Radical Risotto

I am sure you will be surprised to know, we avidly watch Hell's Kitchen. You are surprised, right? Sure you were.

While I do enjoy watching shows related to cooking and cooking competitions there is just something about Gordon Ramsey's shows that just trumps them all. The man clearly has not only anger issues, but a multiple personalities and I love it. They must be tranquilizing him for the Master Chef series or something because there is no way that is the same man I have grown to love in Hells.

I love it when he smashes the food, I love it when he throws them out of the kitchen, I love it when he tells them to "F off" and I especially love when he calls them Donkeys. L-O-V-E IT! In fact, I may start calling AJ "donkey!" Just kidding.

If you watch any of his shows, you know a classic risotto dish is always on the menu. This is a dish AJ has talked about conquering for a few months now and he finally built up enough courage to give it a whirl.

Last weekend when my parents came over for dinner I prepared a delicious Caesar salad (plating resembled a fine dinging restaurant) and cheesy pop-overs. While AJ prepared a lobster and mushroom risotto and a lemon and herb crusted pork tenderloin.

He found a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and went with it. I think the most important part of the recipe is to get the Arborio rice which we found at Fry's.

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the lobster tails and boil for 8 to 10 minutes until the shells curl and the lobster meat turns white.

Drain, transfer to a cutting board, and cool for 15 minutes. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut through the top shell lengthwise. Remove the meat and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Keep hot over low heat.
In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to foam and then turns brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add the onion and cook, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the brandy and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of stock and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue adding the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of stock to absorb before adding the next. Cook until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining butter and 2 tablespoons chives. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer the risotto to a large serving bowl. Arrange the lobster meat on top of the risotto and garnish with the remaining chives.

Thankfully, due to our recent nuptials, we had the perfect serving bowl for the risotto! The risotto and tenderloin were both delicious -- not quite as fantastic as my cheesy pop-overs, but a fairly close second.

We served a sweet potato peanut butter blondie and a dollop of homemade whipping cream for dessert and sent my parents on their way home.

I think had AJ been in Hell's Kitchen there is no way Gordon would have called him a Donkey for his risotto performance. It was excellent and I look forward to the next time it appears on the evening's menu.

And, of course, as I loaded the dishes into the dish washer, my loveable assistant was there to help!