Fauxsotto

That's what I think I'm going to call last nights dinner. Don't get me wrong it was delicious but it wasn't "real" risotto and god forbid I even hint that it was or I'll have a full on blitzkrieg by the food Nazis (you know who you are). I kind of ruined the risotto experience at my house. You see the first time I ever made it I totally fucked it up. I accidentally burned the garlic and then I used the wrong wine. If it wasn't for that I think it would have been OK as the texture and creaminess were right but the taste was off - WAY OFF. My husband, who is usually very supportive of my culinary concoctions, said it tasted like "dirty feet". So now I doubt I could convince him to eat it again. So instead of rice I used orzo pasta in this dish and it came out great. First I prepped the veggies. Onions, yellow and green squash from the garden, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes were chopped and sauteed in a red pepper vinaigrette salad dressing. When they were almost done I removed them from the pan and added some butter and the orzo. I sauteed the orzo a little bit before adding chicken stock that I enriched with some bouillon paste (I LOVE bouillon paste). As the liquid was absorbed I added more as needed. Right before it was done I returned the veggies to the pot and added a generous amount of Parmesan cheese and a handful of Italian cheese blend. You know the kind that comes preshredded in a bag for pizza and stuff like that. I turned off the heat and mixed this all together and served it with grilled chicken breasts that had been marinading in the same dressing all day. The result was a delicious summer meal that was relatively easy to prepare and not too heavy. Husband was very happy, so mission dinner accomplished.