9/27 wild mushroom risotto

I think I've always been a person who likes food and flavors. One of the first foods I learned to make for myself (and still a favorite comfort food) was a grilled cheese sandwich. I can remember sprinkling dried oregano on top of my slices of cheese and tomatoes to see how it went - and being thrilled with the results.

But didn't really "start cooking" until about half way through my undergraduate years. Oh sure, I hacked Annies Mac N Cheese (added canned green chilies and beans to the yellow cheddar mac, or tuna, frozen peas, and extra parm to the alfredo). And I had helped my mom in the kitchen for many years before that. But really cooking my own things - trying out new recipes and starting from scratch - wasn't a common occurrence.

One of the first things that I made that really turned me on to the pleasure of cooking was a risotto from Jamie Oliver. Yeah, okay, he's kind of an overgrown man-child, but hey, I like his recipes. Anyway, the risotto had shrimp, peas, and mint. Risotto is special to begin with, since it's a very "transformative" dish (coaxing creaminess from crunchy little grains of rice one cup of stock at a time). Jamie also advises the risotto chef to throw in a couple of tablespoons of butter at the very end, after you've achieved saucy goodness, turning off the heat, and letting the risotto "rest" for a few minutes before serving. Oh, heaven.

I picked up some maitake mushrooms and tomatoes at the farmers market for a wild mushroom risotto - chanterelles came from the Berkeley Bowl. The risotto base" is standard: leaks, garlic, arborrio rice, veg stock. I also stirred in some cream at the very end as my "finishing fat" and topped it off with parsley and parm.