Reading & Risotto...

I totally forgot to give you the recipe for my Shrimp & Pea Risotto the other day. We got to talking... 

I made this the other day. 

Shrimp & Pea Risotto
4 c. water
2 Knorr Veggie cubes
1/4 t. salt
Black pepper to taste
Penzey's Tuscan Sunset Blend (about 1 tsp.)
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. chopped leeks or shallots
2 c. shrimp, cooked, cut into pieces
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese, divided*
2 c. Arborio rice
3 T. butter
1 T. bottled garlic
1/4 c. cream or half-and-half

Heat the 4 c. of water to boiling and add the Knorr cubes. Give it a stir and set aside.

In a heavy 3-qt. saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to medium, and add the leeks (or shallots), stirring and allowing them to cook till translucent. Don't brown them! 

Add the Arborio rice, and stir to coat with the butter. Add 1 c. (about) of the broth and stir, keeping the rice at a simmer, and stirring consistently (not necessary to keep stirring, but you do have to stir quite frequently). 

When the rice has absorbed about 90% of that water, add another cup or so. Keep stirring. Watch your heat; you don't want it to boil - just staying at simmer. 

Before you add the 3rd cup of water, add the salt, pepper, and Penzey's spices. Stir, and then add the garlic. 

Add the 3rd cup of water, keep stirring. This is a good time to meditate or talk on the phone with someone, but don't forget to keep stirring!

By now, you'll start to get a feel for how it's thickening up. Taste the rice; is it al dente - I mean, does it have a bit of chew, but tastes done? Probably not, but that's ok - you need to know what it tastes like at a couple of stages. 

Add the 4th cup of water when 90% of the prior cup is absorbed. See where we're going here? It's about letting the rice fatten up and absorb the water. 

You MAY need a 5th cup - it will depend upon your rice. If you do, heat up water (don't add cold!), and add it, about 1/2 cup at a time, at this point. 

Add the peas and stir around for a few minutes. Add the shrimp, stirring around. Add the cream, stirring around. Taste, and adjust seasonings now, but wait on salt (if you think it needs it). 

Add 1 c. of the shredded cheese and (yes, again) stir around, to get it all melty and lovely. 

One more stir, then top with the rest of the cheese. Let it sit for 3 minutes and serve. 

I like to add a bit of pepper to my dish, and the other night, we had fresh French bread.

This is really great the next day, heated up. For us, it serves about 6 people. 

Now, the asterisks... The cheese we use is a blend of a couple of them. I had Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano. You can use whatever you want, but please use REAL cheese, not the stuff in the green cardboard thingie. 

You can shake it up: use asparagus instead of peas. Use mushrooms instead of shrimp. 

Enjoy experimenting with it. 

Reading...

Still working on that Marilla of Green Gables book. It's really addictive, so I'm thinking I'll finish it this weekend, while waiting for cookies to be done. Kid #2 is coming over to make the Pineapple Crescents - I'm late, because I've already given out two trays... 

I'm also trying to find the birthday card I had for Kid #2. It was a good one, and I haven't been able to find it. I'd bought it months ago, when I saw it. Of course. 

And I think this weekend, I'll start the Christmas cards. 

Knitting...

The Terribly Simple is plodding along. It's going to be nice; and I'm happy that I'm plowing through to the finish, but I do wish it was done already. 

First off, I do want to wear it. 

Second off, I want to go back to socks. 

Not sure what I'll do next; finish a pair, probably. I need to get that moving because I want to start wearing some of the ones I have that are singles. 

Random Picture...

The tray for my guitar teacher. The plate for the eye doctor was already handed out. 

Let's see... 4 cookies of each type. Starting at top left, ginger snaps, brown butter salted caramel, white chocolate cranberry. 

Next row is date balls, chocolate shortbread (under the red bow) and oatmeal. 

Next row is potica, Snow on the Mountain and Lemon Cherry.

Next row is an errant date ball, filled cookies and fruity oatmeal. 

Last row is Jewish Honey Cookies, M & M cookies and chocolate chunk cookies. 

My guitar teacher was very happy. I got a thumbs-up on the brown butter salted caramel. And a thumbs-up on the chewy version of the Lemon Cherry cookies. 

Once I make the Pineapple Crescents, I'm done. Baking for Christmas 2018 will be officially over. Hubby forgot about the Apple Bread... I don't think my teacher noticed. 

What's on your baking list? My teacher said that he feels like my cookies are my own ministry. His granny did "the ministry of the potica." Bakers know what this means.