Coffee

Homemade latte with
Intelligentsia coffee beans

One of the best purchases I've made in the past year or so is a DeLonghi espresso machine. I drink latte everyday, and often a couple of times a day, but around where I live, there used to be no good coffee shop (A good one just opened its door to business a couple of weeks ago...oh my poor wallet is going to suffer...). So instead of paying 3-4 bucks for a cup of sour, bitter, and burnt latte at Starbucks or Coffee Bean, I figured I should get my own espresso machine and make my own latte. Granted, DeLonghi is no Rancilio Silvia V3 (droooool....), but it does a decent job at 1/6 of the cost of a Rancilio Silvia, pulling shots with decent amounts of crema. 

Of course, what is more crucial to making good espresso is high-quality freshly roasted beans. After all, coffeeshop chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean have really expensive espresso machines, but what makes their espresso taste bad is their beans, which are often stale and overly roasted. At home, I use Intelligentsia's Black Cat espresso beans (yum!), which you can purchase online or if you are lucky like me and live near an Intelligentsia or a coffeeshop that uses Intelligentsia beans, you can purchase them locally, without having to shelling out money for shipping.

Three Cheese Mushroom Risotto

Risotto has become one of my go-to dishes. I love the creaminess of risotto and its versatility as you can add different ingredients to create unique combinations of flavors to cater to different palates. For those who like to host dinner parties, risotto is also very convenient to cook for a large group of people. Oh, and for those who are not into cooking elaborate meals, it is also a reasonably simple dish to make.

Today, I made a three-cheese mushroom risotto, which took me less than 45 minutes to make. It's not the quickest dish certainly (yeah, for those ramen noodle eaters and frozen food consumers...), but most of the 45 minutes was spent on stirring the risotto and adding chicken stock...

Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1). 1 small onion, chopped into small pieces;
2). coarsely ground black pepper;
3). salt;
4). 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced;
5). 2 portobello mushrooms;
6). 1 cup of white wine;
7). 1 cup of arborio rice
8). 32 oz chicken broth
9). grated Parmigiano, Asiago, and Taleggio cheese - 1/2 cup total 
10). Olive oil
11). 2 portobello mushrooms cut into slices

Unlike many risotto recipes found on the Internet, this recipe does not use butter. I am not a butter person, and with the three types of cheese required for the recipe, the risotto will turn out to be very creamy and rich, making butter really unnecessary.

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1. Bring the chicken broth to boil in a small pot, and then let it simmer.

2. In another pot, heat up some olive oil; then add the onion and garlic; cook the mix over medium-low heat, until the onion becomes translucent (5-8 minutes)

3. Add the sliced mushrooms. Lightly season them with salt and black pepper;  cook over medium heat until soft (5 minutes).

4. Add the arborio rice. Stir it until it is coated with oil. Then add the white wine. Let it simmer over medium low heat, until the wine is fully absorbed.

5. Then add one cup of chicken broth. Let it simmer. When the broth is absorbed by the rice, add another cup of chicken broth.

6. Repeat Step 5 until the rice becomes al dente, at which point season the risotto with salt and pepper to taste. Let the risotto cook for another couple of minutes. Afterwards, turn off the stove, cover the pot with a lid, and let the risotto sit for five minutes. This will enhance the creaminess of the risotto.

7. Now add the grated cheese and mix it with the risotto. Let the risotto sit for a couple of minutes.

8. Voila~! Now your risotto is done, and serve it while it is hot. Risotto thickens when it's becoming cold.