I've been quite lax in writing, as I've started a new cooking job, and haven't quite gotten into the swing of things just yet. That whole "life gets in the way" thing. Anyway, I wanted to keep the site some what up to date, so I had this dish set to do a few weeks back, and never got around to writing about it. It was done for an impromptu dinner party of sorts, and was served family style. One nice thing about risotto, is that contrary to popular belief, a lot of the work can be done ahead of time, and simply finished when you are ready for dinner. First thing first was to go to the market and get some nice medium sized pink shrimp and approximately half a pound of crab meat.

A note about crab meat- generally what you find is the blue swimming crab from South East Asia, and is some way pasteurized, either in a can or a pouch. I prefer lump meat to the claw, even though it's more expensive, the flavor you get from meat is far superior. If you are lucky, you might find what is called "special", which is simply the lump crab meat, but "broken", that is, it's not the whole lump, but still white meat. Either way, experiment, and find what is best for your taste and budget.

I had been saving my shrimp shells and a couple of lobster tail shells in the freezer, and made a quick shellfish stock by bringing the shells, some parsley stems, a little celery and onion, a lemon and some white wine and water to a simmer for about 15 minutes, and then turning off the heat, and let sit another 15 or so. A few good rules of thumb on any stock making is you never really want to allow the pot to boil, a gentle simmer is all you really want. Also, you only want enough liquid to cover the ingredients, otherwise, you wind up with weak stock. Seafood stocks only need 15-20 minutes, chicken maybe 45, and beef, depending on the size and kind of bones, maybe 1-2 hours. Also, during the initial heating, a foam, or "scum" usually rises to the top, and you want to skim that off. It's coagulated proteins, and can give off flavors if allowed to roll back into the stock. I usually make a gallon or two, and then freeze in small containers so it's there for soups or the like. If you don't have the shells, or time, some seafood and specialty markets sell frozen stock, either shellfish or fish stock would suffice. Worse case scenario, a few bottles of clam juice or some fish bullion would work.

The first step to the risotto is to par cook the rice (if you are really adventurous, you can skip the cooling step, and go right into the finishing the dish.) Start by dicing a small onion or leek (preferred) and sweating in some olive oil. To that add your risotto. A quick note about the rice. Aborio is the general type found in the US, however some specialty markets will have other small grain rices that are preferred in Italy. But generally speaking, every grocer now at least will stock Aborio. For my dinner party, I used 2 cups of dry rice. Keep in mind it grows in size, so for two people, I would use no more than 1 cup. The idea behind risotto is to draw the starch out of the grain, to help create the creaminess that is associated with the dish. Some restaurants will short change you by simply boiling the rice, and using a ton of cheese and cream to fool the guest. Sure, cheese is an ingredient, but only the worst hack uses cream, however, I digress.

Saute the leek and rice a few minutes, and you will begin to slowly add liquid to your rice. I prefer to start with water, and then eventually add stock. However, one could start with stock from the beginning with no adverse effects. This is the part that requires full attention, which is why I like to do it before the guests arrive, so as to not be distracted. Start by adding just enough liquid to cover the grain, and lower your heat to a simmer, or medium heat. You are now going to stir the grain continually, as the rice begins to absorb the liquid. As the liquid is absorbed, add more. But never too much at a time. Depending on the amount of rice, this process can take upwards to 25 minutes. Each time you add a little liquid, the rice gets starchier, or in our case, "creamier". You are going to cook the rice until it's "al dente", as with pasta, firm to the bite. An sure fire way for both is to look at the center of the item. A good indication the grain or pasta is done will be a white center surrounded by the translucent, cooked, outer part. Once your grain reaches this point, you are going to spread it out on a small cookie sheet, and put in the freezer to cool quickly (you don't want to let the residual heat continue to cook the rice too much, that's why spread out and the freezer).

At this point, you can prep any other dishes, peel your shrimp, have a glass of wine, and shower and finish getting ready for your guests. If it's just you and your partner, you could skip the cooling part, and go right to finishing the risotto (I'd still have the glass of wine though).

To finish the risotto, we want to put the rice back into the pot, and this is where I begin using the stock. Since the rice is cold, I would warm the stock in a separate pot, and add it the risotto, which I start on a low flame. You will be stirring this just as you did during the first part of the process. You could add a little chopped garlic at this point, but as I did this a little different, I did not. (You will find that I cook the shrimp separate, and put over the top, that's where I use my garlic.) Add your crab now, and continue to add a little stock and stir until you can bite into the risotto and find it's cooked to your liking (I say this, as some I've met like there risotto almost crunchy, I do not, I prefer cooked through, but not "mushy".) At this point, you can now add grated cheese. Generally speaking, any hard, grating cheese can be used. For this dish, I had found some Spanish Manchego (a sheep's milk cheese), and used that, but Romano and Parmesan would equally work. I've often finished with some other cheese as well, sometimes a Gorgonzola or Stilton, depending on the ingredient. You will also want to fold in some whole butter with the cheese. Fresh herbs are now a good ingredient to add. Whether it's simply chive, or parsley, or depending on the ingredient, thyme, basil or even rosemary. You really can not go wrong experimenting with herbs and cheeses in your risotto. Season with kosher salt and white pepper, and turn off the heat.

For my version, this time, I sauteed the shrimp separate, and simply added them to the top of the risotto. You could easily add the shrimp directly to the risotto 3/4 of the way through the process, you just want to be careful not to add too early, so that don't over cook, and not to late, so they don't wind up raw. Since I was cooking about a pound of shrimp, I opted to do it separate, so the shrimp would be cooked perfectly. I also grabbed a dozen little neck clams, mostly for garnish, but a couple of bites of clam with the shrimp and crab was nice. You could easily increase the clam, and put more around the dish, either with or without the shrimp. Risotto really is a versatile dish that can be infinitely altered.

So I sauteed the shrimp and clams in garlic, white wine and butter, some fresh chive, and spoon over the risotto that's been put on the platter. Since the risotto is a bit heavy, and we are entering summer, I served a simple salad of mixed greens, shaved fennel bulb, red onion and sliced papaya with some more shaved Manchego. A light dressing of virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinegar finished the dish. Again, the sides can be just about anything, from grilled vegetables to some type of gratin. As always, a nice big glass of wine, for this, a Sauvignon Blanc would be perfect. Enjoy!