Risotto

[Mezzaluna]

Shroom, my main course (still under discussion) is chicken picatta. I'm serving a julienne vegetable mix with mushrooms and the risotto timbale. One diner is vegetarian; do I have enough?? Seems kind of slim.

Given an acidic sauce for the chicken, a tomato sauce for the timbales doesn't seem right. Do I need a sauce for this? Something with herbs, a non-acidic, bright flavor....

As soon as I get over this tummy bug, I'm going to make this and see how the temp comes out. I think I'll lower the heat to 400 degrees and check them after 25 minutes.

[Suzanne]

Maybe you could have the tomato sauce for the vegetarian's portion (and I'd make that timbale bigger then the 6-ounce ones, otherwise you'll be serving two breasts on a plate. But I don't think you need it for the meat-eaters -- you'll have plenty of moisture between the chix sauce and the veg.

As for the cheese, mozz is classic, but what about something gutsier like Taleggio? Not a super-ripe one, just something with a little more oomph. And I am for ALWAYS adding mushrooms.

In fact, last night I made a rice dish somewhere between a pilaf and risotto: I used arborio. First I sauteed some diced white mushroom and chopped leek greens (the pale green part) in olive oil, added 1 cup rice and coated it, added 2 cups broth made from a shiitake bouillon cube (Knorr brand, from Thailand) and a little pepper, and let it cook undisturbed. Very nice. And now I'm inspired to make rice balls with the leftover! Thanks!!

[Mezzaluna]

Suzanne, thanks for the cheese idea. My ramekins are 6 ouncers, and I have 8 of them. That'll allow one per person with two extras. I thought I'd plate two for her, sauce them, and add the veg. medley. I'll be having some crudites and one other HD- maybe bruschetta- before dinner. Dessert is to be determined, but I'm thinking chocolate almond macaroons and ice cream or something not too overwhelming.

I'm making slices of the breast halves. I'm sure there's a culinary term, but I'll be cutting them across at an angle to make palm-sized medallions, then pounding them just a little to even them out. I get about 3 nice slices per breast half.

[shroomgirl]

I've got a dinner for 10 tonight.

apple slice with smoked trout and dillweed aioli
crostini with chevre, pesto and toasted pinenuts

butternut soup with tangerine oil (cus I had it and tried it this AM and it works) with guyere biscuits


Veal scallopini with morels (dried) and a not sure yet what kinda sauce...probably reduce the rehydrating liquid, add beef stock possibly red wine or brandy or possibly the good sherry.

Risotto....straight up, onions, white wine, depending on the sauce for the veal something not strong....even thinking gasp water...finish with cream or mascarpone

probably pick up some sugar snaps or green beans....I hate brown plates

Fall salad with great dried cranberries (finally something better than craisins),
bibb, apple cider vinigrette toasted nuts...maybe hearts of palm cus this group is OLDER...some ole timey fruffy ingrediants make them so happy.

Choc. crepes with choc cream filling (tuffles melted down with cream, chilled and then whipped) Raspberry Chambord Sauce.

New client, should be an interesting night....she's providing her own staff. I'll be able to leave the dishes with them. YES!!


So my menu looks a whole lot like yours. I'm not dbl saucing the entree plate the risotto will be rich and the shroom sauce will be plentiful. Gotta play with the veal for brunch so I know if it'll need pounding. Been so long since I've used scallopini. *Crepes came out good....never made them before just winged the idea by the client then had to figure out what works....oh I love my work.

make a dillweed butter with shallots for the veg saute, it'll perk it up not contrast with the picatta (almost too much butter but whatever)...think of the colors on your plate. I'm considering doing fricco as garnish...shred parmesan or a hard cheese, bake until crispy, break. Makes sense with the risotto people oooo and ahhh with anything novel.

Interesting "salad napolean" the other day....fricco rounds (3) with dressed spinach between the layers oven dried tomatoes on the plate with a circle of liquid around....my dad thought it was interesting. I didn't try it but liked the look

[shroomgirl]

The risotto was the hit of the evening...made 2x as much as they needed....

Missouri arborio, onions/shallots, dry white wine, chicken stock (homemade) was a last minute decision, water, thyme, finished with mascarpone and 40%....they thought it was too die for....gotta love the cream!
Stopped the cooking after the second hit of chicken stock still crunchier than al dente, reheated with water then pourred on the cream/mascarpone.

I thought the veal with morels worked well with it....decided not to add parmensan to the risotto and did not finish the beef stock/brandy/morel goo sauce with butter....so there were cleaner flavors and the "cream" richness came from one source not both.

Dessert was probably alittle heavier than I would have served if it were "MY" dinner....I would have gone lemony....

[momoreg]

Sounds like a fine meal, shroom. Yes, those crepes do sound rich, but tasty all the same.

I particularly liked the soup w/ tangerine oil. Mmmm.

[shroomgirl]

I ran the butternut puree through a fine seive to get that silky mouthfeel....simple, time consuming and oh so ummmmm.
I had found the tangerine oil in a fancy grocery on the clearance shelf....checked to make sure it was fresh and it works great with the winter squashes. I've often thought of mixing it into butter then making various pastries with it.....nut oils too....sometime when I've discribed it to a client I'll have to play and figure out what the heck I sold.

[Jappy]

Originally Posted by Anneke

My favourite to make is lemon risotto; it's the easiest and goes beautifully with fish. I love wild mushroom risotto but I find that when I prepare it I don't achieve that intense mushroom flavour that I experienced in Italy. Any suggestions?

hi chef aanneke,
i read ur post about ur lemon risotto. please tell me the recipe for it. thanks, japvir, india