Orecchiette Carbonara with English Peas and Pea Shoots

Orecchiette Carbonara with English Peas and Pea Shoots is a perfect Spring Pasta. We added Snap Peas to the recipe. You can find the recipe on our blog of April 28, 2009: Click the date to get the recipe. The Snap Peas were a great addition, they added a Crispness to the Pasta. We even got Tom to assist with the stirring! We highly recommend it.

Once again we started with a Caesar Salad. 

One-Pan Pork Chops with Feta, Snap Peas and Mint

We like the One-Pan Pork Chops with Feta, Snap Peas and Mint . You can find the recipe on our blog of April 25, 2023: Click the date to get the recipe. The idea of the Feta with Pork is unusual and delicious. The Feta is a great contrast the taste of the Pork. They offset each other, making the paring very tasty. . We started with an Asparagus Salad topped with Burrata Stracciatella (Stracciatella is the soft inside Burrata), Hazelnuts and Brown Butter.

 

Chicken Risotto with White Miso and Lemon

Chicken Risotto with White Miso and Lemon is an interesting recipe. The Miso adds a Unami profile to the dish without making the dish taste Asian. The  Lemon juice adds acidity that cuts through the fat, keeping the Unami infused Risotto  from feeling dense. The Risotto is extremely tasty but doesn't have the heaviness you would expect with the addition of the Miso. This is a clever and good recipe. You should try it!

Chicken Risotto with White Miso and Lemon
4 servings
 
INGREDIENTS
 
1       pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1½    cups Arborio rice
6       cups low-sodium chicken broth, kept warm in a separate pot
2       tablespoons white miso paste
½      cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
1       cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2       tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1       medium yellow onion, finely diced, 2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon, plus juice for serving
Fresh parsley or chives, chopped, salt and pepper to taste
 
DIRECTIONS
 
1.    Season the chicken thigh pieces generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in a single layer until golden brown on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.

2.  Reduce the heat to medium. Add a drizzle more oil if the pot looks dry, then add the diced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.

3.   Add the Arborio rice and white miso paste to the pot. Stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, coating every grain of rice with the miso and fat. The rice will go from bright white to slightly translucent around the edges this is the toasting step that builds a nutty base flavor.

4.  Pour in the white wine. It will sizzle and steam immediately. Stir while scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot Continue stirring until the wine is almost completely absorbed by the rice, about 1 to 2 minutes.

5.  Begin adding the warm chicken broth about ½ cup at a time, stirring gently after each addition, Wait until the broth is mostly absorbed before adding the next ladleful. Continue this process for 20 to 25 minutes. Start tasting the rice after about 3 cups of broth it should still be fairly firm at that point.

6.  The risotto is done when the rice is creamy on the outside but still has a slight firmness in the center - tender with a bit of resistance, not mushy and not crunchy. You may not use all 6 cups of broth, or you may need a touch more. Let the rice tell you

7.  Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the butter, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon zest, and chopped fresh herbs. Stir vigorously for about 30 seconds this final burst of stirring activates the remaining starch and makes the risotto extra creamy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed

8.  Fold the seared chicken back into the risotto. Spoon immediately onto flat plates or wide shallow bowls - the risotto should spread slightly and look loose and creamy, not stiff. Squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over

 

Braised Kimchi Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

Braised Kimchi Chicken with Sweet Potatoes was a surprise to me. I was afraid the Kimchi would be to strong and overpower everything. It didn't. It provided a great background to this dish. The Potatoes were exceptionally good (we used the purple Japanese Sweet Potatoes). So sweet and soft. This is a good and unusual recipe.

Braised Kimchi Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
New York Times
 
A ginger- and gochugaru-infused butter underpins the multilayered seasonings in this savory braised chicken dish. Kimchi’s acid tenderizes the meat and provides intensity to the final gravy, an electric-red pool of umami. White rice tastes great with this, as do mashed potatoes or crusty bread, to sop up all the buttery juices. An age-old secret to juicy chicken is blanching, then shocking the meat with cold water, a technique that appears in dishes like Chinese white-cut chicken and Hainanese chicken rice. This initial step also results in a clean chicken flavor and a rich, pure-tasting sauce.
 
