Late summer chicken and rice bake

I was inspired by grey skies, rain and a cool late summer breeze. A craving for something warm and hearty, but not too heavy. And since chicken and rice are pretty much "pantry" staples in my kitchen, I figured I could throw something together for dinner that was loosely based on this delicious chicken with rice dish. It was a somewhat risky move to make at 5 p.m., an experiment that my husband and son could easily balk at. But I've been away from this blog and from trying new recipes for so long, that I figured it was worth a try.

Here's what you need (you'll have to read through to the end for the thumbs up or thumbs down):

4 boneless, skinless breasts
@ a cup and a half of rice
a handful of vermicelli
1 can of artichoke hearts, quartered
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
chicken broth
butter, olive oil, fresh lemon, salt, pepper, thyme, paprika---for seasoning

Rub the chicken breasts with a bit of olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and paprika. Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, melt two tablespoons of butter and brown the vermicelli. Add the rice and mix well. Place the rice mixture in a buttered casserole dish. Add the tomatoes and artichoke hearts, including the liquid from both cans. Pour in about 1 cup of chicken broth. Layer the chicken on top, sprinkle in more seasoning to taste, and cover the dish tightly with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 1 hour, or until the liquid is absorbed, the rice tender and the chicken cooked through.

The verdict: Thumbs up! All three of us loved it. The chicken was tender, the rice flavorful—I would definitely make this again.

Glenn's Chicken Fricassee

You might have noticed that the vast majority of the recipes I post have someone's name in the title.

If I know you in "real life" and you cook--ever--I've probably forced you to give me the recipe for whatever it is you make that's my favorite. Or I've incorporated one of your tricks into one of my standards. (I got my beer-in-the-chili thing from you, Susanna. And one day I'll be brave enough to add Carol's pinch of cinnamon in my matzo balls, just to see what it does to them.)

But, hey, at least I give you credit for it, right?

Glenn is one of my oldest California friends; he, his partner, Baroy, and I all lived together for a couple of years in a West Hollywood apartment. It was Glenn who fed me ice chips while I labored with Em, and Baroy kept getting distracted by all the equipment and the crises that kept popping up. (It turned out fine in the end, of course.)

He's seriously good people. And he cooks. Well.

The meat-and-veggie-laden pasta sauce that is really the one recipe that Baroy makes regularly was originally Glenn's. (Don't worry. You'll get it here eventually.)

But the one that I glommed onto early on in our friendship was what Glenn called Chicken Fricassee, and so I do, too. But, really, it's not what most people would call fricassee. A real fricassee is supposed to use a whole chicken and be cut in a certain way, if I'm not mistaken. I believe there's often cream. And I don't know of too many other fricassee recipes that have meatballs in them.

This one has meatballs in it. They may be the best part.

The other best part? Is that it's one of those "throw in some of this" and "put as much as you want of that" recipes.

I like these kinds of recipes. They make me feel creative.

Glenn's Chicken Fricassee

Butter or margarine or (I don't think this would be as good, but to each his own) oil
Onions
Carrots and/or celery and/or whatever you have in the house that you'd like to add
Chicken pieces
Meatballs (either homemade or frozen premade)
Rice (see below for how to figure out amounts)
Water or chicken broth (see below for how to figure out amounts)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a dutch oven or other large pot, sautee onions and veggies in butter until onions are translucent.

2. Add chicken pieces, skin side down (if they have skin), and brown; flip and brown on other side. Salt and pepper the chicken if you'd like; if not, add salt and pepper later, or at the table. Whatevs!

3. Add enough water to cover chicken; keep track of how many cups you use. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover pot; cook chicken for about half an hour.

4. Add meatballs. If needed, add more water (and remember to keep track of this water as well) and bring again to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. If the meatballs are homemade and raw, cook for at least another half an hour; if frozen and precooked, you can probably get away with just fifteen minutes.

5. Add rice--the amount depends on how much water's in the pot. Put in one cup of rice for every two cups of water you added. Add salt if you haven't already. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. (Yeesh. I sound like a broken record here.) Cover pot; cook until most or all of the liquid is absorbed, and rice is fluffy and tender. Serve.

And that's it. It takes a while to cook, but it's such a simple recipe. And oooohhhhh, it's good. Ultimate comfort food.

(More photos to come when I figure out why I can't find them!)

