Social media risotto.

Late last night I found myself in a desperate situation. I was planning to head to my new favorite local grocery store first thing in the morning, but I didn’t have any idea what to make for dinner tonight and thus – no idea what to get. (Not a bad problem to have, I understand, but I hate heading to the grocery store without a recipe in mind. I just feel aimless, and usually end up throwing together a haphazard meal.)

So I sent a message on Twitter to my new friend Bryan Maleszyk (he is a serious foodie and turned me on to Russo’s in the first place).

My plea to him: “I need recipe ideas for tomorrow’s dinner – using Russo’s best!”

He replied immediately and suggested a pumpkin and sage risotto with crumbled amaretti (Italian cookies). Cue angelic choir – I was heaven. But it got even better. Bryan was kind enough to “live tweet” the entire recipe for me (including a side pear and gorgonzola salad) all of which, even more amazingly, was entirely off the top of his head.

The tweeted recipe went as follows:

Let me tell you: the meal came out absolutely delicious. The risotto had a rich creaminess that was balanced by the little kick from the cayenne pepper. I did have way more pumpkin than was necessary but that’s okay – I’m going to freeze it and make a fresh pumpkin pie soon.

Some photos to make you jealous:

The final verdict:

Yet another example of how social media makes my life better.

Many thanks to Bryan!