Easter! Plus Recipes

I cannot even believe that Easter is next weekend already! I never posted Easter information from last year so I thought now is as good a time as any! This year we do not have any family in town but we will be celebrating an early dinner with our lovely neighbors (Hi Brittney and Shaun!) so I have to get on the ball and figure out the menu! Also on this post are the recipes for last year's menu, it was tasty! Hope you enjoy and have ideas for your table.

Last year's menu was Herb Crusted Pork Roast with Mushroom Risotto, Roasted Carrots, and Roasted Beets. I also had whole-wheat biscuits to round it out. I cannot remember for the life of me what I made for dessert, oh well! As usual, these recipes are rough guidelines on seasonings since I never measure, if it looks good, we move on!
 

Herb Crusted Pork Roast

Serves 6

1 large pork roast (I get mine at Costco since they are on sale around this time - I think this was about 4 lbs)
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Olive Oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Mix the olive oil with the seasonings and slather the pork with the mix, making sure every inch is covered
3. Place roast on a baking rack over a cookie sheet, roast for 90 minutes. Use a thermometer to ensure it is 145 internally. Let rest for a few minutes before slicing.

Roasted Carrots

 Serves 6

2 lbs baby carrots
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Toss the carrots with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet
3. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring half-way through

Roasted Beets
Serves 6

 2 lbs beets
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Chop off the stems of the beets and peel the beets with a veggie peeler. Use a cutting board that you do not love because these suckers stain! Chop the beets into small wedges, about orange segment sized.
3. Toss beets with olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender, stirring half-way through.

Mushroom Risotto
Basic Risotto
Makes 6 side servings

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 onion, diced as small as you can
3/4 cup arborio rice
2 cans broth, I usually do one beef and one chicken to add depth of flavor
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add-ins - see suggestions below

1. Take out 2 saucepans, one with the broth on low heat and one on medium-high. Add the butter to the empty pan. Once the butter is melted, add the onions. Cook the onions until they are translucent and fragrant.
2. Add the arborio rice to the pan and stir to toast for a few minutes, once it has a couple of minutes, add 2 ladles of broth to the pan, drop the heat to medium. Stir very frequently until the broth has been absorbed and you can draw your spoon across the bottom and still see the bottom.
3. Add another 2 ladles of broth and stir again until it has been absorbed. With the final set of broth, make sure to stir constantly, this is where the starch is released and it gets it's "creamy" nature.
4. Once the risotto is to you desired consistency, drop the heat to low and you add the cream, Parmesan, cayenne, salt, pepper, and add-ins if desired. Stir until all combined and serve immediately.

Add-ins 

• Mushrooms - our favorite - just take a package of mushrooms and clean and de-stem. Chop coarsely and add at the end of risotto process
• Bacon - very decadent and you will want to scale the salt back - just chop the bacon finely, a great tip I learned was to freeze the bacon slices you can get a better grip on them. Fry the bacon and drain, add to the end of risotto process
• Caramelized onions - very tasty and pure - while the risotto is going, finely slice an onion and add to olive oil on medium-high heat, season with salt, pepper, and a splash of Balsamic Vinegar. Add at the end of risotto process
• Spinach - just take fresh spinach and add at the end of risotto process and the leaves will wilt in the warmth
• Roasted Bell Pepper - either roast your own peppers or use a jar of peppers, drain and roughly chop, add at the end of risotto process
• Ultimately, risotto is a blank canvas for any flavors you want to include with your next meal - just try it out. Risotto is not a hard thing to make, it just takes time and it tastes like you are at a fancy restaurant. Enjoy!