Just add Snow Cat.

The falling leaves and cool weather means its time to switch gears to richer, more hearty seasonal ingredients.  Squash, root vegetables and comfy aromatics like sage start to take center stage for us this time of year, and luckily Snow Cat, our new Winter White Ale with Grapefruit Peel and Ginger, complements hearty fall and winter dishes purrrfectly. Snow Cat’s wheat-forward, aromatic and slightly piquant profile makes it an ideal ingredient as well as accompaniment to a hearty, home cooked winter dish. If you’re digging Snow Cat and looking for a great week night kitchen project, trying to impress dinner guests, or collecting recipes for the holidays, give this delicious Butternut Squash Risotto and Pan-seared Chicken Breast recipe—created by the skilled and imaginative Chef Katy Turner from Turner Farm—a spin! 

Chef Katy Turner is a veteran of two branches of the armed forces, the Army Reserves and the Coast Guard. After years of struggling with an eating disorder, Katy began a wellness journey that started with a rigid meal plan her coach had made her, then loosening up the parameters and exploring many different foods.  She ultimately found that what worked best for her was nutritious, delicious, organic, and simple food.  Today Katy’s personal mission is to enhance the lives of those around her by sharing her story while blending her love for cooking, a mission she now shares with our community as the Executive Chef of Turner Farm.

Serves: 8

Prep Time: 15 Min

Cook Time: 25 Min

Ingredients

• 1 cup Snow Cat
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (more as needed)
• 5 tablespoons salted butter
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (I always add a little more)
• ¼ C fresh chopped sage
• 4 c butternut squash
• 1 sweet onion chopped

Instructions

1.Heat your oven to 425 degrees. While preheating, peel your squash (a regular vegetable peeler works perfectly fine). Then cut in half and scoop the seeds out.  Then cube your squash and toss in olive oil and sea salt. Roast your squash for about 6 minutes. It will still be firm, this is just to give it a bit of a roast before you add it to the sauce pan.

2. Warm the broth until steaming (in a separate pot than below).

3. In a separate pot, with enough depth for the rest of the ingredients (rice, squash, etc) heat your olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot).  Add in your chopped onions and cook for about 2 minutes.

4. Then add in your squash and garlic and a few spoons of butter.  Then add in your dried rice. (Always stir, this rice will brown and stick easily. It is not a rice you can walk away from.)

5. Take a cup of your Rhinegeist beer and add to sauce pan. Continue to stir. Add a cup of your chicken stock and stir.  As you add another cup and continue to stir, let the rice absorb that liquid then add another cup and so on.  It will continue to build a creamy texture as you go.

6. Once all of your broth is added, (which takes about 20 minutes to continue adding, absorbing, and stirring), then add your freshly grated parmesan and chopped sage.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Let it sit on the stove for about 5-10 minutes to thicken, turn the stove back on low temp to heat back up, and check on your chicken (see below).

7.  I always garnish with more fresh Parmesan and sage.

8.  For the chicken breasts, salt and pepper each side then brown the breasts in another saucepan with butter and olive oil for a few minutes on each side. When browning, add about ¼ cup of butter and some olive oil to the pan and let it heat up before you add your chicken breasts. Your chicken should look a nice golden brown on each side.  When they are the color you want, finish by roasting them in the oven at about 425 degrees for 12 or so minutes (check the temp of the center of the breast, it should read 165 at a minimum).

9. In that saucepan while the chicken is baking, on medium heat, throw some olive oil, butter, chopped garlic, sage, and a few splashes of the Snow Cat to make a sauce. Bring it to a boil then reduce to low.  When your chicken is finished cooking, filet it, and toss it in that saucepan so it can soak up some of that sauce.

10. Plate your chicken on top of your risotto, and have Snowcat with your meal!