Julia (and) Childs in the Kitchen: Date Night In- Butternut Squash Risotto

Let's face it- our calendars will remain wide open for weeks to come in this crazy time. I am so missing a night out at a great restaurant, or more honestly, any meal I didn't have to cook! But yet we trudge on. I was starting to get bored with our usual suspects for dinner so decided to make something more fancy to go with our steak tips. This is where risotto comes in! Its the perfect way to elevate a dinner and give it a little something special, you know... set a Saturday apart from a Wednesday...

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Italian cooking, risotto is a rice dish cooked in a broth to a creamy consistency. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. It is made with a special type of rice called Arborio because of its short grain and high starch content. Once you get the method down you can change up the flavors pretty easily by using different broths, different wines and altering your add-ins. It's very versatile in that it can be served as a main dish or as a side.

Risotto is a great home date night meal because it doesn't require much active cooking. You can drink wine, talk, hang out and give it a little attention to the stove every few minutes and then it's done! I love this version because it is lighter than some of the risottos that use lots of cheese. Also makes my Sauvignon Blanc an acceptable choice even though I'm serving red meat since I had to open the bottle to cook with it!

Here's What You Need:

1/2 cup dry white wine*
4 cups chicken broth**
1 small/med butternut squash***
1-2 shallots
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (WARNING no other type of rice will do!)
2-3 sage leaves

2 cloves of garlic

Olive oil, butter

*don't use cooking wine!!

** low sodium is best here

***save time and buy prepackaged cubed, just cut them up smaller before roasting
Makes 4 side dish servings or 2 entree servings, Total Cook Time: 35 minutes

First get the squash peeled, chopped and ready for roasting. Place on parchment paper or foil and drizzle with olive oil, salt, garlic, and some sage leaves. Put in 400 degree oven while you cook the risotto (about 20-30 min).

In medium size saucepan combine chicken broth and wine and let it simmer on low to keep warm. Any kind of dry white will do here but I prefer Sauvignon Blanc. You want to keep the liquid warm the whole time so when you add it to the dish as you are cooking your'e not bringing the temp down.

While your broth is coming to a simmer chop up your shallots and garlic into a fine dice. Then heat some olive oil (couple turns of the pan) in large deep skillet and toss them in to get shiny..

Once the shallots are translucent and you can start to smell the garlic it's time to add the rice along with a couple of extra swigs of wine and stir to coat

Now turn down the heat to medium low, time to start adding the broth- you are going to add in about a ladleful or so at a time, as long as it wets the rice. Then stir it around vigorously each time to help the rice release its starch. A wooden spatula or spoon works best for this.

Let liquid almost evaporate completely each time before adding more liquid. Total cooking time will depend on your preference of firmness. Somewhere between 20-25 minutes. I like my risotto a little softer but most Italians will say that al dente is the proper way.

As you keep adding the broth/wine the rice will plump up a bit. You want to make sure you have a nice bubbling going when you add the broth to make sure the pan stays hot enough..

In the last 5 min of cooking move the rice aside and add a little more oil to crisp up the remaining sage leaves. This goes a long way in flavor... When they start getting crisp remove from pan.

Then add in your roasted butternut squash and stir together. Adding a little more salt and the crumbled sage leaves in to incorporate all the flavors together.