Recipe: Risotto with Tomato and Goat Cheese

Risotto gets a bad rap as a laborious and time-consuming dish, but the truth is, I secretly enjoy making it. Maybe it has something to do with the the fast pace and busy workload of a typical weekday, but I find that the whole process of infusing hot liquid into rice is incredibly relaxing. For twenty minutes, all I have to do is stand in front of the stove, wait, and occasionally stir. The best part? At the end, I get to enjoy a creamy, rich risotto.

I almost always have Arborio rice in my cupboard, but I rarely have chicken stock. For a long time, this kept me from making risotto as often as I'd like. For some reason, it never occurred to me that a quick vegetable stock - or even hot water! - could create risotto equally as well as chicken stock. A couple of weeks ago, I read a Mark Bittman article on how easy it is to make risotto with any hot liquid. Lacking chicken stock (as usual), I decided to take his advice and make garlic stock.

Recipe: Avocado Salsa, or "Megan's Dip"

Though it's simple to make, this is by far my most-requested dish. Because I can put most of it together ahead of time and then store it in the fridge, I end up serving it at nearly every party - at this point, I could probably make it in my sleep. It's great with fresh summer produce, easy to put together, and it's even been known to win over a few avocado detractors. In fact, by posting this on my blog, I feel like I'm about to give away some sort of long-held secret recipe (complete with a proprietary blend of thirty-seven herbs and spices!).

There are several well-known variations on this dish (usually called cowboy caviar or Texas caviar), but it's only ever referred to as "Megan's Dip" in my family. At mom's recent birthday party, my sister and I tried to rename it "Avocado Salsa" thinking it would be more descriptive and helpful for party guests, but it didn't take. Mom continued to refer to it Megan's Dip, so I finally gave up - the name has stuck.

This leads to frequent protestations (not to mention eye rolling) from my brother. It was actually Trevor who first introduced a variation of this dip to our family after one of his friends shared it with him. Every time I serve it, I'm reminded of this fact. "Poor Marisa," he'll say with a rueful shake of his head. "The only good thing she's ever made, and now everyone calls it 'Megan's Dip.'" What can I say? Sorry, Marisa. The recipe was too good to leave alone.

Recipe: Sauteed Beet Greens

I've recently become a big fan of beet greens. I bought a bunch of beets last weekend at the farmer's market, and I was thrilled to find that the greens are just as tasty as the roots - it's so nice to be able to use the beets for one dish and the greens for another without throwing anything away.

Wilted, garlicky greens couldn't be easier to throw together, and are especially good if you have some extra vegetables on hand to throw into the pan. I like to add carrots for a little sweetness, and French breakfast radishes for crunch. (French breakfast radishes are sweet and mild without the acidic tang of traditional radishes - I like them raw, but if you cook them lightly they'll lend a nice crisp texture to a dish like this one.)

Recipe: Perfect Roasted Potatoes

Whether they're fried, baked, mashed, or roasted, I think potatoes are the ultimate comfort food.  My longstanding love affair with potatoes stems from my mother, who derives no particular joy from cooking but will make an exception when it comes to potatoes. I remember eating a lot of baked potatoes as a child, but occasionally - and this was a real treat - we'd have them tossed with dried rosemary and roasted until the skins attained a satisfying crunch. Other than peas (yes, really), I think roasted potatoes were my most often-requested dish growing up.