Pastor Ryan's Shrimp Risotto

The boy had a rough day at swim class today, so I think we need to have a little at-home practice session this afternoon. Since shrimp is fast-thawing, I figure I can swim with my son and then start dinner a little later than normal. I have been dying to try this risotto recipe, so I am pretty sure it will all work out beautifully. Rather than retyping the steps for the shrimp and risotto, I am just going to post the link from the Pioneer Woman website. I think I will pair our risotto with a side salad and that is about it. This recipe looks absolutely luscious, so I am really jazzed about trying it out!

Pastor Ryan's Shrimp Risotto

Yum! I love the accompanying photos on PW's website, for this post. Just looking at the pics makes my mouth water!



The Result:
Holy Moly. I am a lover of this risotto. Whoa. This was DELICIOUS! This turned out to be one of the best risottos I have ever made.
First, the shrimp...oh man, the shrimp. Awesome. I had a hard time not just eating the shrimp straight off the grill. They were so flavorful...all garlicy and buttery and Worcestershirey...simply awesome! The only issue with the shrimp was that they could have used a wee bit of a lemon juice spritz for an extra zip, but that would just be my preference. I love the citrus brightness and acidity that lemon brings to shrimp and fish. Other than that, I would say the shrimp were darn near perfect!

Now, on to the risotto. The last batch of chicken stock I made was from the whole chicken we did on the grill a week or so ago. Therefore, my chicken stock is slightly smokey and has a perfume of BBQ grill flavoring. Yum! That BBQ stock matched with the grilled shrimp, and it infused the whole risotto dish with a slightly smokey undertone. The result was both subtle and complex at the same time. The risotto had a depth that it would not have had otherwise. Again, awesome! I used PW's basic risotto recipe, except for my special chicken stock. It was a pretty straightforward method, and then the grilled shrimp were just added in at the end. Sooooo, sooooooo good! I don't think I can say enough good things about this dish. I think I will just sum up by saying that this is a great recipe, and leave it at that!