I hope that each and every one of you have a bottle of sesame oil in your kitchen.  In everything from stir-fry to cookies, it’s an incredibly delicious, unique flavor.  I used to go to Chinatown in New York for $2 bottles, but by now, they’re readily available at any good grocery store. 

These are literally a five-minute dish — I bought the shrimp raw and already skewered, and just marinated them for about twenty minutes before cooking.  These can be sauteed for barely three minutes, total, flipping once, so you can’t really get much more low-maintenance than that.  For a quick weeknight dinner over some rice or a salad, or just on their own as a low-carb snack. 

Sesame Shrimp Skewers

INGREDIENTS

2 skewers of medium-sized shrimp (5 shrimp per skewer), peeled and deveined
1 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

Combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and garlic powder, and marinate the shrimp for approximately 15 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add the skewered shrimp to the pan, and cook until shrimp are opaque, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer skewers to a plate, and serve.

So, one of my biggest Christmas presents this year was a huge addition to our kitchen: a sous vide machine! 

Because when Thomas Keller writes a book about a revolutionary cooking technique, most of us who love to cook immediately want to try it out!

Sous vide is a technique that starts with vacuum-sealing the meat or vegetables that you’re cooking, and then boils them at a low temperature for a long period of time, which breaks down proteins without toughening the meat.  You basically can’t overcook anything using this method — so long as you set the proper temperature for the water bath, you could leave the meat in it for anywhere from 90 minutes to about 8 hours with terrific results.  You can also cook foods at less than the temperature you’d need to oven-bake it to, because you’re holding the food at the temperature for longer.  Sounds good, right?  Add in dozens of people online talking about how sous-vide is the future of cooking, and I was extremely curious.

This machine is a pretty serious investment, and I’ve spent just about every weekend getting used to it.  What started with a so-so salmon filet (my fault, not seasoned properly or seared to finish) eventually became an absolutely perfect chicken breast (in bulk for weeknight dinners, even) and these terrific lamb chops.  I’m not usually much of a meat-eater (or -cooker), which you guys know already from reading this blog, but these were great.

Worth the investment?  Time will tell.  I’m still a little scared to leave anything cooking while we’re at work, both for food-safety and regular-safety reasons, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.  And to save me from being stuck in the kitchen during a dinner party while everyone else is having appetizers and drinks?  Priceless. 

Lamb Chops Sous-Vide

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound lamb chops
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel
Fresh cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS

Fill the sous vide machine with water and heat it to 132 degrees F.  Salt and pepper the lamb chops and rub a small amount of olive oil on each.  Vacuum seal the lamb chops.  Cook for two hours in the sous vide machine, and then sear them (in a preheated pan with a tiny bit of olive oil) on high heat for 30 seconds on each side. 

Almost two years ago, I posted a recipe for mushroom risotto.  It was absolutely delicious, except for one small problem: it was impossible to photograph.  (Check out the post — the only good photo I could get was of the grated parmesan cheese).

But with fall right around the corner, I couldn’t resist trying again — especially with my beautiful Noritake dishes!  And sure enough, throw risotto in a gorgeous bowl and under some great natural light, and the photos don’t turn out half bad.

I used Noritake’s ColorWave place setting in green for this dish, and I love the square pattern.  Lately I’ve been partial to more modern-feeling designs, and I love that this one is timeless but still so contemporary and chic.  For my scallop dish, I mixed two patterns (the brown and white), and I did the same thing here — the bowl is from the Kealia collection, and it pairs perfectly with the ColorWave plates. 

And remember, if this (or any other!) pattern catches your eye, use the coupon code SUGARLAWS for 10% off the merchandise in your cart on the Noritake website!

Baby Bella Risotto

INGREDIENTS
4 cups vegetable stock (substitute chicken stock if desired)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups short-grain brown rice
1 shallot, minced
1/2 leek, white portion only, sliced
1/2 pound baby bella mushrooms
1/2 stick butter, cut into pieces
1 cup grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS
Over medium heat, toast rice in olive oil, stirring constantly until all the rice is coated.  Toast for 1 minute, or until grains are aromatic.  Add 1 cup of vegetable stock, the leek and shallot, and turn the heat down to a simmer.

Over the next thirty minutes, stir the risotto frequently and add more stock every time the liquid doesn’t cover the rice.  Add the mushrooms after about 20 minutes.  Taste the rice for doneness — they’re done when they’re soft and fully cooked, but not mushy.  When the rice is done cooking, remove from heat, stir in the butter and parmesan, and serve.

Serves 4.