I have a bad case of the Sunday blues.
When I was young and in elementary school I would get super depressed on Sunday nights knowing that I have to go back to school Monday Morning. My mom conveniently dubbed this feeling the "Sunday Night Blues." To make things even worse, I'm coming back from a week long vacation. Needless to say, I'm avoiding checking up on my emails, at least until tomorrow morning.
The only cure for the Sunday Night Blues is heavy drinking...Just kidding but wine does help. Just because the weekend is over doesn't mean you cannot enjoy yourself a little bit. I've always found cooking to be therapeutic, and if you combine that with a glass of wine, it has the power to cure a depressed mind. At least for me. I wanted to make something tonight that would be relatively stress free. However, I wanted time to stay in the kitchen and enjoy my glass (or two) of libations. I settled on Risotto. This easy dish simply requires one to have the ability to stir...and stir...and then stir some more. And then drink a sip of wine, then pour a dash into the risotto. It's basically like you are at the spa.
I usually make traditional risotto with just some saffron, wine, and parm cheese, but I decided to spice things up a bit tonight and whip to together a lemon risotto. I was also grilling some chicken (not as therapeutic, more a necessity). I thought this lemon risotto would be the perfect light side dish. I was inspired by Anna Del Conte's recipe.
By the way, I just looked up the Sunday Night Blues to see if this was a worldwide phenomenon. I stumbled upon this hilariously serious article on how to overcome this disease. It recommends being a "social animal." I stopped reading there.
The only cure for the Sunday Night Blues is heavy drinking...Just kidding but wine does help. Just because the weekend is over doesn't mean you cannot enjoy yourself a little bit. I've always found cooking to be therapeutic, and if you combine that with a glass of wine, it has the power to cure a depressed mind. At least for me. I wanted to make something tonight that would be relatively stress free. However, I wanted time to stay in the kitchen and enjoy my glass (or two) of libations. I settled on Risotto. This easy dish simply requires one to have the ability to stir...and stir...and then stir some more. And then drink a sip of wine, then pour a dash into the risotto. It's basically like you are at the spa.
I usually make traditional risotto with just some saffron, wine, and parm cheese, but I decided to spice things up a bit tonight and whip to together a lemon risotto. I was also grilling some chicken (not as therapeutic, more a necessity). I thought this lemon risotto would be the perfect light side dish. I was inspired by Anna Del Conte's recipe.
By the way, I just looked up the Sunday Night Blues to see if this was a worldwide phenomenon. I stumbled upon this hilariously serious article on how to overcome this disease. It recommends being a "social animal." I stopped reading there.
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 tbsp butter
2 shallots, finely diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbs olive oil
1 rib of celery finely diced
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 1/2 cups of Arborio rice
1/2 lemon juiced plus the zest
5 fresh sage leaves finely chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tbs heavy cream
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper to taste
Bring the stock to a simmer (remember you need to keep it simmering throughout the cooking process). Heat 2 tbsp of butter, the olive oil, shallots, carrots, and celery until the celery and carrots are softened. About 5 - 7 minutes. Add the rice and continue to saute, stirring so the rice is fully covered in the oil and butter mixture. Add in the wine and allow it to fully evaporate and absorb into the rice. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the stock. Stir continuously until the rice has absorbed most of the stock. Continue repeating this step until the rice is thoroughly cooked. I find that this whole process usually takes roughly 20 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, add the lemon zest. Combine the cream, the egg yolk, and parmesan and salt and pepper in small bowl and mix together. Remove the rice from the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture into the rice. Serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 tbsp butter
2 shallots, finely diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbs olive oil
1 rib of celery finely diced
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 1/2 cups of Arborio rice
1/2 lemon juiced plus the zest
5 fresh sage leaves finely chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tbs heavy cream
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper to taste
Bring the stock to a simmer (remember you need to keep it simmering throughout the cooking process). Heat 2 tbsp of butter, the olive oil, shallots, carrots, and celery until the celery and carrots are softened. About 5 - 7 minutes. Add the rice and continue to saute, stirring so the rice is fully covered in the oil and butter mixture. Add in the wine and allow it to fully evaporate and absorb into the rice. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the stock. Stir continuously until the rice has absorbed most of the stock. Continue repeating this step until the rice is thoroughly cooked. I find that this whole process usually takes roughly 20 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, add the lemon zest. Combine the cream, the egg yolk, and parmesan and salt and pepper in small bowl and mix together. Remove the rice from the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture into the rice. Serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.
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