Green Risotto with Artichokes

Mark here...this is the recipe for the Barefoot Contessa's green risotto with artichokes.  This recipe is amazing and leftovers practically disappear by the following day!  I made this to go with the fish for Battlestar Galactica season 2 episode, "Scattered"

Green Risotto with Artichokes

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 tablespoon Olive oil
1 and 1/2 tablespoon butter
2 leeks
2 fennel bulbs
1 1/2 cup arborion rice
2/3 cup white wine
5 cups stock
1 lb asparagus (thick preferably)
10 oz. frozen peas
8 oz. frozen asparagus
pinch lemon zest
salt and pepper
mascarpone cheese
grated parmesan
2 tablespoons lemon juice
chopped fresh chives

First the chopping!  Chop the asparagus and discard the tough bottom if necessary. Blanch the asparagus for a minute in boiling salted water then drain in a colander and set aside.

Chop the fennel bulb and remove the core.

Then chop the leeks.  Only use the white and light green parts and put them in a bowl of water to wash.  The leeks will float while the dirt sinks...

Now, begin by heating the olive oil and butter in a large pan (medium heat).  Add the leeks and fennel and sauté for several minutes until soft.  Next, add the rice and coat with the oil.  Add the wine and simmer.  Wait until the wine has been absorbed, then begin ladling in the stock.  Don't add the next ladle until the previous ladle of stock has been absorbed by the rice. This will take a while! It took me about 45 minutes.

Add the asparagus, peas, salt and pepper (to taste), lemon zest and artichokes to the rice and stir constantly. Add more stock if the rice isn't tender yet.

Turn off the heat and stir in several tablespoons of the mascarpone. a handful of parmesan and a handful of chopped chives. Serve topped with chopped chives and grated parmesan.

Scattered

Mark here…Laurel and I are on to our first round of Season 2 episodes!  I made us Ina Garten's Green Risotto and herb wrapped fish and Laurel made a delicious kale salad to accompany.  And we're off with season two of Battlestar Galactica.  I'm excited to move on to Season 2s of our shows as we don't have to deal with the set up and establishment stuff of Season 1.

On to the episode!  This episode picks up right after the cliffhanger from Season 1.  Adama has been shot by Cylon Sharon and the entire fleet is thrown into disarray.  Tigh takes over and orders an emergency jump, leaving behind Chief, Cally, Baltar and an expeditionary force on the planet Kobol.  Fearing that Sharon has revealed their location to the Cylons, the fleet does the jump, and in the confusion, the civilian fleet ends up at a different location than Galactica.  It's a tense and fast paced episode as the crew on Galactica struggles to find a way to locate the civilian fleet.  At the same time Adama is in critical condition while Dr. Cottle is still lost with the civilian fleet.  Col. Tigh struggles with the responsibility of leadership and eventually they devise a plan to find the fleet.  All the while Roslin is still in Galactica's brig for sending Starbuck back to Caprica to retrieve the arrow of Apollo (a key to finding Earth).

In the end after a battle with the Cylons, Galactica does locate the fleet, but a ship full of Cylon Centurions has crash landed in one of Galactica's flight pods…unbeknownst to anyone…

Hey Laurel here…I'm a little confused about Sharon.  It seems like she is still the same old Sharon that we love and trust, and just got taken over by her programming temporarily when she shot Adama.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

I'm also interested to see how Roslin being in prison plays out.  Will Starbuck come back with the arrow and save the day?  Will Roslin be exonerated?

Also just wanted to add a note about Starbuck's makeup…when we see her this episode she is a little bloodied and beaten.  It just so happens that some of the blood runs down her face in the shape of a goatee?  Accidental or on purpose?  hmmm..

Also is Adama going to survive?  If not will Tigh be able to handle it?  So far he seems emotional but is handling things well?

Vegetable Risotto

As we're nearing the end of our 90210 Season One run, I'm going to try and catch up on some of my recipes.  This one is from when we did the episode "One on One", it is a version Barefoot Contessa's Spring Green Risotto.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
butter
1 cup of chopped leeks
1 cup chopped fennel
1 1/4 cup Arborio rice
2/3 cup white wine
5 cups of stock (I had game stock from the onion soup)
blanched, chopped asparagus
10 oz. frozen peas
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup grated parmesan
chopped chives
salt
pepper

Saute the leeks and fennel in the olive oil and butter until soft, then add the rice and saute another minute or 2.  Add the white wine and when it is absorbed, begin adding the stock a ladle at a time.  Wait until it is absorbed before adding the next ladle.  Then add the asparagus, peas, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste.  If it needs it, add more stock (mine did).  Whisk the mascarpone and lemon juice togther and add to the risotto, then add parmesan and chives.