Red Rice with Habanero Sausage and Red Beans

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked white rice*
30 oz canned fire roasted tomatoes
15 oz dark red kidney beans, drained
12 oz habanero and green chile sausages**
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, diced
1 onion, diced
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon thyme
salt
freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
Saute the onion, celery, garlic and peppers until just starting to soften. Add the sausage and saute until browned. Add the tomatoes, beans and spices and heat through. Stir in the rice. Cook for 1-2 additional minutes.


*I cooked it in chicken stock with 2 bay leaves
**I used Aidell's sausage (they were chicken sausages)

My thoughts:

Last night was one of those nights when I had only the vaguest notion of what to make for dinner. I had a pack of sausages my husband had picked up that we had never had before that I wanted to use. He briefly suggested making some sort of Southwest inspired pasta dish the night before but when I followed up we realized we weren't sure what that would entail exactly. Since we had other things to do (namely put together a dresser that will hopefully make our near closet-less house able to say, attractively store sheets and towels) I went with an old favorite, red rice. I don't think I've posted a red rice recipe before but it is a familiar standby for us. When I am feeling especially lazy I've made it with rice and canned stewed tomatoes which totally eliminates the need for chopping onions and garlic. I don't always add beans but they are always welcome. This is the first time I made it using any sort of meat but it worked well and turned into much more of a meal. Yummy and easy, especially if you have a rice cooker and can make the rice ahead of time with zero hands-on time needed.

Salmon & Pea Risotto

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken or fish stock
3 cups chopped cooked salmon
1 cup frozen peas
2 large shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
2 tablespoons olive oil
zest one lemon
salt
pepper


Directions:
In a saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan Saute the garlic and shallot until lightly caramelized. Add the rice, salt and pepper and saut� for 2-3 minutes, stirring continually. Add the broth a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, and waiting until the liquid is absorbed before each addition. When you only have about 1/2 cup broth left, add it, the salmon, zest and frozen peas to the pan and continue to stir. When the risotto is creamy and the rice is al dente remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan.

My thoughts:

Can you tell I am done with winter? I have been trying to slip in bits of springtime into my meals as much as possible. I've been accomplishing this with varying success by using frozen vegetables and fruit. Actually, I think frozen peas are better than fresh because they are frozen right after being picked instead of sitting around waiting for me to go to the store, pick them up and peel them myself. This is also a great meal to use up leftover salmon. I used fresh this time but flaked smoked salmon (the kind that looks like a whole chunk of fish, not lox) works equally well.

Rapini + Leek + Rice Soup

Ingredients:
3 leeks, sliced (white parts only!)
1 bunch rapini, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup (uncooked) jasmine rice
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 bay leaves
juice and zest of 1 Meyer lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a wide-bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the garlic, rapini, parsley, rice and leeks. Saute until the leeks start to soften and the rapini starts to wilt. Pour in the broth, vermouth, juice, zest and spices. Cover and cook until the rice is fully cooked, about 15 minutes.

My thoughts:

A local grocery store chain often has some somewhat surprising fruits and vegetables. Cactus pears, Seckel pears, rapini, many varieties of apples, Vidalia onions still with their greens, broccolini, the list goes on. I guess none of those items is terribly exotic but a lot of that are things that until fairly recently, we could only buy at a specialty store or the farmers market. We only have one year-round farmers market since nothing is in season here during the winter so any store that has fresh, varied produce gets our vote. Lately it has been an embarrassment of riches when it comes to rapini (aka broccoli rabe), leeks and other dark greens. This recipe came about because I have a ton of stock in my freezer (anyone want to point me in the direction of a good, affordable pressure canner? I have ham, lobster, chicken and turkey stock taking valuable space.), lovely rapini and some leeks that looked shifty. Luckily, it was one of those happy accidents when everything came together in a delightful manner. I am not even a soup fan and I loved it.

