Posts Tagged ‘rice’

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Rice Pilaf


2010
02.23

  • Recipe From: Largely based on the recipe in the Joy of Cooking, but tweaked
  • Yields: About 4 generous servings.
  • Shelf Life: I've found rice lasts for quite a long time in the fridge. The best way to reheat is in the microwave, covered with seran wrap, after adding a drizzle of water. This way the water is heated first, then trapped by the seran wrap steams the rice. No more dry reheated rice!
  • Leftover Rating: 4 of 5. No problems eating this one a few days later- just remember the drizzling with water reheating trick. Reheated dry rice stinks.
  • Freezes Well?: Never tried- let me know if you do!

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Posted in Recipes, Rice, Side Dishes | No Comments »

I’ve been working on this recipe for a short while now. I grew up with rice pilaf made from a box-mix. The Near East brand is actually quite good. I have yet to be able to quite replicate it, but I do like the results of this recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs. butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup rice
  • 1/4 cup Orzo (pasta)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. While the butter is melting, chop the onions. How you chop them is up to your preference, for this recipe I tend to err on the finer side, but still rough-chopped not aiming for any shape in particular. When the butter foams, add onions to the pan and saute. Once the onions have started to cook, reduce the heat to medium, add the rice and orzo and stirring immediately, thoroughly and frequently. Once the butter has been absorbed, add the water and salt, cover and reduce to medium-low heat. Remove from heat when the rice is done.

Rice is done when all the water has been absorbed. This is not to say when all the moisture is absorbed. I like to pull my rice off of cooking heat when there is still a clear coat of water on the grains before it totally dries out. Removing from heat while there is still measurable water in the bottom of the pan is too early.

I tend to double this recipe whenever I make it.

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Not-Greek Fish


2010
02.23

  • Leftover Rating: 4 of 5. Excellent! Reheat over rice, everything reheats well, though the tomatoes are best fresh from the oven.
  • Recipe From: inspired by a recipe in the family cookbook, but in hind-sight it barely even shares half the ingredients list!
  • Serves: 2-4. Without a side dish my wife and I ate the entire pan of fish the first time we made this. Served over rice, the same quantity can easily feed 4+
  • Shelf Life: This lasts well in the fridge... though it doesn't remain too long. I've never seen it stay more than 4 days, but I expect it wouldn't go bad until after a week.

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Posted in Entrees, Fish, Recipes | No Comments »

First things first, what’s with the “Not-Greek”??  Well, my parents have a recipe for Greek Fish, a while fish baked with feta, olives and fresh tomatoes.  When I described this recipe to my dad, he said “ah, like Greek fish!”  No, not really I replied; though I can see the similarity in appearance and ingredients, the flavor and spirit of the two dishes is quite different.

In any case, here is our “Not-Greek Fish”:

Ingredients:

  • 4 White Fish Filets, I like to use Swai
  • 1 large onion
  • Dried Basil
  • Dried Oregano
  • 4 Roma Tomatoes
  • Parmesan or Romano cheese
  • White wine- pick a flavor you like!

Directions:

In an over-safe pan (the pan will go in the oven later) melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Slice the onions into quarter-inch diameter, half-rings. Don’t let me hear of anyone actually measuring their onions! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the onions when the butter and oil foams, sauteing until they are translucent and starting to go limp. Pour white wine over the onions, and allow the alcohol to cook off- a minute or so? Turn off the heat, and lay the fish filets over top of the onions. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Cover the fish with the chopped tomatoes (Did I forget to mention chopping the tomatoes? I like half-inch cubes). Season the tomatoes with basil, oregano and salt. Place the entire pan in the oven, at 350 degrees on broil. The higher the shelf is in the over, the better the tomatoes will roast and wilt. Bake until the fish is done- the way I tell is probing it with a fork, if it flakes off it is cooked, if it holds together… like raw fish… it’s not done! Overdone fish is dry, tacky and generally bad. I err on the under-cooked side for my fish, but the ideal is a moist, tender, flaky perfection. Be aware that the thermal mass of the dish will continue to cook the fish even after it is removed from the oven, removing early is always better than removing late.

I like to serve this dish over Rice Pilaf with white wine, usually the same one I used to cook the onions.

The Parmesan cheese can be added in a number of places.  I have added it between the onions and the fish, over top of the tomatoes before baking, and just grated over top at the table.  All are good, but I think my favorite was between the onions and the fish- more subtle, adding complexity to the overall flavors without over-powering the dish.

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Pork Tenderloin & Rice Pilaf


2010
02.11

  • Recipe From: Pork- Left Field; Rice Pilaf- The Joy of Cooking
  • Serves: 4-5

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Posted in Recent Adventures | No Comments »

Another easy one, though the time it takes to simmer rice disqualifies it from true “quick” status.

The pork was 2 smallish tenderloins, marinated for 48 hours in Iron Chef Sesame Garlic Sauce & Glaze, just in a gallon-size Ziploc bag.

The rice pilaf goes like this: heat 2 Tbs. butter in a medium sauce pan. Saute 1/2 cup chopped onion (2-3 minutes). Add 1 cup rice and 2 cups water with 1/2 tsp. salt. Saute briefly to coat the rice in butter. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, until the rice absorbs all the water. I like to add Orzo pasta to my rice pilaf, about 1/4 cup per cup of rice. Working quickly, I actually measured out 2 cups rice and had it in the pan before I realized my mistake. To compensate I simply doubled the water, salt and Orzo. In the end, the ratio of onion to rice was fine, though some more butter for sauteing the rice would probably yield more flavorful results.

The pork I simply grilled on high heat until it was pink in the center. It was juicy, flavorful, and all-in-all delicious!

Total time from start to finished eating: less than 1 hour.