A Faith-Style Welcome Wagon: Shrimp Risotto with Chive Gremolata

Sounds fancy and difficult, no? It's fancy, but with some time and a cold glass of Chardonnay, this dish is easy to whip up on a weeknight. I had a few girls over last week to welcome Meaghan, my new, fabulous next-door neighbor, and Lindsay, a friend I met in boot camp who just moved in around the corner, to the 'hood.

I swear, I'm never moving off this street. I'm surrounded by cool people. It's like a Fun Person Commune right in the heart of Sacramento. Only we shave our armpits and go to work everyday.

Don't be afraid of the fact that this requires making your own stock! Easy as 1-2-3 (or 1-2-4, as Dick Clark might say) (oh, yes I did) and tasty as all get-out.

Shrimp Risotto with Chive Gremolata

adapted from Cuisine at Home

For the Shrimp Stock-
1 lb. medium shrimp (just buy it cooked)
2 cups water
1½ cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped leek greens (tops)
9 black peppercorns
4 fresh parsley sprigs
2 bay leaves

For the Risotto-
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup chopped leeks
1 cup Arborio rice
¾ cup dry sherry
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Separate shrimp meat from tails; set shrimp aside. Place tail shells and remaining stock ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer stock for 10 minutes. Strain stock through a colander into a bowl; discard solids. Return stock to saucepan over low heat.

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add leeks; sauté 2 minutes, then stir in rice and sauté 2 minutes. Do not allow rice or leeks to brown.

Deglaze pan with sherry, stirring frequently until liquid evaporates. Add ½ cup at a time until all stock is used and rice is tender, 20-25 minutes.

Stir in the peas and shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink and firm, about 5 minutes. Season risotto with salt, cayenne and nutmeg.

Off heat, add butter and Parmesan. Garnish with Chive Gremolata (see recipe below).

.:. Chive Gremolata .:. - yum. Do not skip this. For that matter, don't ever skip anything with bacon it it, fool.

3 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh chives
2 Tbsp. minced lemon zest
½ tsp. minced garlic
Salt to taste

Vegan Week, Day 2

Happy Veterans Day, folks! Hopefully this day finds you not sitting in an office in front of a computer, but rather sitting here, reading I Pray to Gouda. I mean, you don't have anything else to do today, right?

Day 2 of this vegan life showed me a tempting side to life. Case in point:

My lunch at an all-staff meeting: salad, steamed veggies and bread.

The luscious, chocolatey, cream cheese-filled dessert that accompanied the other staff members' lunch.

I did not cave! Instead, I ate a Clif Z-bar, Chocolate Brownie flavor to be exact. These are almost as tasty as the Mojo bars from Clif, and the perfect size if you are searching for a sweet, midday snack. My ability to avoid those little chocolate pieces of heaven at lunch meant I needed to have a great dinner. Enter Tal Ronnen's Lemon Asparagus Risotto from his new vegan cookbook, A Conscious Cook. Stephanie and Ally put aside meat and cheese to imbibe in this vegan dinner. Thanks, girls!

Lemon Asparagus Risotto

from The Conscious Cook

Sea Salt

1 lb asparagus, cut into 1" pieces

ground black pepper

3 Tb olive oil

3 shallots, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup plus a splash of dry white wine

6 cups vegetable stock (optional: boil the broth with 3-4 dried porcini mushrooms. This will give it a meatier flavor)

Grated zest of 3 Meyer lemons

Juice of 2 Meyer lemons

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted.

1. Fill small pot with water. Add 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 1 minute, drain and season with salt and pepper.

2. Place large saute pan with steep sides over medium heat. Sprinkle bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute. Add pinch of salt and rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add in shallots, onions, lemon juice and wine. Saute until onions are soft.

4. Start adding in the broth, 1 cup at a time. Wait for each cup to be absorbed by the rice prior to adding the next cup. This process will take about 30 minutes (be patient, it's worth it!).

5. Add in lemon zest, a dash of salt and pepper, and top with pine nuts.