Risotto Ai Quattro Formaggi

I don't think I could ever get sick of making and eating risotto. It's so much better when you make it yourself, although on nights when I simply don't have the energy but need to fulfill a craving, I admit to have used an instant box risotto. But even the box kind takes 20 or so minutes to make. So my point here is that you should try one of my homemade risotto dishes, make sure you go see this one: Risotto Con Olive e Peperoni Rossi, it is ridiculously addictive!

Risotto is basically made the same way every time, but there are three main varieties of rice: arborio, carnaroli, and vialone nano. Each one brings a slightly different texture to the dish. Arborio is the best-known and produces a dense risotto that can become too stiff if overcooked. Carnaroli is the most expensive, but I find it at my local Italian food store at a decent price. It yields tender yet firm grains and is ideal for risotto. It is the least likely to overcook.

Perfect risotto is easy to achieve, all you need is a good quality risotto rice, stock, a wide shallow pan, and 20 minutes of constant stirring while the rice cooks. There are NO short cuts here. Good risotto is made in stages. The key is to add hot, flavorful stock - a ladleful at a time - to the rice in the pan, stirring constantly until all liquid had been absorbed and the rice is tender but still firm (al dente).

Side note about why I giggle every time I say or read "al dente." Jim and I were wanting to eat dinner outside one evening, and I honestly can't remember who said it...but instead of suggesting we eat "al fresco" one of us said "al dente." We both still tease one another about the phrase mix up.

Let me show you how I made this Risotto Ai Quattro Formaggi! I'm super excited about this new little (gadget doesn't fit here) "thing" I bought from my new favorite cooking supply store. Faraday's is located in Austin near Lakeway. The staff there is super, very helpful and they stock everything! I was there for a cooking class and found this really cool terra cotta garlic baker.

You start with a large bulb of garlic and remove loose outer leaves. Cut off the top off the bulb so that each clove is open at the top.

Drizzle olive oil over the bulb and dot with butter (I did not add butter). You can also add herbs on top if you like - thyme would be great here.

Top with the terra cotta dome and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Then remove cover and bake additional 45 minutes or until garlic is tender and husks are golden brown. Baste occasionally with olive oil. The house smells SO good when this is cooking.

For the risotto I gathered the following: chicken stock (store bought), carnaroli rice, heavy whipping cream, minced garlic, onion, shallot, roasted garlic, butter, white wine, cheese, flat leave parsley, salt and pepper.

Here is the recipe I used as reference by Ursula Ferrigno:

4 cups vegetable stock

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 1/2 cups risotto rice

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmeson cheese, plus extra for serving

2 oz. gorgonzola cheese, cut into cubes

2 oz fontina cheese, cut into cubes

1 oz taleggio cheese, rind removed and cheese cut into cubes

a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsly chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4

In this picture there is the shallot on the left, on top of that is the Taleggio, Parmesan, roasted garlic and herbed goat cheese.

Melt butter and olive oil in pan over medium heat. I'm using my favorite rachel ray lime green dutch oven.

Add the chopped onion and saute.

Chop up the shallots.

Add to onions in dutch oven.

Okay, lets have a moment of silence for this roasted garlic. Oh la la!

This is SO GOOD! And I'm adding lots of it to the Risotto!

At this point, I add three roasted garlic cloves.

It's now time to add the rice.

Add rice and stir to coat until glistening, about one minute.

Now we add the white wine and stir until all has been absorbed.

This smells so good!

This is what it should look like once the liquid has been absorbed.

On another burner I have the chicken stock in a saucepan simmering over low heat.

Add one ladle of hot stock and simmer, stirring until it has been absorbed. Continue to add the stock at intervals and cook as before, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender but still firm (al dente), about 20 minutes. Reserve the last ladle of stock.

I add a few more cloves of roasted garlic about halfway through the cooking process.

Before I add the final ladle of stock, I pour in 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

Now add all the shredded cheese.

Stir this thick and creamy risotto until all the cheese has melted.

I seasoned with a 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper. The cheese adds plenty of saltiness.

