Trust your gut! And eat good risotto!

Today I was reminded twice of one very important cooking rule: the recipe is not always right!

Coincidentally, both of these pleasant reminders came as slightly undercooked ingredients.

The first was in my 15-minute prep meatloaf – a bacon-Gruyere meatloaf from Real Simple magazine that requires very little hands-on time. The most time I spent was on grating the Gruyere cheese, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite to cook with.

The issue here was when the oven called my name, saying, “Elise… time to take the meatloaf out,” the meatloaf was still clearly undercooked. I’m always very paranoid about undercooking meat (a seldom-occurring quality, as I’m generally calm as a toad in the sun… J), so when my instant-read thermometer read 140 instead of 160, I knew it needed to go back in. Twenty minutes later of checking on it every five minutes, I came to my very calm executive decision--- Screw it! If it’s not done now, we’re eating it row! Lucky for my dinner guests, it was done and delicious.

My second reminder that the times listed on recipes aren’t always correct occurred in dish number two: Risotto with Butternut Squash, Leeks, and Basil. The recipe called to sauté the squash for 5 minutes or until starting to soften and brown. After 8 minutes, I used the tried and true fork test and thought it wasn’t quite done but that the rest of the cooking process would soften it up a little. When it was all done and time to serve and the squash was the same texture, I wished I had listened to my gut. While my kind dinner guests said that the squash were good, there were some pieces that were a little crispier than I’d like. Because I didn’t cut them all the exact same size, the larger pieces were a little underdone. So, as you all should when you find something about a recipe you’d like to change, I made a note on the recipe.

So today let’s raise our glasses to one of the most important cooking rules:

Go with your gut!

Bacon-Gruyère Meatloaf

[from Real Simple magazine]

Ingredients

            1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck

            1/4 cup bread crumbs

            1/4 cup ketchup, plus more for serving

            1 small red onion, coarsely grated

            2 slices bacon, chopped

            2 cloves garlic, chopped

            1 large egg

            3/4 cup grated Gruyère or Cheddar (3 ounces)

            kosher salt and black pepper

            2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Heat oven to 400° F. In a medium bowl, combine the beef, bread crumbs, ketchup, grated onion, bacon, garlic, egg, ½ cup of the Gruyère, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Transfer the mixture to an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan and sprinkle with the

remaining ¼ cup of Gruyère.

Roast the meat loaf until cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Pour off any accumulated fat and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Slice the meat loaf and serve with additional ketchup.

Risotto with Butternut Squash, Leeks, and Basil

[From Bon Appetit magazine]

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled butternut squash (from 2 1/4 pounds squash)

3 cups 1/2-inch-wide slices leeks (white and pale green parts only)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 cups arborio rice

4 14-ounce cans (or more) vegetable broth

1 cup chopped fresh basil

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for serving

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add squash and sauté until beginning to soften and brown around edges, about 5 minutes. Transfer squash to medium bowl.

Reduce heat to medium; add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, leeks, and thyme to same pot and stir until tender but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir 1 minute. Add 1 cup broth and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently, 3 to 4 minutes. Add remaining broth by 1/2 cupfuls, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Return squash to pot. Continue to cook until rice is just tender but still very creamy, stirring gently and often, about 10 minutes longer (about 25 minutes total cooking time). Remove from heat. Stir in basil and 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl and serve with additional Parmesan cheese.