A Word On Risotto

Risotto with Parmesan, garlic and basil

  I have mentioned before that I work part-time at Williams-Sonoma. And although I have many great products from there, I rarely talk them up. I believe the last time I did so was when I wrote about the Breville Mini Pie Maker. This is a fun electric which I compared to the Easy Bake Oven.

  Well today, I want to make mention of the Breville Risotto Plus. This electric is a thing of beauty. It is a medium sized slow cooker which comes equipped with a steamer basket. This beauty has settings for saute, steam, rice, risotto, and both low and high slow cook. Here is the link for this little marvel.  Breville Risotto Plus

   For those of you not familiar with risotto, here is a description...Risotto /rəˈzɒtoʊ, rəˈzoʊtoʊ/ is a north Italian rice dish cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be based on meat, fish, or vegetable. Many types of risotto contain butter, wine and onion. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy.

  To be honest, I had never made risotto before I purchased this machine. I heard that is was a somewhat daunting task. I also heard that it was difficult to get the consistency right. I always resorted to eating risotto when I was out to dinner. I also did not own a slow cooker of any kind.  When this product came out several of my WS coworkers bought the machine. These were women who had made risotto by hand. All I heard was them raving about how easy it was to use and about how great the risotto was. I took the plunge and purchased the machine. And....

  I have used it as a slow cooker several times. I have now used it for risotto twice. The first risotto experience was good. The second risotto was absolutely fantastic! As I said to my friends Amy, the risotto police might come after me because I left the risotto sit in the container on the keep warm setting for a bit so it was not quite as saucy. The risotto police may not have approved but I sure did. It was super yummy!! 

  The risotto pictured above was made with aborio rice, onion, garlic, white wine, chicken stock, garlic olive oil, butter, Parmesan cheese, fresh basil and salt and pepper. I enjoyed it as a main course along side a salad.  I have not included a recipe because the preparation varies depending on whether you are using the Risotto Plus or stove top.

  Anyway, think about risotto. Pretty close to the perfect food for cool fall evenings...warm deliciousness for those blustery nights.