A great way to kick off my food coma blog, a compilation of all my favorite 'tailored' recipes, is to write down the one I just got compliments on from my roommates. Some are borrowed from my favorite restaurants and adapted to my tastebuds, and others are outright stolen. But anyway, here is a good one: My Risotto
1 cup Arborio rice, super fine, highest quality you can find. Not the trader joe's shit.
chicken stock, two cans usually does the trick.
sea salt or kosher salt, both of which in my opinion just taste saltier than table salt.
truffle oil. Once again, get good quality shit.
olive oil, extra virgin, please.
1 sticks sweet cream butter, salted or unsalted, no matter. But Tillamook butter is my fav.
white wine-- very optional. As in, you may rather drink it instead of cook with it. Lord knows I do.
shallots, about half a cup of them, chopped up fine.
1 cup or more Parmesan reggiano cheese,grated, right off the wheel if you can get it.
Ok, first you turn off your cell phone. This dish has to be babysat, so no distractions!
First you melt half the stick of butter in your the cooking pot. Toss one piece of chopped shallot in the butter and if it crackles, then the butter is hot enough-- so throw in the rest of the shallots. Careful with the heat, make sure it's just about medium flame, or below. The highlight of this dish is the white color, so you don't want to brown the shallots, just soften them. Sautee the shallots for a few minutes and add a few table spoons of olive oil in there.
Then, you're going to put the rice in the pot and stir it around in the oil, making sure that it's completely coated. The rice is ready when the grains become slightly translucent, which only takes a minute or two.
Pour in enough chicken stock (and a splash of wine if you like) to cover the rice. Allow this to come to a boil, and the liquid will get saucy and thick and then you're going to add more chicken stock. And then you're going to stand there at the stove like a slave. In fact, you should literally handcuff yourself to the burner. (kidding) Don't cover the risotto, just keep stirring until the liquid boils down and it gets thick again and then add more stock to cover the rice, bring it to a simmer again and then repeat this until the rice is done. Don't argue. Just do as I say, dammit. Stir!
Ok, at some point, taste the risotto. Add more or less salt if you like. Bite into a rice grain, it should be firm and chewy, but not al dente. No bite in this rice.
When the rice is done, the risotto is done. Cook down as much of the liquid as you like, to get the consistency desired. Some people like risotto they can spackle their walls with, I tend to like mine a little saucier. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because either way it tastes great.
Now, take the risotto off the burner and set it on the burner next to it, which is not lit. You're going to add the other half of the butter in there and stir it around so it melts and makes the risotto real creamy. Then you're going to dump in the cheese and do the same. Then-- the final touch-- pour in the truffle oil. Give it a good four count, which is approximately an ounce of oil. Basically you want men standing on a dock somewhere in China to be able to smell the truffle oil wafting off the risotto. :-)
Ok, now put a lid on the pot. Set the dish aside for ten minutes, or for as long as you can stand it, and then serve!
