'Otto and Cheese

I can no longer claim to be a poor grad student, but this whole waiting-around-to-start-working thing has been even harder on the dwindling bank account than living off of Uncle Sam while I was still in school. That being said, I've had to get creative with what I already have in my cupboard and right now this includes a lot of arborio rice. I usually use arborio to make rice cream (imagine a cross between vanilla ice cream and rice pudding), but I've been experimenting with other flavors recently. For this recipe I combined two previous dishes I tend to make during the winter, Mac and Cheese (from scratch) and Caramelized Onion and Thyme Risotto. I've experimented with various combinations of of cheese, but I prefer the Zingerman's Roadhouse combo of sharp cheddar and swiss. The stank of this cheese combo goes a long way to compliment the sweetness of the caramelized onion. 

Special note on cheese sauces: While the pre-shredded cheeses are convenient, they're treated with an anti-caking agent and it tends to make the consistency of the sauce gritty. It's less important in this dish, but becomes and issue when making scratch Mac and Cheese.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 4 cups 2% milk, reserved
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed dried thyme (not ground)
• 1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste, see linked article below)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 Tablespoons champagne wine vinegar, reserved
• 1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1-2 cups shredded swiss cheese
• Optional: fresh thyme (leaves removed from stems) and grated nutmeg OR Panko breadcrumbs, crushed dried thyme, and grated nutmeg

Directions:

1. Heat pan on medium-low, then add a few swirls of olive oil.
2. Add chopped onion and slowly brown, stirring occasionally so onion browns evenly.
3. Add arborio and sauté until outer layer becomes clear (2-3 min). 
4. Add 1 cup milk, turn heat down to low so milk doesn't thicken and burn too quickly. 
5. Add garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. 
6. As the sauce thickens, add 3 more cups milk, ONE BY ONE, until rice is soft and you have a slightly thinner consistency than a Béchamel sauce. 
7. Add 1 Tbsp champagne wine vinegar and stir frequently to let acid cook out a tiny bit (1-2 min). 
8. Turn heat to lowest position and start slowly adding shredded swiss and sharp cheddar (equal parts), while constantly stirring, until you have desired cheesiness. 
9. Move to a cool burner, salt until the flavor pops and add 1 more Tbsp champagne wine vinegar. 
10. Top with fresh thyme and grated nutmeg. (Not pictured above because I was out of both.) OR separate into individual ramekins, top with Panko topping, and heat under the broiler until the topping is lightly brown and crispy.