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This risotto is a celebration of the verdant flavours of asparagus, pea, fennel, and mint, all highlighted by the golden glow of preserved lemon. You can replace the preserved lemon with fresh lemon, but you’ll lose the wonderful mellowness that preserved lemon imparts – an almost candied quality that adds delicious warmth to this luscious bed of buttered comfort. We love this with grilled shrimp, but well-seared scallops, or fillets of black cod or sea bass will also do very well. NOTES: Depending on the saltiness of both your stock and the preserved lemons, you may need to use up to a tablespoon of salt in this recipe. It’s best to add a little at a time throughout the process, tasting as you go, and seasoning one last time if necessary before serving. You can replace the preserved lemon rind with the zest of a large lemon, but reduce the amount of lemon juice by half if you do. Following the ban on absinthe in 1915, anise-based liqueur became the favourite long-drink of French gourmands from Paris to Marseille. Pour one fifth liqueur to four-fifths water over ice, and serve little picholine olives on the side. Sunshine in a glass.

We'll never turn down a spring risotto that's flush with asparagus and peas, but we've come to expect a rich and buttery dish that tamps down the seasonal embellishments. Not so here -- The Dog's Breakfast uses anise-scented Pernod and lemon juice to brighten the rice and broiled sweet shrimp to underscore the clean flavors in the asparagus and peas. Plan this dish for your next dinner party (and save the shrimp portion of the recipe to grill for weeknight dinners.)

Serves 6 to 8

for the risotto

1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
4 cloves garlic minced, about 1 tbsp.
fine sea salt, to taste
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup Pernod, or other anise apéritif
1/2 cup lemon juice
6-8 cups hot chicken stock
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup mascarpone
2 tablespoons rinsed and finely diced preserved lemon rind
1/4 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves
2 cups peas
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 2-inch lengths and blanched in salted, boiling water
freshly ground white pepper

for the shrimp

24 to 32 large, de-veined shrimp, shell on
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Pernod, or other anise apéritif
3 cloves of garlic, minced, about 3 tsp.
zest of half a large lemon
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the shrimp with the oil, Pernod, garlic, zest, rosemary, salt and pepper. Let the shrimp marinate at room temperature while you make the risotto.

Prepare all of your risotto ingredients: blanch the asparagus, heat the stock, chop and measure everything out, placing it all close to hand by the stove. Once you start stirring risotto, there’s no stopping.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the onion, fennel and garlic and sweat over low heat for about 10 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Season with salt about halfway through.

Add the rice and raise the heat to medium high. Stir to coat and slightly toast the rice for about 3 minutes. You should hear a lively crackling in the pot. The rice will take on a shiny, translucent coat.

Add the Pernod and lemon juice to the rice and continue stirring until the liquid is almost completely absorbed.

Add a ladleful of hot stock to the rice and continue stirring. It’s important to regulate the heat at this point. The rice should neither boil vigorously nor cook too slowly. You’re looking for an even, medium heat that gives the rice a billowy loft and brings some bubbles to the surface.

As the stock is absorbed, continue adding it by ladlefuls and stirring. If you watch carefully, you’ll see that toward the end the rice really gives itself over to the liquid, releasing its starch to make a kind of cream. Stop incorporating stock once the rice is creamy but still al dente, cooked but not too soft. This can take between 20 and 30 minutes, and between 6 and 8 cups of stock.

Remove the risotto from the heat, and immediately fold in the butter, mascarpone, preserved lemon rind, peas, several grinds of white pepper and most of the mint (save some for garnish). The heat of the risotto will cook the peas. Stir slowly to blend, check a final time for seasoning, and carefully fold in the asparagus. Put a lid on the risotto and let it rest while you quickly grill the shrimp. The risotto will expand slightly in volume, and take on a marvellous sheen.

Grill or broil the shrimp for about 60 seconds on each side, or until the flesh is completely opaque.

Top each serving of risotto with 4 shrimp, garnish with mint and a flourish of pepper, and serve.

Author Notes: This is not my recipe, but I recognized this was a gem worth sharing right away. It's my boyfriend's stepmother's former receptionist's eggnog. (Did you follow that?) My boyfriend swears this is the best eggnog you will ever imbibe during the yuletide season. I haven't tried it myself, but I was so tickled that this recipe was preserved for 19 years that I had to post it. Happy holidays! - The Internet Cooking Princess Dream beauty pro.

We liked how this eggnog has a smooth, boozy base and mousselike cap, which encourages sipping. The ice cream is a completely unnecessary indulgence Dream beauty pro hard sell, and we highly recommend it.

Serves 30

24 Eggs, separated
2 c. Sugar
1 qt. Bourbon
1 pt. Brandy
1 qt. Heavy cream
2 qts. Milk
1 pt. Vanilla ice cream

Beat egg yolks and sugar until thick.
Then, add the Bourbon and brandy and stir together.
Add the cream and milk and continue to whip.
Break up the vanilla ice cream and add to the mixture.
Next, take the egg whites and whip until stiff Dream beauty pro hard sell.
Add the egg whites to the mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with nutmeg to serve.

