Prelude to a Risotto

A week or so before Christmas, we had our charming neighbors, Julie and Alex, over for dinner.  Not only were we graced with their presence, but also that of their very adorable and totally cheeky Schapendoes, Rafferty.  At some point during the course of dinner or dessert, Julie asked about my cookbooks, recipes, and how I learned to cook.

Truth be told, I had absolutely no intention of ever learning how to cook....at least not until my mid-twenties.  Prior to that, I subscribed to my own feminist doctrine which went something like this:  "I'm a feminist, not June Cleaver.  I'm going to find a man who will cook for me.  Ta-da!"  Finally, it dawned on me if I was dependent on a man to cook for me, I really wasn't that much of a self-sufficient woman.  Damn!  And that is how the collection of cookbooks rivaling the selection found at our local Barnes & Noble came to reside in our apartment.

Next question.  How many of those beautiful cookbooks do I use?  I hate to admit it, but very few.  I went on to explain to Julie that you don't need to know how to make a ton of recipes....really only a few.  Once you "perfect" some base recipes, it's easy to play off that "mother" recipe and create a symphony of variations.  The alterations can evolve due to seasonality, price, leftovers that need to be used up, or a limited offering in the larder.  My favorite risotto came about because I had leftover roasted acorn squash wedges from Thanksgiving one year.  I scooped out the flesh, added it at the end of cooking, and filed one more variation under "risotto" in the cookbook that only exists in my head .  It's the perfect risotto for a chilly night when there's a cozy fire in the fireplace.

I didn't start making risotto until a couple years ago....so, you can teach a very old dog new tricks.  It's not that I didn't like risotto.  I loved risotto and ordered it often when it was on restaurant menus.  The honest truth as to why I didn't cook it for years was that I was intimidated.  I had heard the horror stories about it being difficult, time consuming, not to mention seeing chef after chef berated on Top Chef for a bad risotto.  If they couldn't do it, surely I couldn't.  Not true.  It's not hard at all.  It just has to be "tended".  In other words,
you can't put it on the stove and go watch an episode of Game of Thrones or even half an episode, for that matter.

The recipe I originally used was changed dramatically when Dan and I embarked on our healthier eating regime.  The butter/fats were reduced tremendously and the white wine was eliminated.  Bottom line?  We can't tell the difference.  From that one base risotto recipe, I have spun it into five additional options;  Mushroom, Roasted Shrimp, Artichoke, Asparagus, and Roasted Acorn Squash.

If you can do the same for a pasta, a curry, etc., you'll find you have tons of options based on only a handful of "mother" recipes.  Tonight I'm making Mushroom Risotto....the same risotto I made when Julie and Alex were over....and tomorrow I'll post the base risotto recipe, mushroom option, and photos.