Chef's Blade

Any good videos of making risotto? I am trying to study this.

..The simple the better...with mushroom,  butter, and parmesan cheese, and a wine...

zucchini,wine and parm mmmmmmmmmmm check out all recipes. com sometimes they have videos

There is a difference between risotto and other rice dishes like jambalya, spanish rice and chinese fried rice...if its prepared correctly risotto will have a very smooth "creamy" textured sauce when completed. You must try it it is extremely tasty. I prepared some as a side the other night with roasted red pepper and fennel... it was awesome.

what does squid ink taste like?

Both of those dishes sound good. I think I might try them one day. Is squid ink usually an expensive purchase?

Saffron Risotto with welted spinach and sea salt encrusted scallops with a sherry white wine pan sauce.. add some capers and some fine diced tomatoes for color... mmmmmMMMMMmmmm!!! Love it!! absolutely love it..Orzo is so diversital  it just holds the flavor so well..

I'm sorry to disappoint but risotto IS in fact made from a grain.  Similar to farro which is an ancient grain they can both be cooked in the same manner.  There is more than one type of risotto grain such as carnaroli and vialone nano.  However the Italian government doesn't (or didn't, not sure anymore) allow for the export of their best variety so what we use in American cooking is what you see as Arborio rice.  It is a short grain that is packed full of amylose starch molecules.  When the liquid in question (typically a dry white wine and then a flavorful stock of some kind) is added over a slow period of about 30 minutes the starches are allowed to escape the surrounding area and help to create the thick "sauce" that the grains are suspended in.  The result should have a nice spread on the plate but be careful to make sure to season your liquid with less salt as the parmesan or other hard cheese you add will typically increase the saltness.  Plate and serve to your guests as an appetizer or with an entree but make sure it does not sit out long otherwise it will tend sieze up on you and will better serve as mud to spackle your walls when you have a patch job to do.

I love rabbit in my risotto as well. I have heard of that rice used occassionally in risotto but yes moreso in paella though I immediately made a connection that it seemed like another great choice.  I have a nice risotto recipe around here somewhere with braised rabbit, shaved radicchio, smoked mozzarella and basil.

Arborio rice or a similar medium to short grain rice is one of the factors which makes Risotto Risotto.  The other factor is the cooking technique.  Everything else is mere detail.  Slowly adding the liquid and stirring constantly to incorporte the outer starch of the rice as a binder is key.  I've made it with everything from red wine to rabbit stock, and worked with one or two chefs who defy tradition by finishing the risotto with heavy cream.  I've generally partially cooked it and finished it to order, at which point the ingredients such as vegetables, wine, and protiens are added.  This works well.  Best of luck! 

Peace,

Brian

Try crisping the duck shreds a little after you pull them off the bone-I love a good confit.  I made some a few months back of wild ducks-I had to buy some duck fat from Nicky USA because they ducks were way too lean, but my son shot the ducks here in Washington.  We ate the breasts fresh and then I preserved the leg quarters. 

We used to make a salad of crisp-sauteed bitter greens with duck confit, balsamic red onions, pancetta and slivered kumquats that was really nice.  At home I might make something simpler like stir fried kale and confit over some duck fat and garlic mashed yukon golds.  Confit is great, it is the only way to keep up with the amount of breast needed for service-the easiest way to use, store and sell duck hindquarters.   

Confit is one of those money words like bacon or crab.  People love it because it is so bad for you.

My family is really into hunting and gardening, and we like to preserve our bounty- it is a pioneer mindset that I have tried to pass on to my kids and grandkids, just as I received it from my grandparents and parents.  With a mostly German and English heritage we have a great tradition of making sausages, cured meats, and a calorie heavy favorite- potted meats.  These can be off the bone like pate or rillettes, or they can be on the bone like duck hind quarters, pork chops, etc.  My great grandmother used to make a hundred pounds of sausage when they killed a pig, then fry it off and pack it in crocks full of lard and it would keep for many months like this.  Back before mechanical refrigeration, when the coldest part of the house was the cellar or the spring house, this was the only way to enjoy "fresh" sausages in between pig kills.