Savory Oat Risotto with Bacon, Kale and Delicata Squash

A three-day weekend with record-cold temperatures is a breeding ground for comfort foods full of stick-to-your-bones goodness.

That's exactly what I spent the weekend doing, starting with a Savory Oat Risotto with Bacon, Kale and Delicata Squash topped with a ramen-style egg care of one of my favorite new toys, the Joule sous vide machine.

Savory Oat Risotto with Bacon, Kale and Delicata Squash
1 small delicata squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 cups chicken broth
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 cups steel-cut oats
4 cups baby kale, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Roast squash until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Heat broth in a medium pot. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, cook bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Saute shallot in remaining bacon grease until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add oats and stir until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Begin adding broth in increments, about 1/2 cup at a time until liquid is absorbed.

When all but about 1 cup of broth has been added to oats, stir in kale with second-to-last ladle of broth. Add bacon with final ladle; season with salt and pepper, then serve.

(So what was out stick-to-your-bones dinner, you ask? A delicious Porchetta-Spiced Pork Roast that I slogged through the snow for to gather fresh sage and rosemary. Well, technically, there was no slogging involved since the snow wasn't actually sticking, but I sure do like that image!)

Arroz con Pollo an easy substitute for paella

So I thought I knew what paella was and that I had eaten and enjoyed it, but until last month, I apparently had never really had paella.

Now this is paella. I apologize that there's nothing in the photo to show you how incredibly huge this dish was, but realizing that all of those wedges on the corners are lemons oughtta help!

Bryan and I indulged in this deliciousness last month at one of the Thursday Night Chef's Dinners at The Wandering Cafe, a catering company in our neighborhood that swings its doors open for special parties throughout the year. You can read more about all of the other delicious courses we ate that night on a blog post I wrote for Maple Leaf Life.

As for the paella, after watching chef and owner Kristine Pottle slaving over her giant skillet for at least an hour, I'm not sure I want to follow in her footsteps. After browning the meats (which included chorizo, gigantic and delicious shrimp, and what Bryan called the best chicken he'd ever had), she slowly poured ladle after ladle of broth into the rice, which I know I do for risotto, but it's hard enough when I'm just using a regular stockpot rather than a giant skillet!

Needless to say, I found a shortcut tonight that though not even half as good as Kristine's paella, is sufficient for Bryan and me and doesn't require me to buy a paella pan and other "must-have" accessories.

Arroz con Pollo from Greg Atkinson's "West Coast Cooking." Similar to the paella, I started by browning the sausage (I used spicy Italian sausage because good chorizo is so hard to find!), then browning the chicken. Onions came next, then the rice mixed with smoked spicy paprika, diced canned tomatoes and beer(!). Instead of pouring ladle after ladle of broth into it like Kristine did for the paella, I just threw the meat back in and let it cook for 35 minutes. Green peas on top are the finishing touch (and no, Bryan did not tell me that these chicken thighs were better than Kristine's!).

Love this book.

Back on the coast, scallops beckon

Now that I'm back on the coast, all I want to do is eat some seafood, no matter what the cost. And seafood combined with the comfort of risotto ... well, talk about getting homey in the dead of winter.

So after returning from landlocked Idaho Falls, I whipped up a batch of Lemon Risotto (with about half a 10-oz. bag of fresh spinach that I added along with the lemon juice in the end) sprinkled with delicious, melt-in-your-mouth scallops.

Because the Lemon Risotto recipe called for both extra-virgin olive oil and butter, I also used both to sear the scallops. I only made about 10 oz. of scllops, so I used about half the amount that was called for in the recipe (about 1/2 T. each) and added a light sprinkling of salt. We didn't have any leftover scallops, but the leftover Risotto tasted fabulous the next morning for breakfast!

Dry roast beef gets drenched in risotto

Maybe trying out a new recipe on a huge slab of meat from Costco wasn't such a good idea. I figured, roast beef is so juicy in the middle, so how could I go wrong? Oh, but I forgot, drying out meat is something I excel at, regardless of the cut. The flavor was there, but the texture. ... Usually, being devout carnivores, Bryan and I don't have a problem devouring 5 pounds of flesh in a few days, but this time I had to get creative. The gravy just wasn't cutting it.

So with the weather flirting with freezing and the threat of snow just hours away, I turned to our most beloved soul-warming and hearty meal, risotto.

I realize the plate is a little bare. Thankfully Mom doesn't actually read my blog. But going to the store for salad or some other green fare just seems like such a chore when the weather is so cold. I even had to get creative with the broth since I didn't actually have any. Instead, I soaked the mushrooms in 4 c. of water and used that. I also added about 1/2 c. of my remaining gravy, and it turned out wonderfully if you'd prefer that route. Assuming you don't just have gravy lying around, I'll give you the recipe made with broth.

Risotto with Roast Beef and Wild Mushrooms
0.88-oz. (25 g) package dried wild mushrooms
2 c. boiling water
1 T. olive oil
1-1/2 c. chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 c. arborio rice
1/2 c. red wine
2 c. beef broth
2 c. roast beef, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese to garnish

Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

Drain the liquid from the mushrooms into a saucepan with the beef broth, heat to almost boiling and keep warm. Chop the drained mushrooms if they're in big chunks, then set aside.

Heat a stockpot to medium-low, then add olive oil. Cook onions and garlic for about 4 minutes, until soft, then add the arborio rice and stir for another 4 minutes. Add red wine and let simmer until liquid is absorbed. Then add the heated mushroom and beef broth mixture in 1/2 c. increments, waiting to add more broth until all the liquid is evaporated. This is important. Don't stop stirring. Hopefully you have a Bryan who loves the meal so much, he'll stir the whole time!

When you add your last ladle of broth, throw in the mushrooms and steak. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.