Christian Chefs Newsletter
February 15, 2000

OUTLINE:
           Introduction
           Christianity in the Kitchen - Loving the Unlovely
           Learning Subject of the Month - Risotto
           Featured Discussion Topic - Witnessing in the Kitchen
           Recipe Contests
           Recipes
           Recent Job Listings - 4 New
           Featured Website - Christianity Online

As you may have noticed, this month we've added another NEW area to this newsletter! We've entitled it "Featured Discussion Topic", and it is where we want YOUR input. Depending on whether it's a food-related or faith-related topic, this is where you'll either be able to teach a little or learn a little about cooking, or you'll be able to grow spiritually and help others to do so also. Every month we'll have a new topic---and you can tell everybody what's on your mind and heart about the subject through our Message Boards. This month is a topic everybody can easily have some input on: "Witnessing in the Kitchen". For more information on this, you can go down to the "Featured Discussion Topic" or you can go straight to the Message Boards now at the below link to tell what you know, practice, and believe about witnessing in the kitchen.

Just follow the "Featured Discussion" link in the Message Boards: http://www.ChristianChefs.org/forums.html

"Listen my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?" James 2:5 NIV

February is the month we focus on LOVE. So let us challenge ourselves a little.

How do we react when we see a homeless person on the street? How do we feel if we get on the bus next to a smelly, unkempt person? How do you feel when you get behind that person in the grocery line who really needs to use deodorant? How do you react when the only seat left in church is next to a really scruffy-looking person? How do we react when one of our folks arrives at Bible study intoxicated? Am I getting warm yet? We all have our times when we "feel" repulsed by another human being for one reason or another. BUT, how do we respond?

What does the Bible say? Let's look at the book of James again.

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanies by action, is dead." James 2:14-17

Now we see our less fortunate folks from a different light. We are to help them if it is within our ability to do so.

How often to you buy an extra meal (s) at the fast food and pass it on to the homeless fellow down the street? Ever considered praying about picking up hitchhikers? The Lord will show you which ones to pick up if He wants you to minister in that way. When is the last time you cleaned out your closet and donated your GOOD extra clothes to the local thrift shop so the less fortunate could afford to buy something nice and warm? How about going through your children's toys and donating INTACT toys to the same thrift shop?

These are all ways we can love our neighbors as ourselves. These outward signs of LOVE can be a genuine witness to those around us, especially our children. I love to tuck portions of scripture into these "gifts" so the recipient knows God loves them and cares about their needs.

So, dear busy chefs, let's get out there and do some LOVING this month and all year long.

A special note to our institutional (prison) chefs - A kind word, a fair decision, or a friendly smile can go a long way towards reinforcing your Christian testimony to those behind bars. I know.....I am a retired Prison Chef. I am blessed to have one of our former "inmate workers" attending my church. He is God's fruit of consistent witness by faithful Christians who worked with him in jail.

Love to you all, in Jesus' love and grace,
Diane Boone, Retired Sheriff Cook II & 24-year Camp/Conference Chef
CCF Southern California Representative

If God is speaking to your heart about these things, and you need somebody to talk with, please don't hesitate to e-mail us about your need and somebody from the Fellowship will contact you as soon as possible.  If you have a prayer request or would like to start a theological discussion on this or any other topic please feel free to post it in our Message Boards:
http://www.ChristianChefs.org/forums.html

Risotto is a rice dish prepared al dente (not crunchy, but firm grains) with a unique smooth and creamy texture and consistency of firm rice grains bound in its velvety sauce, making it far unlike any other rice dish in the world. The major components of this unique Italian dish are a particular kind of short grain rice, broth, and other flavoring ingredients, but to make extraordinary risotto you must know how each ingredient works together to prepare it perfectly and how to use the "extra" flavoring ingredients. We will start out with what the major components of risotto are, including choosing the ingredients that will be best suited to fit your personal needs, and end with a few of the different techniques that can be used to prepare this dish, and of course, some recipes will follow.

The Ingredients:

Rice: The most important ingredient in this dish is obviously rice, but with risotto, only a few specific types of rice can be used. Only certain strains of short grain rice can be used because it has the highest content of the glutinous starch, which is what produces the creamy texture associated with traditional risotto. The most popular strain used is the Italian-grown Arborio rice, which is a strain that's widely available in most areas. Other strains of short grain rice that can be used are Vialone, Carnaroli, and Baldo rice, which can be used interchangeably for Arborio in risotto recipes. All these rices have subtle differences in grain size, cooking time, and texture, so if you desire, you can test all of these to find your personal favorite. Although it's best to stick with the Italian-grown rice, if you're unable to find any of the above varieties you can substitute with American short-grain rice, California-grown Arborio rice, or "pearl" rice.

