Secret Recipe Club: Risotto Stuffed Mushrooms

It seems like just yesterday was the October post date for Secret Recipe Club, and here it is already November.  For this blog swap, I received Kate's blog: Kitchen Trial and Error.  The question leading into the name on her blog was: Isn't everything in the kitchen trial and error?  I feel like that is still very true for me!  I still cross my fingers hoping everything turns out edible almost every time I turn on the oven.








I told myself that I was going to look for a soup recipe for this month.  Kate has some great sounding soups (32 soups in total on her blog), like: Vegetarian Wild Rice Soup, the amazing looking Toasted Orzo Chicken Soup, and Tomato and Meatball soup.  All sound perfect for fall.

However, in looking at a soup on her blog, one of the "You might also like" pictures was for Risotto Stuffed Mushrooms.  I couldn't go back to soup once I read about this recipe.  My husband has been deployed for a month and I haven't made one stuffed mushroom dish (he isn't a fan).  I knew that I had to make this dish.

Risotto Stuffed Mushrooms
barely adapted from Kitchen Trial and Error
Ingredients
Risotto
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 leek, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 1/4 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup marsala wine
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
juice from half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
salt & pepper
Mushrooms
2 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and gills removed
about 1 cup leftover risotto
2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese


Directions
1) Melt the butter over medium heat in a dutch oven. Add the leeks and saute until slightly soft, about 3 minutes.
2) In a separate pan, warm the broth over medium high heat.
3) Add the rice to the leeks and stir and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
4) Add the marsala wine and stir to deglaze the pan. cook until mostly evaporated 1-2 minutes.
5) Preheat your oven to 400F and clean the mushrooms. put the mushrooms on a sheet tray upside down (gill side up) and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt & pepper and Italian seasonings and bake about 15 minutes until softened.
6) Add about 1cup of broth to the rice. stir to incorporate. cook until the liquid is absorbed. continue adding broth, stirring to incorporate, and cooking until the liquid is absorbed until creamy, about 30 minutes.
7) Add the frozen peas and mix in. Mix in the parmesan cheese. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand a couple minutes. Once it is done standing, add in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
8) When the mushrooms are done, spoon the risotto into the caps and top with cheese. bake an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.   

 

Like Kate says, people either love mushrooms or hate them, however if you love mushrooms, this is a great stuffed mushroom recipe to try.  The mushroom and the risotto pair nicely to make a great meal.  I may have added more marsala wine than recommended above, and could taste the extra that I had put in.  This is a great dish and I think would make a great special occasion dish for anyone who is vegetarian.

 



Beer Cheddar Risotto

It's time for another recipe swap, hosted by Sarah at A Taste of Home Cooking.  This time around, the theme was Side Dishes.  Always a good theme because I think everyone is always looking for new side dishes to go with the main dishes they have in mind.

I received Beer Cheddar Risotto from Ashley at Cheese Curd in Paradise.   I have to admit that I've always heard how much work risotto is, so I just haven't made it, and so while this sounded like a delicious combination, I really thought I would mess it up just because of what I'd heard.

The night that I decided to make this, my husband came home from work exclaiming that the Packers were playing on TV...he is a huge Green Bay Packers fan, so I knew this was the perfect dish for us.  We enjoyed it as Green Bay won the game (against whoever they were playing, haha).

Beer Cheddar Risotto

barely adapted from Cheese Curd in Paradise

Ingredients

24 oz of beef stock

1/2 small onion, diced

1 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 cups Arborio rice 
1/2 bottle of beer
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Black Pepper, to taste

 

Directions

1) Place beef stock in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer (do not boil). Keep warm over low-medium heat.
2)  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to pan; swirl to coat. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes and add garlic.

3) Stir in rice, and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

4) Increase heat to medium and add beer. Add 1/2 cup stock and cook 3-5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Continue adding remaining stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of stock is absorbed before adding the next.

5) Right before you serve the risotto, stir in the cheese and season with black pepper. (Right before I plated, I stirred in another dash of beer.  I think it made the beer flavor a little stronger.)

 

 

I now think that things that take longer to cook and a little more attention usually turn out more delicious than the things that are just easy and throw together.  I couldn't get enough of this dish.  The leftovers were devoured the next day for lunch, and I think the flavors got even better the next day.  I think this is the best side dish that we've had in awhile.  I served this side dish with Grilled Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin from Two Peas and Their Pod, it was a great combination.

 

Please check out all the other delicious side dishes that were made below.