Category: grains

Finally, Arroz con Pollo

I have been thinking about Arroz con Pollo all week, but the madness of the end of the semester has kept me out of the kitchen. I have been subsisting on bad take out sandwiches, jarred spaghetti sauce, and Boboli. Well, tonight I decided that I’ve been out of the kitchen too long. I took a break from my frantic preparations for my presentation tomorrow to finally put together the dinner I’ve been dreaming of since I watched Jorge Ayala beat Bobby Flay’s ass on Throwdown with his delectable-looking Arroz con Pollo.

I’m not sure my version is anywhere near Ayala’s, but I’m pretty satisfied. The texture ended up more creamy and risotto-like than I expected, but is that ever a bad thing? I realized when I was cleaning up and putting away leftovers that I forgot to add the crushed tomatoes, but I don’t think the flavor was lacking anything for that. And I’ve discovered that adobo seasoning may be one of my new kitchen favorites. The only thing that pushed this a little toward the not-so-favorite dinners is that I’m not a huge fan of chicken thighs. I don’t know why I don’t just realize that once and for all and stop cooking them. I think using bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts rather than thighs would have made this just that much more awesome.

Continue reading Finally, Arroz con Pollo

Spring Risotto with Gremolata

Spring Risotto

Boston is finally showing signs that spring might appear sometime soon. The trees are budding, the crocuses are blooming, and last Thursday the temperatures hit 72 degrees and I got to leave the house without a coat. The first warm days of the year fill me with a kind of joy I can barely express. I feel instantly lighter. Boston winters are HARD, especially for a wimpy California girl like myself, and I sometimes forget that they’re ever going to end. That first day of sunshine and light breezes gives me hope, and although I know it’s not quite over yet, that winter doesn’t truly end in Boston until mid-May, a 65 degree day here and there is like getting a little gift.

I celebrated the first warm day of the year last Thursday by making an excellent fresh vegetable and herb risotto. I adapted the recipe from something I saw in a recent Bon Appetit: a spring pasta full of vegetables and topped with a blend of parsley and lemon. I thought instantly it would make a great risotto. So I opened up the windows, put some music on, poured myself a glass of wine, and set about making the first risotto I’ve made in months.

Continue reading Spring Risotto with Gremolata

Guest Bloggity Blogger: Christa’s Turkey Chili Rice

Turkey Chili Rice

Don’t worry readers, Laura will return shortly for the next posting! This is the roommate, Christa, coming at you to report on my culinary undertakings this week. We eat well around here.

My story begins on a lazy Saturday afternoon when I had nothing to do and realized my love affair with the Food Network has been grossly neglected. I flipped the television on and settled in for an episode of Guy’s Big Bite (for you FN devotees, he’s the dude who won the Next Food Network Star Challenge a while back). He was doing a bunch of stuff with turkey, and one recipe in particular caught my eye and called to my growling stomach. I’ve been known to enjoy both chili and rice on their own, so how could a meal that combines the two be bad, I thought? Well, as we all soon discovered, it can’t.

Continue reading Guest Bloggity Blogger: Christa’s Turkey Chili Rice

Grilled Swordfish with Balsamic Brown Butter Sauce and Zucchini Risotto

Swordfish and Risotto

None of my pictures of last night’s dinner turned out well, because the light in our kitchen is truly crappy, but trust me, it was excellent. This was one of those multiple-pan feats of timing in which everything came together and ended up being one of my best efforts yet. Which was made even better considering I was nervous about my risotto and the sauce was untried and my grill pan experiences have been hit or miss in the past. Yeah, there was some kitchen magic going on last night. Thank god, too, because Miss Crystal had a shitty, shitty day and I like to think that setting a plate of spectacular food in front of her played some small part in making it better. Isn’t that why we feed people, after all?

Continue reading Grilled Swordfish with Balsamic Brown Butter Sauce and Zucchini Risotto

An Improvised Paella with Sausage and Shrimp

Paella

It must be all the talk of Spain that’s been circulating around our house lately, what with the wifey expatriating herself to the land of pork, but I was struck last week with a very strong desire to make paella. I’d never even tasted paella, much less made it before last night, but according to those who’ve actually travelled out of the country (i.e. people who are not me) this is a very excellent version and I managed to do justice to the classic Valencian dish. We even made it on Sunday, the day on which paella is traditionally eaten Spain, so I feel assured that I am properly preparing Crystal for her Spanish sojourn.

