Risotto

This creamy rice dish has gained a lot of popularity over the last decade or two, and gets a bad rap as being very hard to make - nothing could be further from the truth. While it takes a bit of stirring and pampering, it's actually quite simple to make, but seems terribly impressive to those who dine. Below is the basic recipe but it can be doctored up with your favorite herbs, veggies, shellfish, meat, and even sauces (such as pesto). The possibilities are endless.

1 large onion, diced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
1 cup of dry white wine
32 ounces of low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/3 tsp. of fresh cracked black pepper
1-2 tbsp. butter (optional)
1/4 cup grated parmigiana cheese

Using a very large skillet, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil, over medium heat, until tender and translucent. They should not brown. Once they are done, add the rice to the pan and coat well in the oil and veggies. Cook this for 3-4 minutes, letting the oil start to soften the rice ever so slightly.

Then turn the heat up as high as it can go and as soon as it starts to sizzle, add the cup of white wine. Cook on this high heat for 1 minute and then turn down to medium-low heat. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until almost all the wine has been absorbed into the rice. At that point, start ladling in the broth gradually, a ladle or two at a time. The broth should either be at room temperature or heated up a bit. Do not add cold broth. Keep doing this until all the broth is absorbed and the rice is tender all the way through. Stir every 2-3 minutes as it cooks. This slow-cooking and stirring will allow these particular types of rice to release a lot of creamy texture.

This whole process should take at least 30 minutes and at high-altitudes, might even take longer. If you run out of broth before the rice is fully tender, you can add water.

When you've added the last of your liquid, turn it to low heat and do not let it absorb all of the broth -- there should be a little bit left when it's ready to serve. When you get to this point, remove the pan from the heat, add the pepper, butter and cheese, and stir through until well incorporated. When it hits the plate, it should fall almost as if it were a thick soup -- it should not stand up in a mound (as anyone who watches Top Chef now knows!)

This amount of risotto would serve 6 as a first course and 4 as a main course. Feel free to garnish with at least a bit of fresh basil or parsley leaves.