Risotto Adventures

A few weeks ago I made risotto at home for the first time. I ate some awesome risotto while in Vegas and decided to try my hand at it. I saw a recipe for shrimp risotto on Pioneer Woman's website and decided to make that. Only problem with that is, not everyone in my family likes shrimp, so I decided to use PW's risotto recipe with Pastor Ryan's and use the parts I liked. I also used the idea for the grilled shrimp, but then didn't put them IN the risotto, just on top.

It was SO good. My family loved it. My husband went to work and braggeda bout it for a full week. Every Friday we have company. People come over to play Rock Band. (yay for geeks!) I got talked into makng the grilled shrimp/risotto dinner again, this time for 10+ people.

It turned out great! Again! I had tons of leftover risotto though :( I didn't know how much to make for that many people. I was mentioning this to my neighbor the next day and she told me about this fabulous recipe for rice balls. She said it's a traditional italian dish, specifically for using up leftover risotto. No kidding? She listed off the ingredients and instructions and I went right home and got started on them. My husband even got curious and came to help. As good as I thought the risotto was, the rice balls outshone it (can you believe that?) we spent the next 2 days eating those and didn't have to throw out all that leftover risotto YAY!

food mentioned in this blog:
PW's Risotto Recipe
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/04/risotto-one-of-lifes-great-triumphs/
Pastor Ryan's Recipe
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/ryans-shrimp-risotto/
Rice Balls Recipe

Leftover risotto (whatever flavor you made)
about 1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup spaghetti sauce
2 eggs
1 Tbs milk
panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
Oil (Canola or Olive)

Mix eggs, salt pepper and milk in a bowl, set aside.
Brown the ground beef with a little salt. Once it's done, drain it and then add just enough sauce to coat the meat. You don't want this too 'saucy'.
Take out the cold risotto, flatten a small ball into a patty shape. I found it's best to get this as thin as possible. (about 1/8") Spoon a small amount of the beef mixture into the center of the patty and close up the risotto around the meat, forming a ball.
Dip in the egg wash, then roll in panko bread crumbs. I found it's better to have these made and ready to go if you're doing this alone, if you have help, then you can get a batch of 4 or 5 going, and form another batch while those are frying under the supervision of your helper.
Heat Oil (enough to coat 1/2" of the pan) in a frying pan, place balls in HOT oil and gently roll around to brown all sides. once they are a nice brown color, remove and drain on paper towels. Serve warm. I guess you could dip these in some additional spaghetti sauce, but they didn't even need it.

tap tap, is this thing on??

And so begins this blog, stay tuned for posts, as boring as they may be....