Emeril's One-Pot Blogger Cooking Party: BLT Risotto

So… are you guys ready to party?  It's almost the weekend, right?  Well, sit back, crack open a cold beer, and let me tell you about a meal that's not only easy to prepare; it will also taste great with that second beer you grab out of the fridge ;-)

Before I begin, let me let you in on what will be going on around here on FOODIE from now until October 1st.  I am honored to be one of 20 bloggers to receive, cook from, and blog from Emeril Lagasse's newest cookbook: "Sizzling Skillets and other one-pot wonders" so that you all can get a sneak peak into this fabulous cookbook and go out and get a copy for yourself.  This "One-Pot Cooking Blog Party" kicked off on September 11th and goes until October 1st.  Now I'm admittedly fashionably late to this party because I was busy doing this, so I didn't have much time to get on my blog to post.  BUT, I DID do some cooking from this fabulous cookbook before my trip so I would be able to share them with you the minute I got back!

So, for the next couple weeks, I will be showing you how to prepare a total of 9 recipes from this book.  Unfortunately I cannot share the recipes with you, but you can at least get an idea of what the dishes look like and what's involved in preparing them.  If you'd like the recipes, grab the book.  I'm gonna tell you what… I've bought a lot of cookbooks in my life and this one is a great one.  It has a decent amount of pics of the food (not for every recipe, but for a lot of them), and every recipe is a meal.  It doesn't have any, what I like to call, "filler recipes" like, "Ok, recipe #1: here's how you make cheese and crackers!  Alright, recipe #2: now it's time for minted ice water!"  Every recipe in this book can be prepared, as you might have guessed, using one cooking vessel, whether it be a stock pot, crock pot, wok, skillet, or dutch oven.  Also, each of these recipes are legit meals, not just little appetizers or salsas. 



Another great thing about these next couple weeks is that you will have a chance to win some fun prizes!  Stay tuned because I will be giving away a copy of the very cookbook I'll be cooking from, and during the last week I will be giving away a 12 piece Emeril by Zac! table art serving set.

Since this IS a cooking party, please join in the fun and check out my fellow bloggers' posts over these next couple weeks as well:

Bite and Booze and on Facebook here.
Just off the Red Streetcar Line and on Facebook here.
Diabetic Foodie and on Facebook here.
Tracey's Culinary Adventures and on Facebook here.
The Boys Made Me Do It! and on Facebook here.
Mommy Hates Cooking and on Facebook here.
Farmgirl Gourmet and on Facebook here.
Cajun Chef Ryan and on Facebook here.
Savoring Today and on Facebook here.
Not Rachael Ray and on Facebook here.
Miss in the Kitchen and on Facebook here.
30AEATS and on Facebook here.
Foodhunters Guide to Cuisine and on Facebook here.
Thyme in our Kitchen and on Facebook here.
Cooking with Books and on Facebook here.
Goov-y Foody and on Facebook here.
Manges! Mangi! and on Facebook here.
The Wicked Noodle and on Facebook here.
Cookistry and on Facebook here.


Also, check out Emeril's Facebook page here: Emeril Lagasse and follow him on Twitter here: @Emeril and check out Emeril's publishing company, Morrow Publishing, blogging here: The Secret Ingredient, and on Twitter here: @MorrowCooks, and on Facebook here: Morrow Cooks.



So are you ready?!  Let's party! 

Find out how to make this delicious risotto after the jump.





The first thing you want to do is pour your chicken stock into a pot and put it over a low flame to heat it up and keep it hot.  This is important when making any risotto so when it's time to add the liquid, you don't continue to cool the dish down by adding cold liquid.  Next, cook your bacon until crisp, or in my case, chop up your pancetta into small pieces and cook them in a little olive oil until crispy.  I happened to have pancetta ready to go in the fridge, so I decided to use that instead of bacon and after tasting this dish with it, I think I would do it again. 



When the pancetta is cooked and crisp, remove it from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain onto a paper towel.  Remove all but about a tablespoon of the drippings from the pan, then add your onion, salt and pepper and saute.  After a few minutes add the pancetta back, along with the garlic, thyme, and rice and cook for a few more minutes to get a little color on the rice. 



Next, add some dry white wine and stir until evaporated. 

Now it's time to start adding the hot chicken stock.  Start by adding a cup of the stock and stir the rice slowly until the rice soaks up almost all of the liquid.  Then add more hot stock to the dish in 1/2 cup increments (or small ladles) and repeat with the stirring.  Note: this is not one of those dishes you can let sit on the stove and go make a phone call - you really need to stand there and stir the whole time.  So if you're like me, grab your iPhone and surf along with one hand as you stir with the other :-). 



When you're down to about a 1/2 cup of stock, save it and instead add some diced tomatoes, then some baby spinach and stir until it wilts into the risotto.  Finish the risotto with the last 1/2 cup of the hot stock, some butter, and parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately with a little more parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. 







This dish is creamy and comforting and like I said before… great with a cold beer.