Mushroom risotto

I forgot how much I enjoy cooking for my friends. The last year has been an interesting one. I spent countless hours studying, taking practice graduate school exams, writing essays, trying to plan for my future. And, because of it all, I started to forget the things I enjoyed: cooking, writing, having friends over to the house. But, I'm turning around, getting back into the habit of cooking for the people I like.

I had Shari over for dinner tonight. I hadn't seen her in weeks and thought she was dead or lying ill in a hospital somewhere, when she called to tell me that she actually was alive and had been in Tahoe with no phone for several days. Happy to know that she was safe, I invited her to a vegetarian meal cooked by me.

After going through my cookbooks trying to figure out what to make (something hearty, healthy, and vegetarian that would be substantial enough for me to give up meat for a night), I settled on a mushroom risotto. I spent my morning off (I was scheduled for jury duty in the afternoon) shopping at Rainbow and enjoying all the parking spots and empty aisles. I wished I could shop all the time on weekday mornings.

Back at home, I soaked my dried porcini mushrooms in warm water. I sliced my crimini and oyster mushrooms. I chopped up my garlic, onions, and thyme. I heated up my mushroom broth along with the mushroom soaking water. With all the prep work done, I was ready to cook. I heated up some olive oil and butter in a pot and sautéed the onions, and then added the garlic and mushrooms. After about ten minutes of cooking, I added the Arborio rice and cooked that for a few minutes. Then, went in the white wine and the mushroom broth, ladle by ladle. I stirred constantly and was patient, only adding more liquid when the rice started to look dry. The rice took twice as long as I thought to get tender. Shari already arrived and Scott got home from work too. They helped me stir. Finally, when the rice was tender, I added the chopped thyme, some more butter, grated parmigiano reggiano, salt, and pepper.

I scooped up the risotto, which looked unappealing as brown goop, into bowls and we sat down to a warm meal. The risotto was creamy and tasted rich, despite the small amount of fat involved. And, we had a green salad with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. Shari complimented the meal and was sent home with a tupperware of leftovers, while I secretly longed for meat.