Rating: 💋 💋 💋
My sister snagged my mom a copy of Southern Living magazine's 'One Dish Meals' issue earlier this year, and my mom made two dishes from the issue last week that were straight-up delicious.
As a young person just starting her career, I love one dish meals. They make my life so much easier. You cook on Sunday, and then you can dish it out for the rest of the week. As a human being, I love pasta in all its varieties. When my mom found two new summery pasta recipes in the magazine, we were all excited to try them out. It had been a gray, rainy week, but something as simple as a fresh never-before-tasted meal added a little bit of color and excitement into my family's life.
Chicken Risotto with Spring Vegetables
My mom was very excited about this recipe because it was a fancy risotto dish, but it was super easy to make. When she read that the veggies and chicken need to be kept warm, she wondered if keeping them in the oven, set to 200, was the right move. Ultimately, we concluded that is not necessary. If you keep them out but cover the dish, that will suffice. The oven risks drying the chicken out and turning the vegetables too crispy. The risotto is so hot that folding the other ingredients in at the end quickly brings them back up to full heat. On another note, my mom has decided that next time she will use shallots instead of onion. Like Anthony Bourdain, we are big fans of using shallots. They add such a great flavor to the base of any dish. My last cooking note is, freshly ground pepper is a great choice but make sure the kernels are not too big. If they are, it runs the risk of adding an unwanted crunch to the creamy dish.
This risotto came out on top. The chicken strips were moist and the fresh veggies exploded with flavor, melting into the milky parmesan risotto. It was a very fun dish and a great way to make a Wednesday night feel special.
Pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and Basil
The sun was so good to us and finally came out on Friday, just in time for this sunny dish! My dad and I went on a wild goose chase for bread while my mom prepped the vegetables, but there was not a loaf to be found on the island. I checked three different bakeries and then my dad and I hit up a handful of delis before the fish market finally was able to source us some hoagie rolls. It was not the baguette we envisioned, but with more people eating in, fresh bread has become a valuable and much sought-after item. We sadly presented the hoagie rolls to my mom and she immediately spun it into an opportunity. Garlic bread! It was a better outcome than the original plan, I think. With the fresh garlic bread warming in the oven, my parents popped open a bottle of Brunori San Nicolò Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, an Italian wine they have been wanting to try. It was a very nice white, not too dry and not too sweet. It had a nice temperate flavor that was good for happy hour, dinner, and post-dinner conversation. My parents are already looking to buy another bottle.
As for the pasta, I am in love with heirloom tomatoes. Any dish can sucker me in over that simple ingredient, and they are my favorite above all other tomatoes. Unfortunately, the Garden State does not have them quite yet, so we used campari, which we were super fresh and sweetened up the peppery arugula and salty Parmesan. My mom said she would use less cheese next time, but no one else in my family agreed. You gotta have the cheese! The goat cheese mediated all the flavors with its creamy deliciousness, taking the dish up to a heavenly level. It was divine with the crispy Prosciutto she used, kicking the ham ingredient up a notch. The herb vinaigrette was light and super flavorful. This dish creates leftovers the whole family can fight over. (It's me, I won the leftovers in this round 😎.) Between the two, I'd go cavatappi over risotto, but I would have both again.
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers and father figures out there! I am a huge fan of my Dad. Sometimes I am struck by what a good person he really is, and I am incredibly grateful to be his daughter. From singing Bob Marley to me when I was little, to taking me to all those Flyers games growing up, to being the dad with the coolest dance moves at my college's Parent Appreciation Dinner Dance last year, I have so many great memories with him and I am excited to make more. In me, my dad got a full girly-girl. Pink might not be my favorite color, but I made up for that more than enough by breaking into my parent's closet to try on my mom's high heels at the tender age of four, giving my sister Reilly make-overs with my play make-up and hair accessories whenever she was placed in my care, and choosing Barbie dolls as my favorite toy. My dad put up with all that glitter with great poise. He sat through sixteen years of dance recitals, musicals, and plays, greeting me with beautiful flowers after each season's curtain call. I have treasured each bouquet. Every day he teaches me how to have fun, and bestows a little wisdom along the way. I am very proud to be his daughter.
The second to last photo is one of the many gifs my dad has created over the past year. He's a riot.
I hope you guys have a great week!
XX,
MK
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