Baked Mushroom Risotto

May 1, 2013

Sometimes, I am the queen of stupid, which happens to be very weird, because I think of myself as a rather smart person. Let me expand on this type of stupid. Sometimes I do stupid things. I can see them coming from a mile away, yet, boom! I still somehow head right into it full force.

When I was in middle school, I played volleyball. During one particularly intense practice, we took a break for water. I ran to get my water bottle which was on the opposite end of the gym. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a friend gaining on me. I thought she was challenging me to a race. Turns out she was not. She was just very thirsty.

Up ahead near the benches with the water bottles on them, I see the edge of the carpet folded over. Instead of slowing down and approaching this hazard carefully, I gun it full force to get to my water bottle before my friend gets to hers. WHAM! I flew a foot, tripped over that carpet I knew was going to get me. I was so embarrassed by the commotion and attention, as any middle-schooler would be, I started balling. I said I heard a pop in my arm.

My Dad was one of the coaches, so he swooped in and took me out of there. Yes, I was so embarrassed from my stupidity I faked an injury. I totally could have prevented that and the ER visit my parent’s insisted I go to in order to check out my “injury.”

See? Stupid.

Recently, I have been working on some recipes for a vodka company. While scurrying about my kitchen I am leaving open bottles, knives, and scraps of fruit everywhere in my dust. Who needs to clean as you go when you are on a roll like I am?

I set up a work station near my cutting board. I left an open bottle of peach vodka in the center of the cutting board as I worked, sliced, diced, and reached around the bottle. I think I even thought to myself, “I should move that.” Alas, I did not. It was a vodkatastrophe! The whole bottle spilled all over the floor! My house still smells like peach vodka. Yet again, this could have been avoided.

A while ago, pre computer crash, I had my hopes and dreams set on this easy baked risotto. I had all my ingredients lined up. I was taking photos as I went along. When it came time to add either reconstituted mushroom stock or Trader Joe’s boxed vegetable stock, I had to pause.

I wanted this to be very, very mushroomy. The stock from TJ’s is an orange color. I knew that color would not convey mushroominess. It would just look orange and unappetizing. Yet, I added it anyway. The dish came out looking more like a carrot risotto than mushroom. I was thoroughly disappointed in the dish and my stupid self for not listening to my smart self!

Ugh! Do you ever have these stupid moments? I hope I am not alone in this. It is like you know better, but you do it anyway. Sigh, it is a mystery to me.

Anyway, lucky for us, my computer crashed and all those yucky orange pictures were taken to a place that erases your stupidity and gives you a chance for a redo while you wait for your computer to be brought back to life. The product from my second attempt was exactly what I wanted to make in the first place.

Did I learn any lessons? Probably not. Sometimes we just do stupid things. Hey, at least we have risotto!

Baked Mushroom Risotto

A hands off approach to risotto. Creamy mushroom risotto baked in the oven.
Course Entree
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 6 -8
Author Sarcastic Cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 Ounce Dried Porcini Mushrooms
  • 42 Ounces Water
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil plus more for greasing
  • 10 Ounces Cremini Mushrooms stems removed, cleaned, and sliced
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped Rosemary
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped Parsley
  • 2 Cloves Garlic grated
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 Cups Arborio Rice
  • ½ Cup Goat Cheese or Cream Cheese

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add dried mushrooms, cover with lid, and remove from heat. Let the mushrooms steep for thirty minutes to an hour.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium/low heat for a minute. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté for 7-10 minutes, until golden.
  4. Add the chopped herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper to the mushrooms. Stir and sauté for an additional two minutes. Remove pan from heat.
  5. Remove the lid from the pot with the now reconstituted mushrooms. Place a strainer in a medium bowl. Pour the contents into the strainer. Remove the strained mushrooms, give them a good dice, and then add them to the pan with the mushrooms.
  6. Add the rice to the pan with all the mushrooms in it, stir to combine.
  7. Grease a 9”x13” baking dish with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the rice and mushroom mixture to the dish. Pour in the mushroom stock. Stir to combine.
  8. Bake the risotto for twenty minutes. After, remove from the oven, stir in the goat cheese, and then return the dish to the oven for another twenty minutes. Serve immediately.
  9. Cooking method adapted from Joy the Baker

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  • Jessica
    November 14, 2013 at 9:46 pm

    Definitely going to make this! Am I totally missing where it gives the quantity of mushroom stock?

