Ahhhh, risotto

#15 on my list is Learn to cook the perfect risotto.  When I made my list I chose to limit my cooking goals to only one, otherwise I would have put 20 different things to cook on there!  Why risotto you ask?  Good question...I love to watch the Food Network.  One dish stood out as the epitome of culinary amazing-ness for chefs and that seemed to me to be risotto.  Risotto is a rice dish, but it is more of a technique. To make it you have to start by sweating the soffrito, that is the onions or garlic.  Then the arborio rice has to be added to the pan.  Next, hot liquid (usually broth) is slowly added in increments until it is absorbed.  This process can take anywhere from 20-45 minutes (based on different recipes I've seen). I thought if I could master this then I could master anything in the kitchen. I have high hopes.

The picture above shows my first attempt.  I bought Anne Burrell's cookbook, "Cook Like a Rock Star".  She has a recipe titled, Chef Anne's Risotto-without-a-recipe.  She gives great step-by-step instructions and I was able to complete it and it tasted good.  Now here's the question...is my first attempt the perfect risotto???  I doubt it.

Now, I AM going to mark this off my list very soon.  I have a Cuisine at Home magazine (Issue 86, April 2011) that has a whole section on risotto.  So my second attempt will be this week...Spring Risotto with prosciutto, asparagus, spinach and peas.  I can hardly wait!  Will it be perfect?  I sure hope so!