Risotto

I love getting dinner invitations to Brian and Susanna’s because I know I’m in for a great meal. Mostly because they have a no-fear attitude to cooking. They may wake up in the morning and say “Let’s roast a duck today”, never having bought a duck before. And then they attack the recipe. One legendary time Brian made his own paneer - an Indian cheese - for a dinner. He made the cheese in their apartment living room. The process involved a stack of physics textbooks.
I had Easter Saturday dinner at their place last week (that’s where I met their duck) and they created an amazing spread. Along with the duck, we had a spicy squash risotto, green beans with a red pepper sauce, eggplant stuffed with feta and ricotta (not sure about the ricotta, but I think it was in there), and apple dumplings for dessert. And before all of this, they laid out a walnut pate as well as a spinach dip, brought by Vicky.
My favourites were the spicy squash risotto and the apple dumplings. And it’s got me thinking that I will try to make risotto this weekend. To be honest, I’ve never really been into risotto. Growing up on white steamed rice, the idea of a creamy Italian rice seemed strange. But I’ve taken Susanna and Brian’s risotto recipe (they got it from the Jamie Oliver Naked Chef cookbook, which I understand can be hit and miss - I've put it up at porcelainspoon2.blogspot.com) and will make the more basic version.
I like the recipe because it seems to be written for someone who’s never made risotto before (that’s me) so the instructions are clear and detailed. I’m slightly intimidated by the length of the recipe. There are three stages to making risotto. Also intimidating is the fact that Jamie Oliver uses the word “crucial” in the recipe. Crucial is a word I don’t associate with cooking. I’ll make the risotto tonight. We’ll see how it goes.