Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Yield: Serves 4-6

Time: 1 hour

Pumpkin Risotto:

1 small pumpkin

Extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups Arborio rice

1/4 cup shallots, diced

1 cup dry white wine

1 quart low-sodium chicken stock, heated

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup rice flour

Parsley leaves for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Split pumpkin and scoop seeds out.  Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper then roast in oven for 25-30 minutes until tender. Puree in a food processor.

Place a large pot over medium heat and add a 3-count of olive oil.  Add shallots and cook for 5 minutes, until soft.  Stir in the rice making sure to coat all the grains with the oil.  Add wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.   Ladle in 1 cup of hot stock at time.  Using a wooden spoon, stir gently until most of the stock has been absorbed.  Keep adding stock, a cup at a time, and stirring.  After about 10 to 15 minutes, test the rice.  It should be cooked and creamy but still have a slight bite to it.  Add water if you use all the stock.  Season with salt and pepper; stir in butter and parmesan.  Gently fold in roasted pumpkin puree and give it a final taste and seasoning.  Spread out the risotto on a flat tray to cool in the refrigerator.

Once the risotto is completely cooled you can make the arancini.  Roll into small bite-size balls, dredge lightly in seasoned rice flour and fry in hot 350 degree F oil.  Drain on a paper towel and season with salt.  Fry parsley leaves to use for a garnish.  Serve with Blue Cheese Fondue and Port Wine Syrup.

BLUE CHEESE FONDUE:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1 cups crumbled blue cheese

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Make a roux, by combing butter and flour in a pot over low heat. Heat milk then add hot milk to roux 1 cup at a time to ensure no lumps. Bring to a boil, cook for 10 minutes, add nutmeg, fold in blue cheese and season. Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.

PORT WINE SYRUP:

1/2 cup port wine

Set port wine in a small sauce pan over medium heat and reduce until thick and syrupy – about 5-7 minutes.

Hi everyone-

Are you all ready for Spring yet or what?  I just spent the past week and a half on the road…San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Tampa…so I’ve seen Spring in all its forms, from coast to coast.

It was quite a road trip and I wanted to share with you a really exciting highlight which was the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago.  The show is the world’s largest home goods and housewares marketplace where thousands of new consumer products and designs are launched each year.  
This year, I was honored to deliver the keynote address for the show entitled “Beyond the Stovetop: The Business of Being a (Celebrity) Chef.”  It was a great experience and truly an honor to share my perspective on my brand with the buyers and vendors at the convention.  

But the real highlight was the launch of my new Steel Clad Cookware and Titanium Cutlery. This was the first unveiling of my retail lines and it was very exciting to see all of the buyers flocking to our booth to see the new product.  Tyler Florence Steel Clad Cookware features an innovative technology combination of an ultra-tough hard anodized aluminum exterior, a super conductive aluminum core and a non-reactive and stainless steel interior that is safe to use with metal tools.  I’ve designed the cookware with stay-cool 18/10 stainless steel ergonomic handles, glass lids with convenient hanging storage and the entire line is dishwasher safe to boot.  My titanium cutlery is like nothing you’ve ever seen.  Aesthetically, its black on black with an ergonomic handle that feels great in your hand.  The black coating is actually titanium plating which is much harder than steel and is scratch and corrosion resistant.  And we’ve designed a very unique magnetic storage system made of sustainable Acacia wood that gives each knife its own sleeve that can combine with others into an upright block or lay flat in a drawer.  Here are a few pictures that I took at the show.  

So, keep your eyes peeled at your local housewares store and you’ll see these products and more around August 1.  

Cheers,

Tyler

Don’t miss Tyler on the “Oprah” show on Wednesday, March 11, as he gives tips to a mother of three on how to create easy, tasty meals that please the whole family and then hits the “Oprah” show stage with a one-of-a-kind recipe!