Hello!!! See? I swear I’m alive. I’ve been slightly bogged down since the new year… Birthday, birthday, sick, sick, sick, school, and some other crap thrown in there. Long story, but we’re finally back on track now (I think!). I’m full-time this semester with 5 classes (because apparently that was an AWESOME idea), so it’s taken some adjusting. We’re working on it.

So, let’s see. This is my first post on Garlic & Sapphires. I am really enjoying the book so far. I got really into it quite early and blew through the first 100 pages or so. It’s been sitting on my nightstand waiting to be read for the last week and a half though, not gonna lie (did you see the part about 5 classes? Yeah.). So I’m hoping to get through some more of it sooner rather than later, because I’m really enjoying it. It’s definitely quite different from our last book, but interesting and a completely different point of view.

So the first recipe I came across was Ruth’s cheesecake. Well, no offense to Ruth, but sorry. My cheesecake is awesome. It’s the only one my husband will eat, and I’m not about to mess with what he calls perfection. So that recipe was out, immediately. I kept reading and came across something I’ve been dying to make… risotto. A little backstory on this part of the book- Ruth decided she was going to review Le Cirque restaurant. She went in complete disguise, as the “unknown diner.” The treatment she received from a supposed 4 star restaurant was appalling. Servers were rude, inconsiderate, and treated her like she didn’t exist. And her food was pretty crappy, from the sound of it. Not something I’d want if I was spending $40 on a plate of risotto. She returned later as herself, no disguise, and in a packed restaurant with people waiting forever, she was greeted by the owner, “The King of Spain is waiting at the bar, but your table is ready.” Well, needless to say, this visit was all bells and whistles and the finest of everything. She still took a star away. Good for her. She took a lot of shit for that review and taking away that star, but I love a woman who doesn’t give a shit and tells it like it is.

Anyway, so she talked about her adaptation of Le Cirque’s Lobster Risotto. She mentioned being a lobster snob (as am I) and refusing to do lobster at home where so much of the lobster would go to waste. Now, she also “demands” that you use homemade chicken stock. Well, sorry lady, but a 2 year old does not allow for that kind of time or energy. I bought chicken stock. It tasted fine. If you have the time, go for it. If I had some more time, I might try to do that next time, but for the first attempt, I was happy. She also replaced the rosemary in the dish with saffron. I used rosemary. I had it at home, and it was yummy.

But, for my first attempt, I was pleasantly surprised. I made it last night for dinner, with some shrimp that was sauteed in garlic and olive oil. It was really delicious. Madeline loved it, so that was a plus in my book. Brett ate his reheated and he said it was awesome. Thumbs up for me… he’s my own food critic, and can be a pretty snobby one. I attribute that to the amazing palette he has – he can taste such subtle differences that it’s a pretty awesome gauge when I make a flawless dish. So, here you go -

Risotto Primavera

You need:
1/2 pound asparagus
5-6 cups homemade chicken stock*
1/2 teaspoon saffron strands, crumbled**
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
1 smallish carrot, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup thawed frozen peas
1/2 cup Parmigiano cheese, plus extra for table
salt and pepper to taste

Then you should:
Cut the tips off the asparagus and set them aside. Dice the top half of the stalks (discard the rest) and set the diced asparagus aside.
Bring the stock to a steady simmer in a saucepan. Remove 1/4 cup, add saffron (*I used rosemary, which is fine) and set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion and cook for about 6 minutes, until it’s golden.
Add the carrot and cook for about 5 more minutes, followed by zucchini, diced asparagus and 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 5 minutes more.
Add the rice and stir until it’s completely coated with the oil. Add the wine and cook, stirring until it has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Now slowly add simmering stock to cover the rice and cook, stirring, until it’s evaporated. Repeat this, adding, stirring, evaporating, for about 20 minutes. Then add asparagus tips, peas (I didn’t use them), and the saffron (rosemary) stock and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the rice is soft on the outside and still has a bit of a bite at the center. Add a few more spoonfuls of stock, remove pan from heat, and add the remaining 1 tsp of butter and the cheese.

Serves 4.

Ok, so I didn’t use the peas. Honestly, I forgot they were in the recipe when I was food shopping. Oh well. Like I said, I used rosemary instead of saffron and I used store-bought stock. It was delicious. It was a great consistency and I plan on warming some up for lunch today. It would serve 4 people as a big side dish, kind of like an appetizer size of meal. Brett and I had hearty portions with our shrimp, and Madeline had a mini bit of it. I have enough left for probably 2 sides for us for dinner tonight, if you want to gauge it that way.

So, I hope it’s less than a few weeks until I’m back with more from the book. Fingers crossed!! Happy cooking!