Waste Not: Arancini

    If you're on a budget, it's important to make sure that you don't throw away any food... in planning a meal, you should think about how you're going to use any of the extra ingredients you have leftover before they go bad. For instance, if you roast a chicken, use the bones to make stock and the leftover meat to make chicken potpies the next day. Some produce may be eaten fresh or in a salad, or you can plan a couple meals during the week that incorporate them. It's also good to have a way to utilize leftovers, especially if you're cooking for someone who hates eating leftovers. As a general rule, even the most stubborn leftover-haters will be ok with trying some if you present it in a different way- maybe making a panini that uses something from dinner the night before or rice pudding from leftover rice. Arancini is another example of this, and actually, the leftovers may even be tastier and more elegant than the original dish... you can be the judge!
    Risotto is one of my favorite go-to dinners- it's tasty, easy to make and serves as a one-pot meal. Unfortunately, it's never as good, the next day... and I generally make a lot at one time, so it's easy to let it go bad in the fridge (generally after I've eaten it several days in a row and am getting a little sick of it). Arancini (which Italian for little oranges), is one way to repurpose the leftover risotto without making you feel like they're leftovers. They are made from breading and frying risotto and they make a delicious appetizer, served with a little tomato sauce and maybe some shaved Parmesan. They are crisp on the outside and creamy and cheesy on the inside- it doesn't get much better than that :-).
    To make the risotto, heat up some olive oil in a medium-sized pan, saute some diced garlic and shallots, then add some arborio rice and toast it for a minute (don't allow it to brown). Next, throw in about 1/2 c of dry white wine- whatever you have around would work fine. Then, start adding in stock (I usually use chicken- I warm this up in a saucepan before adding any), about a cup at a time, waiting till all of it is absorbed before adding more. You can also add some herbs (rosemary, basil, sage, etc), bacon, peas, etc depending on what you're in the mood for. Just keep adding stock until the rice is tender and the stock is no longer being absorbed. At this point, add about 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan, remove the pan from heat and give it a good stir. You can also add a Tb or so of butter at the end if you like. Add salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste, although you probably won't need extra salt- most stocks have a lot of salt in them to begin with. There are plenty of recipes out there, but this is the general idea- I make it so often that I've stopped using recipes. This time, I put shallots, pureed roasted butternut squash and sage in it, mostly because this is what I had around at the time.

Arancini (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis's Everyday Italian)
-2 cups of leftover risotto
-1 large egg, beaten
-panko (2 cups or so)
-dried basil, thyme and oregano
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan
-Mozzarella, cut into 1/4- 1/2 inch cubes
-vegetable oil for frying

-Mix the risotto with the egg and Parmesan, mix well and mix the panko with about 1 tsp of basil, thyme and oregano. Place the panko mixture in a shallow dish (a pie pan works well)
-Form the mixture into 2" balls, around a piece of cheese
-Place the oil in a saucepan or deep fryer and heat to 250 F.
-Roll the balls in the panko mixture and drop them in the hot oil (make sure you wait until the oil is hot to add the aracini)
-Cook until each ball is golden brown on all sides, then remove with a slotted spoon or skimmer and place on a plate prepared with clean, dry paper towels. Serve immediately, with warm marinara.
-Arancini can be made in advance, just cover them with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge- wait to fry them until right before you serve them, though, or they will lose their crunch!