Lemon Cup Risotto

Hmm, where to begin with this post. Dinner tonight was supposed to be garlic lemon double stuffed chicken with the lemon cup risotto and corn, however I looked at the chicken recipe and decided I just didn't have the energy tonight to do all of that. So I used seasoned Panko breadcrumbs for the chicken and called it a day.

As for the risotto...here is the recipe I wanted to make: Risotto in a Lemon Cup 
However, once I took a better look at the lemons I bought I realized that this just probably wasn't going to work out. It looks cool and fancy and would be great for a dinner party, but its really not a practical recipe unless you have really large lemons. So, for the sake of the blog, I put the risotto in it, but I didn't serve it that way.

It looks pretty doesn't it? But you can see that the lemon is just too small for even a tiny serving of risotto and I'm not sure how it would affect the flavor even with the inside of the lemon removed.

So I created a general risotto made from the basics and since we had mascarpone cheese, I added that in too. It turned out really well, but darker than usual. I think its because I used a different type of chicken stock. Usually I would use Nature's Promise Organic Low Sodium Chicken Stock, but this time I used the Kitchen Basics brand. Anyway, onto the recipe.

Cheese Risotto
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 slices small onion, diced
3 tbs. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbs. butter
1 tsp. mascarpone cheese
1 tsp. cream cheese
1/4 tsp. parsley (optional, garnish)

Directions:
1. Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add in 1 tbs. olive oil and the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent.
2. Pour the chicken stock into a small saucepan and put over low heat. 
3. Add in the garlic and the remaining olive oil. Cook 1-2 minutes more.
4. Add in the rice and stir around until the rice is coated with the oil and garlic and turns a translucent/pale color. Pour in the white wine (I use cooking wine by the way) and cook until the rice has absorbed the wine.
5. Once the rice has absorbed the liquid, pour in 1/2 to 1 cups of chicken stock and stir occasionally until absorbed. Repeat with the remaining chicken stock.
6. Once the rice looks like its going to start sticking to the pan, turn the heat down to low and add in the butter, mascarpone and cream cheese. Stir and fold until the cheeses and butter are melted and incorporated into the risotto. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

I didn't take a picture of the chicken, but if you are interested in trying a really simple breaded recipe, here it is.
1. In a shallow bowl, crack two eggs and whisk. (Tom added in some hot sauce and A1 for flavoring. It came through on some parts of the chicken but not others. If you want to do this, I'd suggest 1/2 tsp of hot sauce and 1 tbs. of A1 and to stab holes in the chicken first and let it marinade in that in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.)
2. In another shallow bowl pour in 1 1/2 cups of seasoned Panko breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumbs. Place in a glass baking dish. You can add a small pat of butter to the top of the chicken to keep it moist while it cooks. Bake for 25-45 minutes, depending on how thick the chicken breast is.