No, really, it was perfect!

I'm an avid reader of The Pioneer Woman Cooks! Not only does she never cease to crack me up with her commentary, but her food always looks mouth watering. One day I came across her Perfect Risotto recipe. I thought nothing of it then because I thought risotto would be one of those things I would never even attempt to make. That is, until Lindsey made her lemon risotto with shrimp and peas a few weeks ago and I gave it a try. When I didnt have such great success with that recipe because I didn't like the pecorino romano cheese, I thought back to Pioneer Woman's Perfect Risotto. I rushed to her website/blog and feverishly copied down the ingredients and directions and set out to make up a half batch to have with some steaks my husband and I recently got from Omaha Steaks.

I set out to make this risotto with only parmesan cheese. When I was prepping everything, I decided to grate some of that pecorino romano I still have leftover from my last risotto attempt. In the end, this risotto turned out amazing, and was, in fact, perfect. :)

PIONEER WOMAN'S PERFECT RISOTTO

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Here are the measurements scaled down for about 3 servings:

1/2 Tbsp EVOO

1/2 Tbsp butter (I only had unsalted in the fridge)

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 lb Arborio rice

32 oz. carton of reduced sodium chicken broth

1/4-1/2 cup light cream

1 cup grated cheese (your choice of parmesan, romano and/or asiago)

salt & pepper to taste

chopped chives

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1. Heat oil and butter in skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent.

2. Add arborio rice to pan and stir. Add about 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Reduce heat to low. When broth is absorbed, add another 1/2 cup (I just used a ladle) and stir until absorbed, repeating process until rice is to desired tenderness.

3. Remove pan from heat and stir in the cheese.

4. Add a few splashes of cream and stir.

5. Stir in chopped chives, season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

6. Proceed to make the chocolate chip cookie bars blogged above!

My first risotto...

My friend Lindsey has been making a lot of risottos lately. And of course, being an avid watcher of Hell's Kitchen, I've noticed risotto is a sort of popular dish these days. Who knows if it was popular before Hell's Kitchen - cuz honestly, I've never even heard of it before I started watching the show.

Anyway, Lindsey posted an awesome looking Lemon Risotto with Shrimp and Peas. As soon as I saw it I knew it had to be my first try with risotto. So, I set out to find that special rice in my grocery store. Of course my lame grocery store didn't have it, but I found it at the second store I went to. I came right home and started cooking this dish up.



My personal thought on this dish is that I really loved it before I added the pecorino romano cheese. I think I'm a weirdo who doesn't like cheeses that smell like feet or something. So while I was sort of put off by the final product because of the cheese, I'm definitely going to be trying other variations of risotto in the future.

I don't know if the texture of my risotto was right either as I don't have anything to compare it to. But I'll have to make it a point to try it out - either at Lindsey's place (wink, wink), or out at a restaurant.