Cooking Away The Cabin Fever

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Round 3: Cooking Away the Cabin Fever

Orzo Risotto with Lemon & Roasted Mushrooms

You know who won in my book last week? Chef Nick Melvin for this recipe. You know who didn’t win last week? Mother Nature, Atlanta Traffic, and the freak storm that took down our city.

I won’t go into too much detail about why I was cooped up in my house for most of the week. (Because, really, do I need to? If you’re reading this in Atlanta, chances are, you probably were too.) Suffice it to say I was COMPLETELY unprepared for this ice storm and for being stuck at my house for at least a full day. While the streets were a skating rink and most all restaurants and stores were closed, I hadn’t even thought once to stock the house with food before the whole city shut down. Here we always joke about the ridiculousness of running out to get the last of the eggs, milk and bread before an inch of snow hits the ground, yet I found myself stuck at home without anything in the fridge… and with a sudden craving for French Toast. Karma is a you-know-what.

Wait, did I say I was without anything in the fridge? Scratch that. There was one saving grace: my perfect little Garnish & Gather bag, shining like a beacon of edible hope on that refrigerator shelf! Hello, dream lunch!

So I don’t know if this meal was made so perfect because of the freak circumstances—because it saved me from eating almonds and old lettuce for the day—or because it really was so dang delicious, but I have to say this might be one of my favorites thus far. I have a good feeling the Orzo Risotto will make it to the top of my “go-to” list in my cooking repertoire. It was perfect for lunch because of my circumstances, but easily filling enough to be a great dinner, too.

A few highlights (to thaw out my ice day):

• Kale cooked into orzo risotto (or with a pasta or grain in general) was something I’ve never tried before. I love kale, but I feel like I only know a few ways to prepare it well, and those are usually just as sides or salads. This is one way I plan to use going forward.
• I freaked out a little bit that the orzo was cooking too fast and might burn in the beginning, though the recipe called for it to be toasted. All worked out fine though, and no need for alarm. The toasted flavor definitely added some great depth to the dish once the orzo was mixed in with the mushrooms, bouillon, kale, cream and parmesan. (Mmm, cheese… I love you, cheese.)
• Adding lemon zest to the orzo early on as it toasted felt weird to me (I always felt like zest is something you add at the end to finish off a dish?) but—wow—the flavor was so bright and I feel like it really made the meal.
• I continue to be impressed by the difference in locally-sourced mushrooms vs. store-bought. These alone could have been a meal for me—so phenomenal.
• Mmmm, Cheese. Did I mention I love you? Adding that small portion of cream and grated parmesan at the end thickened up the meal and made it so rich and decadent, yet it still felt decidedly healthy and not at all heavy. (The rosemary, thyme, and, again, the lemon really stood out here!)
• Not only am I appreciating Garnish & Gather for saving me from hibernation starvation, but I’m also appreciating these Starter kits and mixes—especially when they’ve gone ahead and done the onion and garlic chopping for me. It’s true, I’m no chef yet if I whimp out over teary eyes and slicing the onions, but it really is a welcomed touch.
• I think I’ve always left the stems of mushrooms on when cooking, so I was curious why this recipe called to remove them. Turns out, depending on the mushroom, they can be fibrous or woody and tough, but also just aesthetically they look better when just cooking the caps. And would you look at that, I learned something else new today.
• Going forward, I can’t wait to play around even more with this this recipe – maybe finding a way to add a protein or subbing in some more or different seasonal veggies.

Looking forward to next week’s Garnish & Gather meal—where I’m hoping my expectations get even higher… along with the temps outside.