Our mushroom queen Riane is visiting Boston this week, so for her first night in the bean I thought it would be nice to have a relaxing evening with some red wine, rummikub, and a hearty portion of mushroom risotto.  Risotto is a great dinner to make with friends because you all get to hang out in the kitchen and when one person’s arm gets tired of stirring- just pass the spoon off to the next person in line.  Even if you have friends that claim they can’t cook, get them to stir the risotto while you add the stock, it may help boost their kitchen confidence.

Red Wine Mushroom Risotto
I dubbed this version “red wine” mushroom risotto because the last time I made it I used a white wine and missed out on the striking burgundy color.

Ingredients:
1 C Arborio rice
1 Quart Stock, mushroom would work nice but chicken or vegetable are fine
1/4 C red wine
1 package mushrooms, medium sliced*
1 celery stock, diced
1 large shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS freshly chopped thyme
1 bay leaf
2 TBS butter
1/4 C parm or pecorino romano
Salt & Pepper to taste

BEFORE you start on the risotto make sure you bring stock to a low simmer.
MELT 1 TBS butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a heavy stock pot.
SAUTEE shallots, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper until tender and add rice.
COOK rice until it becomes translucent and then deglaze with wine.
ONCE wine is absorbed add stock in batches making sure it is absorbed before adding more.
WHEN half of the stock is added stir in mushrooms and thyme and continue to add stock until the rice is tender but still holds its consistency.
TURN off heat, stir in remaining butter (should be room temperature) and grated cheese, remove bay leaf and its ready to serve!

*Riane was in charge of chopping the mushrooms and I’m glad she chose to slice them medium thick- they really held up in the cooking process.