Confetti Rice & Veggie Salad

Confetti Rice & Veggie Salad inspired by The Silver Palate

This is one of my very favorite salads! Major yum going on here. My sis, Carrie, discovered the original recipe in The Silver Palate Cook Book by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins. They called theirs Rice and Vegetable Salad and you can find the original recipe here.  While the original is delicious, over the years my sis and I have tweaked it so it's perfection for us! It's always a hit whenever and wherever we serve it. And, if you add poached and shredded chicken breast meat, you have yourself one fine meal - perfect for a special luncheon! Notes: Basmati is by far our very favorite rice. It has a wonderful nutty smell and flavor, and if you rinse it before cooking it, it's never sticky! The original "Our Favorite Vinaigrette" recipe calls for adding minced fresh parsley or chives to taste. While we'll do that for regular salads, because the salad already has parsley, basil and dill in it, we don't add it the dressing for this salad.

I made this for yesterday's family 4th of July celebration. 

There was nothing left for me to take home... :-(

4 C. cooked and still hot basmati white rice

2 recipes "Our Favorite Vinaigrette" (below)

1 C. more or less red pepper, cored and chopped into confetti-type pieces

1 box frozen petite peas - add frozen to the salad

1/2++ C. purple onion, diced and then rinsed off (kills the sulfur taste and smell)

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, green tops too and then rinsed off

1 shallot, minced and rinsed (optional)

1 handful fresh parsley, chopped

1 handful fresh dill, chopped

1 handful fresh basil, chopped

salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

1/4 C. balsamic vinegar (optional - I rarely add, sis usually does)

You can add, and we always do for a buffet or luncheon:

1 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts that have been poached and shredded (or use a rotisserie chicken)

Put cooked and still hot rice in a very large bowl and pour 1 recipe of "Our Favorite Vinaigrette" over it. (If you're including chicken, this is the time to add it to the rice.) Toss thoroughly and allow to cool to close to room temperature. (Warm/hot rice absorbes the dressing brilliantly.)

After rice has come to room temperature, add the rest of the ingredients, except the balsamic vinegar, and toss again. I find tossing with your hands is the very best way to mix everything together. Taste and correct seasonings, using more of "Our Favorite Vinaigrette" and the balsamic vinegar if you want. 

"Our Favorite Vinaigrette"

1 T. Grey Poupon mustard

1/4 C. red wine vinegar (Sclafani and Pompeian are my favorite brands)

1 t. sugar

1/2 t. each salt & fresh ground pepper

1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil

Whisk all but the oil together. Continue to whisk while slowly drizzling in the oil until dressing is thickened. A stick blender works wonders doing this. 

Serves 6 - 8 generously.

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

A Spring-Time Dinner

Spring-time table setting.

My mom is the quintessential food gal (read self-taught chef). Not only is the food she creates over the top, the table settings - and everything - is as well. All is just so, from the plates to the linens to the flowers. On top of that, the menus she comes up with are perfection! Consider this (and this is a ~simple~ any week night dinner):

Broiled Herbed Salmon

Salmon fillet - weight depending on number served - below, for four, (one pound)

juice of one lemon, divided
lemon zest

1/4 cup mayonnaise

fresh chopped dill and parsley

black pepper, fresh grated

Rinse salmon fillet and pat dry. Squeeze half the lemon on the fillet. Mix the mayonnaise with the herbs, pepper some of the lemon zest, and other half of the lemon juices. Slice the fillet into individual servings. Coat the salmon with the mayonnaise mixture. Broil until the salmon flakes easily; about 6 minutes. Serve with lemon halves on the side.

Pasta w/Veggies

spagetti, fettucini, whatever shape, cooked to package directions (keep warm)

This night, the vegetables we used were: 

Scallions, sliced diagonally in 1" pieces

garlic, sliced thinly length-wise

red pepper, diced

grape tomatoes, quartered

asparagus, sliced diagonally in 1" pieces

baby spinach leaves

lemon zest

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the scallions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes or so. Add the red pepper and cook for an additional 2 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes, asparagus, lemon zest and spinach and sauté until done. Turn off heat and WAIT until it's time to serve. You might have to reheat for a minute or so. 

Salad with Fruit

salad greens

pineapple chunks

strawberry slices

pear chunks

walnut pieces

lemon zest

red wine vinegar

olive oil

salt & pepper

Clean the salad greens (I prefer red leaf lettuce - anything will work, tho avoid iceberg for this). In a salad bowl, add the lettuce and all the extras. Just before serving, splash with the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Toss, taste for seasonings, correct, and serve! 

The beginnings of the veggie sauté 

 The salmon just before it goes under the broiler 

(notice it's cut into serving pieces).

 The micro-planed lemon skin - that goes on just about everything!

The composed salad before it's tossed

The veggies as they're sautéing 

sautéd veggies just before adding to the pasta

The fabulous meal - salad is just out of photo range...

YUM!

'till we feast again!
xoabb

Thai Stir-Fry w/Rice Noodles

Thai Stir-Fry with Rice Noodles

(First and foremost, I do apologize for my photographic skills - well, actually, lack thereof! Most of my pictures are taken around dinner time and, as anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of photography is aware of, unless you have good camera lighting equipment, natural dayligh,t and not just the camera's flash, is most definitely the only way to go! However, I will guarantee you that tho the pictures leave a lot to be desired, the food does not! What's found here is not only tried & true, but scrumptious - and much better tasting than any stinkin' photo looks like!)

