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Risotto and Real Estate

By
Real Estate Agent with Park Square Realty serving Western MA

Ok, so you caught me, this post has absolutely nothing to do with real estate (other than it is a realtor who is posting it :p )!  However, I was chatting with some tweeps on twitter today and mentioned that I was making risotto for dinner.  I had shown houses all day long in the cold Western Massachusetts winter weather and was ready for a hearty and warm meal.   A fellow realtor @kathy_jackson asked for the recipe and it got me to thinking that I don't HAVE a recipe.

Risotto

I told her I would try to write it out for her and so here it goes!  Now for those of you who have never had risotto, it is the most lovely of winter side dishes (or main dish sometimes) and is creamy, savory and delicious!  You can flavor it a million different ways and once you get the hang of the basic recipe it is a lot of fun to experiment with the flavors. 

This traditional Italian rice dish is a terrific clean out the fridge item as you can adapt the ingredients easily once the base is created.  My risotto is not traditional (but it is yummy!), for traditional recipes I can recommend www.allrecipes.com.

Base ingredients:

Aborio Rice

Brown Rice

Wild Rice

Chicken broth

Lemon juice

White wine

Onion

 

My favorite additions:

Roasted garlic

Goat or Feta Cheese

 

#1-Melt a half a stick of butter and a small amount of olive oil in a pot.  Add onion and saute until tender.  Add 1cup Aborio rice, 1 cup brown rice and 1/2 cup wild rice and saute until rice is browned.

#2- Add 1 cup white wine and 1/3 cup lemon juice (juice is optional).  This will cause the pot to smoke up a bit.  Allow liquid to absorb.

#3- Add 1 cup pre-warmed broth.  Allow to absorb and continue to add until the rice if fluffy and creamy.  Can take anywhere from 3-4 cups broth.

#4- Allow risotto to set for 5 minutes.

#5- Add optional ingredients.  The combo I made tonight: 1/2 cup feta cheese, chopped black olives, quartered artichoke hearts, roast garlic.  Another favorite: roasted garlic (can you tell I love it?), goat cheese and steamed broccoli.  I have also made it with sweet potato and parmesan. bacon and sweet onions...the options are endless!

Now go forth and create!

Clint Miller
Real Estate Pipeline, Inc. - Missoula, MT

Ok....two things.....

#1 -- THIS SOUNDS AWESOME!!!!  I am looking very forward to trying it!!!

#2 -- Thank you for stepping out of your shell and writing a blog that has absolutely nothing to do with real estate!  Fun, isnt it?!?!  :-)

Jan 04, 2009 10:55 AM
Lesley Lambert
Park Square Realty serving Western MA - Westfield, MA
Real Estate Agent - Realtor - Westfield, MA - 413-

Clint, l am glad you enjoyed.  I will try not to make a habit cuz my nothing about real estate could easily take over!

Jan 04, 2009 10:58 AM
Chris and Maria Jeantet
Shasta Living Real Estate - Redding, CA
Top Realtors in Redding CA

anything with Risotto catches my attention...thanks for sharing.

Maria

Jan 04, 2009 04:10 PM
John Novak
Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace - Las Vegas, NV
Henderson, Las Vegas and Summerlin Real Estate

Hi Lesley - I always hear risotto mentioned on Hell's Kitchen and thought it was rice based, but never knew exactly what it was. Thanks for the recipe, it does sound good for cool weather!

Jan 04, 2009 04:26 PM
Lesley Lambert
Park Square Realty serving Western MA - Westfield, MA
Real Estate Agent - Realtor - Westfield, MA - 413-

Maria, it is such good stuff!

John, I hope you try making it!

Jan 05, 2009 12:21 AM
Diana Santos
Douglas Elliman Real Estate - New Fairfield, CT
Real Estate Salesperson in New York & Connecticut

Food ALWAYS catches my attention!  Thanks for the recipe and Happy New Year!

Diana

Jan 06, 2009 02:37 PM
Lesley Lambert
Park Square Realty serving Western MA - Westfield, MA
Real Estate Agent - Realtor - Westfield, MA - 413-

Diana:  Happy New Year to you too...glad you liked it!

Jan 06, 2009 02:39 PM
Kathy Jackson
RE/MAX Mainstream - Vincennes, IN
Big or small, I sell them ALL!!

Lesley-

Thank you for posting this recipe!!  I've been watching Hell's Kitchen and they ALWAYS talk about the risotto.  I can't wait to try it!!

Jan 08, 2009 07:37 AM
Lesley Lambert
Park Square Realty serving Western MA - Westfield, MA
Real Estate Agent - Realtor - Westfield, MA - 413-

Kathy, I hope it works out for you!

Jan 08, 2009 01:05 PM