From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I fall back on this recipe whenever I need rice to feed a gang. It is simple to make and it's as easy on the cook as it is on the pocketbook. One of the groups I belong to has a monthly luncheon that is a potluck of sorts. While the hostess is responsible for the main course, the rest of us bring dishes that will compliment her choice and complete the meal. Our hostess today prepared grilled lamb kabobs for 12 of us. I'll wager that those of you not living in the Southern Hemisphere, are looking out your windows at scenes more conducive to ice fishing than barbecuing, and are wondering why anyone in their right mind would fire up a grill in the depths of a winter downpour. While "nuts" is no longer politically correct, those of who live in the Pacific Northwest will admit to occasionally being a few peas short of a pod. The rain does it to us. Rain, if you deal with enough of it, steels the spirit and becomes nothing more than an inconvenience to a hardened Oregonian. You can't let it stop you, so, yes, we grill in the middle of a deluge, and while most of us have decks that make that possible, you'll occasionally see someone in a yellow "sou'wester" standing over a grill with a red umbrella in hand to protect the sacred flame. Back to the rice. This recipe can be halved or doubled and it can be made ahead of time and rewarmed when needed. It is delicious and I think your family will enjoy it as much as mine does. It is perfect to share with any grilled meat, but it is especially nice with lamb. Here is how it is made.
Herbed Rice Pilaf...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Cooking Light magazine
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1-3/4 cup uncooked basmati rice
3-3/4 low sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Melt butter in a 3 to 4 quart saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add rice and saute 4 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Add broth and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in green onions, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, basil, thyme, and pepper.Yield: 7 to 8 servings
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We all need recipes like this to fall back to when cooking for a crowd, which I rarely do and usually panic a bit at first. In NC we don't get as much rain as you do in Oregon, but we often get more than our share of spooky foggy mornings and heavy overcast days. I've been told we live in a rain forest and I wouldn't disagree. We have a neighbor who comes up from time to time and leaves before she planned. "North Carolina did me in" she says and I have come to believe her, because it's done me in too from time to time.
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Sam
I could eat a very large bowl of this!!
ReplyDeleteSues
I like fried rice very much. At the first look of the picture, I thought it was something similar. But after going through the recipe, it totally another thing. But I know, I will love this too. Using chicken broth, butter, cheese and herbs, it should be a pot of delicious rice. If too lazy to cook meats or vegetables separately, probably can add in and cook one big pot of yummy dinner. :)
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