Though our youngest daughter Brynnly has been in the food industry, both front and back of the house for, well, forever - and can she ever create one mean skillet of food - she's not the only good cook in our family. Eldest daughter Remy is turning out to be one mean cook as well. And it doesn't hurt that she spent the last year in Missouri cooking with her grandmother - who is one of the finest amateur chefs we've every known. Mom/Grandma Mary has always cooked healthfully, seasonally and innovatively long long before it became the only way to cook. I think the only processed food (if you can call it that) we ever had as children was orange-flavored Hi-C drink. Wonder if it's still made...

Now that Rem is home for the few weeks before she's off to her next adventure teaching in Haiti, she's more or less taken over my kitchen on the nights she's home. I thought I'd be bothered by this as I love to cook as well. Surprisingly, I'm not missin' cookin' one little bit! Rem's dad, on the other hand, isn't as keen on her cooking as she makes lots and lots of veggies, beans and whole grains. I've spoiled the man. Yes...there are Kraft Macaroni & Cheese boxes in our pantry (sigh). 

Remy threw the following together the other night using what she found in the pantry and fridge, and, yes, I really did happen to have rice noodles and canned unsweetened coconut milk in the pantry. I'm sure I was going to try some fancy-schmancy new recipe and then promptly talked myself out of it.  

We served it with chicken breasts that were pounded to be the same thickness, marinated for and hour and then char-grilled. 

~This one's a throw 'n go from start to finish!~

The Sauce: 
1 13.5 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk (not the one in the dairy case)
3 tablespoons+/- soy sauce
3 tablespoons+/- rice vinegar
3 tablespoons Whole Foods brand Thai curry peanut dry mix*

*if you can't get to Whole Foods, use a mixture of curry and cayenne pepper. I'm sure there is also garlic powder and tumeric in there as well. It is very spicy!

Mix all in bowl and set aside.

The noodles: 
1 package rice noodles - we used the "A Taste of Thai" brand thin flat noodles - cooked almost to package directions, but undercook just a bit. When done, drain and cover; set aside.

The veggie stir-fry:
While you can use any veggie combination that suits your fancy, below is what Rem used as it's what was in the fridge. Just remember to put your veggies in the pan from what needs to saute the longest to what cooks in the shortest amount of time. The first group of ingredients, the stir-fry base are a must; the second group, up to you.

The stir-fry base:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, enough to coat the skillet plus extra if needed
4 - 8 cloves garlic, minced (amount to your taste - we love garlic!)
1" - 2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (amount to your taste - we love ginger, too!)
juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste
large onion, halved across, the each sliced in half again. Slice in slivers from top to bottom

Saute in the olive oil all of the above for 5 or so minutes over medium high heat. Then add your other veggies in the order of what will cook longest to shortest. Below is what Rem used:

The whatever you want veggie combo:
red pepper, sliced into strips
broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
asparagus, cut into 2" pieces
sugar snap and snow peas, stemmed
frozen peas

Add the veggies in order of the cooking time needed. Toward the end, add the sauce and cook until all is well blended, about 5 - 9 minutes. Add the pasta and stir again till all is blended. Taste and correct seasonings - a splash of soy sauce, a dash of Kosher salt, a touch more ginger, a splash of lemon juice; stir...then serve and enjoy!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again!
xoabb

Pork Chops w/Pineapple Fried Rice

The Pork Chops w/the Sauce & Onions Part
(click on the above photo to see 3 more)
(or just go to P-Dub's to see really good photos)

Smart girl that I am, when I see a particulary appealing recipe, I want to EAT it! And pretty much immediately. Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman/P-Dub for the 3 folks in the USofA that don't know who she is) posted a recipe for pork chops with grilled pineapple fried rice the other day that looked so darn good, I couldn't wait to try it. It didn't disappoint. Not in the least! Now don't go and compare my camera work to Ms. Drummond - there is absolutely no contest as to who is the better photographer - just do yourself a favor and visit the recipe link above or here to see her step-by-step pictures.

I followed all of P-Dub's recipe except the veggies in the fried rice (yup, that's the T'nG). I couldn't find the jarred pimentos (was at Whole Foods and they don't carry any), so for color, I added corn and 3 carrots. Delicious!

The T'nG:

1/2 whole pineapple, cut into spears

2 cups white (or brown) basmati rice

3 carrots, quartered length-wise and then cut so size is same as peas and corn

4 - 6 boneless pork chops

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil

1 whole large sweet onion sliced, quarter slices (or slice from top to bottom - I like that better)

6 tablespoons reduced salt soy sauce (more to taste, or if more liquid is needed)

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 whole eggs

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

2 tablespoons soy sauce (additional)

Throw carrots in with the rice and then cook the rice according to package directions. (The brand of basmati I use calls for cooking 2 cups rice in 8 cups water and then drain when done.)

Grill  pineapple spears until they have good grill marks on all sides. When cool enough to handle, cut spears into bite-size chunks and set aside. Heat butter and oil over medium high heat, then add the pork chops to the pan. Saute on both sides until they have nice color. Throw in the sliced onions and work them into the crevices between the chops. Shake the pan and move the onions around and let them cook for a good couple of minutes.

When the onions are beginning to soften, add the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey and sriracha. Shake the pan, stir it around, and let it cook and bubble up for a good couple of minutes until the chops and onions look like the above photo and to chops are done. Remove chops to a bowl, the let the cause cook another minute or two. Taste and correct seasoning of sauce. When satisfied, pour sauce over the chops and set all aside.

Add a small amount of oil to the same pan (without cleaning it) and return it to the stove top over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir it around, then crack in the eggs and immediately stir them to scramble them a bit. Add the peas and corn and a couple additional tablespoons soy sauce. Add the cooked and drained rice and carrots and stir all until well blended and veggies are cooked through. Add the pineapple bites and gently give the fried rice a final stir.

To serve, pile rice on the plate, top with a pork chop and onions and drizzle some of the sauce over all.

YUM!

~~~

'till we feast again!
xoabb