Buffalo haven't got wings!

Ok so, since we aspire to be from Western New York, and some of us have grown up on Anchor Bar/authentic Buffalo Wings, we secretly love hot hot orange sticky finger foods.  But we hate animal cruelty and ecological ravagement.  So we thought, there will never be any trashy bar food in our futures.  BOY WERE WE WRONG!

Review: Morning Star

If there's anything we can't stand it's imitation meat.  Or so we say.  Somehow, after a few too many sub-zero nights and a few too many Labatt Blues/Genny Cream Ales, our favorite thing to do is to dance around a toaster oven full of steaming TVP. Morningstar Farms veggie Buffalo wings inspire a veritable ballet from freezer to plate.  They are spicy as all hell, a spice that not even cheap beer can overcome.  They have a bite--it's the sort of spring-back between the jaws that perhaps you thought only animal flesh could deliver.  But there it is--springy! full of protein! unnaturally orange!  And suddenly it's like ordering Mr. Shoes on a blistering summer day in Seabreeze!  Our complaints are few: 1. is that these wings aren't wet.  Alas, at Morningstar science has unlocked the secret to soy-based chicken wings, but not to the frozen-yet-wet food. 2. We don't know how to make TVP do that at home.  We can make fucking killer black bean burgers, breakfast "sausages" or basically whatever, but shreddy, fibrous, chickeny wings remain a mystery.

Japanese Salad Dressing

I just made this salad dressing in order to use up some fresh lime that was about to be not so fresh, and because I'm tired of my old standby, honey mustard.  It goes something like:

a cm of fresh ginger
the juice of 1/2 a lime
a  tbsp daikon, shredded
1 heaping tbsp miso paste
1 1/2 heaping tsb mayo
tsp soy sauce
dash of rice vinegar

Mix that shit together in a jar.

I blanched the ginger for about 3 minutes, but it was still so spicy and strong that I ended up using maybe as much as a mechanical pencil eraser.  I smashed and ground it.  Perhaps dried ginger freshly ground would be better, but certainly not ginger powder.  I also thought of using pickled ginger but was afraid it would be too cloying.  The daikon doesn't add much flavor but it adds a certain coolness and a nice weight and texture to the mixture.  My salad consisted of romaine, roma tomato, shaved carrots, red onion, red pepper, and an avocado that actually sent me to the emergency room (two stitches where my pinkie meets my palm, and thats why me da always told me to cut away).  Three hours after I started to make the salad (most of it spent in the waiting room), I finally got to try it and it was out of this world! My roommate Malcolm called it, "fucking delicious and I'm not just saying that" if I remember correctly.  If Joey brings any wasabi paste back from Mitsuwa in Chicago, then I would really like to try spicing this recipe up!

Leeks Risotto

I had my first risotto in Derry, Northern Ireland, so I think it was probably the furthest thing from real risotto ever. A note about NI cuisine: the food is charming, much like Americans find Italian food charming.  But it takes all of the bad of American Italian, like saucy, oily, covered in cheese, with none of the good, like flavor or herbs or freshness.  Nonetheless, it was one of the best meals I had in my six months in NI.  I've been craving it for two years, but was intimidated by the prospect of making it at home.  After searching a few recipes, here is how I adapted it:

Leeks Risotto
Leeks-2 large or 3 small (couldn't afford the nice, fat, organic ones)
1 red onion (I used 1/2 of a monstrous huge one)
2 cloves garlic
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup (1 oz basically) of dried wild mushrooms (I had about 1/4 of a 4 oz bag left, but I would definately use a half or even a full bag in future)
2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cups Chardonnay room temperature (no nasty swill wine, something you wouldn't mind drinking even if you hate white wine--I chose Wild Horse)
1/2 cup of cream (I would probably use heavy or whipping cream in future)
splash apple cider vinegar
tbsp butter
tbsp olive oil
dash basil
dash of thyme
salt and peppa

serves 2-4 (depending on if your seconds-types)
prep time: 2 hours (probably because it was my first time and I was pretty disorganized.  I think next time it will probably take me 45 minutes- 1 hour.

1. First thing to do is prepare the leeks mixture, which can be done up to a day ahead.  Cut all but the dark green off.  Cut the leeks longways in half.  Turn them on the flat side and slice into 1/8 half-moon slivers.  Soak these in a bowl of water and drain.  They are hella sandy, so feel free to repeat the soak and drain cycle a few times.
2. Soak the mushrooms in a measuring cup with one cup of water for at least an hour so that you get a nice, dark, mushroom broth. Take the mushrooms out, chop them, and set them aside. Pour the broth in a saucepan.  Add veg broth and start cooking on low heat.
3. Put some butter in an iron skillet and throw the leeks in.  Sprinkle salt over the leeks and keep the heat med-low so that they caramelize.  Don't stir too much.
1. I wasn't sure how long it would take to caramelize leeks, so I did them in a separate pan from the onions. It worked out well that way, and did not create extra dishes, as you will see, although it might have saved some energy on my part.
4.  Do the same thing with the onions: slice thinly and caramelize in olive oil over med low heat in a giant pan.
5. Take the onions and toss them in with the leeks. Add garlic and rehydrated wild mushrooms, and probably some more butter to keep it from sticking at this point. splash in vinegar. Use the oniony oil left in the other pan to sautee the arborio rice for a few minutes.  Stir the rice constantly or it will burn.
1. Note: some recipes told me to sautee for 10 minutes or until translucent, others said only 1 minute.  My theory is that they get translucent right before they get white again, and the center never really changes color, so don't necessarily look for them to be see-through. I sauteed for 7 minutes.
6.  Add the white wine and keep stirring while the alcohol cooks off.  Right before the rice gets dry again, add a half-cup of your now steamy vegetable and mushroom broth (The broth has to be hot or it will shock the rice and stop it from absorbing more liquid).
7. Turn the heat down on the leeks and onions pan and add the cream.  Make sure it doesn't scorch, and when it is reduced, take it off the heat even if your rice is nowhere near done.  It will get hot again when you mix them together.  You could even do this another day and refrigerate it so as to cut the prep time down.
8. Keep ladling 1/2 cup broth as the rice absorbs the liquid.  When the broth is all gone, the rice should be al dente.
9. Mix the veggies and the risotto together.  As you are folding the veggies in, they should heat back up, and so should the risotto get a tiny bit softer (unless you love al dente rice, which I don't).
10. Top with shredded parmesan and fold until the whole thing becomes a coagulated mass of deliciousity.

Results
Risotto was a hit! I had Joe in tears!  I felt like the rice was a tiny bit underdone, and I'm not sure if that had something to do with not sauteeing it in enough olive oil or for long enough, or what.  Upon reheating for seconds, it was perfectly tender.  My other query is: should the Chardonnay be warmed like the broth?  I feel like if you bring it up to the temp of the rice, then you risk reducing the alcohol out before it has the chance to bring the rice to life.  Next time I will definitely be using fresh herbs, but all I had on hand was dried this time.  Still, I can't think of anything quite as delicious as fresh lemon-thyme in something like this.  I really wanted to use lemon juice and zest too, but I was out of lemons.  The acid from the vinegar was meant to substitute for lemon juice, and I bet balsamic would have been just as good or better in its place.

This is maybe the second time in my life that I've had leeks, and the first time I cooked with them and I couldn't believe how deliciously buttery they are!  Next time I think I will use heavy whipping cream to really bring out the creaminess.

Overall though, this was a super first try.  It wasn't even as hard as I make it sound either.  The most important thing is to get the rice steps in order, but do the vegetables however it will make it easiest and cleanest for you.