Monsieur Poisson cooks mushroom risotto!


So it’s become an on-running joke amongst friends that my other half doesn’t cook. In the whole time we’ve been together – 4 years next month – I have never seen him cook. Although on occasion when I’ve not been up to cooking, I know he is capable of throwing some rice into the rice-cooker and steaming a ‘lap cheong’ (臘腸) sausage or two on top. He can also cook instant noodles however I am yet to taste any which have been prepared by him. On the flipside though, he will always do the dishes no matter how many I manage to use and they come out absolutely sparkling clean.

I’ve mentioned before, I’m sure, more than once here the fact of Monsieur Poisson’s culinary aversion. I’m surprised that for someone who enjoys the variety and nuances of food as he does, that he takes absolutely no interest in investigating his own cooking ability. So when I was contacted regarding a cookbook written by Bobby Jewell – a former English swimmer, a chef and owner of Tharen's – aimed at guys, it got me to thinking about whether this could be the nudge to get the husband into the kitchen to do some cooking rather than washing the dishes.

Admittedly I kind of sprung the cooking thing on him one evening. I was sent three recipes – pea and ham soup, mushroom risotto and apple rhubarb crumble – and ruled out the crumble immediately as baking can be quite intimidating for a first-time cook. Between the soup and the risotto, well, we happened to have mushrooms in the fridge so that was the decider.


It was most interesting watching Monsieur Poisson cook as I am so used to tasting and adjusting things along the way when I cook. When making risotto, the variety of rice and how fresh the rice is both affect its liquid absorption qualities. I had to keep reminding him to check on taste and texture whereas when you start out cooking you just want to follow recipes word for word. We actually doubled the amount of rice and stock used as we didn’t feel it would be enough – being Asian, we're used to consuming copious amounts of rice – but ended up finishing it all in the end! (Click on the picture below for the original recipe and quantities.)


Dinner was ready in around 30 minutes from start to finish and it was great to have dinner cooked for me for once, even if it did involve a little supervision. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t fancy because the dish was wonderfully comforting for more reasons than being a warming bowl of risotto. I wonder whether it’ll happen again anytime soon…?

Mademoiselle Délicieuse was supplied sample recipes from Bobby Jewell’s upcoming cookbook, The Lad’s Chef Cookbook, courtesy of Justine McKell from Roar Publicity. The Lad’s Chef Cookbook is available for purchase Australia-wide from 1 October 2010.

happy cooking!

22 comments:

  1. Well done for getting your hubby to actually cook something - not only that - but to cook something that actually looks pretty darn good!

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  2. Wow, well done Monsieur Poisson! Maybe I should print out that recipe for my other half... lol...

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  3. I absolutely LOVE mushroom risotto and this one looks so creamy! Nicely done Mr Sunbeam :D

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  4. naw i wish my other half would cook for me! you are one lucky girl sunbeam!

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  5. That's excellent! Well done Monsieur Poisson!

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  6. Nice to see him cooking!! Way to go, Pansieur Poisson!

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  7. Yumm, gotta love a hearty mushroom risotto. He did a great job, it looks very tasty indeed!!

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  8. Oh too cute! Good on him for giving it a go! And good on you for capturing the moment! :)

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  9. Good on Monsieur Poisson for having a go and ending up making a yummy meal, lucky girl.

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  10. You can tell he enjoyed it, look at the big smile on his face!

    (Was that to cover up the scowl due to all your instructions?)

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  11. Hip hip hooray!

    Many a bad risotto have been made by people who supposedly know what they're doing, so this is a great feat :)

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  12. First time here. Love ur blog!
    This risotto looks wonderful and so flavorful!

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  13. He can come cook me risotto any time

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  14. You should get him the apron with fake boobs, which will go nicely with the smiley face. And perhaps will entice him to cook more in the future? :P Good job Monsieur Poisson!!

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  15. Very good M.P = clapping my hands! I am going to send a link to C- so that he can get some inspiration for something other than pizza! It is really nice to have someone cook something for you, other than having to get take away when you are too fatigued.!

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  16. what a great feeling to have dinner cooked for you! congrats

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  17. Well done Monsieur Poisson and it's such a great staple for him to learn! :)

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  18. Woohoo! *fingers crossed* for you that he starts cooking a bit more :) Well done Monsieur Poisson

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  19. Hey Trissa, he didn't find it that hard, actually, but would've preferred me not hovering over his shoulder all the time! =p

    Hey Jen, it's a one-pot dish that's not made up of 3000 components so I suppose it rates as easy? Give him a little nudge...

    Hey Karen, Mr Sunbeam's only cooking adventure!

    Hey chocolatesuze, he's going to be so flattered by all these comments!

    Hey Maria, I'll have to ask him to cook again soon =)

    Hey Ellie, at least I know he won't starve to death when I'm not around, eh? Hehe...

    Hey Steph, love risotto, especially as it happened to be a day where it turned cool again.

    Hey April, oh yes, I now have evidence that he can cook!

    Hey Sara, I'll have to offer more encouragement to push along future cooking.

    Hey Anna, I don't feature 'faces' here so I need to protect the innocent =p

    Hey Conor, there were a few grains here and there which were underdone but overall it was pretty good!

    Hey Cherine, thanks for dropping by =) You managed to catch my husband cooking for the very first time!

    Hey Fiona, conveniently gluten-free as well =D

    Hey Steph, haha, unfortunately those aprons aren't his style!

    Hey Gastronomy Gal, but C's pizzas look so good! Definitely more effort involved in makign those.

    Hey Thang, it's lovely to not have to cook AND not resort to takeaway.

    Hey Lorraine, it's definitely better than his repertoire of toast and instant noodles!

    Hey Phuoc, I would love to see him take an interest in cooking but I doubt it'll happen anytime soon!

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  20. Aww, you finally got him cooking! You'll definitely have to share all the comments to encourage another delicious meal :)

    The recipe looks great too. If I sub chicken stock for veggie stock, It'd be a hearty vegetarian meal.

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  21. Hey Emma, I know, who would've thought it possible to get him cooking? But he is most encouraged by everyone's lovely comments =)

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  22. how sweet of monsieur poisson! the risotto looks good!

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