chicken piccata with caprese risotto

I have been on a risotto kick lately. Now that I have discovered a book solely dedicated to risotto it's getting out of control... To accompany the risotto my mom & I made chicken piccata. I made the same Panko bread crumb recipe I used on the white fish a few entries below! If you'd like to know what was used on the chicken, let me know! My mom is such a great cook she doesn't need a recipe to follow. I had some other help in the kitchen tonight..., giving a shout out to my Dad who snipped the green beans -- haricot verts in French.  For the record, I now know how to say green beans, the days of the week and hello in French. Thanks Dad. For dessert I made lemon squares from the Tennessee Tables cookbook.  I will post them tomorrow.  They were delicious!

Ingredients for Caprese risotto:

7-8 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

3 cups Arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine, at room temp.

3/4 lb. mozzarella cheese

2 cups cherry tomatoes, stemmed & halved 

1/4 julienned fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the stock to a gentle simmer and maintain over low heat. In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the rice and stil until each grain is well coated with oil and translucent with a white dot in the center, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and stir until it is completely absorbed. 

Add the simmering stock a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed ( but the rice is never dry on top) before adding the next ladleful. Reserve 1/4 cup stock to add at the end.

If using 2-inch balls of mozzarella, cut them into slices 1/2 inch thick. Smaller balls may be left whole.

When the rice is tender to the bite but slightly firm in the center and looks creamy, after about 20 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the reserved 1/4 cup stock, the mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 6.