Sunday Dinners~ a Risotto by any other name...

Our oldest daughter, Cari, moved into her own- adorable- apartment just about a month and a half ago. While she is enjoying learning all the joys of "grown-up-land", we've tried to make it a habit/tradition of reviving the Sunday dinner of inviting her to enjoy with all of us after attending Mass. We believe Sunday should be used (as much as possible) as a day for family, for recreation and for rest (which is Brian's favorite as he likes his Sunday after dinner naps). I've also learned to be creative as we've found out Cari is gluten-intolerant which means no meals with wheat in them.This past Sunday was another family and gluten-free dinner that was enjoyed by all~ chicken, green bean & roasted red bell pepper skillet along with risotto and a green salad made for a delicious and filling meal! It also gave me an opportunity to share the how-to's of making risotto with Cari as rice is a staple in her kitchen (which it should be in everyone's since it's so inexpensive). While we all generally eat brown rice, once in a while a good risotto is hard to beat. Here's my favorite recipe for an easy risotto anyone (or most anyone) can make:

Risotto

Ingredients

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup finely chopped onion

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups Arborio rice (I get mine from the bulk section at Winco)

2 ounces grated Romano cheese, approximately 1/2 cup

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

In a medium saucepan with a lid, combine chicken broth and white wine and heat just to simmering. Keep warm.

In a large 3 to 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sweat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the grains are translucent around the edges. Be careful not to allow the grains or the onions to brown.

Reduce the heat to low. Add enough of the wine and chicken stock just to cover the top of the rice. Stir until the liquid is completely absorbed into rice. Once absorbed, add another amount of liquid just to cover the rice and continue stirring as before. There should be just enough liquid left to repeat 1 more time. It should take approximately 35 to 40 minutes for all of the liquid to be absorbed. After the last addition of liquid has been mostly absorbed, remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, lemon zest, and nutmeg.

Taste and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

New Blog Name~ Same Blog Taste...

Okay, so I had decided to give up my blog forever as the time has flown by this year, and I had no desire to try to come up with anything creative for it. My children, however, had different thoughts as they (especially Cari) kept asking when the next post would happen. I finally got to the point of realizing how much I enjoy doing this and how much I've actually missed it. So with all that, I've decided to take a bit of a turn for Mangia Mama, and will be adding some "Tiber Tales" to the foodie stuff I like to wax eloquently (or not so much~ I guess my readers can decide).

The tales will have to do with our family's journey to join the Catholic Church that we started officially this year~ Joshua was ahead of us all by a year or so, but we are now all on the same road towards becoming Catholic. It has been a really interesting- to say the least- travel for all of us. I have a Catholic background as I was raised in the Church and went through everything from baptism to confirmation. My family stopped going to church when I was a young teen. I searched for a church, attending everything from a Presbyterian to United Church of Christ to Dutch Reformed. I finally settled in at an American Baptist Church as a young college student~ which is where I met my future husband. Speaking of my husband- Brian was raised Baptist (mostly Southern), and we were married at Bellflower, CA First Baptist (the church where we met). After moving to Salem from Southern California, we started attending Kingwood Bible Church (Mennonite Brethren). When our oldest kids were toddlers we moved over to Salem Alliance (Christian and Missionary Alliance) where we had been actively involved for the past 17 years.

Needless to say, the decision to start on our Catholic journey was a bit of a challenge as we felt so attached to the people at Salem Alliance. As I read in David Currie's book, "Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic", I understood why he was able to say that he gave the church his family was involved with before becoming Catholic an A+ as we feel the same way about Salem Alliance. There were so many things we love about SAC~ the people, the music, the heart for the brokenhearted, etc., so it was not without much praying, reading and numerous hours of talking that we made our decision.

Many people have had questions about why the Catholic church which we have tried to answer. The best answer I have is that I feel as if I have always had a good walk with the Lord and now I have a great walk with Him. Joshua, our oldest son, has said the difference for him between attending an evangelical church and a Catholic church is the difference between having your thirst quenched with a wonderfully glass of water and diving in a pool that continuously refreshes and quenches as it covers you.

We are now attending St. Joseph's in downtown Salem, Oregon. We are enjoying going to Mass- often daily as well as on Sundays, getting involved in Bible studies, youth activities and taking classes on what the Catholic faith is all about. Our faith and love for God and His Word is going deeper and deeper as we continue on our journey!

