SCOTT'S AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RICE

 

I love Mexican rice and have tried many recipes. A lot of them have been tasty, but when Scott made this one for us as a side for our Memorial Day meal, I decided this one is blog-worthy.  (No burgers for us -- we wanted a Mexican menu!) In fact I made it myself this past weekend and enjoyed it just as much as when he made it.  Of all the things I cook, rice is the biggest challenge for me.  It almost always sticks in the bottom of the pot.  I've washed it, bought different brands and varieties, turned it off early, added extra liquid -- you name it, I have tried it.  I think part of the problem is that my cooktop cooks hot, and it is always difficult to cook anything on extremely low heat.  Lauren's friend Lyna gave me an Asian rice cooker, and it works beautifully when I am making plain rice.  I have never tried to use it with flavored rice because of all of the steps and added ingredients.  Eric told me America's Test Kitchen says to finish rice in the oven.  That is one thing I have not tried but will do it next time for sure.  In the meantime I want this recipe on the blog because I love the flavors of it, and it makes such a large amount that I am happy to leave the stuck part on the bottom so I can still enjoy it. As long as the stuck part remains on the bottom of the pan it will not affect the flavor.   If I figure out how to make it without it sticking I will change this narrative later!  (Update: I did everything in a pan on the stove but then dumped it into my rice maker with the liquid and it turned out perfectly.)

1-1/2 c Mahatma Rice Extra Long Grain White Rice, rinsed*

3 TB neutral oil (Scott and I used Grapeseed oil)

1/4 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 TB Knorr chicken tomato bouillon (comes in a bottle)

1/2 t garlic powder

8 oz tomato sauce

2 c hot water

1/4 t salt, or to taste

3 sprigs fresh cilantro

1 fresh jalapeno, quartered lengthwise

Over medium heat, add the oil to a heavy-bottomed or good quality non-stick pan.  Add the onions and garlic and stir until lightly browned.  Remove them and set aside.  Add the rice to the pot and toast it in the oil, stirring it constantly for about 5 minutes or until it becomes slightly puffy and golden brown.

Stir in the bouillon and garlic powder.  Mix and continue toasting for another minute.  Add the tomato sauce and onion/garlic mixture, stirring it constantly for 30 seconds.  The color should change to a warm reddish orange color.  At this point watch the heat to make sure the bottom is not burning and adjust the heat if necessary.

Add the HOT water to the rice.  If the liquid isn't bubbling on the sides of the pot your water is not hot enough.  Stir in salt to taste.  Place the cilantro and jalapeno on top.  Continue boiling over medium-low heat until some of the water has evaporated.  Then turn the heat to low and cover for 20 minutes.  DO NOT lift the lid during that time.  After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork.  There will be a thin layer of tomato sauce at the top.  Just gently fluff and mix it into the rice to distribute evenly.  If you want softer rice, cover for another 10 minutes (with no heat).

*Scott's housekeeper insists on this Mahatma rice so that's what we used!

THANKSGIVING DRESSING

There are many varieties of this recipe, and every year I look at my mom’s recipe, Aunt Clara’s recipe, and even KK’s mom Ople’s recipe and I usually try to take some of all their ideas.  Some of them add crushed saltines or stale buttermilk biscuits as well, and sometimes I add them.  This is the one I generally end up doing, and we are very happy with it.  My mom’s recipe, as well as others, call for raw eggs to be added, but I have found that it makes the dressing too “congealed” for my taste, so I don’t add them.  Justin used to beg me to add oysters at one end of the dressing, and for years I used giblets at the other end; however, I am happy using the Italian sausage in this recipe and foregoing the other protein choices.   Also diced, boiled eggs were added by all of the moms, but I put them in my giblet gravy so I don’t think they are necessary in the dressing either.  If your memory is of boiled eggs in your dressing, then by all means boil and dice about 6 eggs and add them.   The bulk of this recipe came from a Food Network Magazine of several years ago, and I tweaked it to include some of the mom’s ideas.  Tasting it as you go is the best way to ensure you are happy with the seasonings; others are always happy to give you their opinions as well if you are lucky enough to have someone in the kitchen with you while you are cooking.

2 pkg. Martha White Cornbread mix (should make about 6 c. crumbled cornbread)

8 c. stale, good-quality white bread, toasted, and torn into small pieces
1 lb. Italian sausage
6 TB butter + more for dots on top
2 c. diced onion
2 c. diced celery
Bunch of green onions, diced, optional
4 c. chopped, fresh spinach
About 1 TB minced sage
About 1 TB minced thyme
Cayenne to taste
About ¼ c. chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley
About 1/3 c. pine nuts, optional
About 1/3 c. grated parmesan
About 6 c. chicken or turkey broth (homemade if you can; if not then store-bought)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Poultry seasoning, optional

Make the cornbread according to the recipe on the packages a day or two before you are making the dressing so that it has time to get stale.  Do the same with the toasted bread (and biscuits if you decide to try them.)  Crumble all of it into a very large bowl and cover with a tea towel.  At least once a day stir it so the bread on the bottom of the bowl gets a chance to dry out as well.

