The Unnatural Cook

So I managed to convince three people who said they didn’t like squash that they did. It was my brother-in-law’s doing. I tried a recipe of his, Oven Baked Risotto with bacon & butternut squash. He is a fantastic chef and this is one of his family’s staples. He makes a double batch and uses the leftovers to make rice balls later in the week. I should have realized how much food I was making when the recipe called for 10 cups of stock but I sort of pretended that it would all be fine and that when he said lasagna pan he meant the 9 x 13 pan I use for brownies. He didn’t. He meant a giant casserole which is not something I have.

4 cups of stock into the recipe I realized I’d made an error. I ended up having to pour all the ingredients, rice, bacon, shallots, squash & stock into the biggest bowl I had and then distribute the mixture between two 9 x 13 pans. My nine year old daughter directed me and I was pretty sure once I’d put it in the oven that we’d be ordering pizza for dinner. But I should have had more faith; four cups of rice does absorb ten cups of liquid. Who knew? Well, my brother-in-law Dan knew but he’s the definition of a natural cook. I’m sure it caused him a certain amount of pain even to be forced to write the recipe down for me. But I’m sincerely grateful he did.

Tags: Acquiring Taste, Brother-in-Law, Mistakes, Natural Cook, Risotto