Making risotto tonight & will put it up as another #CookingForLieutenants thread later.
2. Okay, folks, time for #CookingForLieutenants. Tonight I’m trying to de-mystify risotto, that wonderful dish based on Arborio rice. For tonight’s recipe, I used the whole box, because Junior is a tween with a more voracious appetite than Ranger candidates after Mountain Phase. 
3. Ingredients:
1 lb box of Arborio
5 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp EVOO
1/2 a sweet onion, or 1 whole shallot
2 garlic cloves
1/2 to 2/3 cup of grated Parmesan
1 lb box of Arborio
5 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp EVOO
1/2 a sweet onion, or 1 whole shallot
2 garlic cloves
1/2 to 2/3 cup of grated Parmesan
4. So many people think of risotto as a super duper fancy dish, to borrow a recently popular phrase. It can be, but it isn’t. It doesn’t require much in the way of prep, but will require some elbow grease.
5. First, the prep. Mince the garlic cloves, and the onion or shallot. I cut this onion as a brunoise, or 1/8” pieces, but you don’t have to, any small size dice works fine. That’s it.
6. Sauté garlic & onion with the butter & olive oil over medium heat until they begin to soften, & start to turn translucent. Add the Arborio & stir well until every grain has a coating of butter/oil & looks shiny. Reduce heat to medium low & add the wine.
7. Slowly add stock, 1 cup at a time, then stir until it’s been absorbed. Repeat for 20-25 minutes. Or, bribe your 8 year old to do this part for you while watching over her shoulder.
7a. I use Kirkland brand stock from Costco, because it’s good, I don’t have 4-5 hours - much less the energy - to make proper stock on my days off, & it helpfully comes in 1 quart boxes.
8. After about 20-25 minutes of constant adding of stock & stirring, your risotto should have almost quadrupled in volume. By now it’s probably still al dente, so you can either skip to cheese, or add just a touch more stock to get the consistency you want.
8a. This is what mine looked like when it was just past al dente.
9. Add the grated Parmesan. Unless you’re a masochist, just buy the pre-grated stuff at the supermarket. Want to piss off your 8 year old sous chef? Tell her you think there’s enough cheese in the risotto already. She’ll tell you to add twice as much as you already did.
10. Stir. Turn off the stove. You’re done. Or are you? Tonight’s risotto got half a bag of frozen English peas for risi e bisi, and on the side, the turkey meatballs I forgot I made then froze 2 weeks ago.
11. My toughest critics approved of “cheesy rice” with peas.
12. I rewarded myself with an adult beverage. Here endeth the lesson.
Postscript. Junior apparently went to bed hungry, because he had another full bowl after bedtime, & now we’re watching Road to Perdition. Where does all that food go?
