Thanks for the tips and suggestions, everyone.

Sarbar: indeed I did NOT know about that instant option, and I'll keep it in mind. In the meantime, though, I've experimented with something that's got more of my fingerprints on it.

dk wrote:
We think alike. Even before I tried anything I was worried about mushiness, so I was thinking about just undercooking the risotto a little bit. However, I then thought of a simpler way to experiment: Trader Joe's Mushroom Risotto, which is frozen and comes in a 16 oz package for $3.29.

I know, I know: the risotto purists among you are aghast, but if you don't have a TJ's close by, you wouldn't know that this product is a minor miracle, one among many from the store. It actually stands up to many home-cooked versions--in fact, it's better than some I've had in nice restaurants.

And as a matter of convenience, the TJ's product has something I would have tried to reproduce: parcooked Arborio rice. The instructions say to put the contents of the bag in a pan with 2 T water and stir over high heat for 5 minutes.

I put everything onto dehydrator trays yesterday and dried it for about 8 hours. Today, I reconstituted a portion in boiled water for about 30 minutes, then fired up the stove for 5 minutes at the end, stirring.

The results were excellent: genuinely al dente grains and delicious creamy texture to the sauce. I'll post a more detailed recipe if people are interested, once I work out a few kinks.