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.
it! Thanksgiving was a whopping 70 degrees and the Bay Area didn’t seem to find anything wrong with that. However, the Bay did take full advantage of this foody of foodies holidays, and the air was full of recipes flying back and forth between excited cooks. I suppose Thanksgiving (aside from the subsequent systematic slaughter of the native population, of course) is about the celebration of fall harvest. Where better to celebrate this harvest than the land of perpetual bounty. Although the apples here are tiny and lame, the squash, greens, and tubers can kick any eastern veggie out of the park with ease.
On actual Thanksgiving I went to my friends Eric, Karen, and Anders house for a festival of people who couldn’t or didn’t go home for the day. All in all I think there were about 17 people, each who brought something delicious to the food table. For these festivities I made butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin, Roasted Garlic & Herb Mashed Potato, Pumpkin Tart, and a crazy cheese terrine. There were certainly a few highlights including but not limited to, a garlic soup meant to be a soup but turned into a delicious gravy, and cranberry cheddar cheese with whole wheat and sunflower bread.
For the first time in a long time, I decided to follow a few recipes to the t to see how I could do. With the exception of a few budget-friendly changes in cheese selection, I first went with this recipe for a 
eeks my farm box has been overflowing with food. So much so that I have a back-up of things like pumpkin, squash, and potatoes. I had two butternut squash staring me down! It only seemed logical to try this recipe for a 