The day you are making the dressing sauté the sausage in a skillet, crumbling it as it cooks completely.  Take the sausage out and leave the drippings in the pan.  Add the butter and once it is melted, add the onions and celery, and cook until soft, stirring occasionally so it won’t stick.  Pour them over the bread mixture and stir in the rest of the ingredients except the broth.  Begin pouring the broth over the mixture, stirring as you go.  You want it to be soupy so it will stay moist while it cooks.  Add salt and pepper and taste for seasoning.  At this point you may want to add more sage or even a small amount of poultry seasoning and of course salt and pepper until you like the flavor of it.

Butter a 9X13 baking dish and transfer the dressing into it and dot with butter.  Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; uncover and bake until golden and firm, about 30-40 minutes.

SEAFOOD PAELLA

Lauren loves paella, and I have always wanted to try and make it for her.  I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit and decided to give it a shot for her “Welcome back to Texas” dinner.   It does require some organization and slicing/dicing in advance, but once the paella gets going, the process is pretty seamless and the rewards are huge.

1 serrano chile, coarsely chopped

1/3 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley

10 TB olive oil, divided

Kosher salt

8 oz pancetta, cut into ½” pieces

1 lg. yellow onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, cut into ½” strips

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 t. paprika

½ t. hot smoked Spanish paprika

½ c. dry Sherry

3 c. short-grain rice*

6 c. chicken broth

3 wide strips orange zest

½ t. saffron threads

12-24 littleneck clams or mussels**

8 spring onions, trimmed (scallions work too)

8 oz. haricots verts, trimmed

12-20 large, shell-on prawns or shrimp**

Freshly ground black pepper

3 lemons, quartered

Puree chile, parsley, and 6 TB oil in a food processor until smooth; season chile-parsley oil with salt and set aside.  Prep all other ingredients and have them lined up ready to go.

Heat 1 TB oil in a 13” paella pan or a 12” cast-iron skillet over medium-high.  Cook pancetta, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes.  Add yellow onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 8-10 minutes.  Add garlic and both paprikas and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Carefully add Sherry; bring to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until pan is almost dry, about 3 minutes.  Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is coated and starting to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.  Stir in broth, orange zest, and saffron and season with salt.  Bring broth to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until rice is nearly tender, 12-15 minutes.

Pluck out zest and nestle clams/mussels into rice and cook until they begin to open, 12-15 minutes.  Cover pan with lid or foil and simmer until rice is al dente and clams/mussels or open, about 8-10 minutes.  Discard any that don’t open.  Remove from heat but keep covered and let rice steam 10 more minutes.

While paella cooks, heat a grill pan over medium-high, or fire up your gas grill to about 400-450 degrees.  Separately toss spring onions, haricots verts, and prawns with 1 TB oil each in bowls; season with salt and pepper.  Grill spring onions, turning occasionally, until greens are charred and bulbs are tender, about 5 minutes, less if using scallions.  Next, grill haricots verts, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and tender, about 2 minutes.  Grill shrimp until cooked through and shells are charred, about 2 minutes per side but watch carefully not to overcook them.  Finally grill lemons until charred, about 1 minute per side.

Arrange spring onions, haricots verts, and prawns over paella.  Drizzle dish with reserved chile-parsley oil and squeeze some juice from grilled lemons over it.  Place remaining wedges on top of dish and serve.

*Short-grain Paella rice is quite expensive, and I read on-line that Arborio rice could be substituted, so that is what I used. 

** This recipe makes 4-6 servings.  Judge the amount of seafood you use by how many you are serving, and how many pieces you think each will want.  I used mussels and put as many in my pan as I could without it getting too crowded and grilled about 5 large shrimp per person, but I have hearty eaters.  If you use prawns you would naturally serve fewer.

CREAMY POLENTA

I served this as the base for the beef dish I made for canasta night.  I am so glad to have an alternative to rice or pasta!  I had never made polenta before so I researched and found this one that is made in the crock pot and stays creamy.   Most recipes require standing over it and stirring it constantly while it cooks, which is inconvenient when you are having company.  It turned out perfectly and was rich and creamy.  Several reviewers suggested doubling the recipe because it was too small an amount for a crockpot, so I did that and am listing the amounts below as I used them.  I think half a recipe wouldn’t really be enough anyway and leftovers could be eaten heated for breakfast with a fried egg over them – yum!

2 c. whole milk

2-2/3 c. half and half, divided

4 TB butter, divided

2/3 c. coarse polenta

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 c. grated Parmesan

Spray the insert of a crock pot with cooking spray (for easier clean up) and preheat on high.

In a medium saucepan, add the milk, 2 c. half and half, 2 TB butter and polenta.  Season with salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly to keep the mixture lump-free.  Boil for 2-3 minutes.  Pour the mixture into the slow cooker and turn the setting down to low.  Cook for 2 hours, stirring once or twice per hour.  Once you are ready to serve, whisk in the remaining 2 TB butter, remaining 2/3 c. half and half, and Parmesan.