Risotto for My Family

I'll give you the basic recipe for our family and some variations I make to change it up.

Basic Risotto

2-3 tbsp butter (personal choice add up to 4 tbsp if you'd like)

1 finely diced onion

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp arborio rice

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp vermouth

6 1/2+ cups chicken broth, warming in a pot.

1 1/4 cups parmesan 

2 tbsp butter (this is to finish the risotto)

- In a large wide pan over medium, melt butter.

- Saute onions until translucent then add rice for a bit to do some sort of culinary magic. 

- Once the grains start to be more translucent as well, add in vermouth.  Stir until mostly absorbed. Stirring the while time.

- Add the broth in about 1/2 cup at a time, waiting for it to absorb into rice before adding more, don't let it get to too dry you just don't want to get rice swimming.   Just keep stirring.

- After adding in the 6 1/2 cups you might need a bit more of the rice isn't as tender as you want it.  Add and cook until rice is at the right done-ness.

- Turn off heat, stir in parmesan, pepper and butter, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

- Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Variations

Thanksgiving leftovers: fry fresh sage in the butter at the beginning, remove and keep for decorating the top. Add diced turkey, dried cranberries near the end of cooking to warm them up.

Chicken and squash: add diced cooked chicken and diced cooked butternut squash to almost completely cooked risotto.  You can also add fried sage to that.

Chicken and rosemary: add a sprig of rosemary to the broth and add diced chicken.

Mushroom: saute up some mushroom and rosemary in butter and or bacon fat, set aside.  Make the risotto with veggie stock.  Add mushrooms on top and sprinkle with bacon if you have it