INGREDIENTS
Yield:4 servings
 
2       pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks or leg quarters
4       tablespoons unsalted butter
1       (3-inch) piece ginger, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
2       tablespoons gochugaru (see Tip)
1½    packed cups finely chopped kimchi, plus any juices
2       tablespoons fish sauce
1       tablespoon honey
2       fresh or dried bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1       large or 2 small Asian sweet potatoes (about 10 ounces), peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks (see Tip)
1       small yellow onion, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
 
 
PREPARATION
 
Fill a medium bowl with ice water. Then, fill a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot with cold water and bring to a boil over high. Add the chicken and poach for just 5 minutes (it’s OK if the water doesn’t come back to a boil). Shock the chicken in the ice water to stop the cooking and set aside. Drain the Dutch oven, rinsing if very dirty, and return the pot to the stove.
 
In the now-empty, fairly dry pot, melt the butter over medium. Add the ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the gochugaru into the gingery butter, just a few seconds, then immediately add the kimchi, fish sauce, honey, bay leaves and 1 cup water. Nestle in the chicken pieces so they’re partly covered by liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Raise the heat to high and bring the pot to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low to continue simmering the chicken for 10 minutes to begin its braising journey.
 
After 10 minutes, place the sweet potato and onion over the chicken, coaxing them into the liquid if possible (or at least spooning over some of the liquid). Continue simmering the stew, partly covered, until the sauce is reduced, the potatoes are tender and the chicken falls off the bone, about 30 minutes. Serve the chicken and vegetables with the sauce ladled over.
 
TIPS
 
Asian sweet potatoes have tapered ends with reddish-purple skins and yellow-white interiors. They also become gloriously fudgy when braised like this (or dry-roasted whole). Their orange-bellied American counterparts, varieties such as Beauregard, jewel and garnet, would disintegrate into a soft sludge, but the Asian sweet potato — particularly the Japanese satsumaimo and the Korean goguma — remains sturdy even after a long, slow cook, their chestnut-sweet interiors only deepening with time.
 
Gochugaru, a mild, intensely savory Korean red-pepper powder, ranges from a fine dust to tiny coarse flakes. Try to buy the coarse variety for a deeper, sweeter flavor. You can find gochugaru at Korean and other Asian supermarkets and at many grocery stores, as well as online.
 
 

Scallops and Risotto

This was a great way to repurpose our leftover Pea Risotto. We simply Salted and Peppered Scallops, quickly sautéed and topped the re-heated Risotto with the Scallops. Once again we started with a Caesar Salad.

Risi e Bisi (Green Pea Risotto)

We like Risotto. There is so much you can do with Risotto. It essentially is way of cooking Rice and it is amenable to being flavored in many different ways. This recipe uses Green Peas and we enhanced it further with Snap Peas. It was great. It was Passover so we started with Matzah Ball Soup. We didn't make it but brought it in.

Risi e Bisi (Green Pea Risotto) Risi e Bisi (Green Pea Risotto)
This Venetian rice-and-pea classic is creamy, lemon-vibrant, and ready in less than an hour.
By Anna Theoktisto | Published on March 19, 2026
Total Time: 50 mins
Servings: 6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup Vialone Nano rice
1/2 cup (4 ounces) dry white wine
4 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
3 cups frozen green peas, thawed and divided
1 1/2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (1/2 cup), plus more for garnish
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more zest for
garnish
Directions
Step Step 1 1
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onion, garlic, salt, and pepper; cook,
stirring often, until softened and beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes.
Step Step 2 2
Stir rice into onion mixture; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add wine; cook, stirring
constantly, until evaporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add 4 cups broth; bring to a boil over
medium-high. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, about
14 minutes.Step Step 3 3
While rice cooks, transfer 1 cup peas and remaining 1/2 cup broth to a blender. Process until
smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute, scraping down sides of blender as needed.
Step Step 4 4
When rice is tender, remove from heat; stir in cheese, butter, parsley, lemon zest and juice,
pea puree, and remaining 2 cups peas. Divide among 6 bowls; garnish each serving with
additional cheese, chopped parsley, and lemon zest.
Make ahead
Risi e bisi is best right after it’s made: Leftovers will thicken as the rice continues to
absorb liquid. To revive it, loosen gently with warm broth or water over low heat,
stirring in a pat of butter and a squeeze of lemon. To streamline prep, you can grate
the cheese a day ahead, and if using fresh peas, blanch them up to one day in advance
and refrigerate.