Chicken Porridge with Vegetables

I haven�t made this type of jook in so long�since Munchkin was a baby? Ingredients Needed: 1 small chicken breast 1/2 CUP white rice, 1/2 CUP sweet rice 6 CUPS of various chopped vegetables 1 can vegetable broth 1 32 OZ box of chicken broth 2-3 CUPS water We are a small family of three, so we hardly ever eat whole packs of any type of meat. As soon as I get

Homemade Rice-A-Roni

Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup long grain white rice
1/2 cup broken vermicelli or angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
salt
pepper

Directions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan that has a lid. Saute the pasta, rice, garlic and shallot until the pasta starts to brown. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.

My thoughts:

For this recipe, I did something I normally don't do; I made a homemade version of a food that has never been anything but a commercially made, shelf stable product. While the San Francisco treat can be oddly comforting and certainly quick to make, it is also on the salty and bland side. Making it at home is just as quick but much more flavorful.

Noo-Roong-Ji (???) � Burnt Rice Snack (?)

Hello everyone! I know I�ve been MIA forever and ever. This blog is always in the back of my mind and I often think, �This is the week where I will finally update�� and then another week passes and I find myself doing other things. =/ So again � my apologies first. Life has been trudging along as usual. I�m quickly approaching my two-year cancer anniversary and it�s unbelievable how

Shik-Hae � Sweet Rice Drink (dessert!) - ??

After reading one of my recent comments about shik-hae, I immediately started craving it. I have a thing with food. If I want to eat something. *I MUST* or I become one cranky lil old woman. =P Ingredients Needed: 1.5 CUP cooked rice (1/2 sweet rice, 1/2 short grain white rice) 3/4 CUP yut gee-leum (fine malt powder), 1 gallon water 1/3 CUP sugar (add as much as you want to your

Dol Sot Bibimbap - (?? ???)

Every time my family has an event, I make sure and collect some of all the leftover banchans. =P I love that my family that lives less than two miles away. Anyhow, bibimbap is SUPER easy to make�if you have all the ingredients. I would *never* go about and try to make each and every ingredient by myself because, quite frankly, I�m lazy. However, on days like this when all the banchans are

Rachel's Hot n' Spicy Shrimp �touff�e

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
1/4 cup flour
2 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 habanero peppers, minced
1 1/2 cup lobster or shrimp stock
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 large tomato, diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound shrimp
2 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1/2 cup diced green onion

cooked white rice to serve

Directions:
Place the butter, Creole seasoning, and flour in a skillet. Cook 1 minute, stirring twice. Add the garlic, onion, celery, and habanero. Saut� until the mixture is golden. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened. Add the shrimp, parsley, and green onion. Stir. Cook 5-10 minutes or until the shrimp is fully cooked. Serve over rice.

My thoughts:

I can't believe I haven't shared my recipe for �touff�e until today! I searched my archives like five times before accepting that I haven't posted it before. That is just wrong. My �touff�e rocks. Traditionally it is made with the holy trinity of Cajun cuisine: onions, celery and bell pepper but I find bell peppers insipid so I use habanero peppers instead. Their fruity hotness really adds a ton of flavor and takes the whole dish to a new level of awesomeness. I also simplified the roux process a bit so it is nearly foolproof but still has the nutty, rich flavor only roux can provide. No one could tell the difference between an �touff�e made the traditional way and one made using my quick and dirty method. The trick is making sure the flour gets good and golden during the vegetable sauteing set. So don't fear the roux! It is what gives the �touff�e its signature creaminess and depth of flavor.

It is pretty hot, if you are wimpy about spice, halve the amount of habaneros I call for or use jalapenos instead but don't sub bell peppers, they are way too bland to be a part of my hot n' spicy �touff�e.

Lemon-Chive Asparagus Risotto

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups bite sized pieces of asparagus
2 large shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup chopped chives
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
zest one lemon
salt
pepper


Directions:
In a saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan Saute the garlic and shallot until lightly caramelized. Add the rice, salt and pepper and saut� for 2-3 minutes, stirring continually. Add the broth a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, and waiting until the liquid is absorbed before each addition. When you are about half way through the broth, add the asparagus to the rice.



Continue to add broth and stir. When the risotto is creamy and the rice is al dente remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan, zest and chives.

