Risotto Primavera

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and minced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium zucchini, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, seeded, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium-size yellow crookneck squash, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, seeded, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
• mushrooms
• 4 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
• 1 large white onion, finely chopped
• 1 3/4 cups (11 1/2 ounces) arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• Additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus, zucchini, and crookneck squash and mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Set vegetables aside.

Bring broth to simmer in medium saucepan over low heat. Cover and keep warm. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and minced carrot. Sauté until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add rice; stir until rice is translucent at edges but still opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup warm broth. Simmer until broth is almost absorbed, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add 2 cups more broth, 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next and stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Mix in sautéed vegetables and 1 cup broth. Simmer until broth is just absorbed, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add 1 1/3 cups cheese, peas, butter, and 1/2 cup broth. Simmer until butter melts, rice and vegetables are just tender, and risotto is creamy, stirring often and adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls if risotto is dry, about 3 minutes longer. Mix in basil; season with salt and pepper.

Transfer risotto to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve, passing additional cheese separately.

Bon Appétit, April 2003

Serve 6-8

Ham, Fontina, and Spinach Bread Pudding

• 1 large baguette (about 3/4 lb)
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb cooked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 qt whole milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 6 cups spinach leaves (about 1 bunch), coarsely chopped
• 3/4 lb Fontina cheese, grated or swiss cheese and smoked gouda

Preheat broiler.

Diagonally cut baguette crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices and brush both sides with butter. Cut into crouton-sized chunks. Toast on a baking sheet under broiler 3 inches from heat until golden, about 30 seconds on each side. (Buttering and toasting bread step can be omitted if short on time.)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Saute onions in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden. Add ham and saute, stirring occasionally, until ham is lightly browned.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl and whisk in milk, salt, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Add toasted bread and toss gently. Transfer bread as saturated to a shallow, buttered 3-quart casserole. Add any remaining egg mixture.

Tuck spinach, ham, and cheese amidst bread. Bake in middle of oven 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until puffed and edges of bread are golden and custard is set in middle.

Cook's note: Bread pudding can be assembled 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Increase baking time to 1 hour and 10 minutes if bread pudding is cold when put in oven, and cover top with foil after 45 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

Serve with a sliced fennel bulb and apple, minced shallots with celery and roasted walnut salad.

Makes 6 servings

Farmers' Market Pasta with Chevre

• 1 1/2 pounds of a mixture of any of the following vegetables: asparagus, yellow or green summer squash, bell peppers (any color), broccoli, small eggplant, portabella mushooms
• 3 T. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 12 ounces penne
• 3/4 c. heavy cream
• 4 oz. chevre
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• half of a red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup torn basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated peccorino Romano cheese

1. Slice or chop the vegetables into manageable sizes for grilling. Toss with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and enclose in a grill basket. Grill over moderately high heat until somewhat softened and blackened in spots. (Or spread out on a baking sheet and roast at 450 to a similar degree of doneness.)

2. Cook the pasta until al dente. Ladle out and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta.

3. Return the pasta to the still-warm cooking pot and add the cream, chevre, and reserved cooking water. Toss until the cheese begins to melt. Add the tomatoes, onion, basil, and vegetables and toss gently until heated through. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

4. Pass the peccorino Romano at the table.

from Dishing Up Maine

4 servings

Seafood Lasagna with Tomato and Bechamel

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups seeded and diced plum tomatoes (7-8 tomatoes) or drained chopped canned tomatoes
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

SEAFOOD FILLING

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 pound bay scallops or quartered sea scallops
• 1/2 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 pound haddock or other white fish such as cod or pollock fillets, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

BECHAMEL SAUCE

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream
• 1/2 cup reserved seafood cooking juices
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 pound fresh pasta sheets or 9 ounces dried "no-boil" lasagna noodles
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)

1. To make the fresh tomato sauce, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the tomatoes give off their liquid and the sauce begins to reduce, about 10 minutes. Stir in the scallions, basil, tarragon, sugar, salt and pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. If the consistency is too thick -- it should be pourable-- add 1/2 cup water.

