Brent… the Master Chef

While I don’t think I would be able to convince Brent (my boyfriend) to do a special guest post for this blog, he definitely deserves one at least dedicated to him after the awesome night we had together last night. As college students, we don’t have a lot of money (and all the money we do have is going towards saving for our future), so we really don’t get to go out much. Once a month we have a date night, but that’s pretty much it. I’m okay with our lifestyle because I know we’re making sacrifices for our education and one day it won’t have to be like this.

I think it’s really obvious that you love somebody and are great for each other when you can be with each other almost every night and still have insane amounts of fun. I can’t remember the last time Brent and I spent time together when it didn’t end up with us laughing so hard that we could barely breathe. Making me laugh isn’t his only talent, either… he can cook, too! I’m pretty sure I hooked the perfect guy.

This is what I came home to last night after work….

 

Fresh Crab Risotto with Chives and Parmesan.

Farmer’s Market Corn Chowder with Homemade Parmesan Croutons.

Chocolate Bread Pudding.

… DELICIOUS!

 

Fresh Crab Risotto with Chives and Parmesan (adapted from Food Network’s Robert Irvine’s recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 oz butter
• 1 oz vegetable oil
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 lb Arborio rice
• 1 1/2 quarts vegetable stock or chicken stock
• 6 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat (Brent actually drove to the docks and bought live crab – eek!)
• 2 ounces chopped chives
• 4 ounces grated Parmesan

Directions:

• Heat the butter and oil together in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft. Do not brown, they should be translucent.
• Add the rice and saute for a further 3 to 5 minutes making sure the rice is well coated, Using a ladle, add about 1/2 cup of stock to the rice and stir over a medium heat until the rice is almost dry and all the stock has been incorporated. Repeat this process until the rice is cooked but still has a slight bite. The rice should be creamy and moist, not runny, and the cooking time should be around 30 minutes.
• Just before serving, fold in the crabmeat, chopped chives, and Parmesan and let cook for 2 minutes.