Grilled London Broil with Three-Garlic Risotto

My day in the kitchen started at 11 AM this morning when Jon whipped up a fantastic marinade for our London broil while I was doing some other preparations. We served the London broil with a new creation of mine, three-garlic risotto, and sauteed spinach.

Marinade

Ingredients (amounts are approximate)

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Juice from 1/2 of a lime
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp turmeric

We let the London Broil marinate in the fridge for about 7 hours. Jon is so good at coming up with ideas for marinades - we loved this one!! He grilled the London broil for about 18 minutes. It was medium-well to well on the edges (for me) and medium in the center (for him).

______________________________________

Three-Garlic Risotto

I love making risotto and have tried a bunch of variations from my Parmesan-garlic risotto and spinach-shiitake risotto to cauliflower-leek risotto. Tonight I decided to use the different flavors of garlic...

Ingredients

• 5 cloves raw garlic, chopped
• 8 cloves roasted garlic, chopped
• 1/2 small onion or 1 small shallot, chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups chicken broth, warmed
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• A few pinches of dry or fresh parsley
• Optional: 1 tsp white truffle oil

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium/medium-low heat; add 1/2 of the raw garlic. Toast the garlic being careful not to burn it. Remove it from the oil. This is what it looks like:


• Add the rest of the raw garlic and the onions to the oil. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the butter and rice; stir for 1 minute.
• Add the white wine and stir until it is absorbed.
• Add the chicken broth 1 ladle-full at a time, letting it fully absorb before adding more. This process takes about 17 minutes.
• Before the final ladle of broth, add the roasted garlic.
• When your final ladle of broth is halfway absorbed, add the cheese. This is my trick for making the risotto creamy.
• Finally, add the parsley and truffle oil. Serve immediately; top with the toasted garlic.

I love the different flavors of the toasted, roasted, and sauteed garlic. The toasted garlic infuses the oil, and adds a nice crunch and flavor when you use it as a garnish. The roasted garlic is sweet, but the sauteed garlic keeps the risotto from becoming too sweet. I'll definitely make this one again.

________________________________________

And of course, the wine...

A few years ago we had a housewarming party, and someone brought us a bottle of 2002 Ridge Lytton Springs. I wish I knew who brought it for us so we could thank them for introducing us to it!! We fell in love with this wine but were only able to find it to buy one time. Ever since, we have searched for it, but since it is a 2002, it's almost impossible to find. Finally, last week, Jon found six bottles at a store about 2 hours from here. He was headed up that way for a poker game last week, so he stopped by the store and bought the last six bottles.

We both agree that this is one of the best, if not the best, red wine we've ever had. This bottle proves that you don't need to spend a ton of money for amazing wine - it was $35 a bottle. It is 75% zinfandel, 20% petite syrah, and 5% carignane. It is full, but not heavy; flavorful without being too oaky or woody. It's just about the perfect wine. I hope we can make these last 5 bottles last... luckily we hid them in the basement so we aren't tempted to open them too soon!