Southwestern Cilantro Rice Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I first had this salad in New York City at a restaurant called Arizona 206. Chef Brendan Walsh was head of the kitchen at that time and one of the restaurant's signature dishes was this lovely cilantro rice. I had the rice so often that I was able to reconstruct it in my own kitchen from taste memory. I liked it then, and I like it now, because it's an easy and inexpensive way to feed a large number of people. It's also a wonderful accompaniment to Southwestern or Mexican meals. While I doubt this will become your favorite rice dish, it's great for church suppers, block parties and other large gatherings where refrigerator and oven space space is at a premium. This rice salad is one of those rare dishes that is actually better when served at room temperature. The version of the recipe I have in my files feeds 36 people. I re-sized it earlier this week to serve with a Southwestern-style meal I had planned for four people. I thought you might like to have a copy of the smaller recipe for your files. Without further ado, here's how we make Southwestern Cilantro Rice Salad. Oh, and should you like the recipe for 36, multiply all ingredients, save the lime zest, by four.

Southwestern Cilantro Rice Salad...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by Brendan Walsh

Ingredients:
2 cups cold water
1 cup long grain or basmati rice
1 teaspoon kosher salt + salt to taste
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper, cut in 1/4-inch rice
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons tablespoons fresh lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
Freshly cracked pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Bring water to a boil in a 3-quart pan set over high heat. Stir in rice and salt and bring back to a boil. Immediately cover pan and lower heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let rice sit, covered, for another 10 minutes.
2) Transfer rice to a large pan. I use a roasting pan to assure enough space to thoroughly mix rice with other ingredients. Add cilantro, red and yellow peppers, olive oil, lime zest and juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve immediately or cover and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Moors and Christians - One Perfect Bite
Forbidden Rice and Jewel Toned Grains - One Perfect Bite
Arroz con Pollo - One Perfect Bite

Margarita Cheesecake

Photo courtesy of B.J. LaCasse, Fine Texas Cuisine

The Lure


The Finished Product

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite... They say third times a charm. There must be some truth to that, because it took me that long to get this cake right. I've made lots of cheesecakes over the years, but always keep coming back to my old favorite develop by Craig Claiborne for the New York Times. I thought for sure I'd found one to best it when I came across a recipe for a Margarita Cheesecake in Jon Bonnell's, Fine Texas Cuisine. While the directions were imprecise, I thought I could work my way through the omissions and still come up with a gorgeous cake. It didn't work that way. No pan size was given and I learned, to my chagrin, that a standard 9-inch springform pan wasn't large enough for the volume of batter the recipe produced. When the three hours it should have taken to bake the cake turned to four, I realized that that a convection oven was probably used to test the recipe. The biggest disappointment was the appearance of the cake. It bore no resemblance to the gorgeous photograph that lured me to the recipe in the first place. I realize that recipes used in restaurants don't always transpose to the home kitchen. This may have been one of those cases, but it is clear to me that the recipe was never tested in a home kitchen or these omissions would have been caught. The thing is, I didn't pay for the cookbook or three pounds of cream cheese to learn that this way. I groused a bit, actually I cussed a lot, but I was determined to make a Margarita Cheesecake. I did that by going back to ground zero. I added orange liqueur, tequila, lime juice and zest to Craig Claiborne's recipe and ended up with a fabulous cheesecake that's worthy of the fifth of May or Mother's Day. Here's the recipe that worked.

Margarita Cheesecake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by Craig Claiborne

