Food: Risotto

I have been meaning to conquer risotto for some time.  I love its creamy texture, the nuttiness of the arborio rice, and how everyone is impressed more if you say "risotto" than if you say "slow-cooked rice."  Plus, it's creamy and delicious and oh, so amazing.

So I went to the interwebs and found me a basic risotto recipe and basically followed it.  With a few alterations.

Here's what I did.

First, I put a quart of chicken broth (Swanson organic) on the back burner to get really warm but not simmering.  Just nice and steaming hot.

Then, I melted about a tbsp of butter in a saucepan with a tablespoon of veggie oil (canola to be exact).  Then I cooked a chopped shallot (medium size) in it until the shallot was almost translucent.

Added rice and stirred until the rice turned translucent except for the center and it smelled nutty and delicious and amazing.

Poured in a half cup of good white wine: Casa Larga Chardonnay to be exact.  I would also recommend Toasted Head Chardonnay (my favorite white wine EVER; the Casa Larga was a Christmas gift and it was just as good).

Stirred and stirred and stirred until the liquid was almost absorbed.

Then I added a ladleful of broth and stirred and stirred and stirred until it was almost absorbed.  Lather, rinse, repeat until the broth is gone.  Don't stop stirring except to add the broth.

I tasted a few times to make sure the rice was absorbing the liquid.  Partially cooked arborio rice is kind of gross.

Once all the broth was gone, I stirred in 3 tbsp of unsalted butter and a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese.  Freshly grated is good, but I use Wegman's brand in the green can because it has the most flavor of any canned Parmesan I've ever tasted.

Then I served.  And ate.  And ate.

I normally have a rule of no seconds, but this risotto was creamy, drowned in butter, subtle-tasting, and amazing.  It punctuated a glass of that Casa Larga very nicely.  So did the roast chicken I made to go with the risotto.  But really?  It was all about the risotto tonight.

YUM.

Sorry no photos... I was busy stuffing my face after all the stirring.