Crab and corn risotto (and how to fix an overseasoned risotto)

Crab and corn are a great combination. Abby and I first had a crab and corn dish at Esca in NYC, and, since then, I've made crab and corn pasta. Since we are moving in a couple weeks, we're in the process of clearing out the freezer, and I had some lobster stock that I didn't want to go to waste, I decided to put it to use as a base for a risotto and figured that the crab corn combo would do well for this dish. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
-1.5 cups Arborio rice
-2 quarts stock
-1/4-1/2 cup white wine
-2 shallots, minced
-2 cloves garlics, minced
-3 T butter
-1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmessan
-container crab meat (can't remember the size, it's whatever they sell at Whole Foods)
-1 cup sweet corn

Melt 2Tbsp butter over medium heat, cook the shallots and garlic until the shallots become soft and translucent.

Add the rice and stir to coat with butter for about 1 minute. Add the white wine and let reduce. Meanwhile, the stock should be simmering, so it is hot when you add it to the risotto.

Add the stock one ladel full at a time, stirring constantly, until done. When the risotto is all dente, stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter, the cheese, crab, and corn. Add stock to adjust consistency and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Usually stock isn't that salty, but in this case, it was, which proved to be a problem. It's not a bad idea to thin out stock with water just to keep the flavor from overpowering everything else (the flavor gets really concentrated in the rice), and in this case the dish was just too salty. To fix it, I just cooked up another 1/2 cup of arborio rice using water and absolutely no seasoning. I diluted the overly salty risotto with this and the result was pretty good. This should work with any over seasoning problems you should run into with risotto.

Locally raised steak, smoked blue cheese, and arugula and tomato salad

This is a pretty straight forward meal that relies on the ingredients more than anything else. The center of the dish was a ribeye steak from a farm in Vermont. The steak was seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked rare, and then garnished with Tuscan olive oil and smoked blue cheese. The salad was arugula dressed with the same olive oil, lemon juice, and kosher salt. The tomatoes were seasoned with salt and pepper and left to sit for about 15 minutes, then topped with olive oil, sweet balsamic vinegar, and chives. I find that letting the salt sit on tomatoes for a while really improves the flavor.

Pan fried blue fish, chickpeas and spinach, and roasted asparagus

It's been a busy month, so I haven't been posting much lately, but I have managed to cook a couple meals here and there. This dish uses the same chickpea and spinach recipe from my last post. The blue fish is a preparation that I've used a couple other times on this blog. Just season with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and pan fry in olive oil. This gives the fish a nice crispy texture. It works well with any white fish. I decided to give blue fish a try since it was one of the cheaper fish at the market that day. Blue fish is a bit oilier than most fish, but it doesn't taste quite as fishy as mackerel. For the asparagus, just toss with a bit of olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Roast at 350F until done (about 30 min).

Brunch @ Diner, Williamsburg

We spent the weekend in New York and had an amazing brunch at the Diner in Williamsburg. The combination of local seasonal ingredients, tasty drinks, good company, and relaxing, sunny weather made for an ideal Sunday morning.

For the best bloody mary bar in existence, Sam and I usually turn to the East Coast Grill. It'll always be our go-to place for the drink (my favorite cocktail) in Boston. However, the version served at the Diner is arguably superior to anything I could fix up, even with the Grill's extensive bar. The Diner's bloody mary had a touch of herbs to it, garnished with sage flowers and pickled cauliflower, among other things. Because of the added punch of fragrance, it may very well top my list. I'm going to have to start experimenting at home to see if I can reverse engineer this deliciousness!

Jacob had an omelette with gruyere and salsa verde. Not a conventional combination, but it really worked. In all our dishes, the eggs were really fresh and bright.

Quite possibly the best fried oysters I've ever had. They were bursting with flavor and topped with a nice mix of lightly sauced herbs and fennel, over eggs. The Diner probably got them from Marlow & Sons next door, known for its fresh oysters.

Sam had biscuits and gravy, with a salad of fresh local greens. It's always nice to have something healthy and seasonal in your brunch! Also, on a side note, the portions were just perfect. Sam and I usually leave most brunch places engorged and on the verge of a food coma. But brunch at the Diner hit the spot, satisfying the tastebuds and stomach without going overboard.

Overall, a phenomenal brunch place! If I lived in New York, I would definitely frequent this restaurant.

Grilled Lamb with Spinach and Chickpea Stew

INGREDIENTS

• lamb chops
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 7 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• salt, pepper
• chickpeas
• carrot
• celery stalk
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion
• 1 bag spinach
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoke paprika
• 1 tsp corrianger
• 1/2 tsp urfa peppers
• stock
  

The night before, soak dried chickpeas in water and leave overnight.
In a food processor, combine 4 cloves garlic, rosemary, olive oil (about 1/4 cup), and juice from 1/2 lemon. Marinade lamb in this mixture overnight or at least for 2 hours.
After chickpeas have soaked, simmer with roughly chopped carrot, celery stalk, 1/2 onion, one crushed garlic clove, and two bay leaves. After an hour or two, drain the chickpeas and separate the chickpeas from the other ingredients.
Mince two more cloves of garlic, dice 1/2 onion, and cook in a saucepan over medium heat with 1 T olive oil. When the onions are soft, add chickpeas, spices, and chicken or vegetable stock to just cover the chickpeas. Let simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Add spinach in batches and let it cook down. Season with salt and pepper.
While the chickpeas are simmering, grill the lamb chops. Serve with olive oil and lemon.

Crispy Red Snapper, Stir Fried Vegetables, Green Tea Sushi Rice with Furagake

Fish:
Season with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and cook over medium high heat in a non-stick pan with a bit of canola oil.

Vegetables:
Julien carrots and bell peppers. Mince one clove garlic and 1 teaspoon ginger. Stir fry in a wok over high heat for one minute. Add snow peas. Season with soy sauce and a bit of rice wine vinegar.

Rice:
Rinse sushi rice, add a tea ball with green tea, cook rice. When done, season with salt and pepper.