Friday, November 5, 2010

Mushroom Risotto!

Holiday Grind_Paperback

Big congrats and a woo-hoo! to Cleo Coyle for the release of HOLIDAY GRIND in paperback! A fabulous mystery—and you’ll love the recipes in the back. Pick up extra copies for the holidays! They make great gifts!

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And don't forget to enter Krista Davis's COOKIE CONTEST. [See link on right.]

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You may remember that my husband and I took a trip to Europe this past September. I had a lot of high expectations for this excursion and I can say, without a doubt, that the trip exceeded all my hopes. It really did.

You know how Cleo says "Eat with joy"? Let me tell you, we did. A lot. Oddly enough, neither of us gained weight. I think that had to do with all the walking and stair-climbing we did. But that's a subject for another blog.

We hit several countries, but our last stop was Italy. Can I just take a moment to say the food was spectacular? France wins the bread wars (couldn't get enough baguettes) but Italy wins overall.


When Curt and I compared our top three meals during this entire trip, the one I'm about to talk about hit both our lists (as did another fabulous dinner on the island of Burano). The one I want to talk about today was in the Tuscan hills overlooking Florence.


We had joined a tour group in Italy and although we could have navigated Italy on our own, there's a lot to be said for not having to deal with traffic. But the best part, by far, was zipping to the front of every line at every major attraction, whether it was at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence to see David, or at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, or at the Coliseum in Rome. The line for the Vatican was crazy long.

But I digress.

Back to dinner in Florence.

Our chef, Emile, greeted us in the parking lot and our tour guide, Gianfranco translated. While we sipped wine and chatted amongst ourselves, we admired the gorgeous landscape and heard all about the dinner Emile was about to create. As an added bonus, Emile promised to prepare mushroom risotto while we watched.


Wow. Wow. Absolutely delicious.

When we got home, I decided I'd be brave and attempt making risotto too. Heck, before Emile prepared it, I had no idea that I'd be looking for arborio rice at the grocery store. Nor that it came in a box, rather than a bag like normal rice.

See, this trip provided even more culture than I'd expected!

I didn't take notes while Emile cooked. Why not? Because I wanted to enjoy the experience. And when I cook at home I like to experiment. When I'm baking I measure and I'm careful to follow instructions. When I'm cooking, it's a whole new - and open - ball game. I just play.

Back home I got my hands on a couple of risotto recipes. Taking them, and adding what I learned from watching Emile, I came up with this. It was a huge hit and I can't wait to make it again. This particular variety is completely vegetarian. The recipes I found online were based in chicken stock, but I wanted to use vegetable stock so my veggie daughter could enjoy it, too.

Here's the one thing I'll warn you about... when I was about halfway through making this, I realized how much I do not like the smell of vegetable stock. I was worried that smell would make the risotto taste bad. But my worries were unfounded. By the time I added all the liquid, that weird smell had dissipated and the risotto tasted absolutely great.

One other warning... once you start adding liquid, you'll have to stir it constantly until it's done. There's no walking away to check email while this baby's cooking.

Have I scared you off yet? I hope not. It really isn't difficult, and I found it kinda fun.
Ready for the recipe?
Thanks to a variety of online sources, and our wonderful chef, Emile, here it is ...

MUSHROOM RISOTTO
(vegetarian)

This makes a *lot* of risotto. A whole lot. I made this as a side dish for 6 people and had half of it left over. But, as friends and family will tell you, I always prefer to have more than not enough...

8 cups of vegetable broth (Emile made his own. I cheated and bought it ready-made)
2 glugs of olive oil, give or take, plus more olive oil later
1.25 lbs portobello mushrooms, halved and sliced
1.25 lbs white mushrooms, sliced
3 shallots, diced
2 cups arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)
salt, pepper to taste
Handful of chopped chives
8 - 10 TBSP butter (I used more)
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the vegetarian broth until it's very hot but just short of boiling. Keep it hot the whole time.

Pour the two glugs of olive oil into a very large, deep pan. Heat oil until warm, stir in mushrooms and cook, stirring from time to time, until they're dark and soft and have given off their liquid. This takes a while.

Prepare a skillet by heating one glug of olive oil and adding diced shallots. I used an electric skillet that worked incredibly well. Emile used handheld skillet over a flame. Looked cool, but I'm not nearly as accomplished as he is. The electric skillet was a good choice for me. If you use one you don't have to turn it on much past 200 degrees. Any higher and it all cooks too fast. Keep it low.

