Risotto & homemade stock...

First things first, all risottos made at home should be made with a homemade stock. There is no reason not to have some homemade stock on hand if your a truly serious cook. I'm not saying that bought stock is necessarily bad...its just not as good. 

Homemade stock is the easiest thing in the world to make as long as your making something else that involves bones (unless your a vegetarian...then use veg). I made ribs the other night and decided to go with the age old culinary trick of boiling my ribs before throwing them on the grill. This was a thought out tactic, because when you through in pork and bones into water it yields a delicious stock; as long as you add a few extra ingredients that you should already have in your pantry and fridge. 

Chop an onion, a couple of carrots and some celery, toss them into the water. Add a couple of Bay leaves and some spices of your choice and your golden. Let the stock simmer and reduce, then your left with a very simple and tasty stock, where before you just had water that you would have thrown out anyway. 

(I hope I don't sound too snarky, I'm a bit tired and even the thought of throwing out water that could have been utilized makes me grumpy at the moment).

Cremini mushroom and Bacon risotto: 

This is one of the best risottos I've had in a while; we all know how to make risotto so I'm not going to go into detail on how to make a proper risotto, I'm just going to give you the ingredients I used.

Carnaroli rice (feel free to use vialone nano or arborio, there just as good)

White wine (I used a Sauvignon blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand)

Cremini mushrooms

Local Bacon (Black Pig Meat Co.)

Shallots (sautéed in bacon fat...of coarse)

Butter

Parmagiano Sarvecchio (you can use Parmagiano Reggiano or other hard cheese)

Homemade stock...you will make some right?

http://blackpigmeatco.com/

Humboldt Fog & Turophilia

The enigma that is Humboldt Fog. This hand crafted artisan goat cheese from Cypress grove Chevre, is both soft and slightly crumbly, ripened yet incredibly fresh tasting and looks like a slice of cake...but is of coarse cheese.
Humboldt Fog has a beautiful ribbon of vegetable ash that runs through the middle and along the edges. A delicate softness reminiscent of a cream cheese and flavors that are subtly nutty and delightfully tangy. This cheese is Cypress groves signature cheese and has won several awards, including first place in the American Cheese Societies prestigious competition.
Try serving Humboldt Fog with Apples, honey, cashews and thin crackers. Or in late Autumn after foraging from a mushroom harvest with sautéed wild mushrooms, crusty bread, cured meats and a tart fruit spread like Lingon berries or lemon curd.
Turophiliacs  (lovers of cheese) check out there website for more information on this and other Cypress grove Chevre.
www.cypressgrovechevre.com

The Endless Journey

Have you ever really tried to figure yourself out? It can get complicated, especially as most of us are continually evolving in many different ways. We are always learning, and therefore finding out new things about ourselves. I've been on what is inevitably an endless journey to find myself and figure out once and for all what I really want to do with my life.

One thing that always comes back to me, always, is food. Food sustains us and nourishes us. It is the centerpiece of all our social gatherings. The one thing that all humans have in common is we like to eat. Some of us love to eat more than others, and therefore find that we also love to cook... so we can eat more. We love to cook so much and want to share all we cook with everyone, so we get this crazy idea that we want to start writing about food too! I once wrote that food consumes my time as much as I consume food itself (which is a lot).

So we are continuously eating, cooking, writing and truly learning about ourselves in the process.

What I have learned about myself lately is that I really love writing and not just about food, but about anything and everything . I enjoy it so much that I have recently started writing a novel (I'm about three chapters in...and I love it!). Consequently giving my blogging a temporary spot on the back burner.

I have missed writing my blogs and am making an effort to balance my life out in all categories...with all this eating, has to come exercise.

So my endless journey continues...at least for now I know I'll be eating, writing and hopefully sharing some interesting notions with you.

Cheers!