Woznation

Risotto is a wonderfully easy dish to prepare.  ‘Risotto’ is actually the name of the process in which you cook the rice.  It involves lots of standing and stirring, but the result is worth it.  Before this fetus took over my body, this meal would most often appear on our dinner table after a particularly stressful day.  That is because I would use it as an excuse to stop and get a good bottle of dry white wine ‘for the risotto’ on my way home from work.  You really only need a bit of wine for the dish but, hey, once its open you dont want it to go to waste!  And then I would stand, and stir, and drink my wine and unwind.

These days, I omit the wine, and yell at Phil to go check the rice because my feet hurt and I dont want to stand there all night stirring.

Here is what you’ll need:

Arborio rice (white, short-grain, high-starch rice), chicken stock, mushrooms, frozen peas, onion, butter, thyme and sage.  I first start with the mushrooms.  I had 8 crimini mushrooms (also known as ‘baby-bellas’).  I wash them off with a damp paper towel, because I have heard that if you rinse them in a colendar then they absorb too much water?  I have no data to back this up or why it matters.  Some things I just go with…

This made about 2 cups of sliced mushrooms.  You can also find them pre-sliced and pre-washed, if you dont feel like dealing with them.  I saute these up in about 2 tablespoons of butter.  And I add in my herbs.  I use about 3/4 teaspoon of sage and 3/4 teaspoon of thyme.  This makes the risotto quite herb-y.  If you’re not sure of how herb-y you want it, Id start with 1/2 teaspoon each.

I let the mushrooms cook in the butter and herbs for 5-6 minutes on medium-low heat.  But I do not add any salt yet. If the pan starts getting a little dry, you could add in some olive oil or more butter.  Once the mushrooms have browned up a bit, then I add in a little salt.  This draws out excess liquid in the mushroom and you’ll notice more of a paste on the mushrooms with the herbs.  I have heard if you add the salt too soon, it will draw out the liquid before the mushrooms have developed any flavor.  Apparently this is troublesome? Again, data is lacking.

As the mushrooms cook, I dice up a half an onion. This yielded about 1 cup.

Once the mushrooms are done to your liking, put them in a bowl and attempt to keep as much herb-y sauce in the pan as you can.

Then you are ready to cook up your onions.

You can add a bit of olive oil if you need to at this step.  Saute onions for 4-5 minutes, until soft. And then add in your rice.  I had between 3/4 and 1 cup of rice for this dish.  I let the rice saute for another 2-3 minutes.

This would be an excellent time to add that wine I was talking about. About 1/4 – 1/2 cup.  (Then the rest of the bottle is for the chef!)  But its perfectly delicious without it.  So since Im fresh out – I proceed with the stock.  I had a 4 cup box of chicken stock on hand.  Often I have seen recipes calling for the stock to be heated to the temperature of the rice pan.  Therefore making the cook drag out another pan for heating and then ladling the stock from one pot to the other. This is apparently to eliminate the need for the stock to come up to the simmer temperature each time you add more and, thus, reduce the cooking time.  I did this once.  And decided Id rather increase the cooking time ever so slightly than to fuss with the additional pan.

Anyway, here is where we start the risotto process.  I add about 1.5 cups of stock to the pan and bring it to a low simmer.  I stir the rice slowly and often, but not continuously.  You only add a little bit of the stock at a time so that the rice grains stay close to each other and therefore create friction against each other.  This lets off the starch from the rice, which mixes with the stock and creates the ‘creamy’ texture that is synonymous with risotto. This is also why it is recommended you stir often – to agitate the rice to let off the starch.  If you didnt stir or if you dump in all the stock at once, you wouldnt have nearly as much release of the starch and thus, a non-‘creamy’ dish. It would be more like, well….rice.

So let the rice simmer in just enough liquid to cover and stir until almost all the liquid has been absorbed.  And then add more gradually, bringing the dish to a simmer each time.

Keep stirring and adding more stock until the rice is done to your liking.  This took about 3.5 to 4 cups for me (also depends on how much wine you added).  I like my rice pretty soft.  It cold be less liquid if you like it more al dente.  Once the last bit of liquid is being absorbed, add your mushrooms back in and add 1 cup of frozen peas.

Stir all together, add salt and pepper to taste. And you’re done!

Like I said, wonderfully easy to prepare.  It can even be done while a bit tipsy. In fact, its recommended.

Phil's serving topped with a 'sprinkle' of parmesan

Here is an easy copy/paste version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups of sliced crimini mushroom (about 8 mushrooms)

2 tablespoons of butter

3/4 teaspoon of sage

3/4 teaspoon of thyme

1 cup diced onion (half a large onion)

3/4 – 1 cup of arborio rice

nearly 4 cups of chicken stock

1 cup of frozen peas

1/4 – 1/2 cup of dry white wine (optional)

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in large pan.  Saute sliced mushroom with dried herbs for 5-6 minutes (add salt towards end of this time).  Once mushrooms are done, put in bowl, leaving behind as much liquid/oil as possible and set aside.  Saute up diced onion in same pan (add more oil if need be) for 3-4 minutes, until soft.  Next add rice to pan and saute for an additional 3 or so minutes.  Add wine (optional).  Start adding stock to pan.  Start with 1.5 cups or just enough to cover the rice.  Bring to simmer and stir frequently until liquid has been absorbed.  Keep adding stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, until rice is done to your liking –  about 3.5 to 4 cups of stock.  Add the mushrooms back in and add in 1 cup of frozen peas.  Stir all together.  Add salt and pepper to your liking.  Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan.