2. To make the seafood filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the scallops and shrimp and cook, stirring often, until the shrimp begin to turn pink, about 1 minute. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute. Add the fish, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper, and continue to cook, stirring gently, just until the seafood is opaque, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the seafood witha slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. Reserve the liquid remaining to use in the bechamel. You should have about 1/2 cup; add water, if necessary, to make up the difference.

3. To make the bechamel, melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the cream, bring to a boil, and cook, whisking, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the reserved seafood juices and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

4. Grease a 3- to 4-quart baking dish, such as a 14x10-inch lasagna pan, with butter, Preheat the oven to 375.

5. Spoon about one-third of the tomato sauce into the prepared dish, spreading to coat the bottom. Make a layer of one-third of the pasta sheets, then half the seafood, then one-third of the bechamel, spreading each layer evenly. Make a second layer of each, then finish with the last third of the pasta and bechamel. Spread the remaining tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with parmesan.

6. Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is golden and the filling is bubbling and tender, 35 to 40 minutes. If the lasagna has been refrigerated, bake covered with foil, for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake until heated through, 20 to 30 minutes. Let rest for about 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

Serve with Lamb Sausage Hors d'Oeuvres with Cranberry Chutney, a spinach salad, seeded Italian bread, Orange Creme Brulee

from Dishing Up Maine

8 servings

Shrimp Linguine

• 6 T. butter
• 6. T olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 T. minced shallots
• 1 cup bottled clam juice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 t. angostura bitters
• 2 t. grated lemon zest
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1/4 t. dried red pepper flakes
• 12 ounces linguine
• 1 lb. shelled Maine shrimp or other small to medium shrimp
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.

2. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook for 1 minutes. Add the clam juice and wine, raise the heat to high and boil briskly until reduced by about one third, about 5 minutes. Add the bitters, lemon zest, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes.

3. Add the shrimp to the sauce and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the shrimp just turn pink, about 2 minutes. Stir in the parsely and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Drain the pasta, spoon the shrimp and sauce over it, and serve.

VARIATION: substitute chopped or bably clams or bay scallops for the shrimp

from Dishing Up Maine

Frites de Carottes aux Epices

• 1 kg (2 lbl.) carrots
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• cumin, ginger
• salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 450*F.

Wash, srub and peel the carrots. Trim the top and bottom of each carrot, and cut in fries. Put the carrots in a baking dish, spoon in the honey, and pour a dash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Toss with a wooden spoon to coat. Add more oil and vinegar if necessary. Sprinkle cumin, ginger, salt and pepper generously, and toss again.

Put the dish in the oven to bake for roughly an hour, checking on the progress regularly after the first half hour, tossing the carrots from time to time for an even browning. The carrot fries are ready when they are thoroughly cooked, and start to get a little crisp at the edges.

Creamy Seafood Casserole with Lemon Crumbs

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup bottled clam juice
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/4 cup sherry, dry or medium-dry
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 pound wild or cultivated mushrooms, sliced
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 pound bay scallops (or sea scallops, quartered)
• 1 cup cooked crabmeat, picked over (1/2 pound)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper

LEMON CRUMBS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1. To make the sauce, melt 3 T. butter in a medium-large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Sprinkle on the flour and cook, whisking, for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the clam juice, half and half, and sherry. Bring to a boil, whisking, and cook until the sauce is smooth and thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

2. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a shallow 2 1/2-quart baking dish with butter.

3. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they soften and begin to brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and scallops and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp turn pink, about 5 minutes. Gently stir in the crabmeat and lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the seafood, stir to combine, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Scrape into the prepared baking dish.

4. To make Lemon Crumbs, melt the butter in a medium-skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and toss until barely colored, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley and lemon zest.

5. Sprinkle the crumbs over the seafood mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly and the crumbs are golden.

menu: Trio of Autumn Greens and/or Winter Salad of Oranges, Radishes, and Basil, buttery dinner roles, and Walnut Pie for dessert

from Dishing Up Maine

6-8 servings