Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Time to be a Pioneer Woman

This past weekend I made my first ever Pioneer Woman recipe. I'm sure you all know what exactly I made, right? I made her red pepper risotto!
Pioneer Woman Red Pepper Risotto
I actually decided I was going to make her risotto before I went to the store, which I know is not the way its supposed to work. The reason being you don't want to decide to make something and then get to the store and realize you can't buy the ingredients. So I of course I get to the rice aisle looking for risotto rice (aka Arborio rice), except they didn't have any. I must have stood in that aisle for 10 minutes, hoping if I was there long enough it would appear.

I never did find that rice, but what I did find was a prepacked mix for Archer Farms Red Pepper Risotto. I've tried making it before, and I wasn't a very big fan. But what it did have was Arborio rice. So I decided to buy the box, use the rice and throw out their separately prepackaged seasonings. It worked out pretty flawlessly. The only catch was I had no idea how much rice I was getting until I opened the box, but it worked out to be almost half of her recipe.

A second change I made was the addition of goat cheese. I didn't really want to add it to my risotto, so I went to Dee's standard risotto recipe for inspiration. There she recommended a mix of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago Cheese, and Target actually sold a mix of the 3 all grated and packaged together. So I went with that, and now I can officially say that I've made my first risotto!

Now that I've master a Pioneer Woman recipe, I guess that means I need to keep making them. I'm thinking her cinnamon rolls might be a good one to try! Anyone else ever made a Pioneer Woman recipe? What's your favorite?

~Shoshanah

5 comments:

  1. For T's birthday this past year, I made a few Pioneer Woman recipes. I love her! (http://withlove-myheart.blogspot.com/2009/09/happy-birthday-love.html)
    When I have more time on my hands I will definitely be trying more of her recipes. First on my list is her salsa. We tear up salsa around here. ;)

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  2. Recently tons of people have been talking about PW. I'm thinking I really need to get this cookbook! I'm guessing it's worth it?

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  3. hey you! long time no comment but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things... I hope all is well with you ... I totally have a lot of catching up to do!

    anyway, glad to hear your Pioneer Woman recipe worked out! I have read and drooled over her recipes before, but haven't yet made one. you were pretty ingenious I must say buying that prepacked mix. I'm always so frustrated when I can't find an ingredient at the store but that was a clever way to work around it!

    and other than the cheese, I'd totally dig this dish :)

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  4. I love PW's recipes. I've made several of them. Her Ginger Steak Sald is one of my favorites.

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  5. Yum! I have yet to brave one, but I have plans to cook up a STORM this summer. Be forewarned, I've heard that the cinnamon roll recipe is deadly AMAZING and makes a TON of rolls. :)

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