Mariel's Noms: Lazy Sunday, Tasty Meals

Hello! Well I am very excited to say that after feeling kind of "out of it" food wise for the past little while, I think I've found my inspiration again in the kitchen! I really think being caught up with this puppy has something to do with it! Anyways, I have a pretty tasty recipe for you to try from tonight!

My day started off with a lovely sunday morning sleep in, and when I awoke I was greeted with a scrumptious brunch that Mom and Dad had put together, I love waking up to breakfast/lunch!

The bacon was incredibly thick, and the pancakes delightfully fluffy. It was a good start to the day!

This hearty breakfast must have been the source of my energy, because I actually did laundry today (for once)! After an afternoon spent tidying up and doing load after load of laundry, it was time to make dinner!

For dinner this evening I made (with some help from my wonderful sue chef, Flangela) veal scallopini topped with bruschetta, risotto and roasted broccolini and carrots! It was a great Sunday night meal, and nice and easy! Here's how to make it:

Set out three bowls or plates, and depending on how much veal you are going to be serving, put slightly beaten eggs in one bowl, flour in another, and seasoned bread crumbs in the other.

For my bread crumbs I just used store bought crumbs, and tossed in some dried oregano, salt, pepper, a little thyme, and a handful of freshly grated baby parmesan.

Take your thinly sliced veal and first coat it in the flour, then dredge it in the eggs, and then in the bread crumbs. I find that the easiest way to do this is dedicate one hand to the mucky stuff (eggs) and keep the other hand for strictly the dry things! This way you can get through breading all the veal without having to wash the gook off your hands constantly.

I breaded all the veal and set it aside on a baking sheet while Mom and I finished up the rest of the meal.

What Mom made tonight was a wonderful risotto, just a plain one with simple flavors in it, like parmesan and italian parsley. It was so creamy and delicious!

Basic Risotto

1/4 cup butter

1 cup arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups chicken stock

large handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese

chopped italian parsley

In a sauce pan over medium high heat, melt the butter and add in the rice.

Cook until the rice begins to toast, and is slightly golden brown.

Add the cup of white wine, and let simmer, stirring constantly, until all the wine is absorbed.

Once the liquid has absorbed begin to add the chicken stock, a little at a time, stirring constantly.

Add more stock every time the liquid is absorbed.

You can add more or less stock, depending on the desired texture and creaminess of the risotto.

2 cups of stock creates a nice al dente risotto.

Finally, throw in the parmesan and parsley, and serve immediately!

For the vegetables this evening I just roasted some broccolini and carrots in the oven. All I did was wash them, toss them in some olive oil and load them up with freshly ground salt and pepper. This is my favorite way to eat vegetables!

To cook the veal:

Get a fairly large skillet or pan, and put it on the stove over medium high heat.

Put about half an inch of a canola/olive oil blend in the pan, and let the oil get up to temperature.

Once the oil is hot enough, place the veal in the pan!

Veal scallopini is sliced very thin, so it cooks very quickly!

As soon as the breading has turned golden brown, flip the veal in the pan. When the other side is also golden brown, it's done!

I did mine up in batches, and put the cooked scallopini on a cooling rack (which also allowed some of the oil to drip off)!

While I was frying up all the scallopini, I put together a little bruschetta mix to top off the veal, just to give it a little fresh flavor!

For the bruschetta I diced up some vine tomatoes, green pepper, and crushed some garlic. To this I simply put a glug of olive oil into the mix, some dried oregano, and salt and pepper!