Asparagus and Shrimp Risotto

Apparently the new things I've been making lately require a lot of reductions. I didn't notice until I posted 3 of them on one day. Hmm.

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
1 pound fresh asparagus, sliced diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1 lb shrimp, cooked and peeled
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup uncooked Arborio Rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt


Heat water and broth in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat; add asparagus and cook until tender crisp. Remove asparagus; set aside.







In same saucepan, cook onion in remaining 1 tablespoon butter until soft. Add rice and stir 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine; stir until absorbed. Increase heat to medium-high; stir in 1 cup water-broth mixture.









Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until liquid is absorbed. Continue stirring and adding remaining water-broth mixture 1 cup at a time, allowing each cup to be absorbed before adding another. Cook until rice is tender and mixture has a creamy consistency, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.







Stir in shrimp, asparagus, cream, cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until mixture is creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.










I didn't find this all that fabulous. I was at the stove reducing for almost an hour, and it came out with very little flavor. I could have just put rice and asparagus and shrimp together. Anthony ended up smothering his in hot sauce.
So if you're looking for something that LOOKS impressive, or if for some stodgy English family who don't like spices, this is the recipe for you. Otherwise, not worth the effort. Or maybe I just don't care about risotto

Shrimp Scampi

This recipe is supposed to be for appetizers, but we had little baby shrimps, so I just put it on top of some rice.

2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup olive oil
1.3 cup vermouth
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 tsp salt
1.2 tsp fresh ground pepper
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon



Heat oil over medium low heat in a large skillet. Sauté shrimp; add vermouth, garlic, salt, and pepper; simmer until liquid is almost evaporated.
Ha ha, you're supposed to put the parsley in later, but I don't read so good. It turned out good anyway.








Sprinkle with parsley and lemon juice. Gently stir and serve with toothpicks as an appetizer. Or over delicious fluffy jasmine rice. Thanks rice cooker!

Make Your Own Pasta Sauce pt 1

The ingredients in this recipe are approximations.
2 tbsp butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Basil
Parsley
1/2 cup white wine, mine was pretty sweet, but you can use anything
1 tbsp hot sauce, I used sriracha because it's nice and hot
1 cup milk or 3/4 cup cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

I was bored one day and decided to rummage around in my fridge and use up some ingredients to make my own pasta sauce. What could possibly go wrong, right?


I started with the butter and garlic. Let the garlic brown for a minute and the butter get a little bubbly and frothy.












Then I added Worchestershire sauce, a little handful of both basil and parsley, and white wine. Let that simmer a couple of minutes, until it comes to a rolling boil.











Add hot sauce and let the sauce cook for a few minutes. Everything should be melding together, except the butter tends to skim along the top, but that's fine.











I added the milk, but cream would have been better, probably. This isn't about going out to buy things, though, soooooooooo

Also, you can add lemon juice at this point, too. DON'T ADD LEMON JUICE BEFORE MILK. If you do, it'll congeal and be a giant mess and you'll have to pour it down the sink, like I did on my first batch.

I threw in parmesan too. Do what you feel like.

The key to reducing a sauce with milk or cream in it is to watch for the color to change. It takes a long time to boil down milk, but if you just keep whisking, it'll happen. When the color actually changes to a kind of yellowy-er color, it's almost done. Take it off the heat immediately when it's thick enough for your liking.

This sauce was good. I didn't stray too far from what I knew would be good in a pasta sauce, but the hot sauce in there was just enough to give it a little kick.