Bloody Mary Risotto – World Pasta Day

Three days in bed. Chicken broth, tea, Theraflu, Super Red Drink Powder, ice pops, and seltzer water were all that I could consume for three days. Despite feeling awful all weekend, I, as I always do, had a hearty appetite and a desire to cook. Sunday, the third day without leaving the house, I had to do SOMETHING, so I set out to make the Bloody Mary Risotto I planned on all along.

I first saw Bloody Mary risotto at this past summer’s Bloodypalooza at Turner Fisheries. Summer seems SO long ago, doesn’t it? After we had Bloody Marys with our brunch for dinner last week, and I was left with quite a bit of excess mix, I decided to make it into a risotto in honor of World Pasta Day.

I love risotto and the process of making it, but it was a little too much of an undertaking for someone with a bad cough. I got tired pretty quickly after I started making it. . . how pathetic does that sound?

I started with a few cups of Arborio rice from Trader Joe’s, mixing it with a good pour of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and black pepper, before adding the heat and letting the rice grains toast a bit.

While the risotto got started, I brought the Bloody Mary mix (tomato juice, pepperoncini juice, horseradish, hot sauce, lime juice), up to a boil and then kept it very hot.

As soon as the rice started to sizzle, I added one ladle of Bloody Mary mix, stirred it in, and repeated about 15 times, stirring, adding liquid, and stirring some more. The result was a rich, flavorful pasta with lots of spice.

I served this with shrimp sautéed in garlic and olive oil. I didn’t actually eat any myself, but the husband liked it, and from what I could smell, it was quite a delicious dish.

I do apologize for the lackluster posts over the past few days. I guess I have learned that if I feel exhausted and have a sore throat, doing a million things and pushing myself at the gym just result in illness that seems neverending!

I hope you all had a good weekend. Did you do anything fun?  This is my last week at work, and while I have been too tired to be excited or nervous, I am starting to feel ready for what is next.

Tonight I am attending Steals from the Vault at Pairings with Red White Boston AND participating in a TasteLive panel on Virginia wines, tomorrow I have wine class, Thursday is my last day of work, and for the weekend, I am going to Portland to judge the New England Chef Competition and to do lots of birthday eating with my friend Meghan!

And last, but certainly not least, the winners of the Bauer Howl-o-ween giveaway are: Elizabeth and Alicia. Please email me, and I will make sure your tickets are ready for you at the door!