Mushroom and bacon risotto

I was in Trader Joe's without a grocery list. (This always means trouble, because I end up buying a lot of random, nonpractical things.) As I looked through the rice and grains section, the arborio rice caught my eye. I have always been both intrigued and intimidated by the prospect of making risotto on my own. I've had it at restaurants many times, but making it at home always seems like a daunting task. From what I had heard, risotto requires constant attention- turn away for a moment and the batch could be ruined.

Nevertheless, I decided to give it a shot. Indeed, it did take about 30 minutes of constant attention, but it was well worth it. The risotto I made turned out to be creamy, flavorful, and with a slightly al dente chewiness. Still, the Asian girl part of me really wishes I could pop risotto ingredients into a rice cooker and come back 30 minutes to a perfectly cooked dinner. Maybe I'm onto something here?? (A quick Google search revealed that many other people have considered the same thing... look out for a later blog post!)

MUSHROOM AND BACON RISOTTO

loosely adapted from Myrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 cups water
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
3 slices of bacon
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp butter
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring water and broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Keep warm over low heat.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms until tender. Remove mushrooms, set aside.
3. Fry bacon in a large frying pan. Add onion and saute until translucent.
4. Add rice to the pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly.
5. Add broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in mushrooms, grated cheese, and remaining ingredients.