Hot Pink Freak

I saw Glynis Mitchell talk about Breakfast Risotto on Twitter. Until I received this Australian cookbook when I was living in Perth, I would have never thought of risotto for breakfast. As soon as I saw it, I fell in loooove. I told her I would post the recipe, but while I’m writing, I’ll just jot down a few other faves of mine.

Breakfast Risotto – We use less sugar, because I am not a fan of sweet things.

1 cup Arborio Rice
5 cups milk
2 tbs vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla pod, split, with seeds scraped out)
1/2 cup sugar

Place all ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan, stir and bring to the boil
Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to stir for up to half an hour, until the grains are cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed
Serve topped with sliced bananas and a drizzle of honey

Caramelized Bacon – A couple years ago this idea came to me after drooling over and finally eating, the Maple Bacon Bar from Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland.

1 slab thin-sliced bacon
2 cups brown sugar (A guesstimate?)
3 tbsp cinnamon (Another guesstimate?)
Unsweetened cocoa powder for garnish

Heat oven to 300F. Mix brown sugar & cinnamon in a bowl. Cut slab of bacon in half.
Take each halved bacon piece and dredge it in sugar/cinnamon mix
Twist and place on broiler pan. You really need a broiler pan for this.
Bake in oven for 20-30 min, depending on your oven. You want it hot enough to cook, but not so much it is burning everything and stinking up the house.
Bacon pieces will /look/ burnt, but they are not.

When finished cooking, remove from oven and immediately put pieces on a glass plate. Sprinkle small pinches of the cocoa powder on each piece and place in freezer. I usually leave the plate in 10 minutes. Since I’m usually taking this to a party or other location, I cover the cold place or put the pieces in a container.

Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells This originally came from a cookbook I had LONG ago, but I’ve modified it. I lost the book in a flood, so I just do this from memory every time. I haven’t actually written down the measurements, but then, it’s not rocket science on this one.

Ingredients:
1 box jumbo pasta shells
1 lb ground beef
1 small container green onion/chive cream cheese
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
1/2 cup salsa (I use D.L. Jardine’s Chipotle Salsa)
1 package shredded cheddar cheese (You won’t use the whole bag, but cheese measuring ain’t my thang!)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup green onions or chives

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pasta as normal. Drain and coat with butter/margarine.
While pasta is cooking, brown grown beef in a skillet. Once brown, add in black pepper, salt, and garlic powder to taste. Add in chili powder & cumin. Mix well. Add 1/2 container of the cream cheese (put the rest in the fridge; you won’t need it). Once mixed, set aside to wait for pasta.

In a 9×12 pan, lay out the pasta shells which are intact (no tears or pieces missing). Put as many as you can in the baking dish. Fill each shell halfway with beef mixture. If you have beef mixture left, you can put aside with the broken pieces of pasta for a later snack or just use whatever is left over equally in each shell.

Spoon a small amount of salsa over each stuffed shell. Sprinkle crushed tortilla chips on each shell. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and remove foil covering. Sprinkle cheese over each shell and bake for another 15 minutes. Serve the shells on to plates and then garnish with sour cream and green onions.

Honey Glazed Stuffed Chicken Breasts – I found this recipe long ago and love to make it. It is excellent with grilled portabellas on the side.

INGREDIENTS:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 tablespoons Boursin cheese with herbs (I actually use goat cheese, sprinkling black pepper & tarragon)
8 slices bacon
Toothpicks
1/2 cup honey

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Cut a slit in each chicken breast, and stuff with equal amounts cheese. Wrap each breast with 2 slices bacon. Secure with toothpicks. Arrange on a baking sheet.
Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken juices run clear. Drizzle breasts with equal amounts of honey during the final 5 minutes of cook time.

Mushroom Pie This recipe came from a Swedish medieval music CD called “Figs, Fiddles and fine play”. I picked it up when I was visiting my Star Wars Galaxies Guildmates from Gorath.

INGREDIENTS:
17oz Mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 oz cottage cheese
1 oz Pecorino cheese
1 oz cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil to cook the mushrooms

Pie crust:
1 1/2 cup flour
5 1/2 oz butter
2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon salt

Mix up the pie dough and press it into an oven proof dish. Put the dish in the fridge while you cook the mushrooms. Wash the mushrooms and cut them in half if necessary. Saute mushrooms briefly in olive oil until they shrink a bit Mix cheeses, oil and spices with the mushrooms. Put the filling in the pie crust and bake for 45 minutes in pre-heated 400deg oven. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the pie and serve with a good ale.