Goat Cheese Risotto

By popular demand:

Goat Cheese Risotto

2 cups short grain white rice

6-7 cups chicken stock (or broth)

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

Salt and pepper to taste

3-4 large garlic cloves finely chopped

2-3 oz good quality goat cheese

Add rice to non-stick pot and turn on medium heat to toast. Make sure your pot is large enough, your rice will about double in size. I like my rice to get to a nice golden brown… gives it a nice toasty, almost nutty flavor. In another sauce pan add your chicken stock, thyme leaves, basil, salt pepper, and garlic and turn on low heat to keep warm. After rice is toasted add 1-1.5 cups of stock into pan with rice and stir several times. Cover and let sit stirring occasionally until stock is absorbed. When almost completely absorbed add another cup of stock and stir occasionally until stock is almost absorbed. Repeat process until almost all the stock is added to rice, rice is soft and creamy. When rice is cooked you can add your goat cheese to your rice mixture and let it melt. Start with 2 oz and add as you see fit. I love the taste of goat cheese so I ended up adding about 4 oz, but you may not want that strong of a flavor. You may need to add a little more salt/pepper to taste at the end. Remember to taste everything as you cook. If you aren’t  tasting nothing will turn out well in the end.

PS: Things have been pretty crazy recently and I haven't been very good about posting updates and recipes. I will put a big birthday update for the castle cake from Allison's birthday party soon. I did take a few pictures of construction as I went so you can see my process. I also am planning a big Christmas dinner that I will post the recipes from afterwards too!