Playing the Tease on Twitter

I spent half of Thursday morning tweeting about mushroom risotto as I slowly worked out the ending scene of my book (almost done!) and cooked. For those out there who were drooling over my lunch invite, here's the recipe...


1 medium sized onion (yellow or vidalia)
1 cup arborio rice
1-2 small cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons of butter
3-10 good sized crimini (baby bella) mushrooms
4 cups chicken, beef, or veggie broth
ground pepper
herbs if you have them
asparagus cut in inch chunks or peas if you have them
fresh Parmesan cheese if you have it (1/4-1/2 a cup or as garnish)

*Note* I'm an improv chef. I toss things in, taste, and fiddle with the recipe so my measurements are never exact. I change the recipe every time. This is where it starts. Play with it from here and see what you get.

1- Melt the butter in a large pot, chop the onions and add them keeping the heat on low. You want to soften and carmelize the onions, not scorch them.

2- Chop the mushrooms and add when the onions are wilted. Keep the heat low.

3- Grind in some pepper to taste and add the asparagus when mushrooms smell good.

4- Stir in the arborio rice. Keep stirring for one to two minutes.

5- Add enough broth to cover and adjust heat so the broth simmers.

6- Keep stirring and adding broth to keep the rice covered. It takes 20-30 minutes for the rice to absorb all the liquid, but you want it done slowly. If you dump everything in right away you get rice soup. Risotto is creamy and savory, so hop on Twitter and talk to me while you stir. :o)

7- If you're using frozen peas add them in the last 15 minutes (when half the broth is gone)

8- Stir in fresh herbs or cheese, and adjust seasonings as needed.

9- Stir until the risotto is creamy and the neighbors are knocking on the door asking what's for dinner. If you think you're burning the bottom turn down the heat and don't scrape the bottom.

10- Let the risotto sit for about five minutes while you set the table and serve hot. It will be very hot! You can also serve it cold the next day (delicious), or turn it into risotto patties for a side dish (which I've never tried but sounds tasty).