Home Cooking Dish of the Month (February 2013) - Voting

[L.Nightshade]

Welcome to the voting thread for the February 2013 Dish of the Month. There are four contenders that received four or more nominations. If you'd like to view the nomination thread, click here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/887029

Please vote for only one of these four dishes, and type your vote in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. I've included chicken wings because of the number of nominations, but it doesn't yet quite fit the criteria of a dish, wings being an ingredient without a specified method. If you are voting for chicken wings, please say something about how they are prepared. The four dishes from which to choose, in alphabetical order, are:

1. CHICKEN WINGS (include a brief word about how they are prepared)
2. MACARONI AND CHEESE
3. RED MEAT STEW
4. RISOTTO

Voting will remain open until January 31st at 8pm Pacific time, 11pm Eastern time, and 3am February 1st GMT. The reporting thread will be posted on February 1st.

[L.Nightshade]

The reporting thread for February is now up here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/888780

[L.Nightshade]

Voting is now CLOSED for the February 2013 Dish of the Month! Thanks to everyone for your enthusiastic participation. The reporting thread will be up by tomorrow.

[DuchessNukem]

RED MEAT STEW

goat

no, lamb

but -- goat!

tasty lamb!

lamb baaaaddd, goat faaabb

bison?

(Am I allowed back in lol? I campaigned for savory pancakes and then disappeared! but the holidays were so crazy!)

:)

[L.Nightshade]

Of course you're back in! Life interrupts cooking all the time, doesn't it? You can always go back and report on savory pancakes if you're ever so inclined.

[L.Nightshade]

Just a reminder that voting closes tonight at 8pm Pacific time. If you're watching and sitting on the fence, now is the time to decide!

[dkennedy]

Looking forward to hearing the results. They all sound good to me.

[piccola]

Put me down for RISOTTO.

[oakjoan]

Chicken Wings.

[LiveRock]

RED MEAT STEW please!

[JamesBend]

RISOTTO!

[LJS]

CHICKEN WINGS-slow cooker method (that is what I would describe, but I am anxious to know other methods and variations that aren't Buffalo-style)

[Berheenia]

RED MEAT STEW

[lilham]

RISOTTO - it's one of the few things my toddler actually eats. And it's perfect for hiding veg and meat. (She only likes carbs).

[biondanonima]

RED MEAT STEW

[Snorkelvik]

RISOTTO

[ludmilasdaughter]

RED MEAT STEW, but all of the nominees sound lovely.

[Frizzle]

RISOTTO
I had good intentions to join in for pot pies but didn't manage too. Risotto is one I can I know I will participate in.

[alliegator]

CHICKEN WINGS
And like breadcrumbs, I'll go for spicy. Baked, fried, whatever, but with any sort of marinade or sauce that has some zing.

[eperdu]

MACARONI AND CHEESE

I'm dying to do the modernist cuisine version with sodium citrate. It'll be a good excuse to buy the sodium citrate. I am keen to also try the technique with my own recipe which always splits on reheating it. I'm thinking perhaps the addition of the sodium citrate will bind it together. It's a theory anyway ...

[angelsmom]

RISOTTO. Please

[Cynsa]

RISOTTO

[Musie]

CHICKEN WINGS BAKED

[rasputina]

Does red meat stew include lamb? Or are we strictly talking beef?

[jpr54_1]

bison?, goat?

[L.Nightshade]

Red meat stew was a compromise between *all* stews, and beef stew. So, if the meat is red, it's in. I'm not sure where that leaves pork, however, the "other white meat."

[pikawicca]

I think you have to count pork as a red meat.

[L.Nightshade]

Maybe I should have just said "mammal stew."

[mariacarmen]

ahahaha - so whale is in too....

RISOTTO.

[Nightsinge]

RED MEAT STEW!

[shallots]

RED MEAT STEW

[blue room]

I'm gonna vote for RED MEAT STEW, by which I simply mean beef cut into small uniform pieces and cooked in liquid. The other ingredients are whatever gozinta your beef stew -- very liberating and inspiring, yes?
I've never made wings, except as part of a whole (chicken),
and I've only made risotto as far as rice pudding is risotto!
So I might have to s-t-r-e-t-c-h this month.
Thank you, L.Nightshade.

[HillJ]

rice pudding is risotto? i learn something new every day on CH. first time I've ever heard that, br. i suppose it depends on the rice you use and how cooked down you make the liquid. my risotto and my rice pudding are not the same in the least. that's going to be on my bucket list to try..risotto styled rice pudding.

[blue room]

HillJ, I wrote

"I've only made risotto as far as rice pudding is risotto"

maybe I've never made risotto.

[HillJ]

ha! I'm not really happy with my own rice pudding or risotto...still figuring out the consistency I like on both.

[blue room]

I really thought risotto (never made it) was pretty much rice pudding cooked in meat/vegetable stock instead of milk & sugar. If it's chosen this month I'll be getting an education.

I hope those of us who rely (heavily!) on rice cookers will not be shamed...

[juliejulez]

blue room, I am a pretty newbie cook and I've made risotto pretty successfully a few times (not the best I've had but certainly not a failure), it's not as hard as people make it out to be. You just have to stand there and watch it and stir it all the time, I think that's why people say it's hard... it's definitely not a "walk away" type of dish.

There's also some recipes floating around for baked risotto, which intrigues me.

[blue room]

Hmm .. must research this stirring subject :)

[HillJ]

I don't consider the dish difficult but it does seem to require sufficient practice to nail it just so. I'm looking forward to learning more if risotto is chosen for Feb.

