The Food Network giveth, the Food Network taketh away.
I love risotto and enjoy making it, but I usually don’t add things to it. I just like it so much in its basic state that I’m not motivated to branch out. But this Ina Garten recipe sounded really good, and I love roasted squash, so I decided to give it a try. It seems like the only thing required to make me like risotto even more was roasted squash. I cooked the squash in the morning and let it cool, then tossed it in with the last addition of stock, and I think that worked really well. It let the juices from the squash mix in with the stock, then into the rice, but the squash stayed nice and firm. I also passed on the pancetta and the saffron, but I’m sure it would be really good with them.
I don’t know why I thought I’d want dessert after a meal like that, but I was very taken with this recipe from Nigella Lawson. I think I made it correctly, and it looked beautiful, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such a distasteful combination of flavors in my life. The texture was really mushy and generally unfortunate as well. I’m thinking the caramel with the bourbon would make a nice sauce for something – ice cream or cake. But the addition of eggs to turn it into custard results in something really, really off.
