grilled salmon

Dubbed "Patrick's Salmon" by my mother, who always had my brother make the sauce & then grill the salmon, this came from Sunset Magazine in June 1994, before Al Gore invented the internet (kidding!), so I can't link it. But there's my credit where credit is due, and I believe it comes from some restaurant named Pietro's. We love salmon, and probably couldn't eat it this way every single time we eat it, but almost. It's just so dang yummy. And easy. And it has brown sugar, so really, how can you go wrong? That's what I thought. Enjoy!

spring risotto-stuffed artichokes with shrimp

Risotto is one of my great loves. Artichokes are another. If I could marry them, I just might. And they're good anytime of the year, but there's something about spring that makes them taste even yummier (perhaps because they're in season?). Anyway, this is my fav spring risotto, taking advantage of some of the great things about spring, stuffed inside whole artichokes, another great thing about spring. Brace yourself: fall comfort foods will hold nothin' on this.

Not up for stuffing anything? Just buy a jar of artichoke hearts instead of whole artichokes. Add them with the other veggies to the risotto after adding broth - they'll cook up while the water is being added. Cook the shrimp as below, and add it to the risotto at the end of cooking, or serve it up on top.

Oh, and I make risotto dairy-free, just because risotto turns out so stinkin creamy & delicious without the cream so it's a place where I can keep our food nice 'n healthy. That said, cream is one of my other great loves, and so please, always feel free to add a good amount of cream to pretty much anything on this blog. Especially risotto. Just substitute about a 1/2 cup of real cream for the water, near the end of cooking.