First Try at Risotto

Risotto is one of those delicious dishes that I’ve had many times in restaurants. Some experiences with risotto were downright life changing, and other “lesser” experiences were still tasty and memorable. I started thinking about making risotto about a year ago; but when I began reading recipes, I was a little overwhelmed by what seemed to be described as a Herculean effort of technique.

I was reading The Pioneer Woman’s Blog and came across her recipe for risotto.  I decided it was time to undertake creation of this culinary treasure.  Surprisingly, my first take on this dish went very well.

For the most part, I followed The Pioneer Woman’s recipe.  I made a slight modification.  I re-hydrated some mixed dried wild mushrooms, and I substituted some of the liquid I used to soak the mushrooms for about 1 cup of the recommended stock.  I also chopped the mushrooms and added them in toward the end of cooking – after the cream and cheese.  The mushrooms still had a little more chewiness to them than I liked.  I think next time I will add them in earlier on with the adding of stock- to give them more time to tenderize.  I also got to put my new All-Clad stainless steel sauté and simmer pan– which worked out amazingly during this application.

So, the moral of the story is – have a sense of adventure and try those daunting recipes.  You might just be rewarded with a gourmet meal.