Tag: carbonara

SRC – Breakfast Risotto from Cookaholic Wife

Well Dined | Breakfast Risotto

It’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal time!  This month I was assigned Cookaholic Wife, written by Nichole.  We are both married, in our 30’s, on the East Coast, and cat moms.  I feel a connection!  We also must have similar tastes, because I saved more recipes than I have with any other SRC blog.  So bear with me for a bit here, and know that this is the edited down list!

Nichole loves s’mores just as much as I do!  Okay, maybe a little more.  The top s’more recipes that caught my eye were Vanilla Bean and Bacon S’mores, S’mores Pie, and Cinnamon S’mores Bark.

She also has some killer looking cupcake recipes like Orange Cream, Butterbeer, and Brown Sugar Butterscotch.

Other sweets that I liked the sound of were Sugar Cream Pie, Stone Fruit Eton Mess, Limoncello Cheesecake Bars, Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake, Lemon and Sour Cream Doughnuts, and Coconut Lime Cookie Bars.

On the more grown-up (read: boozy) side of things, we have Rum Punch and Limoncello Gelee.

My favorite apps were Philly Cheesesteak Spring Rolls, French Onion Puff Pastry Bites, and Corn Basil Cakes.

And, lastly, the entrees that had me drooling were Ham and Cheese Gnocchi Skillet, Drunken Italian Noodles, Doritos Casserole, Corn and Bacon Skillet Mac and Cheese, and Chicken with Creamy Orzo.

Well Dined | Breakfast Risotto

But the overall winner, the one I knew I had to make as soon as I saw it, was this Breakfast Risotto.  Creamy risotto with white wine and shallot, finished off with crispy pancetta, Parmesan, and a poached egg.  Simple and amazing.

Well Dined | Breakfast Risotto

There aren’t a ton of ingredients here, just simple classic flavors.  And while risotto is a bit labor intensive (you gotta stir, stir, stir to release all that creamy starch), it isn’t particularly complicated.  I love the bacon and eggs take on this that is reminiscent of carbonara; and who doesn’t want breakfast for dinner?  Enjoy! (more…)

Butternut Squash Carbonara

Well Dined | Butternut Squash Carbonara

By now, you guys should have figured out that I love butternut squash and pasta together.  I could practically rename my blog “The Butternut Squash Blog”.  So when I saw someone grate butternut squash so that it dissolves into their velvety carbonara sauce, you know I was all over that.  Especially because I had a nasty cold and wanted comfort and didn’t care that the pasta wasn’t whole wheat.

Well Dined | Butternut Squash Carbonara

The original recipe used buccatini, which I love, but I couldn’t find any at the store.  I did see these gorgeous long fusilli noodles though.  I have to say, after having cooked with them twice, I wouldn’t actually recommend these.  It takes longer to cook than advertised and the inside is still crunchy (not al dente – crunchy), while the outside has gotten soft so that it breaks apart and doesn’t stay long and beautiful.  Sigh.

Well Dined | Butternut Squash Carbonara

Anyway, grate up that squash (just a little chunk, not even a whole one) and toss it into a pan with a little rendered bacon fat, butter, and garlic. (more…)

Garlic Scapes

Well Dined | Garlic Scapes

I saw these guys at the Farmers Market and though, “What the heck are those?”  So out came the phone and Google searching commenced.  Garlic Scapes, as it turns out, are a shoot that grows out of the top of the garlic plant.  They need to be removed so that the plant can focus on growing the bulb instead of flowering.  This is fortunate, because the also happen to be insanely delicious.  They taste like garlic, but without the bite, and can be used like scallions.

Well Dined | Garlic Scapes

I bought myself a big handful and set about looking up recipes.  The most common way to use them is in a pesto, so of course I did not make that… because I’m weird.

Well Dined | Garlic Scape Carbonara

Instead, I made carbonara – with guanciale (cuz I’m legit) and peas (which put an end to my legit-ness, but I don’t care cuz I love peas).  You are probably wondering what the heck I am talking about, I don’t blame you.  Here is a link to a great article about the do’s and dont’s of real carbonara.  TLDR (too long, didn’t read for all you non-techies) – while bacon and pancetta are acceptable, guanciale is the best; peas are a definite don’t.

Well Dined | Garlic Scape and Gruyere Biscuits with Goat Butter

I also made biscuits – with garlic scapes, Gruyere, and goat butter (another new obsession of mine). (more…)