Sometimes your kids surprise you. At 18, my son has never before shown a desire to learn to cook. We tried when he was younger, but he just wasn’t interested. He likes to eat, though. Quite picky as a child, he has come around to eating (nearly) everything. So much so that I've used food as an incentive to get him to try other things he's resisted. For example, I recently bribed him with dinner out at an Indian restaurant to get him to drive in traffic — yup, I'm teaching him to drive. And then, out of the blue, he said, "Man, I love food. I wish I knew how to cook." Now I'm teaching him to cook, too. I guess it makes sense — he's always done things on his own timeline. It's actually lovely teaching an older kid how to cook. We've been meal planning and grocery shopping together, and he's also learning how to budget for groceries and how to cook affordably when he's on his own. That's how it has come to pass that my kiddo — who a month ago had to be reminded how to turn on the stovetop and use a can opener — learned to make risotto. We got the idea to make it from the receptionist at his dentist's office. After a wisdom tooth extraction, he needed softer foods for a couple of weeks and was sick of yogurt, applesauce, pudding and puréed soups. Risotto is a very versatile northern Italian dish that isn't complicated to make; it just takes time to stir. And stir. And stir. An ideal task for a cooking apprentice! It's made with short- or medium-grain rice cooked in broth until it has a luscious, creamy consistency. Arborio rice is most commonly used in risotto, but you could also try medium-grain carnaroli rice, or even grains such as barley or farro. Risotto calls for onions or shallots ( I used both), broth or stock, and good Italian cheese such as Parmesan, Romano or Asiago. Besides those basics, the variations are endless. We chose a butternut squash version with crispy pancetta. The recipe calls for a little wine in the beginning of the cooking process to deglaze the pan after the toasting of the grains and cooking of the aromatics, but you can substitute a smaller amount of apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar or even…