Dinner Mark Two

So I know it's nearly a week ago now, but I made dinner again last Sunday! Hooray!

I am rather proud of myself, and am determined not  to make this one of those things where I begin with all this enthusiasm and then loose interest and stop/

I made, with only minimal help from Lovely and my parents, I might add, Creamy Pumpkin Risotto and for desert, Gin and Walnut Icecream. And it was really yum.

Creamy Pumpkin Risotto This recipe is a combination of Ruby's pumpkin risotto recipe and a recipe my mum found in a Woman's Weekly Magazine.
Serves: 4
Prep Time: It says 50mins, but to be honest it took me about an hour and a half :/

Ingredients:
- 1kg butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5L of vegetable stock
- 50g of butter
- 2 medium onions (300g), chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
- 2cups (400g) aborio rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Sav Blanc :) )
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I used more but I looove parmesan)
- 2 tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted.

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees, or 180 fan forced.
2. Combine pumpkin and two tablespoons of the oil in a large oven tray. Season with salt, and roast for about 25mins
3. Meanwhile, bring stock to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan
4. Melt the butter in a large heavy based pan; add onion, cook until soft but not coloured. Add garlic and rice and stir for one minute. Add wine, simmer uncovered, until liquid is evaporated.
5. Add 1/2 a cup of hot stock to the rice mixture; cook, stirring over medium heat, until the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the pumpkin, and continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, until all the liquid as been absorbed (this is tedious, but keep going)
6. Toast the pine nuts in a shallow pan, add to the risotto along with the parmesan cheese.

Tadah!

Walnut and Gin Icecream 
 I found this recipe in a Frankie magazine. I love that magazine so much, I actually look forward to the new issue of Frankie day. Start this one early, cos it takes about 6 hours to freeze.

Ingredients:
- 3 egg yolks
-1/4 cup of caster sugar
-1/4 cup of gin
-1/2 cup of golden syrup (I used honey cos we had no golden syrup, which worked, but I'd still stick with golden syrup
- 500ml of cream, chilled
- 3/4 cup of broken up walnuts

Method:
- Combine egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until pale
- Then beat in the gin and golden syrup, followed by the cream.
- Beat until soft peaks form (this take quite, but stick at it! Keep going until it looks like whipped cream)
- Fold in the Walnuts, and pour into plastic container and freeze.

I forgot to take a picture, because I was so eager to eat it. So just imagine a collection of creamy looking goop that eventually freezes and looks like icecream :)