    • Stefanie
      November 14, 2013 at 9:57 pm

      The mushroom stock is what is created from the 42 ounces of boiling water and dried mushrooms. Sorry if that was confusing.

  • Wendy
    May 7, 2013 at 2:41 pm

    This looks so amazingly delicious that I can not wait to try. Risotto in the oven without arm aching stirring? Yes! Not to mention my whole family loves goat cheese and mushrooms. Thank you!

  • Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
    May 7, 2013 at 12:34 pm

    Stefanie, this looks SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. I am literally salivating. I absolutely love mushrooms and have been meaning to make a mushroom risotto for a while now. However, risottos tend to be a bit finicky for my liking and I don’t often endeavor to make something that requires that much effort just for myself (I know, I’m worth it!). The fact that this risotto is baked is just perfect! I cannot wait to try it.
    Oh, and don’t worry, you are absolutely not alone. I am an all-around disaster, 90% of the time.

  • Maggie @ A Bitchin' Kitchen
    May 2, 2013 at 8:45 pm

    I’ve never baked a risotto before! This looks completely amazing!

  • Michelle @Amourbeurre
    May 2, 2013 at 8:08 am

    LOVE this idea! Yum!

  • DessertForTwo
    May 2, 2013 at 7:28 am

    This sounds sooo delicious! What a great Meatless Monday meal for us!

    I think everyone was stupid in middle school. No worries 😉

  • miss messy
    May 2, 2013 at 5:14 am

    What a great dinner. I love a good risotto. Might just have to give this a go next week 🙂

  • Phoebe
    May 1, 2013 at 5:27 pm

    I’ve always wanted to try a baked risotto ever since I saw Ina do one. But I’m always worried the texture will be off. But this looks awesome. Xo

  • Sister Spice
    May 1, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    My husband loves mushrooms, and I love risotto, so I know what I’m cooking for dinner this weekend!

  • Jennie @themessybakerblog
    May 1, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    I’m constantly doing dumb things that could have been avoided, usually out of pure laziness on my part. I’m sure it wasn’t funny then, but your gym story cracked me up. Love the fake injury. This risotto is calling my name. I’m a mushroom FA-reak!

  • Kari@Loaves n Dishes
    May 1, 2013 at 10:35 am

    I love this method for cooking risotto! This is great for entertaining, because I can be entertaining instead of standing at the stove, stirring. P.S. Mushroom risotto is my fave, love it!

  • Christine (Cook the Story)
    May 1, 2013 at 10:35 am

    Oooo…I’ve never tried doing risotto in the oven before. My brain has just exploded thinking of the possibilities. (I think we all do stupid things sometimes. Nothing to do with our general intelligence level. More to do with clumsiness in my case, and maybe yours?).

  • Susan
    May 1, 2013 at 10:16 am

    You want a stupid injury story? I broke my toe on my suitcase in January. Could have been avoided by a) not keeping my suitcase in the middle of the room b) wearing socks/slippers/shoes c)stop getting ready in a dark room (I blame my husband for this one). Haven’t tried the baked risotto method, I somehow feel the need to stand for 30 minutes over my hot oven. Might need to rethink things.

  • Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
    May 1, 2013 at 9:45 am

    Haha, I don’t think I need to tell you that OF COURSE I ride the stupid train/struggle bus on a daily basis. This you already know.

    I have never tried a baked risotto, but I have no idea WHY not! THAT might be my stupidest move yet…I’ve gotta try this! Yours looks so creamy and delicious and is it wrong to make risotto at 10 am?

  • Suzan cox
    May 1, 2013 at 8:30 am

    Could you use short grain brown rice instead of arborio?

    • Stefanie
      May 1, 2013 at 9:05 am

      I am not sure. I don’t think so because I don’t think it would require as much liquid. It would kind of be trial and error…. Sorry, I cannot be more help.

  • Kasha @ The FarmGirl Cooks
    May 1, 2013 at 8:16 am

    Wanna talk about stupid? I saw photo #2 and said to myself, “those potatoes look God-awful!”

    Then I realized they were mushrooms.

    Which obviously could not be inferred from the title.

    *sigh* You are NOT alone.