risotto

eating habits have been changed in the past few weeks. my best eating/dining/drinking partner has been on lockdown with a bunch of adorable bald headed kids. so the food is made here, taken there, eaten off paper plates and treasured- as an event of bringing us together with something to do in a very sterile, boring place. the act of eating is a main event, something we look forward to all day, time to be together.

after a week of working hard and not having all that much time or energy for cooking (the worst predicament to find myself in.. cooking gives me joy: quiet time to think, a sense of creation and artistry, results that nourish the special folks that get to share the chow down and community in the gathering) i made the time to cook dinner, with fair warning to those counting on me that it would be a minute. i wanted it to be a minute. i wanted to get to cook for a WHILE. and i wanted to be stirring something on a hot stove. something that would need my attention, keep me cooking... what better dinner than risotto?

not gonna lay this out in recipe format, cause we are talking cooking, not baking, and it isn't a step by step process. it is more prose, the journey, so that is how this will look:

i started with my huge, industrial, thick bottomed frying pan. heated oil and butter in the pan, till warm, then stirred in the dry arborrio rice. roasted the rice in the fats. (stirring). the fat gets sucked up by the rice, so there's some pan stickage- poured in white wine to bloom the rice and to take care of the pan. this gives the rice amazing flavor and you don't have a sticky mess of a pan when you're done. (the really fun part of making food in a pan that requires "deglazing" is that you can enjoy the rest of the bottle while you are making your feast, or use wine that is maybe a few days old and not great for drinking- but would still provide the alcohol and flavor for the dish). once that liquid was all soaked up, added a bunch of stock. at this point, i got a change of scenery, letting the arborrio do its job of being the biggest sponge in action- over low heat.

my change of scenery involved laying bacon on a sheet pan and baking it in the oven. this is my preferred way of cooking bacon, as it is relatively clean, the bacon gets crispy without getting burned, and there isn't so much popping and spitting of hot bacon fat. i have ruined too many shirts standing near a pan of bacon frying on stovetop. with the bacon in, i started chopping. i went for a somewhat spring vegetable medley. couple cloves of garlic, couple shallots, lots of leeks, a sweet onion, green peas, zucchini and some baby bellas.

in my smaller, industrial, thick bottomed fry pan, i started the onion family in some olive oil. and back to the risotto for another stir. things get thick. i taste at this point, although the rice is usually still hard- just to give me a gauge- and cause it already starts to look done, and sure smells amazing, making a girl hungry! once the liquid is mostly gone, it's time to repeat the stock event. fill er up to let the risotto soak it all in. tossed my onions around over medium heat- just till a little soft, then added those other veggies. careful to cook them to complement the texture of the dish. wanted things to still have a bit of crunch to make things interesting. nothing more depressing that getting bored with your big old bowl of risotto.

the risotto stock thing happens once more, the rice was al dente: firm, cooked, delish. i know when, i tasted it all along.. the risotto was sticky and so good. here, some people could probably add cream, some cheese, some truffle oil- whatever to make it more rich- this rice was holding the tiny hand of some delicate spring veggies, so i left good enough alone after seasoning with s&p, of course. half went into a bowl for transport, half was spread on a sheet tray for quick cooling (and thoughts of risotto cakes for tomorrow).

bacon's done. cooled- nice and crisp. tucker got some for being such a good dog and for sharing my love of bacon, and the rest is chopped. i layered the veggies and bacon and some basil in the bowl. once at the miracle fortress, scooped up a nice mound for each of us, served with grated parmesan, and a big hunk of shadeau's ciabatta.

comfort food at its finest.

the next day's meal- balls of risotto rolled in panko breadcrumbs, fried, topped with a tomato sauce.