Broth: Because it adds more to risotto's taste than anything else, it's very important that you use a very well-flavored and seasoned (but NOT too salty or overpowering) broth. Depending on what extra ingredients (see below) you're going to add to your risotto, you can use broths made with vegetables, chicken, meat, fish, or shellfish. It's obviously best to make your own fresh broth, but it's understood that many people won't do that, so instead of using water you can still use well-diluted instant bouillon cubes, or a low-sodium canned broth in its place.

Oil: A small amount of oil is always used in the first part of making risotto, and the best oil used for this, because of its unique and excellent flavors, is an extra-virgin olive oil. Other oils, such as canola oil, can be used in its place, but will not add any flavor to your risotto like olive oil would.

Butter: The oil is used for the first part of making risotto, but to enhance the flavor and creaminess of risotto, a bit of unsalted butter is usually added right before the serving of it. For those who are trying to make a little lower-fat version of risotto, this (although not recommended) can be removed in part or whole from the recipe.

Cheese: The most popular cheese used in risotto is the Italian parmigiano-reggiano (otherwise known as "parmesan"). This is almost always stirred in or sprinkled on top of the risotto right before it's served to the customer, again adding to that richness and creaminess of the dish. Other cheeses can be mixed or substituted with this also, like mozzarella, goat cheese, or any of your other favorite cheeses. As in all cooking, just keep trying new things with it every time you make it and eventually you'll find your favorite.

Other: Here is where your imagination comes in. All the previous ingredients are included in almost every risotto you'll find, but to make it all the more special you can add your own touch to the dish. The list goes on and on, but I'll list a few to get you thinking: mushrooms, saffron, chopped fresh herbs, spinach, grilled vegetables, and sun-dried tomatoes. Meat, fish, and poultry are excellent additions to risotto as are lobster, quail, shrimp, sausage, etc. You can even make sweet risotto with fruit, which would be good for a breakfast side dish or an accompaniment to a dessert. Almost all these ingredients can be precooked, and can be added on top of or stirred into the risotto right before serving. One of the few exceptions to that would be certain kinds of seafood, which can be added at different points of the cooking process to be finished at the same time as the risotto if you're confident you can do so without overcooking the seafood.

Techniques:

Now that you know all about what ingredients can go into your risotto, I'll explain a few different methods of preparing the dish itself, which is a fairly easy one to make and perfect. The first technique covered will be in how to prepare the classic version of risotto. From there, we'll go into a few variations of that, including the restaurant technique.

Classic Risotto: This method, if prepared properly, will produce the best, creamiest risotto out of all the techniques. The recipe itself for this method is included below, but basically it is simply sauteing the onion, adding the rice and briefly sauteing it, adding the wine, then the broth 1/2 cup (118 ml) at a time, and letting the rice absorb all the liquid after each addition. Then at the very end, adding the remaining 1/4 cup (59 ml) broth, the butter, cheese, salt and pepper, and your added ingredients, stirring and serving immediately. To tell when the risotto is finished, you must taste it, as cooking time alone may not necessarily tell you. Make sure the rice is still al dente, and at the same time has a nice overall creamy texture. And as with all methods, whatever you do, don't overcook it or you'll lose the rice and have just one batch of (a very flavorful) rice puree. The risotto may be done with less liquid than the recipe calls for, or it may require more liquid as well to come to the perfect risotto consistency. Okay, so now you may be wondering...why use any other method if this is the best?...but since this method requires that you stir it almost constantly with so many additions of liquid, you might prefer one of the other methods that takes less time and effort.

One Cup Method: This method requires that, instead of adding 1/2 cup (118 ml) of broth at a time, you add a full 1 cup (236 ml) of broth at a time. This method is a lot easier than the one above because you only make half the number of additions of liquid as the classic method, and you only have to stir it about half as much, too. The total amount of broth used in this recipe may be 1/2 cup (118 ml) to 1 cup (236 ml) less than the classic method also.

Restaurant Risotto: For larger restaurants, this technique might be the only method you can use due to time constraints. To make this, you don't completely finish cooking the risotto, and when the rice is still a bit crunchy, but close to being done, you spread the risotto on a sheet pan and put it in the refrigerator to cool it quickly, stopping the rice from softening. Now you'll have risotto that can last over the next 2-3 days that can be pulled out in whatever portions are needed and after about 5 more minutes of cooking will be finished. And just like the other methods, only at the end do you add the butter, cheese, seasonings, and other flavoring ingredients. We currently have risotto on the menu in the French restaurant I work in but we do not use this method. As mentioned above, the classic version is the best, so that's what method we use every day to best serve our customers.