Hello, my name is Amy. And I am a food network junkie.

There I said it.  Though I am a bit ashamed to admit it, the food network actually taught me quite a bit about cooking.  I first started watching in grad school (basically when my meal plan from my parents ran out) and I could barely fry an egg.  Phil was actually the primary chef when I first got to Purdue; he taught me how to make hamburger helper.  After watching food network for a little while – I finally got the confidence to try and cook a few things for myself.  Im proud to say Ive come a long way over the years.  And I make a damn good fried egg.

The chipotle maple lettuce wraps are a spin-off of Rachel Ray’s Chipotle Cashew Chicken from like 2006.  It was an instant hit and has been a staple in our house from Purdue to Memphis to Jerz.  The meal varies each time I make it due to what is in my pantry and freezer, but the overall chipotle-maple flavor stays the same.  This is what I used the last time I made it:

Boston bibb lettuce, some red beans (instead of chicken), 2 peppers, brown rice, a small can of water chestnuts, maple syrup, chipotles in adobo sauce, walnuts (instead of cashews), garlic, cumin and onion power.

Since Im using brown rice and it takes awhile to cook, I get that started first.  I cook up about 3/4 cup of brown rice according to package directions.  Then I get started on the maple-chipotle filling.  First, I diced up the 2 peppers.  This was about 2 cups worth.

I toss those in the skillet with some oil to saute and add in my spices.

I used about 3/4 tsp of onion powder and 1/2 tsp of cumin.  But feel free to just use regular ol’ onions in your filling, too.  Phil isnt a fan, so I try to make a few of his favorite meals ‘onion free.’  Saute the peppers for 4-5 minutes on medium-low heat and them add in some garlic. About 2-3 cloves.  You can also add a bit of salt at this point, too.  But I wouldnt recommended pepper since you are getting so much heat from the chipotles later on.

Then I get started on my chipotles.  Chipotles are just smoked jalapeños. [How comes wordpress auto-corrects my jalapeños to have an ñ but doesn’t recognize the word chipotle?] They come in a small can in the ethnic aisle.  I only use about 3 tablespoons of chipotles minced up, so I put the remainder of the can into a bag and keep it in my freezer.  Therefore, my chiptoles look like this:

Its actually way easier to deal with them in this state than fresh out of the can.  I hate it when I have to make this meal with a fresh can, it can get very messy.  Regardless of if you are using frozen or canned chipotles, youll want to make sure you wash your hands as soon as you are done handling them!  They are jalapeños after all.   So anyway,  I mince up about 3 tablespoons of chipotles and toss them in the skillet.

Then I get to work on my pantry items.  The beans, water chestnuts, and walnuts.  I only used about half a can of beans this time.  I had red on hand, but Ive used black before, and the originally recipe called for chicken. Use whatever you what.  I rinse the water chestnuts (8oz can) and the beans and then toss everything into the pan.

Lastly, I thrown in 1/3 cup of maple syrup.  I didnt get any pictures of this process, but I assure you its in there.

Now dont forget about your rice!

Mine is usually done by now, but I check on it periodically.  Hopefully you did, too.  Once its done, I put it into a bowl and set aside until the rest of the meal is ready.  As I let the maple-chipotle simmer on low and cook all together,  I prepare the lettuce.  The boston bibb is an essential part of the ‘lettuce wrap.’  Its the only lettuce that is malleable for the nice little packages.  I have used romaine for this meal before but it makes more of a lettuce boat than a lettuce wrap.  So anyway, I tear off pieces and run a damp cloth over them to make sure they are clean enough for consumption.

Once the lettuce is ready, I put the maple-chipotle filling in a bowl and we are ready for dinner!  I fill each lettuce leaf up with some rice and filling and have plenty of paper towels standing by! They are messy!

Good stuff.  Make sure you have plenty of water, too.  They are sweet but very spicy!!!  Here is an easy copy/paste version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of brown rice

1 head of boston bibb lettuce

2 cups of diced bell peppers

2-3 cloves of garlic

8 oz of sliced water chestnuts

1/4 cup of cashews or walnuts

1/2 can of beans (or maybe 1 chicken breast?)

3 tablespoons of chipotles in adobo

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp onion powder

Cook rice according to package.  When done, place in bowl and set aside.  Saute up 2 cups of diced bell peppers in large skillet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.  Add in 3/4 tsp of onion powder and 1/2 tsp of cumin.  Add in 2-3 cloves of minced garlic. Reduce heat to low.  Add in 3 tablespoons of minced chipotles. Rinse beans and water chestnuts, add to skillet.  Add in nuts and maple syrup.  Simmer all together on low for 5-10 minutes until mix is nice and gooey and delicious (and peppers are cooked to your liking).  Peel off individual lettuce leaves, use damp cloth to ensure they are clean.  Place chipotle-maple filing in bowl.  Assemble each lettuce wrap with a bit of rice and filling.  Enjoy!