I'm addicted to cooking RISOTTO.
I've eaten some delicious risotto over the past years, as a main dish, as a pasta course, and as a side dish, but never really had taken the time to learn how to make it at home. It's not as if it's in the category of lamb (which to date I've refused to perfect at home for fear of looking at the menu and thinking, "I make that, and that, and that... I'm not paying $26.95 for 'that' because I made that last week...), but I've simply been under the (false) assumption that since risotto needs to be attended for 25 minutes, it's simply not feasible for someone with 2 kids, a telephone, and various other distractions to stand and stir a single dish to prepare it perfectly.
Finally, after a true craving for risotto I decided to give it a try and began with Mario Batali's (Mushroom Risotto) Risotto al Porcini: Porcini Risotto. Amazing! Delicious! Much easier than I ever imagined.
Next, Mario's Risotto Milanese: Risotto in the Style of Milan. I added small pieces of shrimp to the stock pot and added them a little at a time and then toward the end of the cooking time I added some cooked shrimp and renamed the dish "seafood risotto."
Today I made Batali's Risotto al Vino Rosso: Red Wine Risotto. It was fine, but not as rich as the other two. I used a cheap table wine -- perhaps a good pinot would make a difference?
Next time, I'm going to try this fine Cooking recipe which contends that risotto doesn't need to be monitored so closely as I imagine.
As for a cooking pan, I've been using my 14 inch Calphalon pan which for the most part works well, but at times it seems that there is too much surface area to attend to and to cover with stock. I may try a smaller pan (10") in the future or even a 2.5 q pan to see if it makes a difference.
Ah, the joy of perfecting a recipe.
