was breakfast! (recipe for cupcakes to come)

After about an hour of car-gating, everyone else started to show up!  We had to get out of the car but, these people are worth it!

This also meant it was time for Mimosas!!

And that is when this group really started to shine!  Mike iced James pretty early in the tailgate.

He was a trooper and I have never seen anyone chug a Smirnoff that fast!

The girls had another car-gate to warm up and eat our roast pork sandwiches from John's, which were amazing (thank you, James and Sarah for picking them up)!

After we finished the sandwiches, we drank more Mimosas and some beers.  I am so proud that everyone manned up and braved the crappy weather!  It was time to go in and see the opening ceremony!

We actually managed to get a really good spot, right on the 3rd baseline!  We hung out there for the first 5 innings before Kate and Mike swapped tickets so, Kate and I could have some girl time and Mike and Hoagie could have boy time.

It was an incredible game!  They managed to pull out a walk off win in the last inning!  I was very thankful for them to win it without going into extra innings!  The offense definitely came through!  It felt like a World Series game with how excited everyone was!

It was a great start to the season all around.  Rain can't dampen a true Phillies fan's spirit!

Guest Post - Pasta Carbonara

Hey everyone!  I thought I'd give my beautiful blogging girlfriend a little break and write a guest post that I hope you all enjoy.  For those of you who don't know me - I'm Mike.  Or, as many of Colie's posts indicate, I'm the guy that tests all her delicious recipes, finishes what's left on her plate, and always requires some source of protein with my meals.  Hey, I'm a growing boy, what do you expect??

I've always enjoyed cooking as far back as I can remember.  I learned a lot from my mom and stepmom, Jeanne, as well as a lot of time spent watching the Food Network.  I'm fortunate enough to have found a wonderful girlfriend who loves food even more than I do, and I'm the benefactor of all her culinary exploits.  Let's face it, I'm a pretty lucky guy.  That being said, I still try to cook dinner for Colie whenever I can to show her how much I appreciate all she does for me, and the recipe I'm about to share with you is a frequent go-to for me.

I'm going to share a recipe for Pasta Carbonara; a recipe my mom taught me.  It's a favorite of mine because of its simplicity as well as the simple fact that it's delicious.  Plus, it has bacon in it.  You're welcome, in advance.

Ingredients:

• 1 Box of your favorite Pasta (I used Wegman's Super Pasta Spirals, but I typically go with Fettuccine)
• 4 Eggs
• 1 package of bacon
• 1 1/2 C Grated Italian cheese (Parmesan or Romano)
• Garlic Powder (3-4 Tbs)
• Chopped Parsley (Fresh or dried, 3 Tbs)
• 3/4 Stick of Butter
• Unsweetened Condensed Skim Milk 
• Frozen Peas (1 package, prepared in the microwave as the instructions direct)

First, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.  You'll notice that I have added about 1 Tbs of vegetable oil; it helps keep the pasta from sticking together, and it also helps prevent the water from boiling over.  Be sure to salt your pasta water as well.

While the water is coming to a boil, fry your bacon up until it's nice and crispy.  Be sure to take note of how wonderful your home starts to smell once this step begins.

 

Pat your bacon dry by placing it between paper towels:

(I know what you're all thinking, and the answer is that I actually didn't hire a hand model. It's mine, and it's real.)

Anyway, tear the bacon into bite size pieces and set aside in a bowl:

And when I say "set aside," I really mean that you should put it in the other room to avoid eating it all before you actually use it:

Cook your pasta as the package directions indicate; al dente is the way to go:

Beat your eggs (I used 3; in retrospect, I should have used 4):

Drain your pasta well and place it back in the sauce pot.  

**Make sure that when you do the next steps, the pot is not on the heat**

Pour the beaten eggs into the pasta.  The residual heat from the pasta and the pot will cook the eggs.  However, if the pot is too hot, it will scramble the eggs, and that is not what you want to happen.

Add in your butter.  The residual heat will also melt this in nicely.

Retrieve your bacon from the other room and stir that in:

Add in your parsley...

And your garlic powder...

As well as your grated cheese:

Stir in your peas...

And finally, serve the finished product:

A few things to note:

• I mentioned condensed skim milk in the ingredients but did not use it.  I forgot it, plain and simple.  If you make this recipe, I recommend using it.  Heat it in the microwave first, and add in 1/2 C increments until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
• The garlic, Parmesan cheese and parsley are all subject to your taste.  Add the amounts that make you happy.  We happen to be garlic lovers, so a lot more went in than the recipe indicated.

Writing this blog proved to be very fun, but it's a LOT of work!!  It certainly gave me a new appreciation for how much work goes into these blog entries.  I hope to write more of these guest posts in the future, but in the meantime, I think we all can agree that Colie is the expert, and she's doing a fantastic job.

Cheers!

Mike