Delicious-er Risotto

 Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all of you Mommas out there.  I hope that you enjoyed your day.  I did absolutely nothing on Sunday.  Nothing!  I haven't had a good old-fashioned "do nothing" day in the over 5 years since I've been a mom. I watched TV, drank coffee, and ate a donut for breakfast in bed. Then the Tiny Teen crawled in next to me with a 102+ fever and fell fast asleep for the better part of the morning.  As sad as it was to see her not feeling well, it was so nice just to have her resting sweetly next to me.

I basically slept, ate, and watched TV on Mother's Day.  LAZY!  A very greatly needed lazy day off for this formerly tired mommy.  A big THANK YOU to my sweet hubby for keeping me fed and the kids well cared for.  He's an awesome dad and husband, so it was no surprise that he treated me like a queen!  Love you L!

Let's get on to the eats...shall we?

In reading the most recent issue of the Every Day with Rachael Ray mag, I spied a yummy looking risotto.  I am weak to the power of a bowl of risotto, so it was only a matter of time until I tried it.

There are SO many fantastic things about this particular one.  For instance, it is VERY forgiving. I messed up, changed things, and still...this is probably the tastiest risotto I've ever had!

Here's what I did...

1. In the first step, it asks for chicken or vegetable stock.  I always use chicken stock, but yesterday I chose vegetable stock, as it was all I had on hand.  A random change that darkened the risotto from pale (as it is with chicken stock) to a lovely macaroni and cheese color.  I say this because I was able to convince the princesses that it was called "Macaroni and Cheese" rice just merely based on color, and nothing to do with actual taste.  The Tiny Teen gobbled it up, and declared it "delicious-er" than anything in the world.  A high compliment from a 5 year old...
2. The next change came from using a part of a red onion in place of a shallot.  Again, the change was simply due to what was on hand.  Coming off of a lazy Momma's Day, I had NO interest in venturing in to the grocery shopping world.
3. The third change was simply a mess up on my part.  I usually use any type of white wine in my risotto, but yesterday I had zilch on hand.  I did have the white cooking wine, but only half of what was required.  Instead, I used 1/2 cup of white cooking wine and 1/2 cup of leftover chicken broth from a recipe last week.  I would recommend sticking to a full cup of wine, but it certainly didn't affect the amazing taste of my risotto.
4. Next mess up, when it said to add the wine and lemon zest, I also added the lemon juice.  Whoops!  I should have been reading more clearly, but to be fair, I was also trying to play with Little Mermaid figurines in the process of risotto-ing.
5. I followed the recipe as written until the end.  I added shredded parmesan, again because it was on hand.  Then I used dried basil and tarragon.  I would have LOVED fresh, but you know I wasn't heading to the store.

My point in telling you all of these steps and changes is this...I was able to bring together an AMAZING risotto with random things I had on hand.  This risotto is forgiving and it will allow for many changes...clearly.  It also was one of the creamiest risottos I've had.  

My last tidbit is this...add the tarragon.  I went back and forth with "should I" "shouldn't I?"  You should.  I think it was the extra something special that took this risotto from "delicious" to "delicious-er."  

I hope you LOVE this one as much as my entire family did.  Enjoy!

Link to Every Day with Rachael Ray Amalfi-Style Risotto