No matter how long you have been cooking there is always one thing, that when you think about it, makes you a little nervous. I have a friend who will not contemplate making biscuits while I make them routinely without a second thought.

I can debone and stuff a whole chicken, and although I hate to do it, my fried chicken is pretty good too.

But the one thing I have put off tackling is making risotto.

My best excuse so far has been that you have to attend to it for ever and baby it, so I just didn&8217;t have time for that.

Then when my biscuitless friend started telling me that her family has risotto at least once a week because &8220;they just love it&8221; she might as well have stuck her tongue out and say &8220;nah nah, you can&8217;t do this.&8221;

I certainly couldn&8217;t ask her for her advice or recipe (afterall she might want my biscuit recipe in exchange, and that isn&8217;t happening.) So after much research through cookbooks and the food network website here is what I came up with and what worked beautifully for me and I hope will take the fear out of risotto for you also.

As with any recipe there are things to keep in mind when you are making risotto. There are three important ones to remember. First, have all your ingredients prepped and ready to use (this is called mise en place, but that&8217;s a separate column). Second, have more liquid than you think you will need. Chicken broth can be frozen for use at a later date or used in few days in a hundred other recipes you will make. And third on the list is don&8217;t be afraid to use the white wine, the taste of alcohol will evaporate and you will be left with a wonderful flavor. Just be sure you use a dry white wine, not sweet. And if you would rather, you can use just chicken broth.

My Basic Risotto

1 medium white onion

1/2 stick butter

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of dry white wine

4 cups or more chicken broth

2 cups of Arborio rice

Salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place your chicken broth in a saucepan and heat over low heat. In a separate saucepan melt the butter and your minced onion and garlic. Let it cook just until soft, do not brown. Then add the rice and turn your heat up to medium or medium-high. You should be stirring it constantly and in about a minute or so it will take a slightly clear look. This is when you add the wine and keep stirring. When the wine has absorbed add a ladle or about 3/4 cup of broth and a sprinkling of salt and continue to stir. Turn your heat down to simmer, do not let it boil. This is important so that the outside of the rice doesn&8217;t cook too much and it cannot absorb more liquid.

When the rice looks as if it is beginning to dry out simply add another ladle of broth while stirring constantly. You keep doing this, letting each addition of liquid be absorbed before you add the next. And taste it occasionally, you want it to become soft with just the slightest texture in the middle. Don&8217;t forget to check for seasoning and gradually add your salt along the way.

When it is the texture you like, remove it from the heat and gently stir in your Parmesan cheese and a little black pepper. Cover and let sit for a few minutes. Serve as quickly as possible.

Christina Hall

can be reached by e-mail at

christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com

.