Spring Vegetable Risotto

The kitchen is one of my favorite places to be and yesterday was no exception! After a rather peculiar day all I wanted to do when I got home was enjoy a class of wine and get in my kitchen! I've been putting off making risotto since it's been too hot but yesterday the weather was perfect for a bowl of the creamy goodness. Since it's Spring I wanted to use what vegetables were in season and thus came my idea of a Spring Vegetable Risotto. I've made risotto's before and have always really enjoyed them but this recipe really takes the cake! I was thoroughly impressed with my impromptu dinner that I made up on the fly. I even had seconds, and I don't do that often! Eating this while sitting outside on my balcony with a glass of wine was the icing, or should I saw cheese on my risotto! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. 

Steak and Potato "Lollipops" with Horseradish Cream Sauce

I'm always looking for new easy appetizers to have in my recipe back pocket and I've just added a new one! Sometimes you need to have a heartier appetizer to serve if you don't feel like making an entire meal and cocktail meatballs just don't do it for me. I wanted a play on a normal meal and came up with these Steak and Potato "Lollipops" To dress them up a bit I decided to make a horseradish cream sauce to really give this dish an edge. I also like the versatility of this dish because sometimes it's just not feasible to have a hot appetizer and these lollipops are great at room temperature or cold. The horseradish cream sauce is probably my favorite element of this dish. Even my sister, who refused to try it at first, loved it. I could seem the gleam of delight in her eyes after the first bite. 

Grilled Flank Steak

This weekend I expanded my grilling experience to flank steak! It's one of my favorite cuts of beef and I've cooked it for years under the broiler because I was nervous I'd burn it on the grill. Since these are larger cuts of beef I wanted to do a simple marinade since I'd be eating this for a few meals. It turned out really well. Juicy and flavorful and it lends itself nicely to a variety of sauces. It's great as is for dinner or thinly sliced for appetizers and salads.