The first thing you need to know is which rice to use. In theory you can use whatever rice you want, but most of the rice you will find in the market is long grain rice which is not what you want. Short grain rice works better because it makes for a creamy risotto while long grain rice tends to retain texture when cooking and not get as mushy. Medium grain rice is as you would think a compromise between the two. All of this has to do with the type of starch contained in the rice. Bottom line, use medium or short grain rice, not long grain rice.
The proper cooking vessel is whatever the widest pan or pot you have. I use a thick bottomed 13" stainless skillet. In a separate pan, heat a liquid 4 times by volume of however much rice you'll use. 1 cup rice to 4 cups liquid usually works out pretty well. The liquid could be water, but I generally use chicken stock, but sometimes I reconstitute dried wild mushrooms for the risotto and use the stock from that.
For each cup of rice heat up 2 Tbs of butter or vegetable oil in your skillet over medium high heat. Add the rice and saute until you start to get a nutty smell from the rice and/or it just starts to brown. Then with a 1 cup ladle, add 2 cups of the liquid to the rice and stir regularly until most of the liquid is absorbed, then repeat with 1 more cup. For the last cup keep adding liquid until the rice can't absorb anymore and it should be done.
That's about as basic as it gets. Most people will add onion, shallots, and or garlic to the saute about 2 minutes before adding the liquid. Once the risotto is done or nearly done, additions are only limited by your imagination. Mushrooms, asparagus, or other cooked meats and vegetables are popular additions. Cream or cheese works great. Creme fraiche is one of my favorites. Some people add wine at the end instead of more stock.
Edit: 1:4 ratio of liquid to rice. Maybe I do need a recipe.
= new reply since forum marked as read