Mushroom and Short Rib Risotto

Now I'm on a roll. What else can I make with the stuff I have in the house? Not long ago, I made a large pot of short rib ragu. We had had it at our friends' house on Halloween and I was in love. I have since made three large pots of this little slice of heaven and my kids love it too. So, with this last batch, I had one large frozen container and one small portion left over. In my fridge were some shitake mushrooms I had gotten at the Chinese supermarket. What are you rolling with tonight, Chris asked. Why not mushroom risotto with short rib ragu? The risotto is a classic recipe and really, with the already made ragu, life was simple. Saute minced shallots in butter. Once softened, add the sliced mushrooms, then the risotto until you almost hear a whistling sound coming from the pan. Add the white wine and boil until the wine is almost fully evaporated. Then start the chicken broth addition. I put enough broth to cover the rice, wait until almost dry, and then add more and stir. Do this until rice is to the consistency you like it. I gave up trying to measure the exact amount of broth to rice. Just make sure you have plenty of broth. Contrary to many recipes which call for home made broth, I just use a paste, actually, that you reconstitute with water. The Knorr brand is great. Once the risotto was close to being finished, I added in the ragu. I was slightly concerned the ragu would overpower the risotto. But I must have had the proper proportion, stirring in grated parmesan, it was perfect. For color, I garnished with a bit of chopped parsley and freshly grated pecorino romano. From the table I heard the words, "OMG, that's good"!