Teleidoscope

Sun, Jan 13, 2008

Turkey Risotto

Posted at 7:17 pm MST to Technology

If you want a dish that takes FOR EV ER to cook, try brown rice risotto at 6000 feet. But it's smelling delicious, though.

The new risotto pan is very nice, and the front burner on my stove magically decided to cooperate.

I sort of compromised between my Nonna's recipe and the recipes fro Mario Batali that came with the pan.

 
1/4 cup EV Olive oil
1 medium onion chopped small and cooked until translucent
3 smashed cloves of garlic
1 cup brown rice cooked in the oil for a few minutes
a small pinch of salt to help the rice cook
180 ml of White Zinfandel
1 quart hot turkey stock, added very gradually
2 cups turkey in small chunks (mostly dark meat)
1/2 tsp rosemary, pounded in a mortar before adding
1 Tbsp double-strength tomato paste

2 small cans of mushrooms added about midway through cooking

hot water added gradually after all the stock is in

about a cup of grated Parmesan cheese added at the end and stirred in

serve with more cheese, and fresh ground pepper on top, and salt if desired 

The wine is one of those little bottles that come in 4-packs: a 1998 Glen Ellen that's been in my pantry for ages.

I used a trick from Cook's Illustrated: keep an open flame going while chopping onions to reduce crying.

Also a technique from Alton Brown: cut the onion in half from the top to the root, and slice each half at angles from top to bottom without severing the root, so the pieces will hold together when you are slicing across them for the chop. My knife skills generally suck, but this chop came out less amateurish than usual.

Note that there is a LOT of salt in the Parmesan, hence the limited amounts used elsewhere in the recipe.

I need to find a pot rack or something. I really have no good place in my kitchen for my nice new pans.

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Organic Rats

Posted at 1:32 pm MST to Technology

According to an October article in the Curious Cook column in the New York Times, rats can tell the difference between biscuits baked with organic flour and biscuits baked with regular flour. They prefer the organic ones.

Also, stressed basil plants have more aromatic compounds than unstressed plants, and scientists have found a way to threaten the plants without necessarliy having anything chew on them, by soaking the seeds and roots with a couple of doses of chitin extract (chitosin).

I wonder if doing that works like a vaccine, getting the plant's immune system into higher gear in advance of any attacks. It seems possible, since flavorful compounds are part of the plant's defenses mechanisms. A plant with its weapons loaded and ready should be more resistant than one that needs to ramp up production of its ammunition.

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