Fall Food

I've finally admitted that it's fall; the river valley certainly has decided that it is:


Today is my mom's 60th birthday. Last night we got together for a rib BBQ, and I provided the dessert and salad.

Chocolate Orange Dessert Risotto

This recipe, (originally courtesy of Giada, but I made a few variations) was incredibly easy to put together, it just required a bit of time and patience.

• 5 cups whole milk
• 2/3 cup Arborio rice
• 2/3 cup sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons orange zest (one medium orange)
  
• 1 tablespoon homemade vanilla extract (this is the only vanilla that I use anymore. You can really taste the difference in the end, and you have the benefit of having vanilla beans in whatever you're making)
  
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons orange liqueur
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, rice, sugar, orange zest and vanilla. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn the milk. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender and the mixture thickens, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir the cocoa powder and orange liqueur into the mixture. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and up to 1 day ahead, or serve immediately.

Unfortunately I didn't snap any photos of the finished product, but it was delicious!

Fun side story: Garrett loves Nigella Lawson; I always confuse her with Giada de Laurentis for some reason (maybe because Giada likes to take pictures like this, who knows). I was very excited to tell Garrett that I'd be trying a Giada recipe, only to realize he loves Nigella instead. I finally watched a Nigella Express episode today (this one, specifically) and I too am in love with her. She says that cooking, for her, is therapeutic. In these very stressful fall times, I completely agree. I rushed to come home yesterday after work to make these 2 dishes, finish an assignment and shower, but the fact that one of these 'chores' was cooking made the time slink by, instead of quickly passing. Not that either of these are exceptionally difficult or anything...

On to the next one...

Zucchini Almond Pasta Salad


1-2 pounds zucchini, grated or thinly sliced
Generous amount parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, thinly sliced with vegetable peeler
1/2 cup slivered almonds, well-toasted and cooled
1/2 pound pasta of your choice, cooked, drained and cooled
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
Handful of cherry tomatoes

Stir zucchini, parmesan, almonds, tomatoes and pasta together. Whisk together olive oil and lemon juice, seasoning generously with black pepper and salt to taste. Toss with salad and adjust seasonings to taste.

Today, to celebrate her birthday, my mom, Garrett and I went to the 104th Street Market after she got her hair done at Blunt. We had crepes from the new crepe truck.

They were pretty good; the staff seemed quite flustered because it was so busy, but eventually we got our dessert crepes, and Garrett got his BLT crepe. Yum!

Happy Fall eating!