*Sigh: Shrimp Scampi with Heirloom Tomatoes

You know that sigh? The special one reserved for the moment you re-enter your home at the end of a long, and I do mean long, Friday afternoon.  Here I sit, wine in hand, Modern Family on the television, having just devoured a giant plate of pasta and feeling, for a moment at least, like my life is on hold. And I don't have to worry about Boards, or moving to a totally different state, or the many giant events I just transcribed onto my wall calendar. It's a good feeling. Should I be concerned that food makes me this content? 

This meal took about 10 minutes to make, no kidding. The most time-consuming part is waiting for the water to boil. So do that, super-salty water, bring it to boil, drop in your pasta. I like using plain 'ole spaghetti. Not the angel hair, the regular. And Barilla only, please. I really have found it to be the freshest-tasting.

Since I was cooking for one, I defrosted about 6-7 shrimp and cut 4 mini heirloom tomatoes. I have made it a personal goal to always have lemons in my kitchen. This is a relatively new goal circa umm...this afternoon. But I can literally always find a use for them and they do add a little pizazz to a million different dishes. I also chopped up 2 cloves of garlic but those were already sizzling away in butter by the time I took this picture. 

In a saucepan, melt 1/2 Tb olive oil and 1/2 Tb butter. Start frying up your garlic and then add the shrimp. You want them to just barely get pink, so arrange them in one layer, season with salt/pepper/and a few red pepper flakes. Turn over and let them finish cooking, then deglaze with a swirl of white wine. Drain the pasta and add to the pan. Squeeze in some lemon and a grating of 

fresh Parm. 

Red Pepper Risotto

Risotto is notoriously one of the most intimidating kitchen undertakings for new cooks. Or seasoned ones, actually. I know I was terrified of making it, especially after going to Italy and eating it all the time. First, I was scared to know how much butter and cream was it it. Second, I knew there was a definite serving temperature requirement: if it got cold it'd be a gelatinous blob of ice. Thirdly, I assumed it'd take hours to make.

These thoughts were incorrect. Risotto is actually creamy because of the starches that develop when the rice cooks. The temperature requirement is kind of true, but if you serve it hot, everything is fine. And the entire process took about 30-40 minutes - including chopping/prep time. Not to shabby.

I had some roasted red peppers and chicken thighs in the fridge so I decided to plan the risotto around that. Just chop everything into about the same sized pieces, fry the chicken in olive oil until it is cooked through - then add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili flakes. Then I added the red pepper and set this aside until the rice was ready.

For the rice, make sure you purchase "arborio." In a saucepan, heat 6 cups of chicken stock - don't let it boil or even simmer...just warm it through. In a nonstick pan, melt 2 Tbs olive oil and fry 1/2 of a finely chopped onion until it's translucent. Add 1 1/2 cups rice and fry until the rice is coated - about 3 minutes.  Pour in 1/2 cup white wine and a pinch of salt. Now, start incorporating the stock, 1 cup at a time and making sure it absorbs completely before adding the next increment. This should take about 25 minutes and you might not need all 6 cups of stock. The end consistency is going to be a little looser than rice pudding - the rice shouldn't be super mushy or have a bite to it. I add 1 tsp fresh thyme right at the end for flavor. Turn off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and 2 Tbs butter.

Serve up your risotto with a nice helping of the chicken/pepper mixture on top: