Tonight's Noms: Sweet Soy Pork and Risotto-Stuffed Tomatoes

Wow, this was a really good dinner. I had initially planned to try and make this earlier in the week, but life intervened, as it always does. The budget challenge this week a vegetarian theme with tomatoes as the main ingredient, and I'd calculated everything out perfectly such that the tomato would be a good, filling meal on its own. Sadly, it's winter, and tomatoes aren't in season, so the fruit I ended up with was both overpriced and small - still well within the allocated budget at just $1.75 apiece, but even with the risotto piled up high, the tomatoes didn't seem big enough to suit my fattie appetite. So, I entered my vegetarian roasted tomato soup recipe instead, and ate this as a side dish.

I found my cool plates! Also, an in-focus picture!

I even started out the day making some chicken stock from the salvaged carcass of the other night's chicken and dumplings (yes, you can still make stock from the remains of a boiled chicken). This stock went into the risotto, but it could just as easily be made with vegetable broth or diluted bullion. The pork chops were marinated with a mixture of sweet soy, worchestershire, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and the handy-dandy steakhouse seasoning grinder, which is a mixture of peppercorns, garlic, and a couple of other spices.

The recipe for the tomatoes is below, and the risotto mixture is written up for the amount I made - which would have been perfectly fine for a large, ripe summer beefsteak tomato, but these winter vine-ripened globes were smaller and more dense than I'd really hoped for. I'll definitely be making this again once our tomatoes start to come in this summer.

Ready to be topped with parmesan cheese and popped in the oven.

Risotto-Stuffed Tomatoes

• 1 cup short grain rice (valencia is cheaper than arborio and works well)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp garlic powder, or 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 large mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2-3 cups heated vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 tbsp basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 large beefsteak tomatoes
• about 1 ounce grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a small pot over medium heat, and add rice, mushrooms, and garlic, stirring to coat the rice. Continue to heat and stir the mixture until the rice becomes clear. Ladle in about a cup of broth, stir, and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes, then reduce heat to low. Once all the liquid has been absorbed into the rice, add basil and stir in additional broth one ladle-full at a time. Continue to cook and stir broth until the rice is cooked through, stirring occasionally to break up the starches on the rice. Add salt and pepper conservatively throughout the cooking process; if desired, additional parmesan can be added to the rice to add salt and additional flavor. The risotto should have a creamy texture when finished. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before filling tomatoes.

Slice the tops off of the tomatoes and hollow them out, stirring the inner bits of the tomato into the risotto. Spoon risotto into the tomatoes and top with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until the skin of the tomatoes has split and the rice throughout the tomato is warm.

Total prep/cook time: 75 minutes
Happiness rating: 8/10 - this needs to be done again during tomato season

52 weeks of cooking, Week 6: Arroz Carreteiro, Cowboy Style

Nom.

I don't know whether I've mentioned it on the blog before, but folks who know me also know that my dad's been building a huge outdoor fireplace/smoker. It's really coming along nicely, as you can see.

That big recess above the fireplace? That's where the TV will go. It's a shame I'll be moving away in August!

Earlier today there was a bit of back and forth over whether to cook a stew on the fire out there (dad's idea) or to cook my Brazilian-themed dish for this week's challenge (which is why I thought they'd been thoughtful enough to thaw out the beef in the first place). So, we compromised and did both! The bigass cast iron pot needed some seasoning after having been repeatedly cooked and cleaned on the fire, anyway. I saw no reason that a cowboy's dish that translates to 'waggoner's rice' wouldn't be better cooked in such a manner, so two birds, one stone, right? I started off with some very simple ingredients - beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, tomatoes, corn, and rice.

10 minutes of prep indoors, and everything from there on was done outside.

With some oil heated in the pot, I added in the garlic, onion, and pepper. It sizzled enough right away that I just gave it a little stir before adding the meat.

Veggies. And MEAT!

The lid went on, and that would be the last time I touched that pot without some welder's gloves. After a few minutes, I gave the meat a stir, then let it cook a little longer. I probably stirred it 2 or 3 times before the tomatoes and corn were added in.

I had to post a picture of these, because I think it's awesome that the gloves are called 'Blue Beast'. Also, kevlar? Badassery.

Anyway, in went the tomatoes and corn, and I let everything cook over the fire for a bit before adding some additional water and stirring in the rice.

It was also a bit cold today, so the heat from the fire was nice.

We ended up keeping it on the fire for about two hours total, although it really could've come out after an hour. When we decided that it cooked long enough, we took it off the hook and set it in the fireplace near the coals to keep warm. Two hours later it's sitting on silicone trivets in the kitchen, and there's still a bit of steam coming up when the lid is opened.

Just after being taken off of the flame. We let it sit near the fire for another 45 minutes or so.

All in all, it was good stuff! I didn't add much salt and pepper at the beginning, so that was added at the individual level. I always like to be cautious with salt since you can't take it away once you've added it, so there's that. I also wish I'd added some latin american peppers into the mix, but we each added our own favorite blends of hot sauce to taste.

Okay, so it wasn't really roughing it, but the 'cowboy style' meal was a nice way to fake it. Not too bad for a February afternoon outdoors.


Arroz Carreteiro (Waggoner's Rice)

• 3 green onions
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 5 small cloves garlic
• 2 lbs beef shoulder, cut into cubes
• 1 quart jar tomatoes
• 1 can 'mexicorn' or whole kernel corn
• 3 cups long grain white rice

Chop onions and pepper into small pieces, mince garlic, and add salt and pepper to taste. In a large pot, heat cooking oil over a fire and add vegetables. When vegetables become fragrant, add beef and allow to brown, stirring as necessary. Add tomatoes and corn, and 2-3 cups of water as needed. Cover and bring to a boil. Add rice and replace cover, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pot. Serves 6-8.

Total prep/cook time: 2 hours
Family happiness rating: 7/10