Yesterday was my third attempt at making risotto. The first time I thought I could just by some arborio rice, throw a little wine in there and some chicken stock and stir. It was a failure of intangible proportions. The rice was hard, there was no creaminess to it, and there was way too much salt if I remember. I ate it anyway though, partly out of pride and partly out of spite.
The second time I made it I followed the general risotto recipe out of 'The Silver Spoon', a book which always promises deliciousness, but I usually wind up underwhelmed. Maybe this is because I don't have all the fancy ingredients that they want me to use or maybe its because I make up stuff where there are gaps in the recipes. I did develop a nice creaminess and the flavor was okay (too much rosemary), but the rice was still somewhat hard in the middle after over an hour of adding stock and stirring. Maybe it was the rice, I dunno.
The third time was a modest success despite the fact that I screwed up a step of Alton Brown's Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto. The recipe was obtained out of AB's second Good Eats cookbook (thanks should be directed to my girlfriend for the wonderful birthday present). I forwent the asparagus, which really let the mushrooms do their magic. The only part I messed up was the initial braising (is that correct terminology?) of the rice. I was supposed to translucitize the rice on a much lower heat than I did. It certainly worried me that I messed up yet another risotto dish.
BUT I DIDN'T!
It turned out quite good. Some of the rice was a bit gummy still, but next time I swear I will get it right!
