Gatherings of our college roommate clan usually involves much
laughter, much eating, and much wine. Despite the wine, Meg’s memory on the
zuchinni lasagna was spot on – that ricotta is to die for. Make it soon!!
Since Meg and I are the cooks in the crew, eating often involves
much cooking on our parts, which we really enjoy. On our recent vacation
gathering in Vermont, the fall weather lent itself to comfort food. My night
up, on consultation with Meg, I decided to make a hearty fall risotto, paired
with a big salad and of course wine.
I had made a version of this risotto before – a recipe from
Maxine Clark’s cookbook “Risotto” – but who carries cookbooks on
vacation? So, I improvised. We had uncooked brown rice available, and
since I'd experimented before with risottos made from grains other than the
traditional Arborio rice, I thought this would work. After a little Googling -
remember Meg’s essential cook's tool? - I determined that precooking the brown
rice would yield a grain texture amenable to the risotto technique.
