Rice Balls! I accept your challenge!

Friday, I made an Italian dinner for friends.

Okay, if I'm to be honest, I should say that I planned the menu for an Italian dinner. But, I didn't have time to prepare it all, so friends came and helped prepare some of it before they ate it.

Lucky_girl took the dough I'd whipped up and made at least two pounds of fettucine with the kitchenaid pasta roller -- her enjoyment was well worth the price of the attachment. The homemade fettucine doused in carbonara made with sausage *and* bacon was the highlight of the meal.

H juiced 10 lemons and 2 oranges for sorbetto that never quite made it to the frozen state. After declaring it a failure, I added half-and-half, continued mixing, and froze it. There is now a very light sorbetto/gelato a limone waiting to be dispensed at barbeque.

For starters, A chatted with me while I deep fried arancini di riso that just wouldn't behave in the least bit. I based my efforts on a recipe I found on the internet which looked reasonable.

Uggghhhh....it was not reasonable at all.

When I took it from the fridge, it was clear that the risotto-like mixture needed to be cooked to a state that would be almost too dry to serve as risotto. I know that the cheese should have melted and the balls shouldn't have fallen apart into a goo-ey risotto-like mess when pierced. I also think the cheese cubes needed to be smaller and that the oil should have been slightly less hot so I could cook them for longer (allowing the cheese to melt) without burning the bread crumbs.

The guests, none of whom had ever had arancini di riso, raved about the weird exploding risotto goo concoctions I made, which I served over a bed of spinach with balsamic on the side for a make-shift salad. They were tasty, but much like tasty gnocchi mush, they were not as intended.

And now, it's personal.

E and I both knew what I had hoped to achieve. Risotto explosion balls were not the point. Good, yes. But not the point.

I shall be attempting arancini di riso repeatedly until I conquer them. As a side note, our marital relationship appears to be running more smoothly after the promise of increased grease, as well.