Like the Irish Cream Poundcake from a few weeks ago, Katrin Baker shared this recipe with me for me to add to Jessica’s cookbook.  She thinks it may have originally come from Cooking Light.  It was another one of Matt’s and my favorites of the ones we made.  I always love risotto, and the roasted tomatoes that go with this would also be delicious on their own, or in bruschetta, for instance.  Enjoy!

Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella, Roasted Tomatoes, and Basil

Adapted from Katrin Baker, possibly originally from Cooking Light

⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
4½ cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1½ cups Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice
⅓ cup dry white wine
¼ cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
roasted tomatoes (recipe follows
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
5 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, finely diced

Place vinegar in a small, heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until slightly syrupy (about 4 minutes). Set aside.

Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, and cook 1 minute or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 5 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in basil and cheese.

Place about 1 cup risotto evenly into 6 shallow serving bowls, and drizzle each with ½ teaspoon balsamic syrup and roasted tomatoes.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground peppe
4 sprigs fresh oregano, rosemary, or thyme

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Put tomatoes, herbs, oil, salt, and pepper into a large bowl; toss to combine. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet.

Roast until tomatoes begin to collapse, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely; serve at room temperature.

Another recipe I received when putting together Jessica’s cookbook, from her mom, Julie Badger. This is a great and easy side dish. We often make some version of this with whatever vegetable we have on hand. And of course, it was a great accompaniment to Swedish meatballs.

Oven Roasted Green Beans with Garlic
from Julie Badger

1 lb. fresh green beans
1 cup sliced onion
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 Tablepsoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 13”x9” baking pan with Pam.

Rinse beans and trim ends. Add beans and sliced onion rings to pan. Peel garlic, cut cloves in half, and scatter over onions. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables and add salt and pepper to taste

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring briefly every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, add vinegar, and stir. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Matt’s been out of town for the past week (but is coming home tonight! yay!), so I’ve been having to feed just myself.  The vast majority of the time, we eat dinner together, and even when we don’t, it’s usually because there’s something going on, so I don’t often cook for just myself.  But, I didn’t want to eat takeout or peanut butter and jelly for a whole week, so I’ve been practicing cooking in smaller portions.

Cooking for one can be a challenge: most recipes come for four or even six, cans of things are usually too big for one person, and many ingredients are hard to buy in smaller quantities.  And, cooking can just seem like a lot of trouble when there’s only one mouth to feed.  Many of these are problems for cooking for two people also, but when there’s two of us, cooking a recipe for four isn’t so bad, since I like to eat leftovers for lunch anyway.  However, I didn’t want to have to eat the same thing for three or four days, so my usual leftovers strategy wasn’t going to work for just me.

Despite these challenges, I actually had some fun cooking for only myself, and found that it had some upsides: you can eat the things your usual dining partner doesn’t care too much for, you can be a bit more creative and risky with trying combinations that might not work out, and if you end up eating a little less healthy or balanced a meal, there’s no one to judge you or give you funny looks.

I’m the first to admit that I don’t have a lot of experience in this department, but when I said I was actually enjoying cooking for myself, my cousin Bethany was interested to hear what I was making, so I thought others might be, too.  So here’s the “tips” that worked for me (at least this week) and a list of what I made this week with links to the recipes, some my own, and some from others.

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Great for cooking for one or two.  Adapted from a recipe from Julie Powell, and a half-remembered recipe I read long ago from Mark Bittman. Leaving the cloves on adds more flavor, plus it’s just easier, and it’s going to be strained anyway.

This makes 2-3 portions of broth, so if you’re cooking for only one, cook the egg or shrimp in just one portion and save the rest for another night.

half a head of garlic, broken into cloves but not peeled
1 T olive oil
1/4 t smoked paprika
1/4 t thyme
3 fresh sage leaves, or 1/4 t dried sage
1/2 t salt, or to taste
1/2 t fresh ground pepper

6 or 8 shrimp per person, peeled (optional)
1 egg per person (optional)
fresh parmesan cheese (optional)
crusty bread (optional)

In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, combine garlic cloves and next 6 ingredients (through pepper). Add 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, about 30 minutes. Strain the broth into a heatproof bowl, squishing as much of the “meat” of the garlic through as possible.

Place as many portions of broth as you’re going to serve in as small a saucepan as will hold it (so it’s as deep as possible). Bring back to a low simmer. Add the shrimp, or slip in an egg. With shrimp, cook until they’re pink. With an egg, cook until it’s really barely set, as it’ll continue to cook after you take it off the heat, and it’s easy to overcook the yolk.

To serve, top with grated parmesan cheese, with crusty bread on the side, and maybe a simple salad.

I know this hardly counts as a recipe. But, I just really love the combination sweet and savory from the cinnamon and paprika seasoning, so I’m sharing it anyway.

1 package Trader Joe’s sweet potato fries (these aren’t just frozen sweet potatoes, since they are already coated in some kind of oil or something, and maybe pre-fried)
1/2 t cinnamon, or to taste
1/2 t smoked paprika, or to taste
1/2 t salt, or to taste
1 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 F. Toss (still frozen) fries with cinnamon, paprika, salt, and olive oil. Bake until crispy and browned, about 8-10 minutes. I like to eat them with barbecue sauce.