April Challenge - Sue Chef's Results

I was excited to see a risotto challenge issued as I love, love cooking risottos. They are not nearly as difficult as people make them out to be, and I lust after the rich, thick pasta-like rice result. So warming to the belly, and just a small serving amount fills you up!

Just a few days before, I enjoyed a wonderful risotta at one of my favorite Savannah restaurants - Garibaldi's - and two Sundays ago I attempted to replicate it at home. Sundays, more often than not, we grill out some steaks, so this seemed like a perfect time to pair a risotto with a good steak.

Here are the ingredients for the risotto - a Parmesan Pea Risotto....

You know the drill.....you gotta saute the onions in the butter, then add the risotto and brown up a bit, then start adding the liquid slowly, and only after the previous addition has been totally absorbed. All risottos need at least a half cup of wine, in my humble opinion.

And......here's the end result! A nice, creamy risotto with a healthy dose of peas and parmesan cheese added at the very end, paired with fresh asparagus (also covered in a little parmesan) and your favorite steak. I'll take this every Sunday night!

Now, on to the second challenge. I found a sparkling shiraz at our local wine store. It was a little expensive ($20) I thought, but couldn't wait to get home and try it. I put it in the frig to chill while I started dinner.

I did this challenge this past Sunday and looky here....steak again. I promise I didn't plan it this way. But, I was craving a black and bleu steak, and thought that a sparkling red would go nicely with this.
The end result? Well, Mr. and Mrs. Chef are not big fans of sparkling shiraz. The texture and pizazz of the wine just aren't for us. In fact, we struggled a bit to drink it through dinner. And, if you know me at all, you know that's a tough admission for me to make. I normally drink wine like it's water! I had high hopes for this one, but I just don't think it was for me. Next time, I'll stick to one of my favorite Cabs.

Can't wait for next month,

Sue

Katie's March Challenge #2 Result - Crock Pot "Oven Steak"

Growing up, my mom used to make her own recipe called "Oven Steak". She made it in the oven, and it has such a delicious sauce/gravy that's perfect over mashed potatoes or rice. It's a wonderful recipe for a cold day. I decided to adapt it for the crock pot. It turned out pretty good! The only change I'd make is that in the original recipe, my mom added 1/2 cup of water to the mix. In the crock pot, you can definitely leave that out, as the gravy ended up being much more "soupy" than I was used to.

Here are the very simple ingredients:

- 1 tbsp vegetable oil

- 2 lbs of round steak

- garlic powder

- 1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix (they only had the Golden Onion flavor at Publix this week)

- can of Cream of Chicken soup

- salt & pepper

Pour the oil in the bottom of the crock pot. Cut the oven steak into 3-4 inch pieces, trimmed of fat. Add the steak to the crock pot. Sprinkle with the garlic powder and salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix together the Cream of Chicken soup and the Lipton Onion Soup powder. Pour over the steak. Cook in crock pot however long you want. I cooked it on low for 8 hours.

It turns out like this:

Serve with your favorite starch, but it's super delish over mashed potatoes. Then throw on some simple veggies, and you're done!
Enjoy!