Cheever Sauce

This definitely isn’t your classic risotto dish. In fact, there is nothing about this dish that resembles risotto other than the fact that it contains a grain that was slowly cooked in broth to a “creamy” consistency. I use that word lightly because I didn’t use parmesan cheese or butter, which most recipes call for. I did however include the classic risotto method of stirring in hot stock into the uncooked rice, a ladleful at a time, cooking slowly as the stock is absorbed. This is a crucial step because it releases the grain’s starches, giving you a nice creamy, velvety dish.

I recently bought some farro and oysters mushrooms at the farmer’s market, so my original intention was to cook just a mushroom risotto. However, because of time and budget restraints (whomp whomp), I usually need dishes to last me a couple meals. I figured the corn and edamame peas I had in my freezer would add some hearty flavor and diversity to the dish, making it more of a meal and less of a side dish. 

I have to say, despite the stockpiling of random ingredients I threw into this dish, it came together very nicely and tasted absolutely delicious. The dish as a whole is packed with energizing nutrients with no skimp on flavor. 

Onward to the recipe loosely adapted from Gourmetmix: 

Nothing encourages a stay at home and cook all day marathon like fresh fallen snow. Seems a bit backwards that during my first winter snowfall, a time when most people are out skiing, sledding, ice skating, and enjoying the fresh powder, I chose to spend the day in my kitchen. I’m not sure whether my pessimistic New Yorker attitude, dreading the thought of trekking through street sludge, only to discover that ongoing traffic won’t even slow down for me when I inevitable slip on ice while crossing the street, was keeping me indoors today. Because even without these homebody thoughts, something about the crisp winter air was telling me it was a day for cooking, and that same voice was telling me it was a day for cornbread.

Like I’ve stated before, baking isn’t my thing. But the chilly air was making me crave something that would compliment the warm and cozy atmosphere of my apartment, and nothing screams soul and comfort like corn bread. I love this particular recipe because it’s different than the cornbread I am used to in restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, I love the taste of a nice, sweet, fluffy, cake-like bread, but I try to keep things on the lighter side here, and this recipe does the trick.

This bread contains no butter, minimal sugar, and the sour cream (I used low-fat and it didn’t affect the flavor a bit) gives it a nice gooey consistency. The best addition is the Aleppo, which is a Turkish bright red pepper flake. This adds a subtle kick to the bread, which is a perfect addition to the corn flavor (If you don’t have aleppo flakes, feel free to use red pepper - but just use a fraction of the amount). The taste feels like less of a dessert and more like a bread with it’s grainy, hearty texture. It’s delicious on it’s own with butter and honey, but also amazing alongside a warm soup or chili. I will most certainly be serving it for breakfast tomorrow with a fried egg or two…

Onward for the recipe from Smitten Kitchen

¿Te gusta la comida Mexicana? Same here. After recently getting back from a work trip in LA, I find the city’s culinary triumphs usually stick with me upon my return. Yes, NYC is home to some of the best pizza, bagels, and pasta in the country, but I have to say, Los Angeles has got its Mexican food down to la perfección. Even the Manhattan favorite La Esquina pales in comparison to the mom and pop restaurants that line the Hollywood hills.

Still in a full craving mode this week, I wanted to cook a delicious Mexican meal, but still keep it CheeverSauce friendly. Also, Mexican food is great to make for dinner because it still tastes delicious (if not better) the next day for lunch. And we all know how I feel about lunch.  I decided going the salad route was the safest bet, but because I sacrificed tortillas and cheese in this recipe, I had to make sure all the other ingredients popped with flavor. This meant sautéing shredded chicken with chili powder and spices, and adding other hearty yet healthy ingredients, like a black bean and yellow corn salsa. I also swapped sour cream for Fage 0% Greek yogurt and I swear (trust me, my roommate was originally skeptical at first, only to completely take back her original doubts once she ate it) you can hardly taste the difference. While completely eliminating the fat, yet still offering a creamy texture and sweetly sour taste, Greek yogurt is the best healthy replacement to sour cream. 

I know a lot of you die hard Mexican fans may think this salad isn’t true Mexican fair and I can’t agree with you more. Trust me, I wanted to melt cheese all over this. But I can promise you it is an amazing healthy alternative packed with authentic flavors, and it completely satisfied my Mexican food cravings until I get to fly back to LA - or even Mexico - for the real thing. :) 

Onward to the recipe:

I made movie plans with my friend Nicky the other night and I thought it was only appropriate to have him over for dinner to enjoy a CheeverSauce original. Now, I have mixed feelings about CheeverSauce originals because they usually consist of me stealing recipes from friends/family or restaurants I’ve been to, mixed with me compiling a bunch of ingredients I’m assuming will go well together. So I guess when it comes down to it CheeverSauce original = 1 part plagarism + 1 part guesswork (grrreat). 

Now let me give you a little backstory about this dish (does anyone care about these besides me?). This weekend I ate at a wonderful restaurant called Community Table, whose mission is to prepare the highest quality locally grown and procured ingredients to serve their community in a casual atmosphere. Needless to say the food, wine (who knew Woodbury CT had a winery?), company, and atmosphere were amazing. However, what I was most intrigued by was executive Chef Joel Viehland’s Grilled Romaine Salad, served with a creamy peppercorn dressing. When we arrived there were only two left in the kitchen (clearly a coveted item) so we ordered them immediately. When Joel came out to say hi, I explained to him how I wrote a food blog and that I was interested in how he cooked his grilled romaine. Because CheeverSauce doesn’t condone creamy peppercorn dressing (trying to eat healthy here) Joel suggested I serve it with a light caesar. Click! I now had the perfect solution: David Cheever’s Caesar Salad (adapted from Silver Palette Cookbook) which is perfectly in-line with CheeverSauce as a no measuring, no nonsense dish. 

Onto the recipes:

It’s hard to argue that New York City is the pizza capital of this country. Sure, New Haven has their dynamic duo Frank Pepe and Sally’s Apizza, and the lines at Pizzeria Bianca in Phoenix are just as famous as their pie. Chicago boasts its new celebrity Great Lake Pizza (finally some genius over there decided to ditch the deep dish) but there really is no city so obsessed with their pie then New York. I’ve witnessed heated arguments over Lombardi’s vs. Grimaldi’s and seen people pay $100 cash for people’s pizza at Di Fara just so they don’t have to wait in its massively long line. But whether you travel all the way to Coney Island for Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitano or stop at your local Ray’s, Patsy’s, Artichoke Basille…(there’s just too many to name!) you’re guaranteed an amazingly cheesy, mouthwatering saucy, perfectly tasting NYC pizza. 

SO! As you can see (now that I am finished with my rant) with all these amazing pizza options at my disposal, I was initially skeptical about taking the time to cook a (semi) homemade pizza. But this specific recipe caught my eye because it called for one of my all time favorite summer vegetables: corn.

I know, I know, it seems like pizza blasphemy to put such a thing on a pizza but I swear to you - as soon as I took my first bite of this I felt like “CheeverSauce headquarters” needed to be added to the list of notorieties above. I made one whole pizza which I reluctantly shared with Olivia and Jess. When we all finished our pieces, all our taste buds and stomachs (although already full) wished for was more. 

Now for the recipe…