Sweet Corn Risotto & Cooking Gifts from a friend

By sheer coincidence, on the day that I was planning to make Elizabeth's Sweet Corn Risotto for dinner, I received a wonderful package from her in the mail that was full of cooking gifts! It was such a lovely surprise and perfect timing because my hubby left this weekend for a 6 week rotation an entire state away! Elizabeth's package cheered me up and the new goodies (along with her blog) inspire me to keep on cooking fun and new things! 

It's going to be hard for me to wait on using the gifts til the hubs is around, but I know he would love Harry and David Parmesan Flatbread. I can't wait to open up the Cherry BBQ sauce, from Brownwoods Farms, a company in Michigan (where Elizabeth and I are both from). It will taste amazing on some grilled chicken! I browsed through the Easy Appetizers book and think the Cream of Mushroom Soup will be the first recipe I try. The Olive Oil is from a winery in Napa Valley so there's no doubt it's gonna be gooooood stuff!


Thank you Elizabeth, for the thoughtful, generous gift and for being my cooking blog friend!! Thank you also for posting the Sweet Corn Risotto Recipe, which is an Elizabeth original and is so delicious! It's creamy, sweet, filling, comforting, and perfect for when my hubby is gone and I can eat all the vegetarian dishes I want without feeling guilty!

Sweet Corn Risotto 
From Dutch Oven

Printable Version


Ingredients
3 ears of corn
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup Arborio Rice
1/4 cup white wine
2-4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions
Cook the corn through whatever method you prefer (I cooked mine the Siggy Spice way so it would be extra sweet and yummy). After it is cooked, allow it to cool and cut off the kernels. Reserve for later.

While the corn is cooking heat the oil and butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add in Arborio rice and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring the entire time. Heat the chicken broth in a separate sauce pan. Add wine to the rice and stir continuously, letting the rice absorb the wine. Add the chicken broth one ladle at a time. Let each ladle of broth become absorbed by the rice, stirring often. Repeat until rice is al dente and creamy (about 20-30 minutes).

While rice is cooking, puree 1/2 of the corn with the milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

When rice is al dente add the puree and the remainder of the whole corn kernels. Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. 

Asparagus-Wild Mushroom Risotto with Parmesan

I have become quite fond of risotto. I like how it is creamy, filling, and the fact that there are about 300 million different risotto variations. I found this recipe on Foodnetwork.com. It's a recipe from Robin Miller, and although I consider myself a Food Network fan, I've honestly never heard of her. She must be on during the day when I'm at work? Regardless, her recipe was fantastic. The combination of mushrooms, fresh asparagus, and fresh parsley was really scrumptious. It made such a huge batch that my husband and I ate it as our main course and the hubs couldn't stop complimenting it. He made sure to ask if he could take some leftovers for lunch the next day, too! That's when I know a recipe is a hit!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 teaspoons pre-minced garlic)
• 8 cups sliced wild mushrooms (any combination of shiitake, cremini, oyster, etc). **I only used 2 cups and it was more than enough mushrooms!!!
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups cooked Arborio rice **This is important, be sure your rice is cooked before you start this recipe!
• 1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
• 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen asparagus spears (1-inch pieces)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook 1 minute. Add mushrooms and saute 5 minutes, until tender and releasing juice. Add thyme and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.

To the mushrooms in the pot, add rice and broth and asparagus and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, Stir in Parmesan and chopped parsley. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Ladle risotto into bowls and serve hot.