Asparagus and Leek Risotto with prosciutto

I like to have a Sunday dinner with my husband. In our household, that means that I get a craving for some particular food and a definite itch to spend some time in our kitchen. I will research a recipe (usually something new and a bit more adventuresome than the recipes I make during the week), we will hit the grocery store for the ingredients and perhaps the liquor store for an appropriate bottle of wine.

Due to wedding-related activities and a general busy-ness with life, we haven't had a Sunday dinner since my Easter dinner endeavor of a ham. Luckily, today changed that. I wanted risotto. I wanted summer. I wanted it all on my plate stat. So to epicurious.com I went. I made this recipe. It was delicious. I followed it nearly to the letter with one small exception: per the other commentators, I blanched my asparagus in the boiling chicken broth. I am all about less dishes (as is my husband, who generally maintains dish duty in our house).

Here's the work in progress. (Note my little bowls. I like to do the prep work and then pretend as if I am on a cooking show. It's so fun. Tonight my husband helped out too. We have fun together in the kitchen.)

The finished product?

We loved it. It tasted all sorts of summery delicious. I served it with a mixed green salad with a bit of the fresh grated Parmesan and some bosc pears (topped with a balsamic vinaigrette).

The wine? It was a Gruner Veltliner from Fred Loimer called Lois. It was very tasty and perfect on this warm summer night.

For dessert? Well, if I spend a decent amount of time chopping, stirring, and standing at the stove, odds are good I'm not baking anything for dessert. Tonight was no exception. We did strawberry shortcake. I did, however, whip my own cream. It just tastes better.