Mushroom Risotto!

I love risotto, and I love mushrooms, so this was a no-brainer to me. Risotto is truly a labor of love - you are essentially chained to the stovetop for a good 30 minutes, as you constantly replenish the risotto with ladlefuls of hot chicken stock for it to absorb and take on the creamy, dreamy consistency that we all know and love.

I used a recipe from Giada (recipe link here), but I would make a few modifications in the future.

• I used 1 diced yellow onion, so I forgot to cut the amount of butter in half. It was okay because everything cooked down well, but initially at least, there was too much butter.
• I'm honestly not sure that the dried porcini mushrooms that I re-hydrated in hot chicken stock, imparted any special flavor to the overall risotto. I would probably skip this step next time, and instead use a wider variety of fresh mushrooms.
• For the fresh mushroom component, I selected a box of sliced baby portabella mushrooms (instead of the boring white mushrooms Giada called for), and this was great, but in my haste, I forgot to dice them, so I would definitely chop them more finely in the future. Ultimately, the size of the mushrooms cooked down anyway so the final product didn't feature large chunks or anything, but to make a more cohesive dish, I can tell that dicing the mushrooms more finely would be best.
• This recipe called for way too much chicken broth. There was at least 3 cups of hot broth I ended up pouring down my sink. 
• The recipe didn't call for enough Parmesan! I doubled the amount, ultimately.

Baked Risotto and Bridal Cupcakes!

I love Joy the Baker's blog, I love her pictures, the way she writes, her recipes, everything! When I saw she had managed to successfully BAKE risotto (with one stir no less!) I knew I had to make it very soon. I haven't yet made risotto but I figure since it is it's time-consuming stir-ness that intimidates me, why not try Joy's baking method? It was a definite success and the flavors of Parmesan, lemon, thyme, and red pepper flakes really came through, giving it a mild spicy bite. Delicious!

Baked Risotto!

Made on 03/17/2012.

One of my friends is getting married next month and for her birthday celebration this evening, I choose to take yet another page out of Annie Eats' book with these chocolate Kahlua cupcakes. This is simply the best chocolate base cupcake recipe you will ever need. I substituted sour cream for buttermilk and the cake is delicious - moist, chocolatey (more so with the espresso powder - yum!). After I took the cupcakes out of the oven, I brushed them with Frangelico liquor instead of Kahlua (coffee liquor). I added White Chocolate Godiva liquor to the frosting (as well as some pink food coloring), and topped them with pearl sprinkles and little brides and grooms! :)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Kahlua Buttercream Frosting!

Made on 03/18/2012.