Strawberry Chambord Sauce

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I don't know about you and your area of the world, but boy, have we ever had a BUMPER crop of strawberries this spring due to all of the glorious weekly rains that we have received. So W.D. and I have just been whipping up all sorts of dishes to use these precious red beauties in. Trust me, we don't eat gourmet every day; in fact, we eat more simply on a day to day basis than otherwise.

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I'm married to a simple guy who loves simple things. Don't get me wrong, he loves it when I cook gourmet recipes; but he's just as happy with a simple dish any day. So here's one for you: a simple strawberry sauce to drizzle over just about anything. In this case, the sauce is drizzled over a strawberry layer cake with a cream cheese frosting. Nothing fancy at all, but made fancy by the addition of the strawberry sauce. How easy is that? And how yummy?

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Strawberry Sauce with Chambord

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2 pints fresh strawberries

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup sugar

2 - 4 Tbsps. Chambord (raspberry liquor) or Framboise or raspberry brandy

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Wash, hull, and slice the strawberries.

Process with a food processor or inversion blender (we call it our 'boat motor')

Add the sugar, lemon juice, and liquor.

Blend until smooth.

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The New Horses on the Acreage!

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Hello dear amici,

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Many thanks for all of you who wrote to me with so many comforting words when my Thoroughbred, Ace, died 3 months ago (see post of March 13th). As with all animals, humans need to grieve the loss. This process takes a bit of time as many of you who have lost an animal friend/companion know very well. And so I just slowed down with everything to deal with our loss. No other horse can possibly come close to the awesomeness of Ace's gentleness, riding abilities, and personality. But move on, we must all do at some point.

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So just a week or so ago, my hubbie, W.D. and I were able to find 2 sweet young Peruvians that are known for their smooth ride . . . which the older I get, the more I need to bounce around less!

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Here are a few photos of Spanish Lace, whom we are calling "Lacie". She is a palomino (light yellow body and white mane and tail).

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And here is Caramel Sundae, whom we are calling "Sundae". He is a dark caramel colored male with golden mane and tail. He is quite young and thus very small. We can't ride him yet, but we can work with him on trusting us 'on the ground'.

. .Both of these smaller horses are 'green' and so W.D. and I are just having fun working very slowly on just letting them get to know us and trust us. I have ridden Lacie, but not alone on the acreage yet. She is still pretty new at it.
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We think they are already getting very spoiled with 'the beautiful life', La Bella Vita, just like all the other critters on the place. But we love 'em, and that's what we do famously!

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Well, my fellow bloggin' buddies, I hope that you have a great day wherever you are in the world. I'm off to teach my summer classes, so I can't chat long this morning. Thanks for stopping by!

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Amore',

~ bella

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Rosmarino e' Aglio Bistecca con Risotto Quattro Formaggi (Rosemary & Garlic Steak with Four Cheese Risotto)

. Rosmarino & Aglio Bistecca con Risotto Quatro Formaggi
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Many of you have read in previous posts that my home state is Iowa where I was born and raised. As a result of living in the greatest corn producing state, my family and I had only 'corn-fed' beef, also simply known as Iowa Beef. This is a much heavier, fatter, juicier beef than grass-fed beef.

So tonight for dinner I'll be preparing a few steaks with an Italian inspiration and some decadent, creamy risotto on the side. This recipe for rissotto will blow your diet, so just enjoy! A nice green vegetable, such as asparagus, is great with this.

Rosmarino e Aglio Bistecca (Rosemary and Garlic Steak)

4 1" thick rib eye steaks

7 whole garlic cloves, peeled, and minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
Salt
Black pepper, freshly ground

In a small pan, cook the garlic in the olive oil on a medium-high heat. Cook garlic, with occasional stirs, until garlic is a golden brown. Add the chopped rosemary, stirring a few times, then remove from heat.

Sprinkle the salt and pepper on both sides of the steaks. Grill the steaks to your desired level of doneness. While steaks are cooking, reheat the oil-garlic-rosemary sauce on low.

Serve steaks with the sauce drizzled on top.

Risotta Quattro Formaggi (Rice with Four Cheeses)

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion (yellow or white), finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely minced
3 cups Chicken Stock/Broth (homemade is best, but canned is OK if in a hurry)
8 oz. (1 cup) Arborio rice
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. freshly ground Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 oz. Italian Fontina cheese, freshly grated
3 Tbsp. Asiago cheese, freshly grated
1 oz. Gorgonzola or Provolone cheese, freshly grated
Sea salt, freshly ground
Black pepper, freshly ground
3 Tbsp. Italian parsley, freshly chopped

In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes.

Stir in the rice, cook until the liquid is absorbed into the rice, stirring often.

Add 1 cup of chicken stock/broth, simmer, and stir often until absorbed into the rice. Repeat this one cup of stock/broth, constantly stirring and absorbing liquid into rice before adding the next cup of broth/stock, taking approximately 15 - 20 minutes.

Mix in the butter. Mix in the cheeses and the Italian parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with more chopped Italian parsley.

Serve IMMEDIATELY.
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