Butternut squash risotto and roasting peanuts

I've gotten much better with my risotto technique. Really, if there's a single trick to it; it's knowing when it's done. That comes with practice, and I've been nailing it pretty well. (My first ones were underdone because I was so scared of it turning to mush.)

Butternut squash is in season and all over the farmer's market. Jen had made it into a soup twice over the past month (sort of, the first one was actually made with acorn squash because I didn't know the difference and picked up the wrong kind) so I was looking to try something different. It seemed a no brainer to combine the squash's fall flavors with my new risotto skills - so that's what I did.

Turned out great! Roasted the squash pieces with cloves, cinnamon and ginger, then through my food mill. Made the risotto as normal, just added the squash puree near the end.

Also at the farmer's market this week; raw peanuts. I picked up about a pound and a half just to try roasting them. I was told to boil them in salt water first, which I did, but they need more salt. Not sure if I should increase the salt concentration or the boiling time to accomplish that. They're still good, but not incredibly different than their commercial counterparts.

I'm making risotto tonight

I'm really psyched ; going to try my hand at risotto.

I've watched about half a dozen tutorials and read dozens of articles on the subject, so I'm fairly confident, and I'm keeping it simple. Just a mushroom risotto.

I found arborio rice by the pound in a self-serve tube at Earth Fare for $2.49 a pound. If it works out well, I might try to find a cheaper mail order supplier.

***3 hours later***

No one told me how long it takes! I think there was some serious time lapse going on in the video footage I saw. I guess that makes sense - it would be really boring to watch someone stir for 20 minutes. Actually, maybe even longer, about 23 I think is where it ended up taking.

Also; I knew I would need a pot of hot liquid, but I hadn't realized how much. Count on at least 10 ounces per serving, probably more. I used canned beef broth - and you should use the low sodium variety. With typical store broth you'll end up way too salty by the time 2 cans of the stuff have condensed.

But it was a success and I'm looking forward to trying it again.