Bitten

I admit. The Brides Bug has bit. I find myself taking “What kind of Couple are you?” quizzes…by myself (I am a “Traditional Couple” in case you were wondering). This experience, however, has offered me new insight into an event which I have never actually attended – yes, the Brides intern has never actually been to a wedding. Why is Moroccan such a popular theme amongst middle-class white couples? If you think about it, isn’t a bouquet weird? Whatever happened to originality in a wedding dress? White (check!), strapless (check!), and big poofy skirt (check!) seems to be all the rage these days. And yet, when they do it right, isn’t it lovely? Take, for example, the Kelly green Grecian Style wedding dress worn at a small intimate garden wedding I stumbled across yesterday…perfection. But for every one of those there are four too-fat-for-strapless disasters at Disney World. Dear readers, without this lovely little blog, I think I may be completely swept away into the world of all things matrimonial, for better or worse.

Today, our very glamorous “cafeteria” was offering French fare at the Global station (previous global regions have included the American South, complete with country fried steak)…braised lamb shanks and beof bourgignon. Delightful. However, knowing that the era of French Cooking in my kitchen is about to begin, armed with my new cookbook, I stayed away (painfully), and got sushi instead. And as my farewell dinner to all things not-French, I made one of Jaimie Oliver’s risottos, the other night, and then again for lunch the next day. It was marvelous.

It’s a very summery risotto, with freshly shucked English Peas (yes, hand shucked by yours truly), mint, basil, and a wee bit o lemon zest. Oliver adds prawns to his, but seeing as I can neither afford Prawns financially, or calorically, at the moment, I swapped the Prawns for sweet Italian chicken sausage (go ahead and use pork, you pork lovers, but know that chicken or turkey sausage is just as delicious and a thousand times healthier!). The mint and basil are added at the last minute, leaving them fresh and bright – a bite of sweet basil or mint against the creamy savory risotto is too perfect. The peas are sweet, too, and for me, are a key summer flavor. Risottos are deceptively easy to make – the key is keeping the temperature low, not getting impatient, and constant stirring. But really, its so easy you won’t believe it! And its such an impressive dish and so delicious its easy to let people be fooled into thinking you’d slaved away at such a fantastic dish when, really, it was a piece of cake. I don’t know how many eyebrows I’ve lifted merely by uttering the phrase, “Oh yeah, I make risotto all the time!” Its an infinitely impressing skill upon those who’ve never made it, who, are, lets be honest, the vast majority of people you’ll meet. So go ahead, don’t be shy, step right up and try your hand…you won’t believe you actually made the end results. And don’t be afraid to half this recipe…it makes a helluvalot of Risotto!!!

Mint and Basil Risotto with Peas and Sweet Italian Sausage
Serves 4
1 cup Arborio rice
3 ½ cups chicken stock
½ cup dry white wine or vermouth
2 leeks coarsely chopped, white and pale green parts only
2 garlic cloves
½ head celery, chopped fine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup freshly shucked English peas (set pods aside – do not discard)
A handful of basil, chiffonade
½ handful of mint, chiffonade
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
½ tspn salt
¼ tspn pepper
1 large or ½ medium sweet chicken Italian sausages



1. Heat chicken stock in a pot and place the pea pods in the chicken stock (will infuse the broth with the sweet delicate taste of peas), bringing the heat down to low and simmering until its time to use it
2. Boil a small pot of water and place peas in boiling water for about 5 minutes, until soft, but not mushy. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan to medium high and add sausage. Brown sausage and set aside.
4. Reduce and cook leeks and celery at medium heat in same pan until soft, add garlic at the end and cook for another minute or two, letting garlic toast but not brown
5. Add rice and let toast for another minute or two
6. Add wine and turn heat down to medium low. Add salt and pepper. Begin stirring constantly.
7. Remove pea pods from chicken stock and discard. When wine has been completely absorbed, add about ¾ cup of chicken stock until completely absorbed and repeat this step three more times, waiting for each batch of stock to be completely absorbed before adding the next one.
8. When the last pour of chicken stock has been almost completely absorbed, add the peas, sausage, mint, basil, and parmesan cheese. Fold in all the ingredients and take off the heat. Cover with a lid for about 3 minutes off the heat before serving to get that cozy creamy texture that makes risotto so irresistible. Enjoy!