My thoughts:

I am excited to see the first stalks of asparagus making their way into the market. After a winter marked by two very large, late snow storms any sign of spring and warm weather is very welcome. The big farmers market opened for the first time this weekend. May is the first month one can find local produce with any sort of regularity or variety in Baltimore, some smaller markets are open year round but until now they were sparsely stocked with dairy and meats. So this time of year I eat lots and lots of asparagus.

Creamy risotto is one of my my favorite ways to use asparagus. It is easy, the asparagus really shines and typically it is not so hot yet as to make the prospect of stirring a pot over a hot stove seem unbearable. The lemon and chives add to the springy fresh flavor and complement the asparagus perfectly. What more could you ask of a weekday meal?



Note: As I normally do when I have leftover risotto, I made arancini di riso. Rather then dig through and cut the asparagus into smaller pieces, I just sort of tucked the larger bits towards the middle and surrounded them with rice.

Spam Kimbap

On lazy weekends, once in a blue moon I�m crazy enough to make kimbap. It�s literally an all day event! Once I get started, I sit there and make kimbap all morning and sometimes all afternoon! And about halfway through the rice, I ended up running out of ingredients for gogi kimbap. So I dug through my pantry and found this can of SPAM.

Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter OR bacon fat
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cubanelle peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 quarts seafood or chicken stock
4 andouille sausages, sliced into coins
1 lb okra, sliced into coins
1 lb peeled shrimp
1 lb catfish, cut into nuggets
1 lb shucked oysters (with liquid)


cooked white rice to serve
file powder, optional

Directions:
Over medium heat, cook the flour, spices and butter/bacon fat together, whisking pretty often until it turns brown but doesn't burn. Add the onions, garlic and peppers and saute until starting to soften. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the sausage and okra. Cook for 30 minutes. Add the shrimp and catfish. Cook until they are almost cooked through then add the oysters in their liquid. Cook until the oysters are cooked through. Serve over rice.

My thoughts:

I have to say, I make pretty good Cajun food. When my husband brought home a bunch of seafood with an eye on making gumbo, he suggested I make the roux and take a more supervisory role for the rest. Fine with me! I make my roux over a lower heat than I've seen called for in cookbooks which makes the process much less fraught but yields the same results in just slightly more time. I also like to add the spices to the flour which makes them nice and toasty tasting. Beyond that I don't get too fancy; cubanelle peppers instead of bell (bell peppers are so insipid) and a jalapeno thrown in for extra spice. Since it is a month with an "r" in it, local oysters were a natural fit as was my favorite catfish. Rounding it out is shrimp but I bet crawfish or even (for an extra luxe touch) chunks of lobster would be great. This is my favorite kind of gumbo, homey and comforting but the seafood makes it seem special. It is also surprisingly quick to make which makes it a great choice for a weekday meal.

Chicken & Mushrooms with Rice

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
12 oz evaporated milk
8 oz diced crimini mushrooms
2 cups cooked long grain rice
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 cup diced green onion
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 shallots, minced
2 eggs
1 stalk celery, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside. In a small skillet, heat the oil. Add the shallot, chicken and mushroom and saute until the chicken starts brown and the shallots, celery and mushrooms are soft. Pour into a bowl and add rice, cheese, green onion. In a small bowl, whisk together the spices, egg and evaporated milk. Pour over the rice mixture. Stir to evenly distribute all ingredients. Pour into the casserole dish. Cover and bake for about 45 minutes or until the the chicken is fully cooked and the dish looks "set".

Note: If the dish is still runny looking but looks otherwise fully cooked, remove the cover and cook until some of the excess liquid evaporates. This is mostly an issue if the lid of your dish is very tight fitting.

My thoughts:

Recently a reader emailed me asking if I had a chicken and rice casserole recipe that that didn't use condensed cream of mushroom soup. Now, I didn't grow up in a casserole eating family so I actually haven't eaten too many casseroles much less made them but I had a good idea what I was up against. My husband is just getting over a bout of illness so I thought it would be the perfect time to make this comforting dish. I used undiluted evaporated milk because it tastes much creamier than milk but isn't nearly as high in fat as cream or half and half or even whole milk. I sauteed the chicken, shallots and celery to add a depth of flavor that canned soup just can't deliver. Using cooked rice (you can even leave leftover rice from another meal) eliminates the "will this dry out before it is finished cooking" issue that baking raw rice often runs into and gives the dish a creamy, more risotto-like texture.

