Rest'l risotto and arugula salad

On any given night, Uli and I will simply poke our heads into the fridge and throw together a one pot meal from whatever veggies and protein we have on hand. Risottos and pastas are the usual suspects as they are pretty much foolproof and come together in 30-40 minutes. While I make the main dish, Uli whips up a quick salad.

For some reason people are always more impressed when we make risotto but trust me, it's just as easy as pasta. Uli taught me this risotto recipe when we first started dating over five years ago, and it has been in my back pocket ever since.

Rest'l risotto (risotto using whatever is in the fridge)
Makes enough for 4... or 2.5 if you eat like Uli and me

Basic risotto foundation:
1 cup uncooked rice (ideally, short grain)
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 cups of hot chicken broth*
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Ingredients that can be swapped for whatever you have on hand:**
4 oz diced pancetta (we used a package of diced pancetta from Trader Joe's)
1 cup of chopped vegetables (we used diced carrots and napa cabbage)
1/2 cup of white wine
1 handful of freshly chopped parsley or chives (or both!)
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, deep skillet. We use a heavy-bottomed, nonstick one for easy clean-up. Saute the onion and garlic until soft and aromatic. Add the pancetta and cook for a few minutes until brown, then add the rest of the vegetables and cook for another few minutes. Pour in the rice and saute for one minute, which will quickly absorb any liquid in the pan from the vegetables. Now the tedious part: turn the heat down to medium-low and leisurely stir the rice for the next 25 minutes, adding liquid slowly over time. Start with the 1/2 cup of white wine; once that's absorbed, add a cup of hot chicken broth. When the chicken broth is absorbed, add another cup. Keep going until the risotto achieves the desired consistency. If you prefer risotto al dente, 3.5 cups of liquid should be just right. If you prefer a softer, creamier risotto, you may want to use an extra cup. Mix in chopped parsley and chives while still hot, leaving a pinch for garnish. Serve with plenty of grated parmesan.

*Getting hot chicken broth is a pain. First you have to have chicken broth on hand, second you have to use a separate pot for it. So Uli and I have our own method: we heat up water in our kettle, drop in either a chicken bouillon cube or spoonfuls of chicken base into the risotto, and then just add hot water. We like best the jars of Better Than Bouillon (found at Whole Foods). One teaspoon mixes with one cup of water to make one cup of stock, and the jar stores well in the fridge so it's always available when we need it.

**Don't have pancetta? We also like crumbled Italian sausage (use two or three links, casings removed). Other ingredients you could try: ground chicken, thin slices of cooked sausage, shrimp, or bacon. If using shrimp, I'd recommend sauteing the shrimp in a separate pan and adding them at the end so as not to overcook. If using bacon, I'd also recommend a separate pan because you probably want to be able to drain the grease. For veggies, try sliced mushrooms (any kind will be delicious), cherry tomatoes, zucchini, leeks, or artichoke hearts. Make the whole thing vegetarian by leaving out the protein and using vegetarian broth.

Uli's arugula salad with balsamic dressing
Makes enough for 2

For the salad:
Half of a 7 oz bag of pre-washed arugula
Shaved fresh parmesan cheese

For the dressing:
6 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp dried Italian mixed herbs
Pinch of sugar and salt (to taste)

Put arugula in a bowl and shave as much parmesan as you'd like over the top. Uli does this with a paring knife, but you can also use a cheese shaver or simply grate some parmesan over the top. Mix the dressing in a cup or bowl and set aside while you finish making the rest of the meal. When ready to eat, pour over the top and mix thoroughly.

Jause

Uli and I hosted a huge Thanksgiving dinner at our home last week with my sister and six of our expat friends. As we passed around the dishes--mashed potatoes with parmesan and garlic, baked rigatoni with artichoke hearts and leeks, braised brussels sprouts, herb roasted turkey, and gravy with criminis, to name a few--our friends turned to us and said, "It's clear you guys enjoy cooking, but how do you manage to keep it up? How often do you cook at home on an average week?"

We get this question a lot. On an average week, Uli and I work five and a half days out of seven. Monday through Friday, we leave the house at 7am, get home between 7:30 and 8pm, and work on emails through 10pm. On Sunday nights, we bust out the laptops after dinner and prep for the week ahead. Depending on traffic, we commute anywhere between 1.5 and 2.5 hours each workday (round trip). And this isn't an uncommon schedule between among our friends. We're all young professionals in the tech industry: we don't have kids (yet), we rent apartments in San Francisco, some of us have cars and some of us don't, and we work our butts off in the Valley.

Put that all together and folks are usually pretty astounded when we answer, "Two dinners during the week and almost all meals over the weekend." While it sounds minimal, some days it's truly a Herculean effort to make dinner rather than eat out.

So why do it? Well, I do it because I love everything about it: I love the way making a meal takes my mind off work and focuses it on my family, the enjoyment I get out of eating something homemade and delicious, and the simple things like the house filling up with warmth, aromas, and the rhythmic sounds of chopping. And Uli... well I'm sure his favorite part is the eating.  But perhaps he can go into more detail at another time. :-)

Cooking is a huge part of our lives and our love, and since many of our close friends are also busy, young professionals, we want to start sharing our food with you. And there is no better way to start than with Jause* (pronounced YOW-za). It's a simple cold platter of cheeses, good quality deli meats, sliced bread, and whatever condiments you like. Stock your dairy drawer at the beginning of each week, pick up fresh bread on the way home from work, and in 5 minutes of prep, dinner is served.

Jause

Slices of good salami and prosciutto

Combination of soft and hard cheeses (try brie, pecorino, and a crumbly goat cheese)

Cornichons

Bread (here we've sliced a loaf of Italian white, but we also recommend dark bread like rye or pumpernickel)

Eggs - optional but recommended if serving for breakfast

*Jause is a German word, and it carries slightly different meanings in different regions of Germany and Austria. Some consider it only a snack between full meals, but we use the term to refer to any sort of cold platter that involves sliced meats, cheese, and bread.