I've ordered rice pudding that was creamy but lacking flavor and some where the rice was too toothy or overly sweet. And risotto that tasted like wallpaper paste touted by the chef....so even in restaurants there's room for improvement.

[mariacarmen]

"stirring subject" haha funny!

jj is right. it's not difficult, you just have to be attentive, and have everything ready - your mise en place - at your side.

[pikawicca]

Managed to make it for dinner last night. If I can do this with a broken foot, seated in a power chair, I think just about anyone posting here can pull it off.

[blue room]

I was wondering how you're doing! It's good that the power chair allows you to be up high enough to stir a pot on the stove.

As long as the rice is cooked -- absorbed the right amount of liquid -- I'm more interested in the flavor than the texture of the surrounding. It can be cream, broth, gravy, butter -- but not gluey! It seems like *not* stirring would avoid the glue...
I just don't get the constant/semi-constant stirring.

[L.Nightshade]

I think that it's the stirring, and the slow addition of hot liquid, that changes the consistency, and makes it so creamy. That texture being part of what distinguishes risotto from just rice.

Love your "stirring subject" comment. You always make me laugh!

[pikawicca]

Properly made risotto is silky, never gluey. I've made decent risotto in the pressure cooker, but I actually enjoy the process of making it in the traditional manner. I don't stir constantly, but I do make sure that my stock is hot (not simmering), and that I'm not cooking the risotto at too high a temperature (fiercely bubbling). Little things add up when making risotto.

Was once served risotto at a (now defunct) Italian restaurant. I stuck my fork in, tried to remove a forkful, but the entire contents of the bowl came out, all glued together. Tried, without success, to explain to the server why this was not good. He claimed that " no one else has ever complained."

[L.Nightshade]

I was thinking exactly what you said. I enjoy the process of making risotto, it can be rather contemplative. Plus, every time I make it, it seems to require a slightly different amount of liquid to reach the perfect texture, depending upon the rice and the other ingredients. Adding a ladleful at a time allows me to be certain of that texture.

Gad, your dish at the restaurant sounds horrid! The people who hadn't complained must never have eaten risotto before!

[mariacarmen]

agree - i like the stirring part, and i like that it's like something live, organic - it "drinks" as much as it needs.

[blue room]

"...to reach the perfect texture..."
"...must never have eaten risotto before!"

Exactly my problem, I don't know how it's supposed to be.
But if I make some, either this coming month or soon, I'll form an opinion. "Silky" is flan, egg custard, to me. I can't think of hot rice being like that -- at least not yet.
One good thing -- rice is less expensive than beef!

[L.Nightshade]

Aw, we'll fix you right up, blue room, whether or not risotto is selected this month. You attack much more difficult dishes!

And... there are several risotto recipes in February's COTM. One way or another, we'll get you making, and loving, risotto. I'm sure of it!

[mariacarmen]

impressive!
sorry about your foot...

[pikawicca]

Thanks, this too shall pass. Just wish I could continue with my exploration of the Bouchon Bakery book. I was making some mighty fine loaves, but the process is beyond me at present. I'm determined to make the Barley and Marinated Feta from Jerusalem this week, come hell or high water.

[Cynsa]

here's another: risotto in the pressure cooker
http://www.food.com/recipe/basic-riso...

[eperdu]

I've made rissotto traditionally, in the pressure cooker, in the rice cooker and in the microwave. For the most part, they all come out similar. It really is the rice that matters more (to me) than whether you dump all the liquid in at once or add it in gradually.

[herby]

RISOTTO

[jpr54_1]

BBQ CHICKEN WINGS

[jpr54_1]

CanI change my vote to RED MEAT STEW?

[L.Nightshade]

Done, jpr!

[HillJ]

RISOTTO.

I appreciate the time and energy that went into discussing narrowing down stew but in the end my vote is swinging to risotto because I look forward to improving my own skills and learning about new recipes.

[L.Nightshade]

The discussion is never wasted though. I think it helps refine what we are doing in the DOTM.

[HillJ]

LN and others will risotto if voted on include arancini and other uses for leftover risotto?

[L.Nightshade]

I don't think they really fit the risotto theme, but if you came back the day after you made risotto, and wrote an addendum to your risotto post ("BTW, here's what I did with the leftovers of this dish..."), I'm sure people would be delighted to read about it.

[HillJ]

Okay, I'm glad I asked because the only time I make arancini is when I have leftover risotto. Your suggestion for "btw" is a good piggyback.

[Breadcrumbs]

CHICKEN WINGS

- not sure if you want the word or two about how they are prepared here LN but jic, I tend to like mine spicy - eg. Buffalo style, chili-lime, Pat's Spicy - a FN recipe, spicy Asian, spicy garlic..

[L.Nightshade]

Thanks Breadcrumbs. And yes, I would like to see a word about preparation here, in hopes of making chicken wings fit our dish definition of ingredient + method. (In case you can't tell, you're speaking to a non-wing-eater!)

[L.Nightshade]

RISOTTO - I'm going with risotto too, but I'd love to do mac and cheese some time. For me right now, stew seems a bit too similar to pot pies.

[juliejulez]

Yeah I felt obligated to vote for stew since I'm the first one who nominated it, and I have 3lbs of beef stew meat sitting in my freezer :) But I love the idea of mac n cheese. Risotto sounds good too, I have a bunch of risotto recipes saved to make sometime. So many great nominations this month!

[L.Nightshade]

Never feel obligated! A lot of people change their minds when new suggestions pop up. But don't worry, there are endless months to come.

[pikawicca]

RISOTTO

[juliejulez]

RED MEAT STEW