Adventures in cooking

I do not consider myself a cook. I admire cooks- Ina Garten, Ruth Riechl (cook and writer, be still my heart), Rick Bayless. But, sadly, I am not among those ranks, nor am I hardly cook-worthy enough to call them mentors. Once in a while though, the ingredients align and I create a kitchen wonder. A culinary gem. Last night was such a night. Not to toot my own horn, or really for the only purpose of tooting my own horn, I cooked a lovely dinner last night that left my husband grinning and my belly too full. I found the recipe for tomato and sausage risotto off this blog I love, smitten kitchen, and the rest was foodie history. Despite starting to cook and realizing that I didn't have butter for the last final step and my hero husband having to fetch some from Jewel, the recipe was followed with ease and the risotto turned out to be a creamy, robust marvel. We enjoyed a few bowl-fuls sitting out on our deck under the lights and hanging plants.