April Challenge - Sue Chef's Results

I was excited to see a risotto challenge issued as I love, love cooking risottos. They are not nearly as difficult as people make them out to be, and I lust after the rich, thick pasta-like rice result. So warming to the belly, and just a small serving amount fills you up!

Just a few days before, I enjoyed a wonderful risotta at one of my favorite Savannah restaurants - Garibaldi's - and two Sundays ago I attempted to replicate it at home. Sundays, more often than not, we grill out some steaks, so this seemed like a perfect time to pair a risotto with a good steak.

Here are the ingredients for the risotto - a Parmesan Pea Risotto....

You know the drill.....you gotta saute the onions in the butter, then add the risotto and brown up a bit, then start adding the liquid slowly, and only after the previous addition has been totally absorbed. All risottos need at least a half cup of wine, in my humble opinion.

And......here's the end result! A nice, creamy risotto with a healthy dose of peas and parmesan cheese added at the very end, paired with fresh asparagus (also covered in a little parmesan) and your favorite steak. I'll take this every Sunday night!

Now, on to the second challenge. I found a sparkling shiraz at our local wine store. It was a little expensive ($20) I thought, but couldn't wait to get home and try it. I put it in the frig to chill while I started dinner.

I did this challenge this past Sunday and looky here....steak again. I promise I didn't plan it this way. But, I was craving a black and bleu steak, and thought that a sparkling red would go nicely with this.
The end result? Well, Mr. and Mrs. Chef are not big fans of sparkling shiraz. The texture and pizazz of the wine just aren't for us. In fact, we struggled a bit to drink it through dinner. And, if you know me at all, you know that's a tough admission for me to make. I normally drink wine like it's water! I had high hopes for this one, but I just don't think it was for me. Next time, I'll stick to one of my favorite Cabs.

Can't wait for next month,

Sue

April Risotto and BSD Challenge Results from Olive

For April's challenge I picked a mushroom risotto recipe to attempt. The ingredients are:

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms

3 1/4 cups water

1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken or vegetable broth

2 tbls butter

1 lbs sliced white mushrooms

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

pinch dried thyme

1 tbls olive oil

1 small chopped onion

2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbls chopped fresh parsley

Pour the boiling water over the dried porcini mushrooms and let stand for 30 minutes.

Remove the mushrooms, rinse to remove grit then chop.

Strain mushroom liquid through a sieve lined with a paper towel. (Yes, I do have a sieve).

In a sauce pan heat water, broth and mushroom liquid to a boil then simmer covered.

In a pan melt butter over med heat. Add white mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and thyme.

Cook mushrooms until tender and liquid has evaporated (about 10 min) then stir in porcini and transfer to a bowl.

In the pan heat oil over med heat, add onions and cook for about 5 min.

Add rice and remaining salt and cook, stirring frequently until the rice grains are opaque.

Add wine and cook until all liquid has been absorbed.

Add 1/2 cup simmering broth to rice stirring until absorbed.

Continue adding broth until rice is tender but still firm (about 25 min).

Stir in mushroom mix, Parmesan and parsley and heat through.

I also had the hubby grill up some delicious shrimp and thank goodness because the rice was still a bit crunchy. The hubby liked the flavor and tried it the next day to see if it softened up a bit (it hadn't). I am not a good rice cooker anyway so I did not expect a miracle.

I sent the hubby also to pick up the sparkling wine which took a few phone calls and asking employees for him to find what he was looking for. The wine he picked was kind of sweet but not a desert wine. It was actually really good and I would most likely have him get it again.