Artichoke risotto

In the last year, Sunday in our house has become risotto night. Creamy risotto is a great comfort food, and it's infinitely adaptable to the seasons and almost all flavors, so we never get tired of it. Each week I make something up, sometimes getting it right (lemon and arugula, butternut squash, wild mushroom and foie gras, or asparagus) sometimes not so much (charred brussels sprouts-- I still think it can work, it just needs tweaking). Tonight was artichoke, one of Karen's favorite ingredients. We got a great small variety at the market yesterday that had wonderful flavor and were tender enough that I could have made a salad with them raw.

While eating, we watched the men's relay world championship biathlon from Canada on Eurosport. What a great sport. The at-the-limit aerobic activity with precision shooting in between is really cool, and when you add in the intense mental aspect with the closest competitors being right next to each other in the stressful shooting, and it just doesn't get any more exciting or unpredictable. This relay was another thriller, with several clutch and choke moments out there. I won't reveal who won, but let's just say that there are some happy Windhs in the homeland. They need to make it a winter triathlon, though, by adding ski jumping into it, somehow. Now that'd be entertainment.