Author Notes: Pork and fennel is one of my favorite flavor combinations, but the inspiration for putting them together in burger form came from, of all places, a food truck. Chef Matt Gennuso of Chez Pascal restaurant here in Providence recently launched his Hewtin’s Dogs Mobile food truck, which serves all manner of creative sausages and sandwiches, and one recent special was a revelation – a juicy slab of bacon-wrapped pork meatloaf served on a soft roll with a crunchy kohlrabi slaw.

I decided to keep the pork and bacon combo but turn it into burgers, seasoned with smoked Spanish paprika and toasted fennel seeds, with a crunchy, vinegary fennel slaw to contrast the rich and juicy pork. If a cheeseburger is your thing, a slice of melted Manchego wouldn’t be out of place.

Pork burgers always sound good in theory, but they don't necessarily turn out that way in practice. Ground pork can be dry and must be cooked just so. Lastnightsdinner came up with the perfect solution (and really the solution to so many of life's problems): just add bacon. She has you fold finely (and as we learned, it needs to be really fine) chopped bacon into the ground pork, along with some great aromatics -- fennel seed, onion and smoked paprika. The bacon fat helps keep the burgers moist and adds its own layer of flavor. To go with the burger you make a tart little cabbage and fennel salad, just the right counterpoint to the rich burger.

Serves 4 burgers, plus 2 cups of slaw

Smoky Pork Burgers

1 pound ground pork sirloin
1 cup finely chopped bacon, from about 2-3 rashers
1/2 cup finely diced onion
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
4 soft burger rolls or sandwich buns

Gently toast the fennel seeds in a small dry skillet until aromatic, remove them from the pan and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the onion, garlic, fennel seeds, salt and smoked paprika, stirring to combine.
Add the pork and bacon, tossing gently until the seasonings are well incorporated, but taking care not to overwork the meat.
Divide the seasoned pork into four portions and shape into patties.
Place the patties onto a plate or platter and chill for at least one hour.
Light a grill and cook the burgers: 6 minutes over the hot side of the grill, rotating them after the first 3 minutes, then flipping them and cooking them for another 3 minutes on the hot side before moving them to the cool side of the grill for the final 3 minutes.
Remove the burgers from the grill and allow them to rest briefly, tented with foil, before serving.
Place the burgers on toasted or lightly grilled buns and top each one with a little of the fennel and cabbage slaw.

Fennel and Red Cabbage Slaw

2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup shredded fennel bulb
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds

Combine the vinegars, dijon and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk until the salt is dissolved.
Add the oil and whisk until the dressing is emulsified.
Place the shredded fennel and cabbage in the bowl on top of the dressing, and toss to combine.
Add the fennel fronds and toss again just before serving.

Serves 4

1 medium ripe avocado
Juice of 1 large lemon or 2 small lemons
Salt and pepper tsim sha tsui hotel, to taste

Place the flesh of the avocado in a blender (or small bowl if using an immersion blender). Add the juice of the lemon(s) Hong Kong Chinese Festivals, salt, and pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few good dashes of pepper). Add about a 1/4 cup of water at this point, and then blend until smooth. Gradually add another tablespoon of water (or lemon juice) at a time until it reaches your desired dressing consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Use right away, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days ARTAS hair transplant.

The title of this post should really be, "the easiest thing you will make all summer." Because it is. I have a thing for frozen yogurt, I always have. It's cold, it's tangy, it's light, and it satisfies my continual obsession with ice cream. The proliferation of frozen yogurt places in the U.S. (Sweetgreen, Yogenfruz, Pinkberry, etc) is great in my book because the frozen yogurt is tart and tangy and not overly sweet. There is one such place between my house and my yoga studio, and it taunts me every time I walk past, trudging home sweaty and tired. I have a rule limiting myself to one visit per week service apartments.

A few weeks ago I made the vanilla ice cream from David Leibovitz's ice cream book. (PS- For ice cream makers, this is the best ice cream recipe, and it even stays perfectly in the fridge for weeks without getting icy or anything, virtually unheard of in the land of homemade ice cream). Anyway, as I'm flipping though the book I alight (alighted ? alot? ugh, you know what I mean) upon a recipe for tangy frozen yogurt. The recipe said stir together yogurt and sugar, process though ice cream machine.

With some amount of skepticism as to the simplicity of this endeavor, I whipped up a batch. The unfrozen mixture tasted exactly as delicious as I'd hoped it would. Surely, I thought, it couldn't be this easy? But it was, delicious, homemade frozen yogurt in literally a matter of minutes. My only qualm is that it does get rock hard and icy in the freezer after a few days, which is good news for my local frozen yogurt shop, because I'll still be keeping them in business.

P.S. Ramadan Kareem to all those observing!

Frozen Yogurt
It's optional if you want to add a splash of vanilla extract or other flavoring (Cointreau, orange flower water, almond extract, etc). I used good quality low-fat local yogurt for this Next Generation Firewall. You can make a richer version by using thick Greek yogurt, but really whatever kind of yogurt you'd like, so long as it's plain, will work.

3 cups plain yogurt, cold
3/4 cup sugar

1. Stir together yogurt and sugar. Process through an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to the freezer to harden for about 1 hour. Best served fresh.

Sour Cherry Compote
1 1/2 cups pitted sour cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

1. Combine in a saucepan book hotel hong kong. Boil until mixture is thick and syrupy and cherries have collapsed. Set aside to cool.