On a Cold January Night...

With the abnormally frigid Los Angeles weather this past week and my husband out of town the other night, I was in the mood for something warm and comforting.

With a glass of wine.

I cracked open the Chardonnay and got to cooking...

Ingredients:
+ 3 tablespoons butter, divided
+ About a half pound of fresh wild mushrooms, sliced
+ 3 1/2 cups or so low-sodium chicken broth
+ Truffle extra-virgin olive oil

+ White truffle salt & black pepper

+ 1/2 a medium sized onion, diced
+ 4 1/2 oz of arborio rice
+ 3/4 cup of Chardonnay
+ 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus a little extra on top

+ Fresh parsley

1. Melted a little butter with some olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat to sauté some of the sliced mushrooms until tender and just a bit brown - 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkled a bit of salt and pepper, and channeled my inner Julia Child. After all, you have to remember not to crowd the pan when cooking mushrooms. Repeated twice to finish the mushrooms.
2. While the mushrooms were sweating, I brought the chicken broth to a low simmer in a separate saucepan. Thanks to Melissa D'Arabian and one of her cooking tips, I had some broth leftover from a previous recipe frozen into ice cubes. For my risotto, I used about 18 cubes worth of broth.
3. Melted a bit of butter with olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Added the onions, sprinkled in some salt and sautéed until tender - about 5 to 6 minutes.
4. Added the arborio rice and increased the heat to medium. Stirred until the edges of the rice began to look translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Added the wine and stirred until the liquid was absorbed, about 2 minutes. Added a ladle full of warm chicken broth and stirred until almost all of the broth was absorbed, about 1 minute or so. Continued ladling broth and stirring until almost absorbed before adding more, until rice was halfway cooked, about 10 minutes.
5. Stirred in sautéed mushrooms and continued adding broth, stirring until almost all absorbed before adding more and until the rice was tender but still firm. At which point, the risotto was at a nice creamy consistency - after about another 10 minutes.
6. Once almost done, I stirred in the grated cheese. Then, I was ready to eat! Topped the risotto with just a bit more cheese and some fresh parsley.

Delicious with another glass of wine and Top Chef All-Stars, I was happy and satiated. This recipe was a definite keeper!

Adapted from Bon Appétit