Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Lagostina and 5WPR. The Newlywed Chefs received a Lagostina Risotto Pan as compensation for this post, however, as always, all opinions are 100% our own.

Update: This giveaway has ended.

Congrats to @meagansinnobrien who won via Instagram! 

It’s an exciting day, bloggy friends! You may recall about a month ago we wrote about a new partnership we have with Lagostina. Well, today we’re featuring their gorgeous risotto pan (linea patrimonio), and one of YOU will soon have one show up on your doorstep! Woot!

Photo Credit: Lagostina USA

We love working with brands and companies that we truly want to promote. If we didn’t believe in them, we wouldn’t write about them or encourage you to check them out. Lagostina makes elegant, smart, stunning additions to any kitchen and we are proud to be working with them.

Here are some facts about this beauty:

• 4-qt. cap.
• Tri-ply sides are polished 18/10 stainless steel with an aluminum core and nonreactive stainless-steel interior.
• LAGOPLAN® base combines five alternating layers of aluminum and stainless steel for rapid, even heating.
• Ergonomic cast stainless-steel handles provide a steady grip.
• Tight-fitting lid locks in heat and moisture.
• Cherry wood and stainless-steel lid features double-wall construction—and ingeniously inverts to create a serving trivet.
• Ideal for use on any cooktop, including induction.
• Made in Italy
• Retail Price (Williams-Sonoma): $199.95

Another reason why we like this versatile pan so much is because we can use it for other things besides risotto. And, check it out: the lid flips and doubles as a trivet!

It’s so pretty! And just in case your guests are wondering what’s for dinner, you can give them a huge hint…(it’s not mac and cheese).

Although you could make other dishes in this pan, you really ought to try making risotto. I think risotto is misunderstood. Most of our friends haven’t attempted making risotto because they think it’s so hard. It requires skill. But here’s the deal: yes, it might require a longer cook time than other dishes, but it’s really quite simple to make. Since Neil is now a mushroom convert (I knew he’d come around), we decided to make a wild mushroom risotto. To make this crowd-pleasing dish, start out by cooking the mushrooms in the Lagostina risotto pan.

Then, after sautéing the shallot and garlic, add the risotto, wine, and some of the chicken stock. From here on out, you add just a ladle at a time, stirring consistently as the risotto absorbs the liquid. Each batch of risotto is a little different. You don’t want it to cook so long that the texture becomes gloppy, or too short that the rice is still crunchy or the liquid is soupy. You really just have to make it, feel it out, and get to know what kind of texture you enjoy. Ours usually takes at least 6 cups of liquid and 40 minutes of cooking, if not more.

There is a debate in the food world whether you really need to continuously stir the risotto, or if every now and then will do. We like how ours turns out when we stir it, so we’re going to recommend that. Actually, Neil’s exact instructions as I was writing down this recipe is to “stir like an Italian grandma.” So do that. And keep doing it.

At the end of cooking process you’ll add cheese, herbs, and the sautéed mushrooms. And that’s it, folks! It makes a great side or as a meal on its own. This dish is creamy, rich, delicious, and makes great leftovers for arancini.

We are excited that one of our dedicated readers will get to win a Lagostina risotto pan. You can win by entering here on this blog post, and also by heading over to our Instagram account for a bonus entry. To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. For an additional entry, head over to our Instagram account (@newlywedchefs), follow us, and tag some friends that might also be interested in winning.

And yes, we check that you actually follow us and tag at least one person. We won’t, however, check if you’re friends. That’s between y’all 😉

Winner must be 18 years of age or older and a resident of the USA. All entries must be received by March 3, 2017 at 11:59pm CST. Maximum entries per person: 2 (one blog comment and one Instagram comment). Winner will be selected at random and announced on this blog and also contacted via e-mail and/or Instagram.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Prep Time: 15 min. Cook Time: 60 min.

Ingredients:

3 cups wild mushrooms (we used crimini and shiitake), sliced

8 cups chicken stock

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 shallot, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

1 teaspoon dried herbes de provence

2 tablespoons butter

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Preparation:

In a medium pot, bring chicken stock to a boil then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer as you prepare the mushrooms.

Remove the lid of the Lagostina risotto pan and set aside until needed for serving. Place the 4-quart body of the pan on a burner over medium high heat. Once hot, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and mushrooms. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring every few minutes. If the pan looks really dry, add a little more olive oil. After 15 minutes, add a pinch of salt and pepper, stir, and remove from heat. Set mushrooms aside for later use.

Place the risotto pan back over medium heat and add 3 more tablespoons of olive oil. Add the shallot and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the garlic and stir. Add 2 cups of arborio rice and stir for 1 minute.

Add the wine to deglaze, and scrape up the sides and bottom of the pan. Add 1 ladle (about a cup) of stock and stir continuously. Once the liquid is absorbed, add 1 more cup of stock and continue to stir. Repeat this process of adding 1 ladle at a time of liquid and stirring until the rice absorbs the liquid, the adding another and so on.

Every batch of risotto is different. Some rice is super thirsty, some is not. You’ll need at least 8 cups of hot liquid throughout this process. When your rice is cooked to your liking (taste it, it shouldn’t be crunchy), and is no longer absorbing liquid, turn the heat off. Add the butter, grated Romano cheese, herbes de provence and the sautéed mushrooms. Stir until all ingredients are well combined.

