Wild Mushroom Risotto and Chicken Saltimbocca

Hey everyone here are the first two of too many (not really too many, never too many) recipes. Anyway I had a good time preparing this while photographing it as I went. It is an interesting process, you have to think about the picture each step of the way and this time at least it took me a little longer to make dinner (sorry LML). So lets hit it!

First let's meet players.... on team Risotto we have... (look at that pretty little pug standing guard)

 5 3/4 cups Chicken Broth  

10 ounces white mushrooms finely chopped
1/2 ounce dried mushrooms (recipe called for porcini, I used chanterelle so use what you got)
1/4 cup butter (I added a extra tablespoon because did I mention I love butter)
2 cups finely chopped onion ( I didn't want the onion to overpower so I just used 1 onion about 1 1/2 cups)
2 clove garlic minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine (I am not I white wine drinker, preferring a nice hearty red so I use what I had a chardonnay
1/2 cup frozen peas thawed
2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
(so much thanks Giada De Laurentiis check out her many books they are worth every penny)

So first things first we need to warm up the broth and plump up those dried mushrooms.  Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium pan over med-low heat.  Toss in the mushrooms cover, remove from heat and set aside for about 5 to 10 minutes until they begin to plump back up, then remove them from the broth and chop them up! Keep the broth warm over very low heat.

So plop that butter in a large pan over medium heat.

Now we have to get to chopping!!!

First chop up that Onion, now I could fudge it here and let you believe I used my handy dandy chefs knife and like a master zip bam boom diced onion.  But lets get real here I hate crying and well onions make me cry alot I mean like more than a tear jerker like ET!  So what to do what to do, I use my chopper my Pampered Chef chopper (I love Pampered Chef). Very quick and done!

Toss those onions in with that melted butter and simmer the onions until they are tender, about 10 minutes.  While those are simmering away and filling the house with an awesome smell, chop up those white mushrooms.  Now my little trick here is that I hold the mushroom stem side up and slice, then holding it together turn the mushroom, slice again and then once more and waaalaa diced mushrooms.

Chop up the garlic and then add the mushrooms and garlic to the onions and simmer until tender and the juices evaporate about 6 to 8 minutes.

Next stir in the rice and the wine and stir until the wine is absorbed, just a minute or two.

Ok so at this point I must say it isn't pretty and you may be asking yourself really it is it supposed to look like that but yes it is and just keep going it will be beautiful in the end I promise.

Now go ahead and add 1 cup of the hot broth and stir frequently (this is not constantly but frequently like every 2 minutes or so give it a good stirring) once the liquid is somewhat absorbed about 3 to 4 minutes, continue adding the broth cup by cup, stirring until absorbed, the add, stir, absorb wash rinse repeat oops I digress.   Once you have added all the broth about 25 minutes then remove from heat add the thawed peas and the cheese and yes you got it stir and try not to completely devour the entire pot!

mmmm delicious...... Tomorrow it is Chicken Saltimbocca this is so easy to make I made it while I was cooking the Risotto, it was terrific