Making it up as we go along . . .

So, at the end of my last blog post, I mentioned that we were going to spend our "It's a year after our Big Fat Gay Disney Wedding" Monday night eating a nice home cooked meal together. Part of that meal was an experiment that worked out really well, so I'm sharing it with you. No need to thank me . . . actually . . . go ahead . . . thank me; 'cuz this one is GOOD!

After watching way too much of the Food Network and Top Chef I've been inspired to try some new things, or try doing old things in new ways. This isn't always a good thing. Ask Scott to tell you about the red chile rice that was to hot for either of us to eat.

Scott really likes french onion soup. I can take it or leave it, but there are usually a lot of other things on the menu I'd rather eat, though. It's not that I don't like the flavors involved. Heck, onions, beef broth, toasted bread and melted gruyere . . . what's not to like?

So, I decided to play with one of Scott's favorites. A risky prospect. If it turned out well, then I look like a genius; if it turns out badly, Scott's got ammunition to hold over my head for all time. Nobody ever said I don't like the occasional challenge.

I went and bought a couple cans of Campbell's french onion soup, some shredded swiss chees blend (the Sargento brand swiss cheese mix, to be specific. It's very good, you can definitely taste the gruyere in it) and knowing that we had a nice couple of steaks to grill, set out to create a great new side dish to add to our repertoire. I kind of flew by the seat of my pants, and made it up on the fly, but in the end . . . YUMMY! I guess I'm a genius after all! Woo hoo!

So, here's the recipe for the result.

Rob's French Onion Risotto

Ingredients:
1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cans of Campbell’s condensed French Onion Soup
2 Cans full of water (to re-constitute the soup)
1 Cup of Arborio rice
.5 Cup of shredded gruyere (or Swiss cheese blend) and a bit more for garnishing at the end
Salt & Pepper

First, in a large measuring cup or mixing bowl, combine the condensed soup and the water, and stir together.

Pour the oil into the bottom of a large sauce pan turn the heat up to high. When the oil is hot, add the rice. Stir vigorously for two minutes with a wooden spoon (the rice should just be starting to brown). When the rice is just beginning to get some color, add two ladles of the soup, and turn the heat to medium high. Keep stirring consistantly as the rice absorbs the broth. Once the broth has been absorbed by the rice, add another ladle of the soup and keep stirring. Continue to stir and add additional soup every time it gets absorbed by the rice. After the about six ladles full of broth have been added, check the texture of the rice. It should be soft like any cooked rice, but not mushy. If it's not done, continue to ladle more soup into the risotto and stir it in.

Yes, it's a lot of stirring! My brother, the chef, says that once you start a risotto, you're married to it until it's done.

Once the rice has reached the desired texture, add the shredded swiss cheese, stir in completely and remove the risotto from the heat.

Let it sit for about five minutes.

We paired the risotto with two nice thick rib-eye steaks, steamed green beans dressed with olive oil and garlic pepper, and we opened up a bottle of our favorite chianti (the one we discovered when we were in Florence, natch) It was all very good. But I'm pretty sure that we would both have been happy with just a big plate of the risotto.

So that's it. Give it a try, and then come back and tell me how awesome I am!