Risotto "all’onda" with Sautéed Mushrooms, Spinach and Garlic Shrimp

One of Himself's favorite dinners is risotto. It doesn't really matter what we are having along with the risotto, he just wants risotto. So the rules to the risotto game are "you keep my wine glass full while I stand here and stir, and I'll make your risotto." Works for me anyway!

So, Sunday night was risotto night. Part of the afternoon was spent making homemade chicken broth which made the house smell delicious and the other part was trying to figure out what to make to go with the risotto. I finally decided that the "go with" would be sautéed mushrooms and fresh spinach and garlic sautéed shrimp.

Now, I don't really go by a recipe. I just make sure that there is enough chicken broth on hand (sually 5+ cups) and enough wine (1 white and 2 reds) to make the risotto with and to drink while I'm stirring. I finely chop 1-2 stalks of celery, about 4 large cloves of garlic and about a ½ to 1 cup of red onion. It depends on if I'm making a 1 cup or 2 cup batch of risotto.

I sauté the veg in olive oil until tender and then add in the risotto and stir to coat with oil. After cooking the risotto for a couple of minutes, I add in at least a cup of dry white wine, reducing for a few minutes before I start the long 20-25 minute process of ladling in the chicken broth.

Now, we like our risotto with a little texture and it has to be "all’onda" or wet-style. I don't want it to hold its shape when I put in on my plate—it should cover the plate. To achieve this, I usually add in a little extra broth or wine or both at the end, at least an entire stick of butter and about 2 cups of parmesan cheese grated on the micro plane. I cover it and let it sit for at least 5-10 minutes before serving.

In the meantime, I sautéed the mushrooms until caramelized, flamed them with a little Jameson Irish Whiskey for good measure and the fun of setting something on fire, added in fresh baby spinach and sautéed until tender. I had previously marinated the shrimp in olive oil, lots of chopped fresh garlic and parsley, salt and pepper. The shrimp was sautéed separately in olive oil with a touch of white wine at the end.

We served the risotto in bowls and topped with our condiments. It was really, really good if I do say so myself—and I do.

Risotto is not hard to make, long process sort of, but once you have made it and you have the formula you will never need a recipe again.

Non Food Related Post Script: It actually snowed last night. Yes, here in Central Texas before February! Our high temp on Tuesday was a record setting 81 degrees and before I could get home by 7:00 p.m. it was 33 with a wind chill in the 20's and a killer north wind of at times 30-40 mph. Anyway, like every little kid in town, I ran to the door in my pj's and yelled "It's snowing" and quickly grabbed the camera to document it. It's not a lot of snow--I know, but it was something. Enjoy.

Yummy, Crunchy Goodness - Corn Pudding Sticks!

From Food & Wine Oh!

I've had blogging block lately and haven't posted since early November, but I did manage to take pics of some of our creations.

What to do, what to do with all of the Thanksgiving leftovers...fried...you just can't go wrong.

After eating all of the leftover corn pudding we could stomach we still had half a casserole left and we didn't want to waste it. Since most everyone has their favorite corn pudding/casserole recipe and I won't add another one to the internet. I sliced our cold leftover corn pudding into 1 inch thick rectangles and set up my breading station--flour, egg and seasoned breadcrumbs. The result was a crunchy corn pudding stick--sort of like a mozzarella stick. They were great.