Risotto italiano

1/2 c white or red wine
4 c chicken or beef stock
salt, pepper, 1 T italian seasonings, 3-5 cloves garlic
olive oil, butter
block parmesean cheese - about 1 cup shredded
1 box Trader Joe's risotto arborio rice
1 onion
1 small can tomato paste

Bring 4 c stock to a boil, or microwave bullion cube in pyrex measuring cup. Fry 2 italian sausages, cut into pieces and set aside. Drain the excess pork fat, but leave the little brown sausage bits. In olive oil or butter, sautee some onions till just transparent. Optional: Keep on medium heat and add a whole package of risotto/arborio rice; add a bit of olive oil if needed to coat the grains just till they glisten. Stir frequently during 2-3 minutes, do not brown the rice. Pour in 1/2 c of wine (normally I use white, but since we're adding tomato paste, you can go red) stir vigorously; you'll see the risotto sauce start to thicken & get creamy. Turn down the heat to a simmer & add stock immediately, just enough to make some sauce. Keep adding stock when it looks thirsty. Add one small can of tomato paste, salt, pepper, 3 cloves of minced garlic (or more, yum!) & italian herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano, throw in some parsley if you fancy. Simmer for about 30-40 mins, risotto is ready when al dente. While pouring the wine for dinner, turn off the heat, stir in 1/2 c or more of freshly grated parmesean cheese (off the block, don't cheat on this step) and a couple of T of butter (I use olive oil to reduce the cholesterol) and the italian sausage. You can also add a final 1/4 to 1/2 cup of stock, as risotto will thicken upon standing. Buen provecho!

A few hints:
Don't cover the risotto, or the sauce won't form correctly. Don't let the risotto dry out or simmer too fast, you'll get a stuck on mess at the bottom of the pan. A flat wooden spatula works pretty well to scrape the bottom often to avoid stick-age.