Mushroom Risotto Recipe

If you like mushrooms, you'll love this risotto. The chili peppers give it just a bit of a bite. Easy to make and wonderful to eat. I purchased the ingredients for this at Leon's Gourmet Grocer.

Servings: 8

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups short-grain rice
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry vermouth
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 16 ounces mushroom, sliced and cooked

Heat oil and sauté onion until soft. Add rice, red chili flakes, black pepper and sauté over medium high heat until all rice is coated with oil. Add vermouth and stir until absorbed. Add chicken broth 1 cup at a time until the rice absorbs liquid. (Have extra water ready in case you need it.) Cook until rice is tender, stirring constantly. Add cooked mushrooms, parsley and Parmesan cheese and fold in.

Per Serving : 295 Calories; 5g Fat (17.4% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 46g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 4mg Cholesterol; 360mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

Schaefer's Jenn-Air Professional Kitchen

Today I enjoyed cooking in Schaefer's Jenn-Air Professional kitchen. This classy kitchen has a nice feel to it, and the cooktop is clean and smooth--a real pleasure to use. The gas range is also available in the kitchen. The culinary center oven is programmable for many uses. I found it incredible easy to use and versatile.

Best Baked Beans Recipe

This isn't your ordinary baked beans recipe.  It's low in sugar, and the bourbon makes it unique.

Servings 4

• 1 teaspoon grape seed oil
• 1 medium carrot, chopped fine
• 2 stalks celery, chopped fine
• 1/2 small onion, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon honey , local
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cups great northern beans, cooked
• 1/4 cup Red Stag bourbon, optional
• 1/4 cup catsup

Heat olive oil in a skillet, add carrots, celery, and onion and sauté until soft.  Add honey and stir until caramelized. Mix in cayenne pepper. Add Bourbon (optional) and stir over medium heat for 1 miuten.  Add catsup and mix in. Add beans and gently mix in.Place beans in 4 crocks or 1 casserole dish, cover and bake for 30 min in a 350 degree oven

Per Serving : 201 Calories; 4g Fat (20.4% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 204mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Food purchased from Leon's Gourmet Grocer and prepared in a kitchen at Schaefer's.

Guacamole My Way Recipe

Servings: 6

• 1 1/2 cups nonfat cottage cheese
• 3 each avocados
• 3 tablespoons salsa
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Drain cottage cheese in a colander, place in food processor with steel blade and process until
smooth. Add avocado and process until desired consistency. Add salsa and cilantro and pulse 2 or 3 times. Serve with fresh chips.

Per Serving: calories; 15g Fat, (64.8% calories from fat); 9g,Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 3g, Dietary Fiber; 2mg Cholesterol;195mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1,Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit;,3 Fat.

Food purchased from Leon's Gourmet Grocer and prepared in a kitchen at Schaefer's.

Make your own Hollandaise and Bernaise Sauces

You don't need to be intimidated by Hollandaise and Bernaise sauces. It's easy to make your own.  Watch a video from one of Schaefer's kitchens, in which I show how to make your own Hollandaise and Bernaise sauces.  See the video here.

Ingrid Hoffman: Ideas for Spring Entertaining

For this video I went right to the source for some great spring entertaining ideas, Celebrity Chef Ingrid Hoffman shares some unique, money-saving ideas for spring entertaining using Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk.  Check out the video here.

House Works: Olive Oil 101

A good olive oil is like a bottle of fine wine. It all depends on where the olive is grown and how much acidity is in it. And not all olive oil is created equal. Showcase olive oils are used for fishing, dipping or making salad dressings. Other "industrial size olive oils are used for cooking. Chad Winters of Leon's Gourmet Grocer and I recently discussed olive oil in one of Schaefer's kitchens on Channel 10/11 news. Check out the video and learn more about olive oil here: