Highway Sign says Go West

Friday nights in a place where I am one of one.

Time for a bad romantic comedy or equally popular pulpy film, red wine (tonight a Malbec), and my "friday night risotto." Every week, I am swept up in the week by the narratives of my clients. This weighs on my psyche and constantly competes with the seemingly perfect lives of everyone else I know in my life. I wonder where I fit into this divided landscape. I fancy myself an iconoclast to a fault, constantly challenging institutions...but in reality, sometimes I wish for convention or at least the charade of convention. It remains to be seen if that will ever happen.

In the mean time, here is THIS for you (especially YOU!!):

California Soul's Friday Night Risotto!!!

1/2-3/4 cup of leek, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 - 1 cup arborio rice
1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup arugula leaves, washed
1/2 cup snap peas
1 bottle pinot grigio, chilled
1-2 cups vegetable broth
olive oil
dried thyme, to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste
parmesan, grated, to taste
salt and ground black pepper to taste


1) In a small bowl, wash the dried mushrooms and drain. Pour about 1/3-2/3 cup of the pinot grigio over the mushrooms and let them soak. Cover with a small plate if you wish.

2) On medium heat, put two tablespoons or so of olive oil to heat in a large pan. Add chopped shallot and saute.

3) Add leeks and continue to sautee until leeks are limp.

4) Pour in arborio rice and keep stirring until the arborio rice soaks up the oil

5) Pour about 3/4 cup of wine and stir. Allow the rice to simmer and soak up the wine. Then pour 3/4 cup of the vegi broth. Stir. Allow the rice to soak up the broth. Keep alternating with the wine and broth until you are down to about 1/4 cup of wine or broth and the rice is cooked through and quite swollen. The rice should be on a continuous simmer in liquid.

6) Drain the mushrooms and add to the rice mixture. Add washed arugula, thyme, red pepper, and snap peas. Stir and add the remainder of the wine and broth. Continue stirring as the mixture simmers. Add salt and ground pepper to taste.

7) Ladel the risotto into a bowl and add grated parmesan. Mix.

SERVE. with a ton of wine. Red preferably. Like I'm drinking. Right now.

ENJOY.

While I cook, I often listen to THIS to remind myself that in the end, iconoclastic and on my own will somehow work out (right?!):

and THIS:

Power to those of us who still wonder and wander.