Risotto, the Aftermath

Where do I begin, as you all know, yesterday I ventured into Franck's Kitchen and made risotto. I figured I was a shoe-in, how hard could it be, rice, broth, stir, vino, eat. Not so... 
First of all, I of course waited until the last minute (20.30) to do my grocery shopping; Franck, getting hungry insisted on coming to make sure that I brought home the right ingredients. Luckily he did though because it turns out that groceries can weigh A TON. 
So, I've got a pair of serious heels on and I'm about to start cutting up the peppers when Franck starts second guessing: 

Franck, "Bébé, are you sure about that pan, ...do you want me to help you boil water?" 

Me, "Honey, if you want to help, I have a kilo of shrimp to peel."

Franck, "I'll pass."

Me (thinking-realising), never start to cook a meal for a hungry man passed his bed time. 

What I know: 10 inch heels are sexy and should be worn. Just because you're in the kitchen, it doesn't mean you have to wear slippers.

Once everything chopped - the problems began. 
I had forgotten that this was an American recipe and in Canada and the US, all fruits and vegetables are on steroids. So 'half an onion' really means two French onions. 
Next problem - the metric system. the French use one system, the Brits another, Canadians another and on and on... Other regions even like to mix systems together. 
So when the recipe called for 1 1/2 cup of rice and 12oz of scallops, I had no idea what they were talking about. I can understand 'pint of beer' and 'glass of wine' and 'second helping please' but that's where it ends. Well, I can also understand 'one sugar or two' ...but 'OZ'? I already know we're not in Kansas anymore.  (hehe, had to say that) 
All my ingredients in the pan, I started stirring, and like you probably know by now, I was stirring for practically AN HOUR. 
IN HEELS. 
Ridiculous. (I'm referring to the stirring bit.)


Ok - verdict time. It looked great, but the first bite had no taste, it was too hot. A few minutes later, the risotto had cooled and Franck's first comments were the following:

Franck, "How many broth cubes did you put in?"

Me, "Two." (I lied - I actually put three, so one too many).

Franck, "Oooh it's salty."

Me, gritting teeth. 

Followed by silence.

Me: "Honey, you don't have to eat it if you don't want to." (fish was dry after having being cooked for an hour, it was a bit too salty and there was a tad too much broth taste... as for the peppers, you could see them, but that was it.) 

Franck:  "No, it's great mon bébé, thank you for making this dish, why don't I give you a foot massage afterwards." 

Me, SCORE!!!!!! 

What I Learned: 
1) If I cook, afterwards Franck will clean while I put my feet up. 
2) I know what risotto rice looks like and that it takes an hour to cook.
3) Always take a man with you when going grocery shopping for the heavy lifting.
4) French fruits and vegetables, like the cars, are puny, but probably natural.
5) Take your left over parsley and put it in a glass with water, it looks pretty. 

What I know: Only the freshest parsley should be used to cook with or garnish, but left over parsley can look great in a vase for a few days. 

For any of you who want to try this recipe from Under The Tuscan Gun, here it is:
(Worth giving it a shot because there's a video and Gabriele is nice to look at, and he has a Florentine accent. Yummy!)
I accompanied this dish with Pinot Grigio d'Alsace and a Macon Villages, both 2009, to the tune of a World War II documentary that Franck was watching. 

What I know: If you have crystal, don't wait for the in laws to be over to take it out. Enjoy it. Gorgeous stemware is a fetish of mine, and here is one of my white wine Bavarian Crystal (every piece is hand made) glasses. Just make sure that you never put these in the dishwasher.

Ingredients:

1 ½ Cup of Risotto Rice
½ Red Pepper
½ Orange Pepper
12 Oz of Shrimps (fresh or frozen, cleaned)
8 Oz of mixed calamari and scallops
½ Yellow Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Handful of Parsley
½ Cup of Dry White Wine
1 Cup Organic Vegetable Broth
2 Tbsp of Butter
Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper and Red Pepper

Chop very fine the Onion, The Garlic and the Parsley.
Wash well the peppers and slice the halves very thin.
In a non-stick pan, on a medium-high flame sauté’ the Onion in about 2 tbsp of Olive Oil and 2 Tbsp of Butter, sprinkle some Red Hot Pepper, and after the first couple of minutes add the Garlic; stir constantly for about 2-3 minutes.

When the Onion starts getting golden, add the Shrimps, the Scallops and the Calamari. Cook for about 5 minutes, letting the water of the fish become sauce with the oil and the butter. Add the Peppers and half of the chopped Parsley, stir well, and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
Rinse the Rice and add it into the pan, stir well and let it absorb all the water (sauce) there is in the pan…then add the White Wine. Let the wine itself get absorb, and put your nose to work…when the alcohol smell is gone is time to start adding the Vegetable Broth.
Keeping your flame on a medium, add the broth little by little, never making your risotto too wet.

From this moment on you can refer to the cooking time indicated on the box the rice comes from: it is very important to reach the time mark with a risotto that has the right consistency. At the very end, if you need to cook it for a few extra minutes, add a little bit of water at the time, and bring your dish to the perfect point.

Serve your new fantastic recipe with some sprinkled Parsley and a drop of Olive Oil.

*Debi and Gabriele, Under The Tuscan Gun