Sweet Corn Risotto and Tilapia with Thyme Butter

I buy my fish from this fish sandwich restaurant on Lexington Road that used to be a full service fish shop. I've found that fish from supermarkets all too often has a funky taste from being old or being frozen and refrozen, and then thawed again for my consumption. The fish from the Lexington Road place is more expensive (6 or 7 dollars for one tilapia, filleted). Well, at least it seems expensive to me since I can get a whole bag of tilapia fillets at Kroger for $5. But the quality is so much better. For one thing, they don't just sell you the crappy end-cuts of the fish...you can actually see how the whole fish fit together at one point, and the tilapia's not in tiny measly pieces. Second of all, it appears to be fresh. Fish should never actually smell like fish or stink, it should smell like nothing. But I've gotten some nasty smelling stuff at supermarkets before, and cooking it does not help.

Anyway, I dusted those nice tilapia fillets with some salted and peppered flour and cooked them in a skillet. In a very unnecessary move, I drizzed some thyme and browned butter over the top of them. It was good though. I love butter.

This was also my first time making risotto! I was first instructed to saute some garlic and thyme in olive oil, and then add the arborio rice and let that toast up a bit. Afterwards, I was to deglaze the pan with some (well, two cups (!!)) of white wine. I loved the recipe I found on Food Network, it says, and I quote, "deglaze with the white wine and keep stirring, you will need to stir throughout this whole recipe." As if to say, if you have any intention at all of not stirring this like an overworked slave, you are WRONG. Haha. After the wine absorbed, I had to add four cups of liquid in three installments, letting the liquid almost fully absorb each time. The liquid was supposed to be corn stock, which was to be made by boiling two stripped-of-corn corn cobs for thirty minutes in some water (the corn was to later go into the risotto). Well, I dutifully filled a pot with water and added the naked corn cobs, and then went to go read on my bed. Some time later, I smelled something burning and realized that I had forgotten about the corn stock. Oops. I came in to find two charred corn cobs. So I had to substitute chicken stock for my liquid. I'm almost glad, though, because I was skeptical about how much flavor two old corn cobs could possibly impart to plain water. Anyway, after the third installment of liquid, I added the corn and let that cook. And after everything had absorbed the risotto was looking shiny and luxurious. Even then, the recipe instructed me to add 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese and a tablespoon or so of butter, which I did, because after all I do love butter. I need to quit after today, though, I have been veering too far toward recipes with loads of butter.

I was going to make an apricot cake today, I found the cutest little apricots at Whole Foods the other day. But the risotto was so rich I don't think we have room for it now. Maybe tomorrow.