This is so not hard - homemade croutons

There are some things in life that seem so difficult, yet when you attempt them, you realize that they are "no brainers".

Take croutons, for example. When I was first introduced to croutons in the 70's, I thought they were pretty darn good. Then the whole adulthood, low carb, "is it worth the calories?" concept came into my consciousness, and I began to pick these cubed hip-extenders out of my salads and kick them out of my life.

One day, just recently, I let croutons back in. I had just completed training on yeast breads and created some mouth-watering specimens of starch. But as many of you know, homemade bread has no preservatives (other than salt, but the scant amount in the bread doesn't really count). So what's a baker to do when faced with too many loaves of once yummy stale bread????....Duhhhh! MAKE CROUTONS!

Without consulting any of my hundreds of cookbook, I decided to wing it. Here's what I did: Set the oven at 350. Take out a shallow sheet pan (some of you might call it a cookie sheet) and line it with parchment (or wax paper in a pinch). Cut up the bread into cubes. Lightly toss the cubes with a little olive oil. Then toss lightly with your favorite herbs. I like Herbs de Provence. Salt lightly and put in the oven until the croutons are crisp (you, ultimately, decide the crispness). Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container. Try mixing some of your favorite breads (wheat, pumpernickel, oat). Homemade croutons are an added bonus to any salad, or you may even find yourself eating them plain, uncontrollably. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Easter Leftover Problem Solved - Ham and Lentil Soup

Someone's been hiding this soup from me all my life. I thought lentils were pasty, starchy half-moons of torture. Then I got enlightened. This is a wonderful, flavorful soup that you could serve for an appetizer on a cold evening, or make a meal of it.

Easter is coming, and that usually means ham. Which in turn means leftover ham. Either make this soup after Easter, or wrap and freeze your ham bone until the dead of winter, take it out and use it in this soup. In fact, once you try it, you will be using all sorts of excuses to make this soup...a rainy day, a cloudy day, a partially sunny day when it MIGHT rain. Whenever you make it, you will not be disappointed.

Yield: About 3 1/2 Quarts

1 leftover smoked ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks
1 pound lentils (about 2 1/2 cups), picked over and rinsed
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken broth
8 cups water
A few sprigs of fresh thyme

________
3 onions, chopped coarse
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
5 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced
1 Tbs. olive oil

In a 6- to 8-quart pot combine the first 7 ingredients. Take the remaining ingredients and saute them over medium heat in a skillet with the olive oil, some salt and pepper until they are slightly tender. Add to the pot. Simmer the soup, covered partially, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours (until lentils are tender and ham begins to fall off the bone). Discard bay leaf and cinnamon stick, as well as the stems from the thyme and remove meat from bone or hocks. Chop meat and stir into soup. Salt to taste.

The best cake I ever ate!

I'm over 40. It's hard for a cake to sneak up on me and become MY FAVORITE CAKE IN LIFE!!!! But this one caught me by surprise.

It's called the Dobos Torte. Traditionally, it's 7 layers of almond sponge cake alternating with 7 layers of French Chocolate Buttercream (oh, there's also rum simple syrup in there to hydrate the sponge layers). On the top is a layer of almond sponge cake covered in caramel and cooled, then cut into sections. The caramel sponge sections are propped up by rosettes of the chocolate buttercream and it is finished with slivered toasted almonds on the side. Yum and double yum. If you are allergic to nuts, I am SO SORRY. But this cake is amazing. If you EVER see it in a (high quality) bakery, you should get a slice. Make sure the buttercream is brought up to room temperature. Cold buttercream is no fun.

Good to the last drop

Have you ever tired to measure honey, or mollases for a recipe and gotten frustrated because you could not get all the product out of the measuring device? Well, if that is you, here is a simple tip to get the most out out of a viscous sweetener:

Use a pan spray such as Pam to coat the spoon (or measuring cup or whatever device you are using) BEFORE you measure. The product will slide right off and you will have the full amount in your recipe and not half on the measuring spoon.

Voila! How 'bout that?

Shrimp, Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is: 1) an incredibly therapeutic experience, 2) a labor of love, 3) NOT an overpriced regular rice dish with some fancy stuff added.

Risotto is made with the Arborio rice grain. It is an Italian short-grain rice. It is named after the town of Arborio in the Po Valley in Italy, where it is grown. Cooked, the rounded grains are firm, creamy, and chewy, due to the higher starch content. It is hearty and down right yummy when you do it right.

Unlike our traditional long-grain rices, it must be attended to, nurtured, if you will. Stay near and stir often. You incorporate liquid little by little until you have achieved the consistency/firmness you are looking for in the rice. Continue to taste your rice until it's done. It won't be soft, like Uncle Ben's. Look for more of an "al dente" firmness. Not crunchy, but a bit on the firm side. If you taste a little, and go back for another spoonful, it's probably done.

For this dish, make sure you have the ice water ready to "shock" the asparagus. It's a way to quickly stop the cooking process so that when you add it back to the final dish, the asparagus won't be mushy. Also, I'm not a mushroom fan (they are on my short list of things I don't care for), but they add a really nice heartiness to this dish. It's not overwhelmingly "mushroomy".

Makes 4 main-course servings

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 pound thin to medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, leaving tips 1 1/2 inches long
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, stems discarded and caps cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 pound jumbo shrimp (21-25 ct)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
1 cup dry white wine
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)

Instructions:

Bring broth and water to a boil in a 4-quart pot. Add asparagus and cook, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain and pat dry. Keep broth at a bare simmer, covered.

Heat 1 Tbs. oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a 4-quart heavy saucepan/skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a bowl.

Heat 1 Tbs. oil saucepan/skillet over moderately high heat, then sauté shrimp (adding salt and pepper to season) until they are just pink on each side. Do not overcook. Transfer to a bowl with the mushrooms.

Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Ladle in 1 cup simmering broth and cook at a strong simmer, stirring, until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is just tender and looks creamy, 18 to 20 minutes. (If there is leftover broth for thinning, save it for thinning, if necessary.)

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese, remaining tablespoon butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in asparagus, shrimp and mushrooms, then cover pan and let stand 1 minute. If desired, thin risotto with some of remaining broth. Serve immediately with remaining cheese on the side.

Do let me know if you try this one, and how it came out.