Evidently, today is National Pretzel Day (in the US), so while I am feeling a bit homesick for Southern Germany this week — this is usually one of the weeks that I am home — I put together this platter of snacks: Brezn (of course), Obatzda (a Bavarian “pub cheese” that one often eats with pretzels), some salami and smoked ham, emmenthaller cheese, gherkins and olives. Bought forgot to add to the platter for the photo: radishes.
This is a particularly yellow dish. On purpose. I’m doing a little Cook/Bake-a-Long over on the CSPS FB page and this week is “Yellow Week”. Arroz Amarillo is of course, yellow by nature, but you could also use red or green bell peppers, zucchini instead of summer squash, and if you wanted to go vegetarian, skip the sausage and it will still be delicious.
For those of you who have ever gone to breakfast with me, then you will know that I loooooove Eggs Benedict, so this is a little bit of a riff on those: Open-faced Tomato + Fried Egg Sandwich with Hollandaise. No english muffins, instead a piece of Anadama Bread; yellow tomatoes instead of Canadian bacon: a fried egg instead of a poached one. Either way, hit the spot this morning half-way through the week.
Chicken stews for me are often an autumn or winter meal; nice and hearty to take off the chill. While sometime you need that in the spring too, this one is filled with fresh seasonal green veggies: leeks, peas and pea pods and asparagus, in addition to the chicken and mushroom. Definitely filling and this recipe will feed an army worth of people, so make sure you use a nice big pot!
What do you call risotto that uses no rice? Orzotto, of course! I didn’t have an aborio rice in the pantry and wanted to make a risotto, so instead, I went with orzo. Basically, the same process as risotto, shallot and pasta in the pan with butter, slowly add the liquid and flavorings, in this case vibrant pureed peas. Orzotto does take as long as traditional risotto though; only about 20 minutes. Scallops were on sale so I didn’t have to take out a loan to afford them. Ha ha ha.