Mushroom Risotto

Hi Friends! I've been out of commission for a few days.  Phil and I came down with something awful on Monday and I'm only starting to feel like myself again.  As well, I sometimes start a post and then something interrupts me, and then it's a couple of days before I actually hit the publish button. So please excuse the long absence. 

Before the weekend I made this simple risotto and served it with roast chicken.  It was a nice dinner on a chilly Friday evening.  I know in the past I've avoided risotto because of all the stirring, but really it's no that bad, and you pretty much always have what you need in the fridge for this dish. Feel free to add any vegetables or leftover meat you have hanging around in the fridge... anything goes!

Ingredients:

4 Cups of chicken or vegetable broth
1 Cup of Milk
1 Tbs Olive oil
2 Tbs of butter
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Leeks. chopped (white and light green parts only)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice
1/3 Cup  of white wine
1 Cup of Cremini mushrooms, chopped into bite size pieces 
1 big handful of Parmesan, grated


For the risotto:

Saute mushrooms in a little olive oil and set aside.

Warm the broth and milk in a medium size sauce pan on medium heat and set on your back burner. Next, warm a large saute pan on medium-high heat, add olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add 1/2 of onion and leek, salt and pepper, and stir about 1-2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of the rice and stir until the rice is glistening.  Add the wine and stir until the rice absorbs all the liquid.  Start adding your broth and milk mixture about a 1 ladle at a time (or half a cup) and stir until almost all the liquid has been absorbed.  Repeat this step for about 20 minutes.  It should be tender with a little firmness.  You may not need all the liquid or a little more.  At this point stir in your mushrooms.  Remove from heat and stir in a handful of grated Parmesan and the remaining tablespoon of butter.