So for the first time in my adult life, my parents are driving up to my place and I am cooking dinner. My mom is an excellent cook, and I’m really trying to wow her and my stepdad. I’m a pretty good cook, too, but I’m going to attempt two difficult dishes:
[ol]
[li]Do these two dishes go well together?[/li][li]Is the garlic in the risotto whole or crushed?[/li][li]The risotto recipie calls for 1 cup of vermouth and 6 cups of chicken stock. It says that chicken stock can be a substitute for the vermouth. Does that mean that I use either 1 cup vermouth, 6 cups chicken stock OR 7 cups chicken stock? I’m not sure if the chicken stock still gets added if I still use the vermouth.[/li][li]The risotto recipe also states that I can cook it 3/4 the way the night before. Where would that stopping point be?[/li][li]Finally, can any wine experts recommend a good red for this meal? I’d prefer not to spend any more than $20-25.[/li][/ol]
It means 7 cups of liquid. One of them may be vermouth.
Have you ever cooked risotto before? If not, change this. Risotto is wonderful, but requires a lot of attention (especially the old fashioned way). If you are nervous about the other dish, and it needs precise attention, I’d pick a simply accompaniment.
Do you have any assistants in the kitchen? I ask because risotto, while not nearly as difficult as some people make out, does require constant attention while cooking, so you’ll need someone to be stirring it for that last 1/4 of cooking before dinner. You can’t do that and also get the pork tenderloin out of the oven before it dries out and cook your vegetable (you do have a vegetable, right?) and set the table and chat amiably with your folks to show them that this is all just so simple for someone of your obviously vast culinary skills.
But to answer your questions:
Yes, I think these would work well together.
I think the garlic is whole, as it specifies “cloves”. They’ll probably melt into the risotto with the stirring and the heat by the end of the cooking, but if not, fish them out before serving. The flavor will be there regardless.
7 cups of liquid, mostly chicken stock. Vermouth can be up to one cup (I’d use it, it will give a great deal of flavor and provide the subtle acidity otherwise missing from the recipe) and if you want, the not quite a half cup of liquid from rehydrating the mushrooms can be used for some of the liquid, as well. Although, to be honest with you, risotto is one of those rices where you have to watch it and use your judgment. It’s had enough liquid when it’s “right”, but that can vary depending on the variety, age and storage of your rice, the humidity of your kitchen and how hot you’re cooking it.
Don’t fret over where exactly 3/4 of the way is. When you’ve gotten about 4-5 cups of liquid in it is about right. But be aware that refrigerating it at this point may affect how much liquid it needs to finish. Again, you just have to get a feel for it. I’d make a batch the week prior so you can get a better idea of how it goes.
Wine is beyond me, so I’ll leave that one alone. I like Reisling with everything, but I’m a pleb.
Never cook a complicated recipe for guests for the first time.
Experiment on yourself; when you want to wow people you have to stay in your wheelhouse and deliver a proven performer.
I would advise that you should test drive the risotto recipe before the family dinner, unless you’re already quite familiar with making risotto.
ETA: a further comment: people who are good cooks enjoy simple food, cooked well. There’s a danger to foofing around with unfamiliar ingredients in an effort to be “impressive.”
As for the wine - find a nice bottle of Barollo. Go to a wine store and ask them - tell them what you want to spend. You should be able to get a very palatable bottle for that price range.
If you want to “wow” your guests, cook something for them that you cook all the time, and can do in your sleep. Not a new recipe that sounds amazing that you’ve never tried before.
Risotto is actually pretty easy to make, but it takes some attention, and if you’ve never made it before you might not get the results you expect, especially if you don’t know what to expect from risotto in the first place.
I’m wondering if that isn’t too much mushroomy-ness for one meal. Don’t get me wrong, I love mushrooms, but all that earthiness might be too heavy or wear on the palate. Perhaps a butternut squash risotto if you’re going to stick with a risotto?
I wouldn’t serve those two things together - too much of the same flavors. Either do a non-mushroom risotto or some kind of vegetable. With the pork, I’d tend towards something like roasted or glazed carrots, or a winter squash, roasted and mashed with butter, salt, and maybe a little maple syrup/madeira/brandy/whatever.
I, too, wonder about perhaps a little too much fungus. Maybe a side dish with a little more acidic element to balance the pork, or at least a crisp white wine served with the meal to offset all the deep flavors. If you are still wanting that earthiness–how about a roasted beet salad spiked with an orange-balsamic vinaigrette?
I agree… maybe it’s all too complicated. I’ll stick with the pork but instead do an avocado-tomato-red onion salad with balsamic vinaigrette. More suggestions on a starch?
I think you mean barolo, a varietal made from the Nebbiolo grape. (There is a wine label called Barollo but they appear to produce mostly chardonnays, which is definitely not what you want to serve with roast pork.) Personally, I would suggest a zinfindel/primativo or maybe a sangiovese/Super Tuscan; something fairly rich but also spicy, so that it is not overwhelmed by the rosemary and garlic.
I would personally slice or mince the garlic. I would not crush, which should only be done with raw garlic in something like bruschetta where you want to maximize the garlic oil in the mixture. Do not buy the jars of pre-crushed garlic, or use one of those nasty garlic press things; either mince with a chef’s knife, or (if you want to crush it) smash it with the flat of the blade.
As to whether the dishes have too much mushroom, I would leave that to personal taste. If you were also going to serve some kind of mushroom soup as a pre-entry dish and buttery mushroom tarte for desert, then I’d say you’re getting a little too obsessive about the fungus, even for someone who likes mushrooms.
Jasmine rice. It’s a nice sticky rice with a little flavor of its own that makes it tastier and more interesting than plain white rice, but is subtle enough not to overpower anything. I think it would make a good background dish to show off the pork.
ETA: And it’s bone-simple to make, which can be a big plus in an otherwise busy kitchen.
