I subscribe to a NYT news feed called What to Cook, authored by Sam Sifton.  The feed often leads to what I cook or at minimum, inspires it.  Y'all know that I love risotto and after seeing a picture of Risotto with Sausage and Parsley, I was off to the store!

If you don't have a subscription to NYT Cooking (they have an app too), you may want to sign-up.  They have both free and paid subscriptions that allow you to access different features.  For those of you have a subscription, you can see the original recipe here.  Mine doesn't differ much, but as you know, I always change it up a bit!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (I used 1/2 hot and 1/2 sweet)
• 2 shallots, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 8 cups chicken stock (I used Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base and followed the instructions on the label to make 8 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups Aborio rice
• 1/2 cup Pinot Grigio (plus more for drinking!)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 bunch fresh, flat parsley leaves, chopped
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt, pepper

Start by either making the bouillon or bringing 8 cups of chicken stock to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and let simmer.

Brown the sausage in two tablespoons of olive oil.  When the sausage is browned and fully cooked through, remove the sausage from the pan and drain on some paper towels.  Cook the shallots in the pan drippings until they begin to soften, then add the garlic and cook for another minute or until fragrant.  Next, add the rice and toast it slightly, about 2-3 minutes.  Pour in the wine and let the rice, shallots, and onions cook until the wine is almost fully absorbed.

Add the stock to the rice, two full ladles at a time.  Stir the rice frequently and let it the stock absorb.  Each time the stock is almost fully absorbed, add an additional two ladles of stock and follow the same process until you have used all of the broth. Add the sausage back to the rice and cook for two minutes.  Then, add the butter, lemon juice, and parmesan and stir to combine.  Remove the rice from the heat and stir in the parsley.

The risotto tastes best when you serve it right off the heat.  I served this as the main course with an arugula, pear, and blue cheese salad.  I tossed the arugula with some lemon juice, salt, and pepper before adding the pear slices and blue cheese.  At the end, I drizzled on some Fig Balsamic Vinegar.  The vinegar cut through the richness of the risotto.  It was the perfect balance!  The Fig Balsamic was definitely a nice reminder of our trip to Traverse City and our cooking class with Chef Ali at Fustini's. Such a great weekend!

This risotto, arugula salad, a glass of Pinot Grigio, and an episode of This is Us was a perfect way to spend an evening watching the snow fall!

Bon Appetit!