Giada's Lemon Risotto - Where are my Stretchy Pants??

Last night, as I stirred mascarpone cheese and butter into the velvety lemon risotto in my sauce pan, I pondered several age old questions, like:

• If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound?
• What actually did come first, the chicken or the egg?

And most pressing,

• Why does Giada De Laurentiis not weigh 347 pounds?

Seriously.

I have been cooking my way through the recipes of Giada and several other svelte looking chefs over the last few months, blithely adding mounds of butter, olive oil, and cheese to my food with wild abandon.

And why not?

Giada, I would tell myself, has been eating this way her entire life and look at her.

It's all about moderation.

And balance.

And...

Good Lord, I can't do my pants up.

It occurs to me that food blogging isn't, perhaps, the healthiest pursuit for an admitted cream and potato junkie.

I mean, what would one say to a heroin addict who spent hours trying to get the right shot of his needle collection?

On second thought, don't answer that.

Because I'm not going anywhere.

I like being my own version of a food stylist/critic/chef in much the same way I liked to pretend to be a teacher or a detective when I was a child.

For me, it's a form of play.

And even though it's time to cut back on the butter and get back to the gym, play is something we should all be doing more of and VERILY I will blog!

Now, if I could just find that pair of stretchy pants I had kicking around...

For a decadent treat, Giada's Lemon Risotto is absolutely delicious!

Please take note: in an addicted haze, I decided my original risotto pictures were not good enough. So I took the above left over risotto out of the fridge and re-styled it adding lemon edges and additional parsley. There is, however, a reason why risotto must be eaten immediately - as you can see, despite my best efforts, the refrigerated product above has lost its original creaminess and sheen.

Please take note, part 2: as I snapped pictures of the cold risotto, the man I married may or may not have have mumbled, "You are insane," several times as he came in and out of the kitchen.

Please take note, part 3: I attempted to counteract the butter and cheese by serving the risotto with fish.

It didn't work.

Giada's Lemon Risotto
Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients

* 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
* 2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon
* 1 large shallot, diced
* 1 cup Arborio rice
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus 2 tablespoons
* 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
* 1/2 a lemon, zested amd juiced
* 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 6 lemons, for serving

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan bring the broth and 1/2 cup water to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of the broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan, mascarpone cheese, the lemon zest and juice, and the salt and pepper.

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