Wild Mushroom Risotto

For my birthday my mom got me this book, "homemade" by Clodagh McKenna. It's full of great entertaining and decorating ideas as well as recipes. And the photos are so beautiful and inspirational. I highly recommend this book!

So far I have made 2 recipes from it. Today I will talk about one and tomorrow the other.

Yesterday for dinner I tried my hand at mushroom risotto for the very first time! And I think it came out quite well. Adam wasn't fond of the taste - I think it was too starchy for him. But I was proud of it - maybe because of all stirring that goes into making the dish.

Here's the recipe from homemade:

scant 1/2 cup (just over 3/4 stick) butter

1 onion, very finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped, divided

1 1/2 cups aborio rice

1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons dry white wine

4 cups hot vegetable stock (I made mine - recipe to follow)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

9 oz mixed wild mushrooms (I only used a 4 oz mix prepackaged and sliced in produce aisle)

sea salt and pepper

sprig of fresh sage, finely chopped (I omitted)

2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Melt 2/3 stick butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion and 1 chopped garlic clove, and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until softened.

Add the rice and stir for a minute or so to coat it in the butter. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.

Every couple of minutes, add some stock, stir and allow the rice to absorb the juices. Repeat until all of the stock has been absorbed and stir continuously.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the remainder of the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the wild mushrooms and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

When the rice is tender and all the stock has been absorbed, remove from the heat and let rest for 30 seconds.

Stir in the mushrooms, the remaining butter, the sage and Parmesan cheese.

Season to taste and serve immediately.

Vegetable Stock Recipe (modified from allrecipes.com)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion

1 shallot

2 large carrots

2 stalks celery with leafy greens

5 garlic cloves

1 bell pepper

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs thyme

1 teaspoon salt

2 quarts water

**These are the ingredients I had on hand - you can add so many others: green onions, potato, mushrooms, parsley or other savory herbs, corn cobs, the list goes on. **

Chop scrubbed vegetables into 1-inch chunks. Mince garlic.

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add all ingredients except salt and water. Cook for 5-10 minutes stirring frequently.

Add salt and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Strain. Discard vegetables.