How to cut an onion and stuff I learned in class yesterday! Plus Risotto.

The class did NOT disappoint. Awesome. The instructor was fabulous, low-key and really gentle.

Cool people in the class also.

First, you have to hold the knife correctly! Who knew (all those years after college using only a paring knife...yikes) here's a pretty good illustration, though for me it was much easier to get in person:

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/knifeskills/ss/knifegrips.htm

The one thing she said that made the MOST sense to me was to use the knife like the extension of your own arm. And pay attention above to the knuckle/claw instruction. Takes away a lot of the fear.  She also pointed out that chefs go really fast on tv because they do this __for a living__. I type pretty fast -- because I do it all day long. Typos= occasional cut.

The other revelation was the onion. LEAVE THE ROOT END ON WHILE YOU DICE! Wild. Here's a pretty good approximation for dicing, step 2 is important.

http://www.sweetonionsource.com/dicinganonion.html

We also learned to make garlic paste and other cool stuff.

Making risotto tonight because I have a lot of rosemary I need to use up. Recipe below (calls for chopping onions!!)

Tomato risotto
1 cup risotto rice or sushi rice actually works too. weird huh.
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper
fresh herbs: rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley.

garlic (a couple of cloves)
1 medium yellow onion
1 can peeled whole tomatoes
2 cans chicken broth or about 3 1/2 cups stock
red wine

parmesan cheese to garnish.
you can also add veggies and other random bits like chicken or shrimp.

heat the chicken broth/stock on low in a small pot.

get out the big pot you have, the kind you'd use for stew.

dice the onion (yay!)
mince the garlic
open and drain the can of tomatoes
open wine, pour glass for self (optional of course)

chop up the herbs keeping the parsley separate
dried herbs are also fine, but fresh rosemary in particular is best for this. when done, I just put them in the can over the tomatoes.

heat the olive oil and cook the onions until translucent, on medium-high. Don't forget to keep an eye on them. 

when they're almost ready, throw in the garlic. stir. then Immediately throw in the cup of rice, stirring constantly to toast, about 2 minutes max, but you'll know when to stop because the pan will start to brown, which you DON'T want. (I don't know why this works to help the rice absorb more liquid, but it does. It also makes the risotto have this slightly toasted flavor that's fantastic.)

Pour in about 1/4 of your heated broth. stir constantly until absorbed, the rice should look like porridge and be thickened. This happens faster than you expect.

Repeat.

At the halfway point, add the tomatoes & herbs, and a slug or two of wine. Stir until absorbed.

Add another 1/4 of the stock.

Repeat. If you're going to add meat or fish, do so now. don't add a lot, keep it to a quarter cup or half cup of something chopped.

Once you've put all the liquid in, keep stirring until it almost looks like risotto.

take it off the heat.

You can now a) stir in about 1/2 a cup of parmesan OR b) sprinkle parm on top or c)put it on the table.

Put the risotto in bowls, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and if you want, shaved parmesan.

Refill wineglass and enjoy!