I’ve never been a big football fan, but for some strange reason, I’ve really gotten into it the past few weeks. And who have I been rooting for? None other than the Baltimore Ravens. Unfortunately, they lost their playoff game this past Saturday, which means I don’t really care about watching the Super Bowl for the game itself, but I’ll be tuned in to the commercials and eating good food during the game. Enter this dip for game time diversion.


Everyone loves seven-layer dip, but it usually involves ground beef, which I am obviously not cool with. And I’m kind of over meat substitutes (Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, I’m looking at you), so I just left out the seventh layer and made this a six-layer dip. Blasphemy, I know, but it’s tasty, I swear, and you’ll never miss that seventh layer.

Yep, I’m obsessed with asparagus. This time I paired it with another springtime treat, morel mushrooms, and put the mixture on top of a simple risotto – it was a last minute lazy Sunday supper whose flavor belied its simplicity.

I love mushrooms of all kinds, and morels are no exception. They’re available fresh for a short time each spring, and their rarity and elusiveness means, unfortunately, that they’re pricey (the bf was shocked at how much I shelled out for a small container of them). They’re available dried year-round, but there’s nothing like a fresh morel sautéed in butter – the flavor is earthy and rich and the texture is slightly chewy but not quite as spongy as other mushrooms. Make sure you cook them, though, because morels are toxic when raw, and the toxin is broken down by heat.

When my mom visits me (which she is currently doing), I love to cook meals for her that she would normally never make for herself. Being that it is supposedly spring (it was 50 degrees in Baltimore on Thursday despite the fact that it was 75 degrees on Tuesday…what is going on???), I decided to make a spring risotto.

I had bought a few pounds of asparagus a few days ago in a fit of spring fever, so some of it was definitely going into the risotto. (I bought way more asparagus than I needed for the meal I made a few days ago…sometimes I get carried away.) To further springify the risotto, I added a few things that I always have on hand but are springy nonetheless: peas, parsley, and lemon. Oh, and sauvignon blanc. There’s always New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in my fridge; I have a slight (read: major) obsession with it.

I made this rice to go with the enchiladas I made the other night. I used to just make plain rice with enchiladas, but this is way better and is what is always served with enchiladas now.

I'm not really sure where the inspiration for this came from; all I know is that the words coconut and coriander popped into my head when I was thinking about what to add to the rice that was going along with the rest of this tropical-ish dinner, so I decided to run with it. It worked out perfectly: the coconut milk lent a silky quality and subtle perfume and flavor of coconut to the rice, and the coriander was just the right foil - smoky and earthy - to the sweetness of the coconut.