What to do for New Year’s Eve? Plans changed a few times, but the final count dwindled down to 5 of us, starting at Paula and Mike Graham’s house in Upper Dublin for cocktails and appetizers. Mike’s very spry 93-year-old mother Jo was back in from Seattle for the holidays and she joined us in the festivities. Paula was able to snag reservations at Gypsy Blu, a place located in a former historic inn that we were now anxious to try.

Mike Graham and his lovely mother Jo in from Seattle for the holidays.

Although new to Ambler in the Spring of 2015 after a series of other restaurants came and went, the force behind Gypsy Blu is not new to the business, not by any stretch. Partners, Kim Strengari and Marianne Gere, are established restauranteurs, with three successful eateries under their belts. Stella Blu (2001), The Gypsy Saloon (2004), and Southern Cross Kitchen (2012) are located just 20 minutes away in Conshohocken, and all three thrive within less than one mile of each other.

Apparently their restaurants are known for culinary twists and engaging atmospheres with eclectic furnishings, a fun bar scene, live music, alfresco dining, a rockin’ happy hour and exciting nightly specials. Brunch is served at two of the three locations—including bottomless bloodys and mimosas! Will have to make it a mission to check out their other haunts.

For New Year’s Eve you could order off of their special menu which touted five appetizers and five entrees, or from their regular “All Day Menu.” So for starters, Russ and I were the only ones who partook of a first course, and we split the very good Blackened Scallops appetizer that was plated with two large, juicy scallops and a generous mound of avocado, tomato and corn salad embellished with a swash of sweet and spicy sauce.

And Paula and I both ordered from the NYE special menu with Paula zeroing in on the Pan Seared Black Chilean Sea Bass with grilled polenta, haricots verts, topped with a mixed tomato and white wine garlic sauce. I chose the Crab Pesto Spaghetti with jumbo lump crab meat, pesto and pine nuts. And while it was good, I expected a lot more lump crab meat and the flavor factor was a little too subtle for me so I asked for some crushed red pepper flakes—three times, before I finally got them.

Mother Jo went simple with a Chopped Cobb Salad, and both guys made a selection also from the “All Day Menu” with Mike opting for the Chicken & Sausage comprised of chicken breast, hot Italian sausage, red sauce, ricotta cheese, mashed potatoes and green beans. While Russ went in a different direction from his usual(s) and got the Salmon in Parchment cooked with tomato, lemon, cilantro, parsley, mint, ginger herb citrus sauce, with sides of jasmine rice and steamed asparagus.

We all enjoyed our leisurely meal and conversation, and since nobody had room for dessert, and the sound level was on the rise as the band was getting under way, it was our queue to vacate for quieter digs…

Our mission for New Year’s Eve was to bring a lo-carb appetizer to our friends Paula and Mike’s to nosh on before we all headed out to dinner. The day before, Russ did a little online detective work and came across this French Onion Stuffed Mushrooms recipe, about the easiest appetizer I’ve ever made, seriously.

Now you could make this a more involved process if you make your own dip, which I’ve been known to do in the past. But sometimes you just need to take the easy road, and you guessed it, this was one of those times. Company can easily pop one in their mouths without any other fan fare—or flatware for that matter.

The shrooms will shrink after the initial baking so keep that in mind when selecting them. And as they cool, they will wick more moisture, you want to eliminate as much as you can before you fill them with dip and cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 lb baby portabella (cremini) mushroom caps
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion dip
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (Dubliner)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Remove the stems from the mushrooms, discard.
3. Drizzle the mushrooms all over with olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Place the mushrooms stem side up directly a rimmed baking sheet and place into the preheated oven for about 10 minutes.
5. Take out of the oven and turn the mushrooms over to drain the liquid that is in the caps. Let cool and mop up any further liquid.
6. Fill each mushroom with onion dip and top with grated cheese. Place the mushrooms back in the oven long enough for the cheese to melt.

Brush the caps all over with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

The caps will be full of moisture, so turn them over (and tilt the tray) so the liquid drains out. Once they cool, mop up any further moisture.

Once cooled, start filling them with French onion dip.

Mound the grated cheese over the dip and put back into the oven until the cheese melts.

Intrigue and ambivalence in equal measure, that was my mind set when I first saw this recipe. Hailing from the Piedmont region in Northern Italy, Paniscia is usually enjoyed during the winter and around the holidays and consists of beans, sausage and vegetables. Beans in risotto? Never heard of such a thing, so you know I just had to try it. It is hypothesized that the name derives from panìgo, a poor variety of millet, with which this dish was cooked, before the spread of rice.

Making this deeply flavored, hearty, cold-weather specialty, is typically a lengthy process of combining a minestrone-like soup with risotto. However, the need to make two separate dishes is eliminated and simplified to make one hearty Red Wine Risotto with Beans (Paniscia). Sautéed pancetta and mirepoix make a strong flavor base to which tomato paste and garlic is added for more savory depth.

In place of the hard-to-find traditional Italian salam d’la duja, use mild Italian-style salami, sautéing it with the Arborio rice before adding red wine and broth. It’s preferable to use a smaller, individually packaged, dry Italian-style salami such as Genoa or soppressata, but unsliced deli salami can be substituted. Near the end of cooking, add chopped cabbage and creamy canned pinto beans. The dish is finished with butter for even more richness, and red wine vinegar to brighten the meaty flavors.

The classic technique for making risotto calls for near-constant stirring for roughly 25 minutes. This accomplishes two things: It maximizes the release of starch from the rice to create a creamy sauce, and it ensures that every grain cooks evenly. Frequent small additions of hot broth are ladled in from a separate saucepan on the stove, which purportedly helps keep the cooking from slowing down.

But this recipe ditches the traditional rules by not bothering to heat the broth before adding it. When room-temperature broth hits the already-hot pot, it quickly comes up to temperature. And stir only occasionally because the rice is cooked in a covered heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-low heat, which distributes the heat as evenly as does stirring, making every grain as tender as the next. A brief stir at the end of cooking followed by a 5-minute rest provides additional insurance that the rice will be perfectly al dente, from the top of the pot to the bottom.

And, although not traditional, incorporating a bit of grated Parmesan adds salty depth. Almost stew- or chili-like in consistency, this dish offers lots of taste with very little meat. After eating a bowl, I was no longer ambivalent, in fact, we are now both converts of Paniscia!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces pancetta, chopped fine
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, chopped fine
• 1 celery rib, chopped fine
• Salt and pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
• 6 ounces salami, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 small head green cabbage, halved, cored, and cut into ½-inch pieces (4 cups)
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 cup hot tap water, plus extra as needed
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup), plus extra for serving
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
   
2. Add onion, carrot, celery, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
   
3. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add rice and salami and cook, stirring frequently, until rice grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes.
   
4. Stir in tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes.
   
   
5. Stir in broth, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through simmering.
   
6. Stir in cabbage and continue to cook, covered, until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 6 to 9 minutes longer. (I had to cook an additional 4 minutes here.)
   
   
7. Add beans and hot water and stir gently and constantly until risotto is creamy, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and butter.
   
   
8. If desired, add up to 1 cup extra hot water to create fluid, pourable consistency. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately, passing extra Parmesan separately.

Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated test kitchen