Remove from heat, cover and let rest for 2 minutes.

Spoon into bowls.

For pure elegance, I top my bowl of hot risotto with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Sprinkle with minced parsley.

Come to mama!

I want to also let you know what I did with all the leftovers. Even though I ate this risotto straight for two days I still had about three cups left over. So, when I had the idea to make a broccoli and rice casserole, I used this leftover risotto.

I first cooked broccoli florets in boiling water until tender. Also, I baked a few boneless skinless chicken breast, then diced into bite size pieces. The last thing I did was mix the leftover risotto with the broccoli and chicken pieces. Dumped everything into an oven safe dish and sprinkled panko crumbs on top. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 and voila, broccoli rice and chicken casserole. Jim came home and I told him what was for dinner "Four Cheese Broccoli Rice Chicken Casserole." His response, "You used the leftover risotto didn't you?" Why yes, I'm being resourceful and not wasteful! In this economy we should all be thinking of ways to stretch meals.

What is your best trick for stretching meals?

Mustard Chicken Salad

Every now and then I crave (like crazy) a cold and crunchysalad that is hearty and filling. Sometimes I get such a specific craving, like this day when I wanted THIS Mustard Chicken Salad made my Ina Garten.


Ingredients by Ina:
2 whole (4 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

I used her recipe as my guide and added my own touch here and there. Here is how I made this delicious salad!

I began by rinsing these chicken breasts in water and then patting them dry.

Next I took some leftover bacon and fried it up in a skillet.

Move the bacon over to a paper towel to drain - leave the bacon grease in the pan, we are going to cook the chicken in that very same pan.

Saute chicken on both sides until cooked through.

Super simple, just season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat. Once they are cooked through, move them to a plate to rest while we prepare the dressing.

Start with the mayo.

Add mustard and wine.

Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk together, set aside.

Next, I diced a shallot.

And added the shallots to the pan with the leftover bacon grease and chicken drippings.

Saute over medium heat until soft, then I added minced garlic.

Oh yeah, this is looking really good now.

I added a few tablespoons of wine to deglaze the pan and make a yummy sauce.

Here I'm toasting sesame seeds - this happens quickly so don't walk away from the pan.

The other important part of this salad is the broccoli that I plopped into boiling water, and then just a few minutes later, scoop them out and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

This gives you tender crisp broccoli every time!

In a large mixing bowl, I added two handfuls of baby spinach.

Then topped with the broccoli.

Here is all the goodness from the saute pan - shallots, garlic and wine.

I added half a cup of the dressing to the lovely wine and garlic sauce.

Whisk together to make a beautiful thin mustard dressing.

Pour that over your salad greens and broccoli.

Top with chicken pieces, parmesan slivers, toasted sesame seeds and crumbled bacon.

Isn't this the most photogenic salad you have ever seen?

The mustard dressing recipe by Ina makes a LOT of dressing by the way. It was fabulous though. The chicken and broccoli went so well with the shallots, wine and mustard. Mmmm good!

Delicious Dump Cake

Here is another No Recipe Zone dessert for you. It's so easy!! You need a box of yellow cake mix, any kind of cake mix will do. Grab a can of cherry pie filling, a can of crushed pineapple and a stick of butter.

Dump the can of cherry pie filling in the bottom of your baking dish. Next, dump the crushed pineapple on top, mix around with your finger. Just kidding. If you are serving this to guests, use a proper utensil.

Next dump the box of yellow cake mix on top of the fruit mixture. If you like nuts, sprinkle some on top.

Take a stick of butter and slice it all over the top. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until top is browning.

It's best to let it cool a little before serving. If it's piping hot out of the oven it will ooze all over the place and the fruit filling is hot as hell.

I could literally stand over the stove and eat the topping with a fork. Forget the fruit, I love the buttery crunch of the yellow cake mix on top. Jim and I served this to friends one night and had half a pan left over the next morning. We tossed it. Not because it was bad, but because it is SO good and we didn't need to be standing over the stove eating this dump cake out of the pan with a fork. It's THAT good.