Risotto for Dinner

With the leftover saffron chicken broth from last week, I had the idea to make an excellent risotto for dinner.

As with all risottos, the broth was brought to a simmer and held for additions to the rice. I sauteed half a minced onion in olive oil. One cup of arborio rice was added at the point the onion was translucent and was sauteed for another few minutes. Eddie had opened a bottle of Kendall Jackson Estate Chardonnay, so I added a half cup or so of that to the rice. Over medium heat, I started stirring frequently until the wine was nearly all evaporated. At that stage, I started adding the broth by ladleful and continued stirring. More broth was added at the stage where most of the broth had been absorbed by the rice. Estimating, I'd say about 4 cups of so of broth were needed. When the rice was cooked by still slightly al dente, I added the last bit of broth and allowed it to cook down a bit. Then a knob of butter and a couple tablespoons of cream were added, along with salt and pepper to taste. Also, I threw in about a cup of thawed frozen peas. To finish it off, I grated some fresh Reggiano Parmesano atop and served.

Cold sliced grilled chicken breasts were a nice accompaniment; but the rice as the main event. And the chardonnay went well with everything.

For dessert, Eddie had macerated frozen strawberries with some sugar and topped them with sweetened whipped cream, served on top of a square of his famous Scottish shortbread.

It doesn't get much better than that!