Once shallots are softened and the oil is starting to sound hot, add rice and stir quickly to coat them all. As soon as the rice is covered, and turning golden, add wine and stir constantly. Keep stirring until the wine is absorbed. As soon as it is, add a ladle-ful of broth (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup) and stir, again until absorbed. Lots of stirring. Keep stirring. Add more ladles of hot broth, stir, let it be absorbed, repeat, until all the broth is gone.

Turn off the skillet/remove from heat. Add mushrooms and their liquid. Add butter. Add chives. Add parmesan.

Add salt and pepper if needed (ours didn't) and serve.


I wish the pictures had come out better. Trust me, it looks a little funny up there, but on the plate -- and better yet, on the palate -- it's fabulous. Hope you enjoy. This sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn't.

I can't wait to get back to Italy. But in the meantime, I'll have to make do with homemade foods like this one. Tough, huh?

Enjoy!
Julie

Grace Under Pressure, first in the Manor House Mystery series
Buffalo West Wing, coming January, 2011, fourth in the White House Chef Mystery series

12 comments:

  1. Oh, this looks so tasty. And thanks again for the lovely vegetarian-friendly recipes. It's so nice to see! :)

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  2. Mamma mia, this post brings back memories! Thank you for the *virtual* trip to Europe. Oh, all that good food. What a fabulicious holiday. And mushrooms in Florence! Huzzah! Your risotto was keenly inspired. Looking forward to stirring (and stirring and stirring) it up in my kitchen. Great tips on what will make it the best dish ever. :-)

    Finally, thank you from the heart for the shout-out on my new book. You know I'm counting down the days to your new White House Chef mystery, Buffalo West Wing!

    TGIF to our great *new* girl Friday,
    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  3. One of my favorites... and so much fun to flavor with different things. Make it with red wine next time for a different heartier color (sets off the mushroom really well). So worth the extra effort (that's why they make books on CD)

    I do have a question... your least photo looks to have more liquid than I have been taught. Was that the mushroom liquid only, or was that a shot of the dish in progress?

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  4. Stephanie - my pleasure. It's been a learning experience for all of us and I have to admit, we're all eating less meat these days.

    Cleo - "Girl Friday" - I love it! Oh, Europe was so fabulous. When we took off we figured this would probably be the only time we get there, but now we can't wait to go back!

    Dave - I will definitely try with red wine. As a red girl myself, that sounds fabulous. And you're right about the amount of liquid. There was more than I expected, but it tasted wonderful just the same. Oddly enough it didn't seem liquidy when served. I did stir it for a while longer to get some of that absorbed before serving. But just a bit.

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  5. Oh, Julie, yum and triple yum. I adore risotto and portobello mushrooms and your tale about your trip. It just sounds like so much fun and wonder. Thank you for sharing!

    Mushroom risotto, coming up on this weekend's menu!

    ~Avery

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  6. Thanks for the cyber vacation, Julie. I hope you'll share more of your trip!

    I love this recipe, too. I've made mushroom risotto before, but it hasn't turned out just as I would like. Can't wait to try your recipe!

    ~ Krista

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  7. I absolutely LOVE mushrooms. This looks like it would melt in my mouth. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!

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  8. Thank you, Julie! I've been wanting to make real risotto for awhile now; bought the Arborio rice already. I think I might cave in and use chicken or - what the heck - beef broth, just to see how it turns out. As you and Dave both say, it looks like a good recipe to play with, and it definitely looks mouthwatering!

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  9. Yum, Julie. I will most definitely give this one a try. Thanks!

    Paige

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  10. Avery -we both featured mushrooms and trips to exotic locales this week, didn't we? We must be on the same wavelength!

    Krista - this was my first try at making risotto but it won't be my last. I was always nervous, but watching Emile gave me the courage.

    Elizabeth - it will melt in your mouth. And it makes great leftovers!

    Laine - give it a shot, for sure. Let me know how it turns out with whichever broth you choose. Have fun with it.

    Paige - Just make sure you use some FARM FRESH mushrooms! :::grin:::

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  11. What a wonderful post about your trip, Julie! I love the pics and the recipe!!! Firenze is one of my favorite cities!

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  12. Hey Jenn! Thanks, and I can understand why you love Firenze, it was gorgeous. I fell in love with all of Europe. I can't wait to post pictures from Venice and Rome. Stunning!

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