Perfect rice

It took me a long time to master the art of cooking rice. Years ago I would buy small bags of rice at the grocery store, fret over the measurements, try to figure out how to cook the right amount or to cook the amount left in the bag, and then find myself confronted by a soggy, gelatinous mess. Then I moved to the Philippines, where rice is a breakfast, lunch, dinner kind of thing. After attempting a few times to make the rice for our household meals, I was tenderly taken aside and asked not to keep trying. Lucky for me, we soon hired a local woman to help with the household chores (washing the clothes in the river also was not my strong suit). Baby, as she was called, taught me the trick to cooking rice, each individual grain perfectly fluffy every single time. Now I will share the trick with you. It is so simple and will make your life so much easier that you will thank me for it any time you want to quickly throw on a pot of rice but don't want to sweat over getting the measurements right.

Here's what you will need: rice, any sized pot with a snug fitting lid, and water.

First, pour whatever amount of rice into the pot that you estimate will suit your needs. Remember, 1 cup uncooked rice = about 3 cups cooked.

Then, rinse your rice (what? you don't do this? if you saw where that rice was before it was poured into that sack you would probably change your mind, but until then: just trust me. Rinse!).  Next, shake the pot so that the rice is level on the bottom. Now, locate your middle finger. Actually, locate the line of the first knuckle of your middle finger on the palm side of your hand. Got it? Rest your finger tip gently on top of the rice and add water until it reaches that line on your finger. See? Not a measuring cup in sight!

With water and rice in the pot you are ready to cook. Place your pot on the stove, uncovered, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling immediately cover the pot and lower the heat to the lowest flame. After 20-25 minutes turn the heat off and let it steam for a few more minutes.

Don't worry so much about over-cooking your rice. A few minutes extra and you might get lucky and end up with the crust at the bottom that is highly prized among rice eaters for it's wonderful nutty taste!

I almost exclusively cook with Jasmine rice but this method can be used with any variety of white rice.

Guest post: Scallop risotto

One of my favorite things to cook, for family and friends, is risotto. I always loved ordering it when we went out to eat, but I figured it was one of those dishes I'd only get to enjoy in a restaurant. What did I know? It's easy to make, is a wonderful comfort food, and, whenever I make it for friends, they're always impressed because they think it's too hard to make. I've even blogged about risotto before over here.

Anyway, here's what you'll need for approximately four servings:



3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion—finely chopped
2 cloves garlic—finely chopped
1 red pepper, chopped

SAUTE THE ABOVE, THEN ADD:

16 uncooked scallops (if they're really big, you can use fewer. I usually cut them into halves or quarters)
6 sun-dried tomatoes—cut into small pieces (or more!)
½ teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

COOK THROUGH and set aside (I usually keep the heat on low).


Meanwhile, bring 5 cups fish, chicken or vegetable stock (I usually use chicken or vegetable—low sodium versions) to a simmer.

To make the risotto you need:

1 ½ cups arborio rice
½ cup white wine

Now the fun stirring begins. In a large pot, heat one T. of unsalted butter and some olive oil (probably 1 T. but I just pour in a glug). Saute 1/4 c. finely chopped onion and then pour in the uncooked rice, and stir to coat all the grains well. Keep the heat on medium (you want it to bubble/boil softly) and add the wine, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is absorbed. Basically, when you can draw a wooden spoon through the rice and it leaves a "clear" path/streak for a second or two, you're ready top add more liquid. Now, add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring occasionally until the liquid is absorbed (just like with the wine--when you can draw spoon through the rice mixture, add the next half-cup of broth).


Continue adding the simmering broth to the risotto until there's only 1/4-1/2 cup broth left in the pan. Add the broth and the scallop mixture, remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients:

1 cup tightly-packed spinach leaves, cut into slices (I know there's a fancy term for this but I don't know it).
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
fresh tomatoes

Give it another good stir to mix everything together and voila! You just made risotto.


One of the great things about this recipe is once you get the basics down (how much broth to how much rice), you can mix it up with the rest of the ingredients. Do you like mushrooms? Go for it (me, personally, I detest them). I've made this with smoked salmon and dill. Yum. Or chicken. Whatever. All you've really got to know is the basic formula of rice and broth and how to let it simmer/cook.

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Guest blogger Judy Larsen is used to cooking for one husband and four kids who love everything she cooks (or at least are savvy enough to not say otherwise) and one kid who for years lived on only "white" foods.

TC's mom's chicken with crunchy rice

I've become increasingly--sometimes annoyingly--obsessed over what I buy and prepare for my family to eat. I'm more and more about local, organic, whole foods. I'm less and less about additive-laden convenience foods.

But, sometimes? You need to fall back on one of those you-could-make-it-in-your-sleep-and-it's-just-as-good-every-time recipes. Especially one of those you-could-make-it-in-your-sleep-etc. recipes that your mom always made for you when you were a kid.

