Ok, so I've neglected this site and haven't posted a thing in weeks. It's been a bit hectic in the retail world and my health has been a bit dicey as well. Now that everything has settled down and I've gotten another all-clear I'm playing in the kitchen.
Last night I was craving risotto Milanese. You know, the traditional saffron and parmesean, tart and tangy risotto. My version always had quite a dose of vino bianco and shallots and loads of cheese. Well, I went to the pantry to find Risotto, very little Parmesean and Old Amsterdam aged Gouda(mmmmm) peas, shallots, NO white wine, onion and garlic conserves and lets see, what else, oh, cream cheese. I'll just be exotic and call it Panna della Cucina. There was a little red wine involved too, chef's perogative.
After assembling the basics I got the butter and the finely chopped shallots---2 med sized---in the pan ready for the Arborio rice. In went a cup and a 1/2 and off we went! Stirring constantly, once the rice was a bit clear from the oils I began to add the heated fat-free chicken stock, yes I did really use fat-free. Save the calories when you can. The cheese will more than make up for it! 20 minutes later and all the stock 4 cups was absorbed and I added the cubed Gouda(should have shredded it) incorporated that, added 1/2 cup of shredded parmesean and finally the cream cheese. One small bustina of saffron and a pinch of salt and a pinch of white pepper. MMMMMMMM.
Finally, I realized that there was a bit too much cheese(I used about a cup of the cubed Gouda) but I really didn't mind. The original plan was to add peas, but when I saw the jar of onion and garlic preserves I thought, hmmmm. So as not to ruin an entire weeks worth of Risotto, I divided and added 1/4 cup of the onion mixture to the risotto. The creamy nutty flavor from the Gouda was incredible with the sweet and smoky conserve.
All of this went down really well with a 2004 Chianti from "PALLADIO" It's imported by Leonardo Locascio. Liked it very much. Weird label, since the Palladian "Villa Barbaro" is in the Veneto and nowhere near Tuscany. I'll have to look into that. This would make a great gift for an architect!
Enjoy the pics of my culinary adventure. Tonite I'll add the peas to bowl number one and finish that Chianti! Buon Appetito!
Finally, I realized that there was a bit too much cheese(I used about a cup of the cubed Gouda) but I really didn't mind. The original plan was to add peas, but when I saw the jar of onion and garlic preserves I thought, hmmmm. So as not to ruin an entire weeks worth of Risotto, I divided and added 1/4 cup of the onion mixture to the risotto. The creamy nutty flavor from the Gouda was incredible with the sweet and smoky conserve.
All of this went down really well with a 2004 Chianti from "PALLADIO" It's imported by Leonardo Locascio. Liked it very much. Weird label, since the Palladian "Villa Barbaro" is in the Veneto and nowhere near Tuscany. I'll have to look into that. This would make a great gift for an architect!
