A few things I've learned about cooking risotto, while cooking risotto.

Like all the best food in the world, risotto is a peasant dish, invented by poor people, to keep poor people alive. Risotto is more a method than just a rice dish. Some have suggested that you can make risotto out of other grains, which makes sense, but so what? I can make a burrito out of a dog turd, but it doesn't mean I should.

Risotto, at it's simplest, and as I have come to understand it, is: onion, butter (or ghee), oil, rice, wine, and stock (chik, beef, veg, or fish, or a combo I suppose). From that simple base, you can create some wonderful tastes. My current favourite is shallot and portobello mushroom, w/ or w/out chicken. I also rather like scallops, but they're more of an accessory than an actual ingredient. Who doesn't like a properly cooked scallop for fuck's sake? It's a no brainer, that.

So, in addition to that, here are a very few things I have learned. 

Yes, you can use beef stock instead of chicken, even if you plan to put chicken in the risotto.

Yes, you can use red wine instead of white. In fact, I have read you can use milk, or beer, or whatever the hell you want. Go nuts.

A bigger pan is better. The more surface area you have to heat, the more thoroughly you will heat the rice grains, so they end up plump and soft.

Stirring the rice as it cooks serves two purposes. The obvious one is keeping it from burning. The less obvious is that, as you agitate the grains, they rub against each other, which facilitates the further release of those very starches which make risotto so creamy and wonderful. Stir Stir Stir!

I love risotto!