Recipe: Seafood Risotto

A few weeks ago a friend and I made some of the best risotto ever! It was so delicious and perfectly cooked. I hate to admit it, but I actually impressed myself! So naturally I want to share how to make the recipe, so that all of you can enjoy! {I never use recipes, so I had to make this one up...} I went to culinary school and loved making risotto dishes.

Here are a few dont's that you should know:

• Don't leave the stove when you are making risotto. This is a dish that loves attention and needs to be constantly stirred.
• Never wash the rice...the starches help to absorb the liquid and keep the finished product very creamy.
• Don't ever use water when cooking risotto, it will result in a tasteless dish. Yuck!

I'll start with a photo first, just to make sure that your taste buds are working!

  

I'm putting a simple recipe for a standard risotto, just so that you can get the feel for how risotto is made! Then, I'll tell you how to prepare the rest of the ingredients and how you can incorporate both. This is going to be so fun for us!!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small white onion finely chopped
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice (Italian short grain rice)
• 1 14.5oz container of chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan OR Gruyere cheese

Preparation:

1. Put the wine and the broth with a sauce pan and heat on low (this will help to speed up the cooking process and help to regulate the cooking temperature.
2. In a dutch-oven, saute the onion and garlic until almost translucent, about 3 minutes on med-high heat.
3. Then add the rice and toast for about 1 minute, just to get a little color on the rice.
4. Add the heated broth/wine to the rice in half cup increments. Constantly stir. The rice will absorb the liquid, before the rice gets to dry add another half cup of broth. Continue until rice is tender.
5. Once the rice is al dente, remove from heat and stir in cheese.

That is a basic risotto! You will love it like this, but the entire point of the post in to learn how to make it taste awesome! So here is the part where you turn into a master chef...sort of. But it will really help to impress those around you.

*I saute the seafood in a brown butter, you don't have to do it the same way...but it sure does taste REALLY good if you do it this way!

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 LB of raw, peeled shrimp (36-40 count)
• 1/2 cup of lobster tail meat
• 6 basil leaves, chiffonade
• 1/2 tablespoon of chopped oregano

Preparation: (Warning, this is very easy!)

• In the brown butter, toss in the shrimp, cook for about 2 minutes, then add lobster, basil and oregano...once the shrimp is perfectly pink the dish saute process is done.

Now add the seafood with the sauce into the prepared risotto, stir gently, then serve! Top with a little salt & pepper and a cute little basil leaf.

Provecho, Enjoy, Apprécier!


As always, please let me know if you make the dish. I'd love to get your feedback on it. :)

 
With love from the Big Little City in Texas,
Laura 

Volunteer Work: Days of Taste

Hello everyone! I wanted to share an event that I volunteered with last week. I hope that I'm able to do this again in the Fall, it really was a blast!!

The Dallas chapter of AIWF (American Institute of Wine & Food) hosts an annual event like no other! Days of Taste is a great example of philanthropic outreach. The week long event held at The Dallas Farmers Market hosts 5 days of culinary education to inner city elementary students. The sponge-like minds of the third and fourth grade students are filled with useful knowledge in all things culinary! They learned how to use their taste buds, how to make a homemade dressing, knife skills, and how to effectively shop at the Farmers Market. They loved it, and so did all of the volunteers!

Chef Brent Ruggles from the Las Colinas County Club on Day #1 talking to the students about salt, sugar, citric acid, and cocoa. They hated the citric acid taste test!

On Day #2 Chef Mark McDaniel was a hit with the kids! He did an excellent job with getting the students involved in the lesson!

A nationwide herb farm supplied herbs for the entire week! The students also sampled edible flowers, the pansies won best taste by the kiddos!

Each volunteer was given a group of 5 students to take shopping and help prepare all of the delicious food. I may be a little biased, but my group was the best! {Look at how tall they are...}

In the end, I love that my new career path allows me to volunteer more and tap into my passion for Philanthropy. It feels good to me to give back to the Culinary Arts community and to be able to teach a younger generation (...makes me feel old!!) how to eat healthy!

XO from the Big Little City in Texas,

Laura