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Monday, May 18, 2009

balls said the queen


W
hy make a ball when you can make a cube? The sphere is nice, its even, its perfect in so many ways but a cube has character. The only thing that can trump a cube is a pyramid.



Fried risotto cubes with a chipotle pico de gallo. Take that and put it where your fusion sun dont shine. I had left over risotto so the next logical step was to make these tasty appetizers.



I have had fried risotto balls, in fact they might even have their own name (they do they are called arancini de riso) well thank you blog answer guru - anyway they are usually served with a spicy marinara sauce.



The sauce seems like the same sauce you would serve with fried calamari, its good but a chipotle pico de gallo is better.



Easy peasy.

57 comments:

Jenn said...

Cubes are great. Perfect appetizers, too. Better grippage for when you take a bite. Who listens to the queen any how?

KennyT said...

LOL, doggybloggy is as smart as those Italian mamas.

Christo Gonzales said...

jenn: actually the rest of that saying is "balls" said the queen "if I had two I would be king"..but who listens anyway

kennyt: thanks I think -

Marjie said...

There is something to be said for interesting geometric shapes. Bet you thought I'd opine against square foods, right? and I like your saying.

The Diva on a Diet said...

Dude, you're killing me today. The only thing better than risotto is fried risotto. OMG, so good ... and with the pico de gallo?! I swear I'm getting on the train and will be knocking on your door any moment now! ;)

Justin said...

cubes... very cool. i'm impressed.

LK- Healthy Delicious said...

*giggle* you said balls....

these actually looks really good. I loves me some fried food.

Christo Gonzales said...

marjie: I totally thought you were an anti-square-ite but alas I am wrong.

diva: your dyin' ova' der but I'm dyin' ova' he'r

justin: you made me stand a little taller - thanks

healthy: fried and delightful...

Pooja said...

The risotto cubes look appetizing. Perfect snack! Though i would rather prefer round balls this looks great as well!

Ken said...

You rock!
Cubed food. Build it bigger, slice it, and let us have rectangles!

The Duo Dishes said...

A+! No round risotto balls around here. Cubes will do.

Pavithra Elangovan said...

YAh u can make cubes...nice idea and perfect appetizer. Here after I will try to balls as cubes something diff in presentation. I like it recipe is also too good.

Anonymous said...

haha, what a fresh perspective on shapes. these look perfect!

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Fried Risotto balls mmm with chipotle gallo oh forget marinara sauce for now... oh you reminded me of calamari's mmm I bet the sauce would be heavenly with it!!!

Reeni said...

Your squares have balls. Ha. These look freakin' good. I haven't had any real food in days. These hurt.

Cate O'Malley said...

Love the new arancini shapes, and now I am totally craving them. There's a local Italian shop that makes delicious ones, but I've never been adventurous enough to make them myself. Might just have to change that...

Christo Gonzales said...

pooja: round balls it is...

mickyt: slabs would be more ambitious..wow can you imagine slabs of this...

duo: how about square risotto balls?

pacithra: knowing you I bet this will turn into a masterpiece

burp: tired of the same old same old? me too!

ramya: I want to try and 'invent' a new risotto ball...

reeni: witty much? why no eaty?

sweet: fried rice...

Elyse said...

You always do this to me: I'm about to go to bed, perfectly happy with the dinner I've consumed, and then, I look at your blog. All of the sudden, I need these fried risotto "cubes." Man oh man, do they look fabulous. You're trying to make me jealous, I believe, and it's so working!

Anonymous said...

Fried risotto is something that is starting to catch in Japan, but cubes are a novelty!
You could eat them easily with chopsticks!
Great idea!
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles

Donna-FFW said...

what? put balls where the sun don't shine, huh? what? 'K maybe just once.

Have to say LOVE your idea of these risotto squares.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant - love the idea of fried risotto and the idea of cube shapes!

Christo Gonzales said...

elyse: score!

dragon: you could totally eat these easily with chopsticks - good idea

sophie: thanks - these went so fast I wished I had made more risotto

donna: shhh - can you please be discreet....BTW the balls have been transformed...

5 star: a little slant a zing and a whistle and its not the same old arancini

Unknown said...

Once again, you never cease to amaze me. You need to have a school, and let me and Beth come there so you can teach us about all this stuff.

We would listen, I swear we would! We wouldn't be laughing and screwing around, AT ALL!

tavolini said...

Square peg in a round world...

Smart use of leftovers, smart use of shapes, smart use of flavors! I bet those were gone pretty quickly ;)

vanillasugarblog said...

oh cool you did do this. aren't they fabulous? I love these

pigpigscorner said...

I've never tried making ball stuff into cubes, it takes much longer time to shape them into cubes...but it looks great. Something different. Maybe I should make some meatcubes instead of meatballs =P

Jeff said...

Balls roll everywhere but like a dog with no legs you know that cube is going to be where you left it.