Ingredients:
1⁄2 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
2-1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2-1/2 tablespoons orange liqueur
2-1/2 tablespoons tequila
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3⁄4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions:
1) Move oven rack to lowest position in oven and preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 3-inch deep 8" round one-piece cake pan all the way up to and including its rim with butter.
2) Combine lime zest, lime juice, orange liqueur and tequilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
3) Place cream cheese into bowl of a standing mixer and beat on medium high, scraping sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula often, until completely smooth. Beat in vanilla and sugar well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, but do not overbeat. Stir in juice and liqueur mixture lemon zest and juice with a spatula or spoon.
4) Generously spray buttered cake pan with nonstick spray, then pour in batter. Place cake pan inside a larger 3-inch deep pan. Place it in oven and pour hot water into larger pan, about 1-1/2-inches deep. Bake until top of cake is rich golden brown and feels dry when touched, about 1-1/2 to 1-1/2 hours (cake will be soft inside and become firm when cooled and refrigerated).
5) Lift cake pan out of water and place it on a cake rack. Let cake cool in pan for 3 hours. Cover pan with plastic wrap. Place a flat plate on top, invert, and remove pan. Sprinkle bottom of cake with graham cracker crumbs. Gently place another flat plate on top of crumbs. Very carefully invert again (without squashing cake), leave plastic wrap in place, and refrigerate cake overnight. Very carefully remove plastic wrap. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Cook's Note: This is a soft cheesecake and can be difficult to cleanly slice. I actually put the cake in the freezer for an hour before cutting to assure clean looking slices.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Mini Black-Bottom Cheesecakes with Jam - The Food Addicts
Mocha Cheesecake - Evil Shenanigins
Mini Red Velvet Cheesescakes - Slashfoods

Tom Kah Gai, Cooking School and Elephants

Lisu Elephant Camp in Chaing Mai, Thailand


The Morning Market and Farm Cooking School Chaing Mai, Thailand


Thailand is beautiful. It's sights and sounds and fragrances are unforgetable and while you occasionally stumble on tourist sctick, you'll probably love every minute of it. The hill tribes - insular ethnic minorities - put on quite a show for visitors; they have tourist villages as well as those they actually live in. They have wonderful costumes, but when you're not looking they dress much as other Thai. Not everything is for show, however. These tribes have been slow to adapt to the modern world and their health and education has suffered. Elephant camps help them care for the members of their tribal families and they really do take good care of their animals. One of the tribes, the Lisu, operated the elephant camp that so delighted the group I traveled with. When you see the pictures I think you'll see why this is one of my favorite memories of Thailand.

Another favorite memory is that of Thai cooking schools. Cooking schools in Southeast Asia tend to follow a pattern. The day begins just after first light with a stop at the local market to purchase ingredients needed for the day's lesson. Then it's on to classes which start early in order to avoid the intense midday heat. In Chiang Mai the school was in the country and part of a beautiful organic farm. Our instructor was a young Thai chef who brooked no departure from her agenda. She was about 4' 8" tall and if she weighed 85 pounds I'd be surprised. I don't quite know how she did it, but I'm here to tell you she struck fear in the hearts of some members of our group. Most of the men were there because their wives told them they had to be. The guys were known to horse around if cooking or weaving was involved. The highlight of my day was watching her watch them with an unblinking stare that prevented infractions before they could occur. She was there to teach, we were there to learn and learning did not include small talk, laughter or lack of respect for the food. I'll bear witness to the fact that her class was run with military efficiency - all dishes were prepared as directed and lunch was ready at noon. The other class didn't do so well. I heard lots of laughter over there and they were an hour late for lunch. That gave us lots of time to explore the old plantation and talk with the folks who helped with the gardens and kitchen prep work. I had a great time, but when I evaluated the day I became aware of a problem I would encounter throughout our trip - overcooked, dry meat. Today's recipe is based on the Tom Kah Gai recipe from the Farm School. I've reworked it in order to avoid dry chicken. This is a really simple recipe. Most of the ingredients can be found in supermarkets. The two items that might pose a problem are galangal and kiffir lime leaves. If a recipe calls for 3 kiffir lime leaves, substitute the peeled zest of 1 lime. If you are unable to find galangal - also called blue ginger - substitute an equal quantity of fresh ginger. The fresh ginger lacks the musky overtones of galangal, but it's a great substitute.

Tom Kah Gai

Ingredients:
2 (14.5-oz.) cans coconut milk
2 (14.5-oz.) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
6 kaffir lime leaves
3 fresh stalks lemon grass (white part only), bruised
2 teaspoons green curry paste
12 thin slices galangal
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
2 cups sliced white mushrooms
1 pound chicken breast or thighs, cut in 3/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Garnish: fresh cilantro, green onion tops

Directions:
1) Combine coconut milk, chicken broth, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, green curry paste and galangal in a large (3-quart) saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Add fish sauce. Simmer for 45 minutes.
2) Remove kaffir lime leaves, galangal and lemon grass. Add chicken and mushrooms. Simmer until chicken is cooked, about 7 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with cilantro and green onion tops. Yield: 6 servings.