Risotto Revisited

     Every Sunday, my squeeze G-mac and I set down on our couch with our ritual stack of cooking books, magazines, and apps, and cruise through to compile our menu for the oncoming week.  Sometimes this task takes fifteen minutes, other times it takes two hours.  I will never deny that I am a picky and finicky planner.  We usually plan out three to four meals--I'm a bartender on Thursday nights at an Irish joint, and usually need food-on-the-go.  This has become immensely easier since I left my full-time day job, as we usually rely on convenient make-ahead options like meatballs, chili, or soup.  But today, my friends, I made risotto.

     I feel it necessary to make this disclaimer first and foremost: as it will be with so many of the foods and recipes I post, this is not original.  In fact, very few things I cook are (yet).  Without seeming like a paid endorser, I'd like to share with you my tips, sources, and ideas.  As an undergrad, the threat of expulsion for plagiarism was very real and made me sensitive to giving credit where credit is due.   I found this recipe in my January issue of Cooking Light: Sausage and Spinach Risotto.

     There are a few things I know about risotto; it takes time and attention, and when executed properly, can be the most creamy and delicious thing you've eaten since the last time you had risotto. 

     I was at a girls' gathering in Fond du Lac, WI last weekend, and for our Saturday night, we all got jazzed up for our dinner plans at a local chophouse.  I am notorious for hemming and hawing my entree selections right up until that anxiety-riddled moment when the server smiles and asks what I'd like to order.  I swapped between three separate choices until finally opting for the seafood risotto--upon his recommendation, no less.

     Unfortunately, when he brought my entree, it was an immediate disappointment.  The scallops and shrimp were seared to perfection.  The asparagus was crisp and flavorful.  And all of this rested atop a cup of short grain rice with some kind of sauce.  Now, I am no food critic.  I am not a trained chef.  I don't even rightly know if I have enough knowledge to form respectable opinions of food.  But, I grew up in an Italian household, and I know proper risotto.  This stuff was simply...I don't know, was it mid-cook?  Under-cooked?  A house-made interpretation or short cut of the real deal?  It was hard and rice-like, rather than the creamy, al dente, pasta-esque glory I've always had.  Luckily, I'd had enough wine and whiskey to just ingest it with minimal complaint to my server.

So, to avenge my appetite, I made this today:

 

 

A tip I've heard, used, and justified, is that it's essential to toast the arborio rice grains prior to saturating them with liquid.  In this case, I also sauteed the sausage, shallots, and garlic prior-to.

 Here's where your patience is evoked, but I promise you that it's worth it.  You de-glaze the pan with white wine (I used white vermouth because it's what we had on-hand) to scrape up the brown bits, then add a cup of reserved stock liquid. 

Stir until absorbed, and repeat the process--one half-cup at a time, stirring constantly and waiting until it's absorbed to add the next half-cup--for as long as it takes, or about a half an hour.  This is where the creaminess of the risotto comes from.

This is what your pot will look like when you add the bag of spinach:

But, keep stirring, young padawan...

...and you will be rewarded.

     My stomach is positively roaring each time I go through and proofread this.  I realize this wasn't exactly a training on proper risotto execution, but those are my tips.  And wherever you go, please, please, please don't settle for anything less delicious than what these photos suggest.  Buon appetito!