Turkey & Pea Risotto

Ingredients:
5 cups turkey stock
2 1/2 cups diced turkey breast
1 cup frozen peas
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup grated smoked Gouda
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt
pepper


Directions:
In a saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan Saute the onion, celery and carrot until softened. Add the rice and saut� for 2-3 minutes, stirring continually. Add the broth a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, and waiting until the liquid is absorbed before each addition. When you are about half way through the broth, add the peas and turkey to the rice. Continue to add broth and stir. When the risotto is creamy and the rice is al dente remove from heat and stir in the cheeses.

My thoughts:

Can you get any homier than risotto? It is just so creamy (without actually using cream!) and warm-perfect for cold weather. I love adding meat and vegetables to risotto to make it a filling one dish meal. This version has peas and turkey stirred in at at the end to give it a really fresh flavor. The small amount of smoked Gouda gives it a richness without being overpowering. This risotto reminded me of those old fashioned turkey and rice casseroles with the gravy but is much lighter and has brighter flavors. Perfect for post-Thanksgiving when you want to use up the leftover turkey (and probably have peas and carrots on hand) but don't feel like making a big, fussy meal.

Chuseok Rice Cakes - ??

I warned you, there are absolutely NO measurements so this 'recipe' might be a little useless. However, I wanted to put this up so that it can jog my memory when I attempt to make it one day (hopefully soon). When I make it, I promise to write down the measurements I use. =) MIL (my friend's) started off with some rice flour. She said the flour was FRESH straight from Ktown.

Green Bean Risotto

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 2/3 to 2 cups diced green beans
3/4 cup chopped crimini mushrooms
2 large shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt
pepper


Directions:
In a saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan Saute the mushrooms, salt, pepper, garlic and shallot until lightly caramelized. Add the rice and saut� for 2-3 minutes, stirring continually. Add the broth a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, and waiting until the liquid is absorbed before each addition. When you are about half way through the broth, add the green beans to the rice. Continue to add broth and stir. When the risotto is creamy and the rice is al dente remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan.

My thoughts:

Risotto is the ultimate 20 minute meal. It is quick, easy and infinitely adaptable. I had some "French-style" green beans that I didn't want to use as simply a side dish that ended up being an inspired choice for the risotto. They stayed crisp and added a lot of fresh flavor and texture interest to the creamy risotto.

The next day I made arancini di riso with the leftovers and instead of placing cheese in the middle, I used a cube of smoked ham. It was a delicious and easy lunch.

Steak Bibimbap - (???? ???)

One of my current obsessions right now is the Korean drama called Brilliant Inheritance (??? ??). In one of the episodes the main character makes Steak Bibimbap and ever since I've been dying to try and replicate it. =P The MR, Munchkin and I don't eat at the dinner table together. I often eat standing in the kitchen while the MR takes his food in front of the computer and Munchkin eats

Mini-kimbap for the Kiddos

My kitchen will be a kimbap factory in a few minutes. If you want to make some with me, go here and follow along. =) I'll post a few pictures of the mini-kimbaps I make for Munchkin. He has swim class today, so I wanted to make sure he had something to eat immediately after he was done. The kid ate dinner TWICE yesterday. Our house became a kimbap factory yesterday...

Omelet Rice - (?? ???)

I decided to make omelet rice this morning with the leftover fried rice from yesterday. It's super easy and a nice twist to make two meals with one. First beat two eggs with a little bit of milk. Grease a large pan and turn up the heat to about medium-low. Spread out the egg nice and evenly and let it cook on low heat. When it's almost cooked through,

Shrimp Fried Rice - (?? ???)

There's so many ways to make shrimp fried rice and this is the way I do it. It tastes more Korean style in my opinion. Things Needed: 1 cup of chopped shrimp 1/2 cup each of celery, carrots, onions and corn 3-4 cups of cooked cold rice sesame oil, soy sauce, minced garlic It's strange being in the Midwest. The local grocery store didn't have any fresh shrimp! I had to