MyRecipes.Com - Spring Risotto

If you are anything like me, you have piles and piles of food magazines stacked up in your kitchen, taunting you like the fire hazard that they are.

Or, you have 100+ emails in your inbox sent to you by YOU because you saw a recipe that you just had to make, but instead, you ignore them and they linger in your inbox, unopened, causing you to look back and wonder, "Why did I send myself this recipe for monkfish hot dogs in February?"

So when LeAnne Armstead over at Time, Inc. emailed me and asked me to write a little bit about MyRecipes.com, I jumped at the chance.

I need some organization in my life, people, and this is where it begins. 

I am a pretty avid user of MyRecipes.com.  I was initially led to this site by many searches of Cooking Light recipes, but was pretty thrilled when I realized that MyRecipes.com was a database for not only Cooking Light recipes, but for Southern Living, All You, Health, Coastal Living, Southern Accents, My Home Ideas, Sunset, and Real Simple.

That's quite a network.

Because of the breadth of coverage that these magazines provide, a simple search can open you to a wide world of possibilities.  Searching for strawberries?  How about making a healthy Strawberry Meringue Torte (only 197 calories per serving! I actually think I am going to have to make this for my boyfriend's health-conscious family this memorial day weekend at the beach!)?  Not counting calories and looking for something super luxe and gorgeous for springtime?  Then you definitely need to check out the Strawberry Tallcake from Sunset Magazine.  Strawberry. TALLCAKE.  Need something to throw together quickly for a party, but don't want to mess with lots of ingredients?  Your head will explode when you take a look at the Salted Caramel Strawberries (seriously, mine just did. I just finished cleaning up the mess.)

The user-friendly site helps internet addicts like me keep things organized.  If I like a recipe, I can simply save the item in my recipe box (my Yahoo mail server will thank me for this one day.).  I can find Quick and Easy recipes or have my questions answered in the How-To section.  There are entire menus for parties of all occassions, and my personal favorite is the Healthy Recipe section. There is even a section for Healthy Recipes FOR $2 or Less! Recession be damned! I can eat healthy AND inexpensively!  

A pretty cool feature on the website is the dinner countdown.  Let the magic timer know how much time you have to cook (20 minutes? 15? 10 minutes? For reals!? What do you have planned!?  Am I invited?) and it will pop out a slew of recipes for you.  

But the most impressive thing about MyRecipes.com is that it is a a great resource for home cooks of all kinds: from those who have a hard time boiling water (don't laugh, I've boiled water so long that it evaporated and burned the bottom of my pot) to those who have worked a long and hard day only to have to rush home to make a dinner for a family of five, to those who are a bit more skilled in the kitchen and can whip up a recipe with ease. 

Or, in my case, it is a perfect resource for a boyfriend who has never cooked a dish like risotto in his life and was able to produce one of the best meals we have had all month.  Jack often doesn't have the patience to make a dish as intensive as risotto, because he is more of a cook-by-the-seat-of-his-pants type cook (which is why he, self-admittedly, absolutely cannot bake).  But the beautiful thing about this was that it was probably the most simple risotto recipe that we have ever seen, and it was bursting with flavor delicious flavors.  The creamy risotto was paired with deliciously tender chanterelle mushrooms and ripe springtime fava beans.  Not only that, but the dish was only 238 calories.  Who says healthy food needs to be boring? Or carb-less?

I'm thinking MyRecipes.com is going to be a good friend of mine.

Spring Risotto - Adapted from MyRecipes.com - Cooking Light 
8 servings (serving size: 1 cup risotto and 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese)

Ingredients
6  cups  boiling water, divided
1  cup  dried chanterelles
2  pounds  unshelled fava beans
5  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1  tablespoon  olive oil
2  cups  thinly sliced leek (about 3 large)
2  garlic cloves, minced
2  cups  Arborio rice
2  tablespoons  tomato paste
1  cup  dry white wine
3/4  teaspoon  salt
1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
1/3  cup  sliced green onions
3/4  cup  (3 ounces) finely grated fresh Romano cheese

Preparation

Combine 3 cups of boiling water and morels in a bowl; cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain mushrooms; rinse with cold water. Drain and chop.

Remove beans from pods; discard pods. Place beans in a medium saucepan with remaining 3 cups boiling water; cook beans 1 minute. Rinse with cold water. Drain; remove outer skins from beans. Discard skins.

Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep broth warm over low heat.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until leek is tender. Add rice and tomato paste; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, salt, and pepper; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook about 2 1/2 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in morels and beans; cook for 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated. Stir in green onions. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

Comments

[Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction]

Looks delicious. I enjoyed your review of myrecipes.com, as well. I was aware of it before but had never really taken full advantage of it... I will be giving it another look!

[lisaiscooking]

I love risotto year-round, but it's so great in the spring with vegetables like leeks and fava beans. Sounds great!

[Erica]

Great review about myrecipes.com and the risotto looks delicious!

[Cheri]

Mmmm... that really does look delicious. I especially love your last photo. Looks fresh and yummy. Thanks for your compliments on my blog. I must admit that most of the photos are taken by my hubby. But, I will pass the compliment on to him. :)

[Mindy]

Thanks for the heads up on MyRecipes.com! I've seen it while browsing recipes, but didn't know about all of the features...

[jenn]

I'll have to check myrecipes.com out. Thanks. Your risotto looks really good!!

[Meghan]

I began following your blog only recently (I think I saw it somehow via the 101cookbooks flickr photo pool?) and I really enjoy it!

I have been craving risotto lately, and I have some arborio rice staring at me in the pantry, but my head has been going from there to "winter" and I just haven't made the leap.

Perfect timing for a spring risotto recipe. Thanks for this post, and for such a refreshing, fun, and useful blog! =) Keep up the good work.

[Vibi]

Mmmm... this looks mighty delicious... luscious and creamy it could easily become a great comfort food!

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

I've never been to myrecipes.com - will check them out. The risotto looks great!

[rickdog]

Find more Spring Risotto in my recipe blog search:
HERE

[Nick]

Caramel strawberries huh? I could see those being mighty tasty. Risotto looks great. I made only one risotto before, similar to this except I used barley and red wine instead of white. It was sure worth the effort!

[The Duo Dishes]

That is a super duper picture you have there. So delish!

[food librarian]

Oh my gosh. I totally know that Inbox filled wtih my own emails. Sometimes I even write, "you really should make this. Love, me" on the emails!

Glad you made this! Awesome!

[michstein]

found the note I had scribbled when jack told me about your blog... and i have just spent an HOUR (at least) reading thru the FABULOUS recipes!! now can't wait until aug 15! aunt m

[deeba]

Love the review & love the risotto...mmmmmmmm DELICIOUS!!

[Madam Chow]

I should give this a try, since I email myself several recipes every week!

[Ashley]

Mmm this risotto looks amazing. I haven't made risotto in so long.

[Builders Melbourne]

i haven't made resitto ever since.. which makes me think this is really good which i can see it on the image

[Danielle]

Your risotto looks amazing. I hope that when I do get a chance to make it, it comes out as well as yours!
I also just came upon MyRecipes.com. I couldn't believe how many great recipes they have on that site...I too have been sending myself e-mail loads of links to each of the recipes I want to make!

[Madeline]

I like MyRecipes too, I've found some great recipes there. I laughed at the inbox full of recipes sent by YOU. I probably have about 300+ sitting in my inbox, UNREAD! Great looking risotto :)