Mushroom Risotto.

I don't know about you, but I love risotto! Now that I am thinking about it, I like a lot of rice dishes: fried rice, paella, Mexican rice, Puerto Rican rice... the list goes on and on!

What are your favorite rice dishes??

Anyways, I was at work and really craving Mushroom Risotto. It was literally all that I could think about as I sat working on payroll. As soon as I got off, I drove over to Whole Foods and picked up some mushrooms, chicken stock, and fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley. I went to work as soon as I walked into the apartment.

I think I was most excited to use my new Le Creuset dutch oven...

I started with melting butter with onion, and garlic. Then added the mushrooms, celery, and a little bit of garlic. Once they were all covered with butter and lightly sauteed, I added the rice, white wine and some saffron. The hardest part of making this dish is having to slowly add the chicken stock over a course of (30) minutes as you are smelling all of the rich flavors.

I topped it off with a little more Parmesan cheese for garnish, freshly chopped parsley, and enjoyed my creation. In my experience with making risotto, it is very temperamental. But having cooked it more than a few times, I think I have gotten better every time. Cooking with my new dutch oven was life changing, I don't know how I didn't have one already!

Simple Risotto.

Last night, before sitting on the couch for two hours to watch the Season Premiere of Grey's Anatomy, I started thinking about what to make for dinner. I hadn't been to the grocery store in a while so I wasn't exactly sure what was in my fridge. This is what I found:

A Carton of Brown Eggs,

One Tomato, One Package of Mushrooms

A Stalk of Celery, A Bunch of Cilantro, A Bag of Green Beans

A Few Mini Sticks Butter, &

Parmesan Cheese

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Not sure what to do other than sautée some veggies and maybe add some eggs...(?) I opted to check the freezer. After pushing around some frozen pizzas, edamame, and frozen yogurt, I found some chicken! Yumm. Okay, things are looking up, I thought.

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I checked one last place, the pantry. The thing I had the most of was rice, and so many kinds at that. I kept eyeing the Arbrorio rice for Risotto but kept looking away because two years go I made some for the first time and Joseph confessed how much he detested risotto (or maybe just mine). Finally, I thought "I have everthing I need to make a delicious risotto, I know Joseph will love it, and if he doesn't, there will just be more for me!"

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I pulled out a Simple Risotto recipe by Giada DeLaurentis and went to work. I thawed the chicken first and then boiled it in water. Next, I sautéed the mushrooms, and then steamed the green beans. Once all the prep work was done (Joseph grated the parmesan cheese, and chopped up a couple of shallots), I was ready to make the risotto. After constantly adding chicken broth to the rice, it was just about done and I added all of the extra components, took it off the burner, and mixed in the parmesan. It looked perfect and was ready to serve!

I think it turned out beautiful and not to mention delicious. I can't forget to mention that Joseph had more than a few serving!