Beet Cream with Goat Cheese

I’ve used the combination of beets and goat cheese several times, and I think that it works incredibly well. The color is so vibrant it only makes sense to use it as an appetizer. To brighten up the purée, I added marinated artichoke as a garnish and covered it in crumbled goat cheese as a hint of what’s inside. Just serve it in small shot glasses along with some tasty black sesame crackers, and you’ll have an easy appetizer that still brings the wow factor.

It also goes great alongside the hummus that I published yesterday, so mix and match and have fun!

How to Make Hummus

Hummus is very easy to make, plus it can be prepared in advance. All you need are garbanzo beans, oil, lemon and a few other ingredients. I made a batch today, and after whipping it together, I served the hummus in tiny cups and garnished it with roasted bell peppers and lemon crackers.

If -like us- you host a lot of dinner parties, you might feel a little pressed for fresh appetizer ideas. My criteria for the perfect appetizer, besides being incredibly delicious, is that it doesn’t take an insane amount of time to prepare. I love to cook, but it’s (usually) more fun to spend time with your guests! All you need is a simple recipe, the right ingredients and attractive, small containers to show them off.

Tomato Risotto Recipe

This version of tomato risotto has a decidedly Indian sensibility. I flavored the rice with tomato chutney as I recently did with an Indian-inspired asparagus pie. The flavors from the chutney are so bold that no other spices and very little salt are needed. I just added chopped sun-dried tomatoes as garnish.

Making risotto takes a little bit of practice to begin with, but once you've worked on your fundamentals, you can start to use the basic recipe and create dozens of different variations. I've stuffed artichokes with risotto, paired pistachio pesto with celery risotto, stuffed it in zucchini flowers, made a roasted beet and ricotta cheese version, and also a rather unconventional risotto with bamboo; the list of adaptations is truly endless.

Parmesan Risotto with Wheatberries and Morel Mushrooms

My husband Lulu was craving risotto lately. Unfortunately, risotto can be pretty rich, which doesn’t exactly mesh well with our exercise routine. I don’t think exercising should be a form of punishment, so I took Lulu’s craving as an opportunity to be creative.

After thinking about it, I decided to make mushroom risotto using fresh morels. I chose morels because they are packed with flavor. Instead of using heavy cream and other calorie-packed ingredients, I let the mushrooms provide most of the flavor in the dish. I also added wheatberries to the Arborio rice for texture. Just make sure to soak the wheatberries overnight, so that they aren't too chewy.

Risotto Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Zucchini risotto is another of the many variations of the classic Italian rice dish. To add a little twist, I stuffed the risotto into edible zucchini flowers from our garden. I asked Lulu to plant zucchini in the garden at the beginning of March and I've been patiently waiting for at least 12 zucchini flowers to blossom. Early this morning, my little munchkin and I ran to the garden and found the flowers blooming. They made a beautiful decoration for our dinner meal, and are a wonderful sign of the season. Spring is definitely in bloom.

If zucchini flowers are hard to come by in your area, you could always serve the risotto as is. You’ll miss out on the “oohs” and “aahs” though! By itself zucchini can be bland, so I added some chimichurri sauce and pecorino cheese to enhance the flavor and aroma. This is especially important if you don’t have the flowers on hand. I didn’t want to add nuts (one person in my family is allergic to them), but they would be a welcome addition as well.