À la Dankertier

This recipe is very close to my heart: I cooked it the first time many years ago and was amazed how simple and fast it is done. Once made, you won't forget it due to its simplicity. It came always in handy, no matter if I wanted to join a quick pot-luck with friends in Canada or serve a nice dinner for Sophie having some easy transportable left-overs for next day's lunch. As many recipes, I also adopted this one from Jamie Oliver, but I cut all the crap ;) All you need is some squash ( 1 medium size butternut goes well and is not too big), which needs to cook cut-open in the oven or microwave until it is soft (microwave is fastest, maybe 20-30min ). While it cooks, you can prepare 1 risotto base , preferably a bit on the dry site (before al dente). When the squash is soft enough, remove the hard skin and mix the pulp with the risotto. Re-heat everything, add salt, pepper, chili and cinnamon to taste and wait that the rice absorbs the remaining liquid - then add more water...

Any good risotto, if it's spinach, pumpkin or mushroom, can be made from the same base. This can be made even in advance and kept in the fridge or freezer until you want to cook up the final risotto for eating. Once you read the base recipe, you will most likely not forget it and you are able to whip up a quick risotto anytime anywhere. Prepare 1l of bouillon (vegetable or chicken) - I usually just fire up the kettle and use the boiling water to desolve some instant bouillon. In the meanwhile, fry up 1 big onion and some celery (leek or spring onions are a great alternative too) in a bit of oil or butter . When the onion and celery starts to get color, add 600g of risotto rice and fry everything together for a minute . Then, add a cup of  white wine and stir until the wine is absorbed and the alcohol boiled off. Similarly, continue to add the bouillon a ladle at a time and let the rice absorb it completely, before adding the next one. The risotto will start to get a  nic...

This recipe is the perfect +1 for  the sweet and tangy pork recipe , it has the perfect amount of salty and with some greens (broccoli or asparagus), makes a perfect meal. Heat your oven to 180°C (350F). Choose a container that goes in the oven and has a lid. Combine 260g of long grain rice with 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onions , 2 tablespoons of soya sauce , 700mL of boiling chicken bouillon (you can make it with dried powder, of course: just make sure you dissolve it completely in the hot water). Cover and put it in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the liquid has disappeared.

Weekends are special right now (one could argue they always are... but I mean culinary-wise). We are working like crazy during the week, eating good, but fast prepared stuff. During the weekend, we take the time to impress each other with amazing food. In Quebec we have a very popular chef whose name is Ricardo. I personally tried many of his recipe and always found them delicious (even though sometimes he pushes a little on the fresh stuff... not everyone has a farmers' marker in their back yard!!!). It's then no surprise that when I decided to cook Paella I found a good recipe on his website. The original recipe is here . But I also decided to copy my version :). I fried a little piece of chicken (maybe the equivalent of a small breast) that I cut before in bite size portions. I salted and grounded some pepper and waited until brown. I put aside and add 1 yellow bell pepper and 1 big onion , diced. I also add 3 pieces garlic , finely chopped (we loooooooove garlic!) a...