Recipe Corner

Winner, "Clever Use of Leftovers" Award: Last Night's Risotto

This was so good I found myself already looking forward to warming up the last portion for lunch by the time I finished eating dinner yesterday.

All quantities are approximate and somewhat flexible:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
Handful of mushrooms, sliced (leftover from a veggie & dip platter)
1 stalk celery or so, diced (ditto)
About half a red pepper, diced (ditto)
Maybe a pound of cooked ham and smoked turkey, cubed (leftover from the in-laws' 40th wedding anniversary party on the weekend)
6 cups, more or less, of nicely salted stock, heated to simmering -- I used the water from boiling spareribs a while back that I had saved in the freezer
1/2 - 1 cup of sherry, added to the simmering stock
Optional: soften a few sliced dried mushrooms in the simmering stock
2 cups arborio or other short grain rice
Freshly ground pepper and finely grated parmesano reggiano cheese, to taste

Heat the oil and butter over medium heat until butter stops bubbling. Add vegetables and meat, and sauté for a couple of minutes, until the onion has softened. Add rice and stir until the rice is thoroughly coated with the oil/butter mixture and has lost some of its opacity, at least one minute. Start adding the simmering stock/sherry mixture, a cup at a time, stirring pretty much constantly to keep it from sticking and to encourage the rice to absorb the liquid. Only add more liquid when it has been absorbed. Keep stirring! After about 15-20 minutes, start tasting the rice; once it is tender but still has a bit of firmness to the tooth, it's ready. (You don't want it to be completely mushy, but you do want a nice creaminess to the dish.) Stir in pepper and cheese. Devour!