Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ounces KOVAL Bourbon Whiskey
• 1 ounce Twisted Alchemy Pomegranate Juice
• 0.5 ounce Twisted Alchemy Lemon Juice
• 3 ounces ginger beer, chilled
• Dried lime wheel or rosemary sprig for garnish

METHOD
Fill a glass with ice. Add bourbon, pomegranate juice, and lemon juice. Top with chilled ginger beer and stir gently. Garnish with a dried lime wheel or rosemary sprig for a bold finish.

This recipe is a perfect fit for our Power Women issue as it is a collaboration between two trailblazers in the beverage industry: KOVAL Distillery, founded by Dr. Sonat Birnecker Hart, is one of the nation’s largest independent, woman-owned craft distilleries; and Twisted Alchemy, led by female founder and CEO Kim Oster Holstein. Cheers to powerful women shaking things up.

For more information, visit twistedalchemy.com and koval-distillery.com.

I once wrote a book about risotto for Rizzoli called Risotto & Beyond, which featured 100 of Chef John Coletta’s recipes for Italian rice. Testing each dish, writing the text for the book, interviewing rice experts in Italy, and photographing there, I learned that Italy grows more than 200 types of rice, making it Europe’s largest rice producer. Americans only consume about 1 percent of the rice Italy exports, so in the States, we rarely go beyond the arborio and carnaroli superfino rices commonly used to make risotto. However, when making this lovely shrimp and pea risotto, you can use arborio, or do as the Italians do, and use Vialone Nano, the semifino Italian rice traditionally favored for seafood risottos (available online at Amazon). To begin this vibrant dish, you’ll make a simple shrimp stock and a purée of peas and lemon zest. These create the creamy risotto, which you will finish with sautéed shrimp, a few extra peas, and more lemon zest. So fresh!

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Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the shrimp stock:

• Shrimp shells and tails from 2 pounds raw, headless 21 to 25-count shrimp. Reserve the raw shrimp to sauté and add to finished risotto
• 1 white or yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the pea purée:

• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the risotto:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small white or yellow onion, finely chopped to make 1/2 cup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/4 cups arborio or Vialone Nano rice
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 to 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (optional)
• Sautéed shrimp (from the 2 pounds you shelled to make the shrimp stock)
• Additional 1/2 cup thawed peas
• Additional zest from 1 fresh lemon

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METHOD

Make shrimp stock: In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine all shrimp stock ingredients with 8 cups water over medium heat. Heat to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard all solids. Rinse the pot and return the strained shrimp stock to the pot. Return to a simmer while you make the pureed peas.

Puree peas: Place peas in food processor with lemon zest, salt, pepper, and olive oil OR place in a bowl and use a stick blender. Pulse to puree into a creamy paste with some chunky bits still visible. Cover and refrigerate.

Make risotto: Place all measured risotto ingredients on a work-surface near your cooktop with the simmering shrimp stock on one burner of the cooktop. Place a heavy sauté pan over medium-low heat on a second burner. Add olive oil and onion to the sauté pan and cook, stirring until onion is soft and translucent (it’s okay to add a tablespoon or two of water to help the onion soften without browning; just be sure the water has evaporated before moving to the next step). Stir in the salt and pepper. Add the raw rice and stir until kernels are well coated. Add wine and stir until wine has completely soaked into the rice. Add 1/2 cup of the shrimp stock to the rice and stir until mostly soaked in. Add another 1/2 cup of stock and stir in again. Repeat this until most of the stock has been soaked into the rice and rice kernels are tender but not mushy, with a creamy consistency (you may have as much as a cup of stock left over). Stir in the cold butter, if using. Turn off heat.

Sauté shrimp: In a second sauté pan over medium-high heat, quickly sauté shrimp in batches in 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Finish dish: Stir pureed pea mixture into risotto. Add the 1/2 cup additional thawed peas and half of the sautéed shrimp. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper. Divide risotto into serving dishes. Top each with remaining sautéed shrimp. Garnish with fresh lemon zest. Serve immediately.

Growing up in Chicago, Chef Gavin Fine enjoyed the summer bounty of sweet corn and homegrown tomatoes. But in mountainous Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Fine and business partner Roger Freedman launched their Fine Dining Restaurant Group, the growing season for tomatoes and sweet corn is short. To make the most of the delicious duo during that brief but glorious time, they created this bright summery dish. First served at Rendezvous Bistro in 2001, Chipotle Corn Pork Chops were a smash hit and have returned to summer menus ever since.

Featuring pork chops grilled with a sweet and spicy chipotle dry rub, the dish is served with a buttery underlay of piquillo pepper-spiked sweet corn and topped with a tomato-mango cabbage slaw.

The slaw, dressed with a chipotle-lime vinaigrette, “wasn’t in the original dish,” says Fine, “but we added it to give the dish lightness and acidity to cut through the creaminess of the sauce and richness of the pork.”

The best way to enjoy it? “Make sure you get a little of each element in each bite,” Fine advises. “It’s what makes the dish come alive!”

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

For the dry rub
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 1/4 cup garlic powder
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 4 teaspoons mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper (ground)
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

For the chops
• 4 bone-in pork chops (your choice of cut)

For the chipotle corn
• 3 ears sweet corn; husks discarded, kernels cut from cobs to make 2 cups
• 1 ounce butter
• 1/4 cup diced piquillo peppers
• Splash of heavy cream
• 2 green onions, chopped fine

For the chipotle butter
• 3 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped canned chipotle peppers
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro leaves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves, minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated garlic
• Dash of lime juice

For the slaw
• 1/2 small head green cabbage, cut into short shreds
• 1 ripe tomato, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, minced
• 1/2 large fresh mango, diced

For the chipotle lime vinaigrette
• 3/4 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 garlic clove, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh cilantro leaves, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Pinch of ground black pepper

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METHOD

Prep chops: Mix all ingredients for dry rub together. Generously rub about 1 tablespoon of mixture onto each side of 4 pork chops. (You will have a lot of rub left over to use for a later recipe). Set chops aside to marinate while you prep the rest of the dish ingredients.

Make chipotle corn: In a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 ounce of butter and add corn and piquillo peppers. Cook to soften. Add a splash of cream; reduce. Set aside.

Make chipotle butter: Using a fork, blend all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Make slaw: Combine all ingredients. Set aside.

Make chipotle lime vinaigrette: Mix all ingredients together. Set aside.

Grill chops: Grill pork chops to doneness.

Plate dish: Stir a small amount of chipotle butter (to taste) and the chopped green onion into the chipotle corn. Reheat as necessary. Divide corn between 4 serving plates. Top each mound of corn with a grilled pork chop. Toss slaw with vinaigrette, then mound a small amount on top of each plated pork chop. Serve immediately.