CHEESE RISOTTO WITH CHICKEN APPLE SAUSAGE

I am a lover of pasta and rice and especially love Risotto. I always order it in any restaurant as I never thought I could make it taste as good at home. Well, after years of making and tweaking a basic risotto recipe, this is what I make and it ALWAYS tastes incredible! Most of it is pretty simple, but reserve some time to babysit the risotto when it's time to start adding the stock, it takes some time, but well worth it. This is a family and friend favorite for sure! You could add shrimp, sausage, scallops or just about any type of protein that would pair well with white wine. I've imagined making this with beef and using a Cabernet, but have yet to get that far. Maybe one day...

Everything you'll need to make your yummy risotto

Chop the onions, celery and garlic.

Heat the olive oil and 1T butter.

Heat the chicken stock.

Saute the vegetables until tender

Add the risotto. Turn up the heat to med/high

Once the risotto is translucent, pour in the wine. It will steam like crazy and smell yummy!!

Add the meat.

Cook until all the wine is absorbed. Then start adding the stock one spoonful at a time.

Let each spoonful of stock absorb into the rice, then add another. Cook it in between each addition of stock until there isn't any liquid running across the pan when you push the rice out of the way, but it should not be sticking to the pan.

When the risotto is cooked, it should look somewhat creamy. When you taste it, it should still have a slight firmness to it. You don't want it mushy. Stop adding stock at this point.

Add the parmesan.

Add the butter.

This is the most important part. Don't skip this. Stir in the parmesan and cheese, cover and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

Uncover this creamy goodness. Stir and serve.

Add a little fresh parmesan to each serving. Mmmmmmm. Enjoy!!

CHEESE RISOTTO - That you can add anything to
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Ingredients

• 5-6 cups Chicken Stock
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 2 med onions chopped
• 5 cloves garlic chopped
• 1/2 head of celery chopped
• 16-18 (2 cups or so) ounces of risotto
• 1/2 bottle dry white wine
• 5 T butter
• 1/2 cup of fresh grated parmesan
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: 1-1/2 pounds of chicken apple sausage or other type of meat.

Directions

Heat stock on a saucepan to use later. In large pan, heat oil and add onions, garlic and celery. Saute for about 4 minutes or until nice and soft. Add risotto and turn the heat up to med/high. Cook risotto while stirring constantly until translucent, usually takes a couple of minutes. You just have to keep it moving or it will burn. Once it is translucent, add the wine while continuing to stir. It should sizzle and steam quite nicely and smell yummy! If you are adding some type of meat, add it after the wine. (Our favorite is Aidell's chicken apple sausage)

Once the risotto has absorbed all of the wine, start adding the stock, one ladle at a time. Add stock, let it absorb, add more, let it absorb, you get the idea. After you have added most of the stock, check for doneness. It should mostly cooked and slightly firm. Add salt to taste as well as pepper (I use white peppercorns in a grinder). Turn off the heat, it's almost done.

Now for the very important part. The risotto needs to rest. However, it can't rest alone. It needs butter and parmesan! Cut the butter into tablespoon pads and lay on top and let it melt in. Then add the parmesan on top to let it melt. Cover and let it rest. After about 5 minutes, uncover and stir to incorporate all the butter and parmesan. Time to serve and enjoy!!