Pressure Cooker and Microwave Risotto: These two methods do exist, but since most professional kitchens won't be using these, I'm not going into detail here on how to make them. If you'd still like their descriptions, please ask for them in CCF's message boards (link below).

Risotto Cakes: Another form of the finished product you can make, instead of creamy risotto, is risotto cakes. To make these, make risotto in any of the above fashions (with saffron if you'd like), cooking it a little bit drier than usual, and when it's finished cooking, refrigerate it. After refrigeration, the risotto will be very firm, at which point you can take some and form it into risotto cakes with your hands. Then, using a very small amount of a half-butter, half-oil mixture, pan-fry the cakes. Once finished, you generally want to serve them with a sauce of your choice.

Ira Krizo
CCF Director

We encourage and welcome any questions you may have about this article or any other food- or faith-related questions in our Message Boards:
http://www.ChristianChefs.org/forums.html

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To find out about future contests, you can follow the below link to the NEW "Contests" area of our website:
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All contests listed above are provided by the company listed, NOT by CCF. For additional information on each contest, please visit the designated website for that specific listing. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp (30ml) unsalted butter
1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil
1/2 cup (118ml) finely chopped onion
2 cups (473ml) Arborio rice
1/2 cup (118ml) dry white wine
6 cups (1.4L) chicken broth, preferably homemade, heated
1/2 cup (118ml) freshly grated Italian parmesan cheese
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation Steps:
1. Combine half of the butter and all the oil in a heavy 4-quart (3.8L) pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onion begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to brown it. Stir in the rice to coat the grains with the fat and onion mixture, and cook about 1 minute longer.
2. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until it is mostly absorbed by the rice. Begin to add the broth, 1/2 cup (118ml) at a time, stirring well after each addition. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup (118ml). Reserve 1/4 cup (59ml) of the broth to add at the end.
3. When the rice is tender but firm, in about 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Add the remaining 1/4 cup (59ml) broth and the other half of the butter, the cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and stir well to combine with the rice. Serve immediately.

Ingredients:
For the Fish Soup:
1 lb (454g) fish fillets, preferably from white-fleshed fish such as cod, pollack, monkfish, tilefish, tilapia, or flounder, cut into 1-inch (2.54cm) pieces
3 tbsp (45ml) olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and pressed or finely chopped
Pinch saffron threads (optional, but highly recommended)
2 tbsp (30ml) boiling water
1 medium-size leek, white part only, cut in half lengthwise, rinsed well between the layers, and thinly sliced crosswise
1 large rib celery, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 medium-size onion, peeled, cut in half, and thinly sliced
1 cup (236ml) finely sliced fennel bulb
1/4 tsp (1.2ml) fennel seed
1 cup (236ml) chopped canned tomatoes, with their juice
2 cups (473ml) fish broth, preferably homemade, heated
Salt
For the Risotto:
2 tbsp (30ml) olive oil
1/2 cup (118ml) finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, peeled and pressed or finely chopped
1 1/2 cups (355ml) Arborio rice
1/2 cup (118ml) dry white wine
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (59ml) chopped fresh parsley leaves, rinsed

Preparation Steps:
1. Prepare the fish soup: Combine the fish with 1 tbsp (15ml) of the olive oil and half the garlic in a small mixing bowl. Mix the saffron with the boiling water and pour over the fish. Mix well and allow to stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
2. Heat the rest of the olive oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining garlic, the leek, celery, onion, fresh fennel, and fennel seed and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the broth, season with salt to taste, and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot and cook 15 minutes. Add the fish and cook 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Strain the fish and vegetables from the broth, cover to keep warm, and set aside. Reserve the broth (you should have 4 to 5 cups, 946 to 1180ml) and combine with the other broth to yield 6 cups (1.4L).
3. Prepare the risotto: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy 4-quart (3.8L) pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to brown it. Stir in the rice to coat the grains with the oil and onion mixture, and cook about 1 minute longer.
4. Add the wine and stir until it is mostly absorbed by the rice. Add the broth, 1/2 cup (118ml) at a time, stirring well after each addition. Wait until it is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup (118ml). Reserve 1/4 cup (59ml) of the broth to add at the end.
5. When the rice is tender but firm, in about 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Add the remaining 1/4 cup (59ml) broth, the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir well to combine. Serve the risotto in warmed soup bowls with some of the fish and vegetables on top. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

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God Bless,
Ira Krizo, Director

Christian Chefs Fellowship
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