A Night Of Firsts

I made my very first Risotto... from scratch! This involved peeling and seeding Roma tomatoes, which I'd never done before. That REALLY hot water trick really helped with that. I freshly grated the Parmesan, instead of just buying the pre-shredded stuff. Wow! That made such a HUGE difference. I also discovered the awesomeness that is Arborio rice, an essential for risotto (so all the pros say, and I think I believe them). All of this for a recipe for "Risotto with Tomatoes, Parmesan, and Basil" from "The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook" by Jack Bishop. This was the first recipe I've made from this book. Sean had given it to me for Christmas or my birthday a couple of years back. I will certainly be experimenting more from it though. The risotto was just the beginning. Fabio Viviani showed me the way to properly do a Risotto in his Chow Ciao videos, but they weren't for vegetarians, so I consulted my books with the knowledge he'd given me. It turned out amazing! The book suggested it be served in a soup bowl, so soup bowl it was! I served it with Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts and a crusty toasted garlic sourdough bread. Yummy!