Nice addition of the chipotle. I just planted 3 jalapenos last night so hopefully I will be able to let them sit on the vine to red and then get smoked to joyous perfection.

Nicely done!

Christo Gonzales said...

bina: as long as I can keep amazing you I will be happy...

tavolini: thinking inside the box works now and again

dawn: yup your comment got the 'ball' rolling - so to speak

pigpig: meat squares might be interesting - I had a square crab cake offered to me a few days ago...square is the new round...

jeff: home smoked chipotles sound excellent!

Selba said...

Yay! Fried food!

giz said...

Now how long did you have to work on them to make them such perfect cubes. Yowzer - they do look interesting and I like pairing them with a spicy condiment. I liked it when it was mushroom risotto and I like it now. Win/win

Heather S-G said...

Oh man, those are some killer cubes! Add pico, and yup...me likey.

Thistlemoon said...

These look so yummy - and I love the shape! :)

buffalodick said...

Fusion cooking is a wonderful way to show you know how to think and cook something new and tasty! Anyone can learn to duplicate an existing recipe....

Pam said...

Love the cubes. They look creamy on the inside with a bit of crunch outside. Nice!

Jill said...

Cubes are easier to cut. These look great. One of my favorite things about leftover risotto. I have a friend who makes truffled mac and cheese, rolls it in panko and fries them into balls. Fanfuckingtastic!

Unknown said...

My God this is a great dish! I must try this...I have some aborrio rice calling my name

Christo Gonzales said...

selba: hip, hip, hooray

giz: not long at all - I made balls and then squared them off

girli: the pico did its job for sure on these good boys

jennDZ: thanks so much

buff: couldnt have been stated any better...thanks

pam: thats exactly right - and the aroma from the hot cheese and mushrooms too

jill: truffled - that sounds good no matter what follows

christine: its a little on the simple side but thats all I can muster....

Angie's Recipes said...

I have made those cheesy rice balls, instead of using rissoto rice, but those short-grained (Milchreis ), they didn't taste bad, I swear.
Cubes or rounds, that's not the question. As long as they taste good, who really cares "this and that should be".

Thank you for coming over....

Dana Fallentine said...

Love it! My favorite part is the Tiffany turquoise in the background. Smile!

Just telling it like it is said...

I'm a little partical to the cube;)

The Diva on a Diet said...

don't mind me, I'm just experience a bit of lust. so much so that I had to come back and drool all over again. sadly, my husband doesn't like risotto, so I never make it and rarely eat it. woe is me.

LOL

The Blonde Duck said...

How do you make a cube?!?

Christo Gonzales said...

angies: presentation and flavor and hopefully they both hold up to each other - thats the only key

dana: finally someone notices the little things that are not so little really

justtelling: I thought you would have preferred the balls...LOL

diva: go on and make yourself some risotto - you deserve it

TBD: make a lumpy ball and then then flatten it on all six sides...

Hit 40 said...

Fried cubes sounds as dirty as fried balls.

I would like to see the fried square pyramid. Or how about a triangular pyramid!!! I hexagonal fried pyramid might also win an award!!

Sorry went a little math nerdy on you :-( I will get it together.

Admin said...

Actually, cubes are easier to brown evenly than balls, no? They stay in place instead of rolling about in the pan. This is not only practical, but pretty to look at. I think the Italians should rethink the shape of their arancini.

grace said...

fried foods, regardless of shape, are always welcome in my mouth. i do enjoy the unique shape though, and the spicy pico. bravo!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

It's always cool to think outside of the box or cube in this matter. I like how they cubes look, very eclectic. I am going to make this the next time I have leftover risotto.

Christo Gonzales said...

40: lets go back to square balls -

leela: you figured that right out - the are super easy to brown...

grace: fried is the universal vice!

katherine: I cant wait to see what you do...

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

What a delicious appetizer. I bet the chipotle pico de gallo made them quite tasty.

lisaiscooking said...

Now, I need some leftover risotto! The cubes are way better looking than spheres.

Maris said...

Cubes are so much easier than spheres - they cut better and are easier to hold, if they are finger food.

I like the sound of your spicy marinara sauce!

pinknest said...

Perfect. But now, make them in rhombus!

Christina Kim said...

I love love love risotto, and especially leftover risotto turned into little fried balls of goodness!! Love the idea of squares. Very unconventional, very avant garde.

p.s. thanks for visiting my blog :) i am always so thrilled to meet new food bloggers!

Denise said...

Thanks for visiting my blog...Everything tastes better fried..

Tanya Kristine said...

i made grilled tofu cubes. i woudln't recommend it.

Tangled Noodle said...

Another blog mentioned "Italian rice balls" in passing but your incredibly appetizing photos really make an impression (square, natch!) Risotto time!

Jamie said...

Well, one thing for sure, they won't roll off of the plate!

Love the idea and why I never thought of doing fried whatever shapes with my leftover risotto I'll never know! And to serve it with a spicy marinara sauce is fab!

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