You may wonder what food has to do with all this, but it is still a central part of joy in my life! As we have chosen not to eat meat on Fridays as a fast to remind us of Jesus' dying on the cross for us, I've had to learn to be very creative with our meals. The kids said they could only take so many weeks of macaroni and cheese. There are also feast days that we celebrate which are fun reasons to try new recipes. There is a great blog, Catholic Cuisine that has been helpful in finding new recipes from other homemakers for all kinds of celebrations!

I plan to post new recipes and bits and pieces of our journey as we continue growing in our Lord! May He bless you and guide you closer to Him in all you do!!

1/1/2010~ Day 1 Lentil Veggie Stew with Italian Sausage

Here is the first recipe for the 2010 Mangia Mamma Recipe Challenge. I was going to make it when we went to Ron & Shelly's house for football games, but I wrenched my shoulder a bit and ended up getting pizza to take instead. I realized when we got home that I still needed to make dinner, so I asked Mary to whip up some drop biscuits while I went to work on the stew. We had most of the ingredients in the recipe which was originally in an old Bon Appetit magazine (yes, I know it wasn't a cookbook, but it is a magazine which I already had), but I twisted it around to what we had on hand. The verdict came in that it was probably even better than the original!

Lentil Veggie Stew with Italian Sausage

(adapted from Bon Appetit January 2010)

2 T. olive oil

1 pound Italian sausage, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 large onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)

4 parsnips, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups)

4 celery stalks, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 t. dried basil

1 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. dried thyme

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 pound lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)

3 quarts low-fat stock (I used a combination of beef and chicken, but you could use either or even vegetable stock)

1 cup red wine (I used a Tempranillo but again you could use what you have at home)

3 cups chopped cabbage (any type~ I used 1/2 a head of napa since it was in the fridge)

Cook the sausage in a large pot over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes or browned. Remove sausage from heat and place on paper towel-lined plate. Add olive oil to pot along with onion, carrots, parsnips, celery and herbs. Lower heat to medium and cook for 7-8 minutes or until onions are translucent and vegetables are starting to soften. Add lentils; stir to coat. Add broth and wine. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Add sausage and cabbage and mix well. Let simmer for 7-9 minutes to blend flavors and wilt cabbage. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes about 10 servings. Like I said, I served this with biscuits, but I think it taste delicious over rice. For those of you who don't do meat, you can always skip the sausage and just do the veggies~ I am pretty sure it would still be delicious!

2010 Mangia Mamma Recipe Challenge

Okay, so when I started this blog~ thanks to a suggestion from my sister~ I thought it would be an easy thing to just post recipes and thoughts about how food really is an important thread that ties us together. Even though it felt frustrating doing this and then seeing no comments or just one or two after I'd post something, I still thought it was a good thing to be able to share with others. As I went through a really busy autumn, the frustration level rose a notch as I wasn't making time to even post once a week. So, I had to come to a decision- should I just quit the blog all together or should I do something that would help spur me on to keep writing and sharing? After talking with my kitchen kid, Mary, we decided that we would keep going this year with a 2010 RECIPE CHALLENGE.

I mentioned in earlier postings how important it is for us to glean recipes from our heritage. This gleaning doesn't always have to be straight from family members. Some of my most cherished recipes come from cookbooks I have either bought myself or, mostly, received as gifts.

My orange 1970's Betty Crocker Cookbook was a gift from Grandma & Grandpa Pitalo

Brian has also bought me a few cookbooks that have been well loved (and used) including Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader which has inspired and delighted me every time I go to use it.

Some of my favorite cookbooks would also have to be the ones I have picked up at garage sales and thrift stores. These are mostly vintage, and some have recipes I wouldn't even think of making. The main thing about these cookbooks are the history they tell us~ recipes and ideas our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents- not to mention any other "cooking relatives" we may have in our families- have used or even thought of using.

Okay, so enough blathering and let me get on with what our 2010 RECIPE CHALLENGE is all about! Mary and I have decided that we are going to go through every cookbook I own this year, and we are going to choose 1 recipe from each cookbook to make, eat, and share on the blog. I think I own about 150 cookbooks, so this isn't a challenge we are taking lightly. I am also going to try to not get recipes off the internet, but instead peruse through the collection sitting in my cupboard and on my counter to see if I can find something first.

My challenge for you is to join us on this recipe ramble. Even if you only have a few cookbooks at home, you can still cook a new recipe once a week. Whether you are a novice cook or have had the chance to cook gourmet meals, you can always expand your recipe repertoire! Come along on this journey with us- send me comments, recipes, photos. 2010 promises to be a great year, and we're looking forward to the challenge of making it a tasty one too!