Continue reading An Improvised Paella with Sausage and Shrimp

Roasted Red Pepper Risotto–risotto with kick!

Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

I found this recipe on Group Recipes, and for some reason their predictive logorithmic thingies suggested I wouldn’t like it. How could I not like this? I mean, it’s risotto. And it’s excellent. I had never considered flavoring the stock with anything, but I’m now convinced it’s the best risotto idea going. This risotto had a great kick from the cayenne and cumin, which balanced nicely with the sweetness of the roasted red peppers. Brilliant! And for once I did not over spice. It was also my first vegetarian risotto, made with the vegetable stock I made last week, so even Alex got to share. Crystal thinks it’s the best risotto yet.

I did change it up just a little tiny bit from the original recipe–I added the butter at the end, instead of cooking the leeks in it, as suggested. And I added the roasted red peppers nearer the end of the risotto cooking process, as well. Oh, and I used a bit of white wine to start it off. I can’t follow directions.

Continue reading Roasted Red Pepper Risotto–risotto with kick!

Polenta with Pan Roasted Asparagus and Truffled Eggs

Eggs and Asparagus

You know you’ve found some good food writing when the first thing you read causes you to rush home and re-make their meal in your own kitchen. I’m not sure how I missed A Chicken in Every Granny Cart before, but on initial reading I love it. I like the pictures of the city mixed in with food stuffs, and the silly titles, and the general observations of things. And I looooved the idea for asparagus, polenta, and truffled fried eggs. Yum.

Of course, I didn’t have truffle salt, but only truffle oil. And I never made polenta before in my life. In fact, I’ve never had polenta before, at all. I’ve never even seen it. So whether mine turned out right is still a complete mystery to me. It was edible. I thought it was good. Was it proper polenta? I have no clue. Oh, and also? I’m crap at frying eggs. But truffle oil has the ability to make everything wonderful. Everything.

Continue reading Polenta with Pan Roasted Asparagus and Truffled Eggs

Radicchio and Prosciutto Risotto

Radicchio and Proscuitto Risotto

More risotto experimentation, and this one was a winner. The bitterness of the radicchio and the saltiness of the prosciutto are a perfect complement. I also learned another important piece of the risotto puzzle: Using a too-large skillet causes the stock to evaporate too quickly, thereby not cooking the rice exactly to its peak of creamy perfection. Dang! At least now I know. The big skillet is for risotto for six, the smaller skillet is for risotto for my household.

Continue reading Radicchio and Prosciutto Risotto

At least I know I can always make excellent Beans and Rice.

Delicious Beans and Rice

I fell in love with beans and rice during my brief attempt at vegetarianism, in high school. My mom discovered that together they make up a complete protein, and I’ve been eating them ever since, even after I renewed my relationship with hamburgers. I’ve experimented with multiple variations, I’ve used mixes from a box and from scratch, I’ve added chicken and sausage and beef, but no matter how I put it together, it is always deeply satisfying. When I was in college, this was a meal I made at least once a week, and it occurred to me the other day that it had been quite awhile since it had graced my kitchen. More significantly, as the one dish I’ve perfected from countless experiments, it was a dinner that has been surprisingly absent from this website.

The version I made last night was actually different from any I’d made before, and I think one of my very best. I had some leftover portobellos, which I’d never used before, and I decided to add tomato paste and red wine: both new additions. I also tossed in a dash of some kind of creole seasoning, which has been on our spice rack for who knows how long, but I suspect that it didn’t really add much to the overall taste, so I left it out of the recipe. I should probably remove it from the spice rack, too.

Continue reading At least I know I can always make excellent Beans and Rice.

Risotto, Conquered: Roasted Asparagus and Ham Risotto with Truffle Oil

Asparagus, Ham, Peas, Risotto

This past weekend, I decided to tackle risotto once again. My previous attempts had been abject failures, but I’m the kind of lady who is determined to figure things out, at least in the kitchen. Thankfully, this time I cooked with Mr. X, who’s masterful knowledges lead the way to risotto victory. This time, it was perfect: creamy and flavorful, and actually cooked all the way through, which is something you generally want with grains, I think.

What was my problem? A lack of recognition that restaurant low-level heat is a lot different from home kitchen low-level heat.

Continue reading Risotto, Conquered: Roasted Asparagus and Ham Risotto with Truffle Oil