Ughhh it’s back to work tomorrow ....
Time flies so fast and now I’m on my last of my four-day vacation. It seems so short but I was able take care of important stuff, to relax, catch up on my reading and to watch some DVDs. I enjoyed “The Proposal” the most- I even watched it twice lol. Surprisingly, not much action in the kitchen but I made some rice balls with cheese today. It is a Sicilian snack which is so time consuming I almost didn’t finish it because it was taking too much of my time while I was busy watching movies in the living room. I can’t believe I didn’t take pictures while I was making them like I used to do when I’m making something in the kitchen- you know, taking pictures every step of the way.
These are rice balls made from risotto rice with fontina cheese filling called arancini. They came out good but I should have used mozzarella cheese instead of fontina- maybe I could eat some more. Well anyway, I will probably tweak the recipe next time to suit my taste. I just don’t like the stale-like taste in fontina that much; just like the gorgonzola cheese. But come to think of it- it worked in my favor because I only ate two balls so less calories.
Here's the recipe which is adapted here.
Arancini
Ingredients:
1 pinch saffron threads, crushed
1 cup white wine
1/2 stick unsalted butter
6 cups chicken broth, or as needed
3 cups Arborio rice
1 small white onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound fontina cheese, cubed
2 cups plain dried bread crumbs
1 quart canola oil for frying (the recipe uses olive oil but I opted for canola oil)
Directions:
1.Place the wine and saffron in a cup or small bowl. Stir briefly, then let it sit. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion; cook and stir until transparent, about 3 minutes. Mix in the rice, and continue cooking and stirring until the rice has absorbed most of the butter.
2.Slowly stir the white wine and saffron into the rice, stirring continuously until the wine is absorbed and rice is creamy. Season with thyme, then pour in 1 cup of chicken broth at a time, cooking and stirring constantly until each cup of broth is absorbed before adding the next. Stop adding broth when the rice is tender. If you run out of broth, you may use very hot water. Remove from the heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese and allow to cool until you can touch it without burning your hands.
3.Lightly grease a large cookie sheet with canola oil. Pour the risotto onto the sheet and spread evenly. Place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or until chilled.
4.When the rice is cool, roll small portions into balls about the size of golf balls. Tuck a cube of fontina cheese into the center of each one. Roll each ball in bread crumbs to coat.
5.Heat the canola oil in a heavy saucepan or deep fryer to 375 degrees F
The oil should be about 3 inches deep. When the oil is hot, fry the arancini until they reach a golden orangish brown, about 3 minutes. Arancini literally means 'little oranges'. Cool for 5 minutes, then serve with any marinara sauce.
These are rice balls made from risotto rice with fontina cheese filling called arancini. They came out good but I should have used mozzarella cheese instead of fontina- maybe I could eat some more. Well anyway, I will probably tweak the recipe next time to suit my taste. I just don’t like the stale-like taste in fontina that much; just like the gorgonzola cheese. But come to think of it- it worked in my favor because I only ate two balls so less calories.
Here's the recipe which is adapted here.
Arancini
Ingredients:
1 pinch saffron threads, crushed
1 cup white wine
1/2 stick unsalted butter
6 cups chicken broth, or as needed
3 cups Arborio rice
1 small white onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound fontina cheese, cubed
2 cups plain dried bread crumbs
1 quart canola oil for frying (the recipe uses olive oil but I opted for canola oil)
Directions:
1.Place the wine and saffron in a cup or small bowl. Stir briefly, then let it sit. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion; cook and stir until transparent, about 3 minutes. Mix in the rice, and continue cooking and stirring until the rice has absorbed most of the butter.
2.Slowly stir the white wine and saffron into the rice, stirring continuously until the wine is absorbed and rice is creamy. Season with thyme, then pour in 1 cup of chicken broth at a time, cooking and stirring constantly until each cup of broth is absorbed before adding the next. Stop adding broth when the rice is tender. If you run out of broth, you may use very hot water. Remove from the heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese and allow to cool until you can touch it without burning your hands.
3.Lightly grease a large cookie sheet with canola oil. Pour the risotto onto the sheet and spread evenly. Place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or until chilled.
4.When the rice is cool, roll small portions into balls about the size of golf balls. Tuck a cube of fontina cheese into the center of each one. Roll each ball in bread crumbs to coat.
5.Heat the canola oil in a heavy saucepan or deep fryer to 375 degrees F
The oil should be about 3 inches deep. When the oil is hot, fry the arancini until they reach a golden orangish brown, about 3 minutes. Arancini literally means 'little oranges'. Cool for 5 minutes, then serve with any marinara sauce.
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