And the truth of the matter is? Sometimes, those comfort foods require a can of Campbell's Cream of Somethingorother. (Yes, Campbell's. I actually make pretty much every soup I eat these days from scratch, but when I don't, it's Campbell's--for no reason other than that it's what my mom always used. Substitute another brand at your own risk.) And so you buy it, and you use it, and you love it--and you just don't look at the list of ingredients. It's better that way.

Now, I'm not going to claim that this is the most delicious recipe you'll ever taste. But it's easy, and it's good. Hell, it's butter and rice and chicken and Cream of Somethingorother soup. How could it not be good?


Actually, it's really, really, realllllllly good.

TC's Mom's Chicken with Crunchy Rice

• 3 chicken breasts (because that's what fits in my baking pan)
• 1 cup of rice
• 1 can of cream of somethingorother soup (Mom used cream of mushroom, but my family objects to mushrooms, though I think in the photo of up there you'll see I sneaked them in by using cream of chicken and mushrooms)
• 1/2 can of water
• butter

[Note: My mom used to also include a package of Lipton Onion Soup in the mix described in step #2, and would sprinkle paprika over the top to give it all some color before popping it into the oven. I don't do either of these things, but you're welcome to give it a try.]

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a casserole or baking dish.

2. Mix together rice, soup and water in the baking/casserole dish. Place chicken on top of mixture. Plop (I can't think of a better way to describe it) dabs/dots of butter on top of the chicken and the rice/liquid.

3. Cook, uncovered, for about an hour and fifteen minutes, or until the rice around the chicken is browned and crunchy on top.

See what I mean? Couldn't be easier.

By the way...While this may be the first of my mom's recipes I'll be sharing here, it absolutely won't be the last. Coming up some time this month, in fact, will be both her latke recipe, and her chicken soup with matzoh balls recipe. Which, to be honest, are also her mother's recipes--i.e., my grandmother's recipes. And possibly even my great-grandmother's recipes. (And my aunt will be leaving the full genealogy of these recipes in the comment section in five, four, three...)

The chicken with crunchy rice, though? I'm pretty sure that one originated with my mom. And if I hear otherwise, I'll be sure to let you know.

So what recipes do you guys make that were handed down to you from your mom or dad or further back? How much of what you cook for your kids (or yourself) is the same as what you were fed as a child?

Rice with vermicelli

You know how Italian families grow up on pasta? I grew up on rice. And I could still eat rice every night of the week. I love it, in all its countless incarnations. But the rice I love best is this rice, the rice I'm going to show you how to make today. It's the rice my mother makes, the one she learned to make from her mother, who learned from her mother, and so on and so on.

Every once in a while I'll stumble upon this rice in a Greek restaurant or a Middle Eastern restaurant, and I'll think, yes, just like home. Because that's what this rice is to me: home.

There are a couple things you need to know up front. First of all, we're going to use butter. And if we were truly being authentic, we would use rendered butter, but honestly, I never have figured out how to actually do that. Second, (and this one is non-negotiable) we need to use Uncle Ben's Converted Rice. No wild rice or sushi rice or brown rice or Carolina rice. God forbid—no instant rice. Uncle Ben's Converted Rice in the orange box.

Here's what you need to make about 4 servings (after double-checking with my mom, we decided it would be important to add that this will make 4 small side-dish size servings. We all love rice so much, that honestly, if we were really going to have four adults sitting down to dinner, I'd double it.)

• 2-3 tablespoons of butter
• @ a handful of thin vermicelli noodles
• 1 cup of Uncle Ben's Converted rice
• 2 cups of VERY hot water (the ratio is always 2 cups of liquid for every 1 cup of rice; so if you want to double the recipe, you would need 4 cups of water, 2 cups of rice)
  
• salt

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan.

Add the vermicelli. If you are using coiled vermicelli, break it apart so it looks like this:

Brown the vermicelli, stirring often. When the color is good, add the rice and stir everything around.

You want the rice coated in the butter. Now add the hot water. Add the water slowly, it's going to sizzle and spit because the pan is hot and the water is hot, so stand back a bit and watch the steam. Add some salt. Be generous. It won't hurt you.

Bring the liquid to a bowl and cover the pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Now, this is important: Do NOT stir. Do NOT peek. Put the lid on the pan, turn the heat down to simmer and walk away. Set a timer, or watch the clock. When the liquid is gone, the rice is done.

If you want to add a little Middle Eastern flavor, sprinkle some cinnamon on top before you serve it.

I think this rice is delicious plain, but there are so many ways you can vary the recipe. You can certainly use chicken broth instead of water; you can add slivered almonds or toasted pine nuts or golden raisins, or top it with a bit of Greek yogurt or lebne. And it's a great accompaniment to everything from shish kebab to fish. It's a real favorite in our house.

How do you make rice? (On top of the stove? Rice cooker? Microwave?) What's your foolproof method?