Gordon Ramsey Would Be Proud!

Actually, ol' Gordo might not be so proud.  I made Risotto last night.  It seems to be his main appetizer dish on his cooking shows, and I have only found one restaurant locally that offers it.  I've always wanted to try risotto, especially with shrimp or lobster, but haven't lucked up on it as yet.

So, I saw this box of Lundberg Risotto in the store a few weeks ago, and I bought it and put it away, thinking it was a time consuming process to prepare.  I found it last night and was shocked at how easy it is to prepare!  It made me wonder why and how all those potential "chefs" got kicked off his show/s!  

All you do is saute the rice-like risotto buds (okay, so it is a rice) in a teaspoon of olive oil for a couple of minutes, pour in 2 cups of water, and the contents of a seasoning pouch, (conveniently included in the box), and bring to a boil.  Then you simply reduce the heat to medium, stir occasionally, and start cooking your vegetables and "protein", as Chef Ramsey would say.

I chose fish as my protein, some halibut I'd had in the freezer just about as long as I'd had the risotto!  My only mistake was starting the risotto about 15 minutes too early.  That would have gotten me kicked out of the kitchen for sure.  At least if I'd been cooking for the great and powerful Gordo!  If you can't bring all the order to the table at the same time, then you have to throw it all away and start over!  Not me...not with the cost of food these days, and the hordes that are starving!

So, I had to bake my halibut a bit longer than planned, since it was frozen.  I cooked the unbreaded fish for 20 minutes at 350, flipped it and cooked it 10 minutes more, then quickly blackened it slightly under the broiler.  Probably a bit too long, but I sure didn't want to get kicked out of the kitchen (or my home) for serving raw fish!

I sauteed some frozen mixed vegetables in butter!  Yep, I read that article in Time's mag on "butter and fat".  I wanted the real McCoy...none of that fake stuff!

I seasoned the vegetables with a little sea salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash Seasoning!  They were yummy too!

I kept the risotto warm, and truthfully they were a little firm, not that nice liquid state you see Gordo do on TV, but great tasting nonetheless!

I do better next time...I promise!  Can I stay another week?

I seasoned the halibut with table salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a hearty sprinkle of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning!

I plated the wonderful smelling food and placed it in front of my wife, my other discerning chef and chief critic!  She and I both thought it was a great meal, and I'm sure you will too!

Get in there...real men can cook real food!