Most people have a going-away party when they're moving somewhere far away. For Jenn, we're just getting together a lot during her last couple of weeks. Tonight I invited her family over so I could experiment on them. Because I'm like that. And my mom did it to me and my brother when we were children, so now I think it's normal. Thanks, Mom.
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| Note to self: That's an awfully cluttered kitchen counter. |
I set up and prepped a ton of soffrito (onion, carrot and celery), since I needed to stick some in my freezer for future dishes (work hard today so I can be lazy every other day). I prepared myself for this by drinking three espresso shots with some agave syrup and a bit of warmed almond milk. Seeing as how I'm writing about this at 1:14 am, I must still be paying for that.
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| I wanted to do most of this prep while no one was here. |
Then Meg arrived with a gorgeous Hazelnut Cake (from the Silver Spoon for Children cookbook I ordered last month but only used once), which she let me photograph as she sifted powdered sugar onto it.
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| Even prettier than the one in the book |
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| Soffrito |
Jenn arrived not long after, as I was finishing my prep,
then it was time to get everything started.
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| It could've used more olives... |
My mom writes great directions...But let's not pretend that I'm good at paying attention to all of them. I didn't want to put green beans or peas in my risotto because I'm willful, so I put a whole extra zucchini in the saute pan with the recommended coupla tomatoes and a bunch of olives.
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| Not on purpose! |
Then I over-browned the soffrito...just a tiny bit...
It all started coming together (much to my surprise) once I threw in the rice and started adding the chicken stock a tiny bit at a time...
Finally it was time to add in those lovely veggies (and olives) that I sauteed earlier.
And done.
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| That there's my first risotto, you guys |
Thanks to the lovely ladies for sharing this dinner and their family with me. Thanks to Meg for making a gorgeous cake to go with it. And thanks to my mom for teaching me how to cook long distance.
Mom's Basic Risotto Recipe
1 1/2 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
6 cups of good chicken stock, simmering in a separate pot
1/2 cup white wine (optional) Say what?!
1 onion chopped fine Or 1 cup soffrito
1 garlic clove, minced
parmegiano reggiano
salt, pepper to taste
Heat a 12 inch saute pan over medium heat (should have straight sides, but not imperative). When hot, add 2 Tbsp of good olive oil, add garlic and saute until fragrant but not brown (20-30 seconds). Then add the onion (soffrito) and saute gently until the onion is transparent, but not brown. Keep an eye on the heat. Then add the rice and stir quickly until covered in a light coating of oil. You can add a tiny bit more if you need it. Cook the rice for 2-3 minutes on medium, then add the wine. Stir until the wine has evaporate completely. At this point, you are going to start adding the stock. Here's how that goes:
Add about 1/2 a cup of stock to the rice, stirring constantly. When the stock has completely evaporated, add another 1/2 cup and stir until completely evaporated. When you add the stock, the pan should sizzle. If it doesn't, the other stock hasn't evaporated. That's how you'll know if you're doing it at the right time. Continue this way for about 20 minutes, being careful not to let the rice stick to the pan. I set a timer so I can keep track. At this point, taste the rice to see if it's cooked to your liking. If not, keep going. The rice should not be soupy, but it shouldn't be solid either. It should move on the plate. If it's too thick, just add a little more stock until it's the consistency that you want. Don't worry if you have stock left over.
Add the parmegiano, salt and pepper to taste and eat it until your eyes pop out.
Yes, she really put that in the recipe, but only because you really should.
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