Thanksgiving Idea #1: Pumpkin Risotto

You will need:

1 medium sized pumpkin (to be washed - no soap, please, just water, dried thoroughly, de-seeded, and sliced-up into bite-sized chunks for the broiler)

4-quart stock pot (or sauce pan) for your stock to heat up in, and a ladle, if you please

A 3-quart sauce pan for the risotto. Here's what I personally use. But I will confess that the BESTEST, ever, sauce pan I used for flawless risotto each and every time is this one.

A wooden, flat spatula, like one pictured here on the left. You can easily use your spatula of choice, of course, even if it is silicone...

Extra Virgin Olive Oil on hand, no specific amount required

2 sticks of unsalted and organic butter (or whichever your choice is) *I use "unsalted" products because I want to control the salt in the food I present for eating. It's a pride in ownership thing. :)*

1 standard box of arborio rice (I use Sclafani brand as my "go-to", but there are other varieties available at a bigger expense)

Salt (non-iodized if possible, but use what you already have...and remember that ALL SALT comes from the sea, so the whole, "Ooooh, I use sea salt because it's better than normal salt (eye roll) and it makes me feel fancy!" myth is ridiculous. Trust me...it's all from the sea.)

1 cup of dry, white wine of choice (Go with a Pinot Grigio!)

4 quarts unsalted stock, warmed-up on the stove top and ready to go, preferably chicken stock but vegetable stock works great, too. If you use a beef stock, your risotto will finish a bit darker than normal (I use Kitchen Basics Unsalted stocks, unless I render one myself. Stocks normally come in 2-quart boxes, so buy 2 of them)

Pinch of nutmeg....Pinch of ginger....Pinch of pumpkin spice
*See if you can just "borrow" these spices from someone who bakes regularly. No sense in spending the money for a whole container of each when all you need is literally a pinch! Put them all in a small baggie/container and let them mix together prior to using*

Whole organic milk, about 1/2 cup (for the finish)

Fresh sage leaves, about 6 of them, chopped-up as a garnish for the finish

A wooden, flat spatula, like one pictured here on the left. You can easily use your spatula of choice, of course. Even if it is silicone...

The Method

Firstly, before anything, prep that pumpkin by washing it, drying it, cutting off the top stem portion, halving it, scooping out the seeds and general sinewy-like tendrils, and ultimately cutting it into bite-sized chunks. Put chunks into bowl. Add some olive oil and some salt. Mix to coat. Then put said chunks of pumpkin onto a cookie sheet, spreading them out so as not to crowd one another, and broil them on low broil for about 20 minutes or so. Just keep your eyes on them so they don't burn into crisps. We're looking to broil them, maybe mildly char them, but not burn them. That would be bad.

Now then...onto the risotto!

1.  Put those 4 quarts of stock into an appropriately sized stock pot/pan and get it warmed up so it is mildly hot and uncomfortable to the touch. Not boiling. Just nice and mildly hot to the touch. You'll know when that is.

2.  Put that 3 or 5-quart shallowish pan onto the stove top and get it heating up! You will be creating this risotto dish at medium-high heat.

3.  Once you put risotto pan onto heat, drizzle in some olive oil, enough to gloss the bottom, and then put in those 2 sticks of butter, allowing it to gently melt and drown the bottom of that sauce pan, staying in sync with the heating of the pan. But do NOT, I repeat, do NOT let that butter start to burn! Pay attention! ("Why use two forms of fat?", you might be asking. Well, why not? If you so wish, you can skip the olive oil and just use the butter. No worries)

4.  Pour in your arborio rice, and a pinch or two of salt, stirring the rice to coat each and every piece of it with that lovely melted butter goodness already in the pan....keep stirring and wait to begin to smell the rice as though it is toasting, then hit it with that cup of dry, white wine and let it sizzle, splatter, and steam itself, then toss in that nutmeg/pumpkin spice/ginger mix you have been holding onto, and mix some more

5.  Once you see the wine evaporating and almost gone, which will be with the quickness, start ladling in that heated stock, slowly, little by little, one ladle at a time while observing the risotto's reaction to the stock (if it will make you less nervous, go ahead and drop your heat to medium at this point)

NOTE: Now you are entering the mystical, magical, and completely undefinable arena of risotto mastery. No written book, no written instructions, and no online video can show you how to properly make risotto. You just gotta do it, again and again, and learn it through trial and error, defeat and victory. I know you can handle this!

6.  Once you see the first ladle-full of stock evaporate, so the risotto has mini-volcanoes forming that fluctuate like open mouths, then add another ladle-full of the stock. And repeat. And repeat. And so on. Keep doing this for about 20 minutes, staying with the risotto, coaxing it, shaping it, controlling it, guiding it, bending it to your will and mastering it. If you run out of that heated stock, do not panic. Just add some warm tap water. It's not ideal (NO!), but it will serve the purpose

7.  After 20 minutes, (or so), the risotto will be mildly creamy (it's releasing its awesome goodness)and delicious-smelling, and it is now that you will pour in that 1/2 cup of milk and stir to mix it uniform in that hot risotto, not allowing it to remain still, folding the risotto over and over again, onto itself, to achieve maximum integration and then....yes....remove the pan with your risotto from direct heat and gently fold in those chopped sage leaves. The heat from the risotto will cause the sage leaves to release their oils and the kitchen will explode with sage aromatics! Utterly divine....

8.  Go ahead and plate that risotto into a shallow, oval platter, and top it with that broiled pumpkin that you didn't allow to burn because you were keeping an eye on it, right? Right!

So here are some small motes to consider:
For this recipe I did not use any onions or garlic.
I used little salt, and instead looked to the nutmeg/ginger/pumpkin spice to put their definitive stamp onto the meal.
I want it to represent Fall in spoonfuls, and not traditional Italian risotto.
The broiled pumpkin is more of a garnish at the end than an actual component of the risotto, but you could mix in canned pumpkin to the arborio if you wished, at the beginning of the steps.
You could also finish this risotto with a soft, crumbled goat cheese, nothing sharp at all, that will add a creamy warmth to the foundation that has been built.
I use 1/2 cup of milk to mimic the normal practice of using a parmigiano or pecorino cheese at the end.

And there it is, folks. A pumpkin risotto recipe for you to try and enjoy. There are many pumpkin risotto recipes, but this one is mine. And now, actually, it is yours. ;)

Eat well.