Use lid of the Lagostina risotto pan as a trivet and serve hot.

Update 1/28/17: This giveaway has ended. Congrats to our winner, Barbara Martinez! We’ll e-mail you with details on how to claim your prize. Thanks to all who entered, and check back next month for another Lagostina giveaway! 

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Lagostina and 5WPR. The Newlywed Chefs received a Lagostina Domina Vitamin Pressure Cooker as compensation for this post, however, as always, all opinions are 100% our own.

If you think this beef brisket looks good, you should see the cookware that made her so beautiful. Lagostina is one of the premier brands of cookware available. Period. Their products are stunning and perform even better than they look. Today, we are featuring the Lagostina Domina Vitamin Pressure Cooker. Don’t be scared and run off because you’ve seen horror footage from the 1960s of pressure cookers exploding. Nowadays, most pressure cookers are built with safety technology to prevent any mishaps from occurring.

Photo Credit: Williams-Sonoma

We like this pressure cooker because it reduces cooking time by AT LEAST half, while providing the same end result as slow cooking all day. Also, even if you aren’t going to use the pressure cooker option, the pot itself can be used for everyday cooking.

Here are some great facts about this stunning pressure cooker:

Domina Vitamin Pressure Cooker

·         7.4 Qt. capacity

·         Exclusive, patented one-handed drop lid opening system

·         Superior safety: lid clicks to let you know when it is hermetically sealed

·         Two pressure settings: 6psi is ideal for vegetables and preserves up to 35% more nutrients; 10psi is ideal for meat/fish and cooks up to 2x faster

·         Exclusive LAGOPLAN® 3-layer aluminum and stainless bonded base for optimal and uniform heat distribution

·         Set includes steam basket, recipe book and measuring cup

·         Available at WilliamsSonoma.com: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/lagostina–pressure-cooker-with-steamer-basket/

·         Retail Price $249.95

We used this pressure cooker to make a flavorful and melt in your mouth brisket within just an hour, which usually would have taken two or three times as long in a slow cooker. This recipe is super simple to make. First, season your beef brisket with salt and pepper.

Brown all sides of the brisket using the Lagostina Domina Vitamin Pressure Cooker pot and then take it out to rest.

Sauté veggies, add tomato paste, add liquid, and place your brisket in the pressure cooker.

Follow the instructions to safely lock the lid and bring to the right pressure.

About an hour later, remove the brisket and allow to rest before slicing.

Discard vegetables and strain the remaining beef jus through a colander. Return this juice to the pot and cook over medium heat until liquid reduces by 1/2. Serve jus with the brisket.

We are excited to start a partnership with Lagostina and to celebrate, we’re giving away one of these beautiful Lagostina Domina Vitamin Pressure Cookers to one of our readers. You can win by entering here, and also by heading over to our Instagram account for a bonus entry. To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. For an additional entry, head over to our Instagram account (@newlywedchefs), follow us, and tag a friend that might also be interested in winning

Winner must be 18 years of age or older and a resident of the USA. All entries must be received by January 27th at 11:59pm CST. Maximum entries per person: 2 (one blog comment and one Instagram comment). Winner will be selected at random and announced on this blog on January 28th.

Beef Brisket

Prep Time: 15 min. Cook Time: 10 min. Pressure Cook Time: 60-75 min.

Ingredients:

2 lb. beef brisket

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

5 cloves garlic, smashed

1 red onion, quartered

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

2 cups beef stock

1 cup beer

1 bay leaf

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Preparation:

Generously salt and pepper all sides of the brisket. Remove the lid and heat Lagostina Domina Vitamin Pressure Cooker pot over medium heat. Once hot, coat the bottom with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Brown all sides of the brisket, allowing each side to cook for 2 minutes. Remove the brisket and set aside.

Continuing to cook over medium heat, add the celery, onion, and carrot to the pot. Stir with a wooden spoon, and add a pinch of salt and pepper. After 3 minutes, add the garlic and tomato paste. Continue to stir for 1 minute.

Add the stock, beer, and bay leaf to the pot. Stir and scrape up any brown bits that may have formed on the bottom of the pan. Set the brisket on top of the vegetables and liquid, so that the liquid reaches up on all sides of the beef.

Place lid on the meat/fish setting and seal according to the Lagostina Domina Vitamin Pressure Cooker instruction manual. (We found that using our gas stovetop, our heat needed to be on high to seal, then medium low throughout the duration of the cooking. Please become familiar with the instructions, as cooking time/procedure may vary depending on your stovetop.) Carefully release the steam according to the instruction manual and remove brisket. Allow brisket to rest for about 15 minutes before slicing.

While brisket is resting, prepare the jus. Using a colander with a bowl positioned underneath, strain all remaining contents of the Lagostina Domina Vitamin Pressure Cooker, discarding the vegetables but keeping the jus. Return jus to the Lagostina Domina Vitamin Pressure Cooker and cook over medium high heat for about 15 minutes or until liquid has reduced by half.

Serve sliced brisket with jus.