First post: Tomato topped ciabatta, butternut squash and baby portobello mushroom risotto

What better way to start a brand new blog than to jump right in with content.

I'm Toni. Thanks for stopping by. My friends and I decided to start a food blog. We all cook. We all have different styles, backgrounds and passions. Each of us has decided on a day of the week to blog on what we've got up our sleeves, things we're working on and perfecting, staples in our repertoire (Um, I just spelled repertoire right the first time I tried!), etc.

So here we go!

Anna and I cooked together the other day. I like cooking with Anna because she frequently talks to her food. She'll say, "Ohmygosh! Risotto! I love you!" or "Thank you, tomato salad! You're so delicious!" It's really lovely.

Let's start with the tomato salad, because it is my favorite thing. Ever.

Don't waste your time on the big, hard and pale red tomatoes at your supermarket. Go with the ones on the vine. The real-red, real-ripe ones. Cut them into chunks. Pour in some balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil. Not a lot, but enough. Season it with salt and pepper. Yes, you should use fancy sea salt and fresh-ground pepper. It's better. Serve it over ciabatta or a baguette or whatever other kind of crusty bread you have. Eat it while you make the risotto. Or have manners and wait for everyone else.

Moving on to the risotto.

Split, de-seed, and peel your squash. Cut half of it into bite-sized or smaller chunks, throw it on a roasting pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Let the squash roast on 400F for about 15 minutes, tossing them at some point.

While those are roasting, clean up some baby portobello mushrooms. Adult portobello mushrooms are waaay to meaty for this recipe. Baby portobello mushrooms sort of cut through the salt and creaminess of this dish and they are my favorite part to eat.

So, after the squash have been roasting for 15 minutes throw the mushrooms in the oven, and continue roasting another 10 minutes or until both vegetables are cooked through.

Alright! Now the risotto part of the risotto recipe.

This takes a minute and you should have all of your ingredients ready because risotto demands your full attention.

Here's my number one rule on risotto: Don't stop stirring. As you continually stir, you break down all of the gooey, creamy starch stuff in the arborio rice. Yes, your arm may get tired, but trust me, it is welllll worth the effort. Plus, when you are cooking with Anna, she helps stir when you haven't mentally prepared yourself to stand over a stove for so long.

Here's my second rule to risotto: Don't add all your stock at one time. In fact, you add it by the ladle to keep the pot and rice wet, and as it continually dries, you continually add stock.

I mean, you don't want to drown your rice in a stock bath but if you are wondering if there is enough stock, there probably isn't.

So, throw in butter and half an onion or a couple of smaller shallots into a dutch oven on medium-low heat. Cook the onions until they are nice and translucent. Don't let your butter caramelize. Next, add 1 1/2 cups of arborio rice and coat with the butter in the pan. Once coated, begin adding a couple of ladles of chicken stock. Bring it so a nice simmer, stirring the whole time. Add a little salt (no really, just a little; This recipe has enough salt and doesn't need much help) and more fresh ground pepper.

The rest.. is so simple. Continue stirring and adding stock until the risotto is ever-so-slightly al dente. Don't let it get gummy. Taste often so you'll anticipate where you are at in the cooking process. It will take between 20-30 minutes.

While you are stirring, ask Anna to shred up some parmesan cheese for you. Maybe half a cup. We got a little crazy with ours and added probably a cup and things got heavy fast. I mean, it was delicious. But heavy.

So, now you have roasted squash and mushrooms, a pot of creamy risotto, and some shredded parmesan cheese. Throw it all in together. Then listen for Anna, because she'll start talking to it soon.

Tomato Salad-

• 3-4 vine-ripe tomatoes cut into chunks or a crate of grape tomatoes cut in halves.
• Balsamic vinaigrette
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Butternut squash and baby portobello mushroom risotto

• Half of a butternut squash, cut into chunks
• Crate of baby portobello mushrooms, clean and halved
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Butter
• Half of a small onion or 2 shallots
• 1 1/2 cups of arborio rice
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 1/2 cup of shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano