Healthy, wealthy and wise: Hot Dish your way

I don't watch TV cooking shows.  I cook instead.  Thus I am not a normal American.  But I am used to that by now.  People who keep track of these things tell us that nowadays Americans spend more time watching people cook on TV than they do actually cooking.  Oh dear.  When it comes to feeding ourselves, it appears that our culture is moving closer and closer to "all talk and no action".   I don't know about you, but I was brought up to DO things.  I bet you were too.  (Thanks, Mom for all the times you told me to put down my book and get off the couch.)

And thank you for spending precious possible cooking time reading this blog post.  I hope as soon as you are done you will cook something.  Anything.  From scratch.  With real food.   You will be healthier and wealthier if you do. 

And most important of all, you will be wiser.  Every time you create in the kitchen you gain experience.  Knowledge.  Confidence.  This is cumulative.  No one can take it away from you.  And here is the clincher -- eating the results of your labors will give you pleasure.  Gustatory gladness.  Sensory satisfaction.  Food fulfillment.

If you don't have a cooking project or meal in mind already, you might to play with the concept of Hot Dish.

There is no doubt in my mind that in millions of American homes every evening, families are dining on some version of Hot Dish.  One reason I know this is that Hamburger Helper and its 60 flavor variations constitutes about half of the "meal kit" industry - which in 2005 was a half billion dollar a year business.  Hamburger Helper has been around for forty years now.  Kind of amazing how the brand has evolved.  You can even buy Asian Helper (like Mongolian beef flavor) and several flavors of Mexican or Italian Helper.   America is indeed a melting pot.

There is nothing wrong with the concept of Hot Dish -  a one pot combination of protein (e.g. hamburger, tuna, the ubiquitous boneless, skinless chicken breast, cheese); carbohydrate (e.g. rice, pasta, potato); vegetable (e.g. peas, onion, a little celery or carrot,  cabbage, spinach, bell pepper or even rutabaga) AND - some kind of sauce or binder -- something smooth and creamy and rich to hold it all together.  Like a vegetable puree or tomato sauce.  Maybe a little beaten egg and milk.  Creme fraiche.  Or homemade white sauce.  See this link to my post on white sauce (bechamel) for how-to details: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/09/hands-on-bechamel.html  You do not have to use canned soup.  Or a magical powder that turns into a "creamy sauce" when water is added.

In my childhood years, Hot Dish was elbow macaroni, hamburger, chopped onion, cream of tomato soup and Velveeta cheese.   Now I am in Grandma years and I am older and wiser.  Hot Dish for us might be linguini tossed with olive oil, roasted garlic puree (homemade of course), capers, a can of sardines, a lot of fresh chopped Italian parsley and a dusting of freshly grated Parmesan. 

Does your house have a signature Hot Dish?  Has it changed over the years?  Do you change it all the time depending on what seasonal vegetables you have around?  I encourage you to experiment.  Build your Hot Dish on the foundation of these four corners: protein, carbohydrate, vegetables (lots of these) and sauce or binder.  Use what you have.  Use what is in season.  Use plenty of vegetables.  If you are having a hard time getting started, look up some recipes for pasta e fagioli - the famous Italian vegetable soup with beans and pasta.  It is really just Hot Dish and it is good.  Here is one version:  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pasta-e-Fagioli-2186   NOTE:  I would definitely add more vegetables - maybe some chopped onion, spinach and green beans or zucchini.  Add a bit more broth if necessary.  The main idea is:  olive oil,  cooked dry beans, cooked pasta, broth (amount depends on how thick or thin you want the final dish), tomatoes, Italian herbs and various chopped vegetables.  Add a bit of sausage or pancetta for extra flavor.  Voila.  Hot Dish.

What I hope you take away from today's little sermon is this:  You can make Hot Dish without the assistance of meal kits or canned soup or weird little packets of dried secret spices, sodium and chemical thickeners or flavorings. Who knew?

Risotto is just Italian hot dish

One of my new favorite meal solutions is risotto.  Do not let the name intimidate you.  Do not let the fact that usually this dish is only found in fancy restaurants deter you.  Because risotto is really just creamy rice hot dish.  It is quick, as easy as Hamburger Helper and a great way to use a wide variety of vegetables.  You can make risotto with beets, winter or summer squash, mushrooms, cabbage, peas, carrots, spinach, asparagus - the list goes on.   There are infinite varieties of risotto - limited only by your imagination.  It is Italian grandma comfort food. You may get to like it more than macaroni and cheese.

There are only a few things to know about risotto before you get started.   First, you need to use a special variety of rice - such as Arborio, Baldo or Carnaroli.  If you can find it, use Carnaroli.  Many cooks think it is the best.   These are not brand names - just short, plump varieties that can absorb a lot of liquid and still have a nice "bite" and texture.  Second,  a good risotto requires flavorful broth or stock (it could be chicken, vegetable,  mushroom, shellfish or meat) as well as a little white wine.

Third, risotto always is better with a little grated parmesan and butter stirred in at the end. 

I have gotten to the point where I do not use an exact recipe - and I don't think you need to either. 
A few days ago I had some fresh morel mushrooms, spring onions and asparagus sitting around in my refrigerator waiting for their fate to be decided by me, their kitchen goddess.   I washed and sliced the veggies - ended up with about 1 cup asparagus, 1 cup mushrooms and 1/2 cup onions.   I set those out, along with about 5 cups of vegetable stock, some white wine and a little butter, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.  Oh yes, and about 1/4 cup of chopped pancetta (you could substitute bacon or leave it out.)  Then I got out the rice and a heavy iron skillet.  You need a heavy pan so the rice doesn't scorch when being sauteed in fat.

The first step in any risotto is to saute some onion, garlic or shallot in some fat.  About 1/2 cup onions to 2 T fat.  You can use butter, olive oil or even bacon fat.  Sometimes I like to saute some bacon or pancetta right along with the onions.   After the onions are soft, then add about 1 1/2 cups of rice.   After a few minute of stirring over the heat, you will see little white opaque "eyes" in the rice and it will appear translucent.  You do not want it to brown. 

The next step is to add wine - about 1/2 cup per 1 1/2 cups rice.  White wine is most often used but you could use red wine, beer or even some broth with a teaspoon or two of wine vinegar added for acidity.
Cook the wine over medium heat until it is mostly evaporated.

Now it is time to add the broth (warm it first). Add enough so the rice is barely covered - and keep it at a vigorous simmer.  As the liquid cooks down and the rice is exposed, add more broth.  Add a little salt early on so it can penetrate the rice.  You will need about 5 cups broth for 1 1/2 cups rice.  Stir frequently as rice is cooking.  It should take about 20-30 minutes.  I added the asparagus about ten minutes before I thought the rice would be done.  As you gain experience, you can add vegetables early or later in the rice cooking process - depending on the size of the vegetable pieces and whether you prefer them soft or more firm.  You can add herbs at the beginning - when you are sauteing the onion or later - right before serving.  You can also stir in vegetable purees at the end, or bits of meat or fish.

The final step is to add about 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese and a tablespoon of butter.  (Italians would not add the cheese if making a shellfish risotto.  Just not done.)  Stir a minute or two with vigor to develop the starch,  turn off the heat, cover the skillet, wait a few minutes.  Add a little more broth if the rice is too thick.  Then serve and enjoy.