I am just a home cook and will defer to the chefs out there, but i can tell you this: It's not as hard as you think. Sweat some onion and then some garlic in plenty of butter or butter plus olive oil. Add a cup of rice and stir to coat each grain, then about a teaspoon of salt. Stir in some heated stock a ladleful at a time, adding more when you can see the bottom of the pan. Be enthusiastic, as the rice needs to get some of its coat beaten off. I use a wooden spoon. In about ten to fifteen minutes, the rice grains will be crunchy when you bite into one. At this point, stir in another ladle, turn the heat to the lowest possible setting, cover the pot with a kitchen towel and a tight lid, and finish up the rest of your dinner. At the last minute, add some Parmesan and serve.
The amount of stock will vary with the age of the rice and other factors, but it is usually about two cups for me. This serves four.
This is just the basic version. Mushrooms, peas, lemon zest, bits of ham, or pretty much what you have tasty and leftover can be stirred in.
A thousand years of Italian mammas can't be wrong!