Give Lemons

When life gives you you lemons, make lemonade lemon risotto.

With an 8 month old, K and I had to stay closer to home for this year’s anniversary celebration. No paper tickets to Europe. No cotton retreat in a Fredericksburg cabin. No leather seats to Charleston. Lucky for us though, fruit & flowers was an easily obtainable traditional gift for the fourth year, and a cooking class was just what we needed for a date night out to commemorate another year together.

MENU:
Lemon and Saffron Risotto
Sicilian-Style Grilled Chicken with Fresh Herbs
Basil, Mint Lemon Sorbet

Sur La Table almost seemed to be catering specifically to us with their lemon centered “al fresco” menu, and with drinks in hand (three cheers for BYOB cooking classes!), we eagerly took our place in the kitchen. Aprons, check! Cutting boards, check! Hungry bellies, check!

The night started with a quick introduction by the chef leading the class and then we dove right into zesting lemons and making a simple syrup for our sorbet - we had to get all the ingredients into the ice cream machine early to give it plenty of time to freeze by the end of the night.

In between cheese and cracker snack breaks, we juiced and zested another lemon, learned the proper technique for chopping fresh herbs, and dropped our chicken into a fresh, aromatic marinade before starting in on our risotto.

Now, Kevin and I have never made a risotto, but everything I know about it comes from Gordon Ramsay yelling at contestants on Hell’s Kitchen. Risotto is supposed to be rich and creamy, cascading onto the plate when you serve it… it’s not supposed to be too runny ort too dry. It is a delicate balancing act that required us to ladle broth into the pan, one scoop at a time, while constantly stirring for 20-30 minutes. It’s not an easy dish! 

With one eye on the delicate and demanding risotto, we placed our chicken, bay leaves, onion, and lemon wedges on skewers and grilled them on a convection skillet (potentially, one of K’s favorite parts of the night). As the food sizzled and the aroma of crisp lemon filled the air, we were nearly salivating by the time dinner was served!

Some lemon zest here, a little lemon juice there, two hours of cooking (sans-baby) and another year together, it was a magical Saturday night. Plus, it’s totally starting to feel like our love story has lasted four-ever... get it??? I crack myself up sometimes!