Arancini (3)

Arancini, again. This time, with me learning! In a fry-pan:

dash olive oil

1 c. Arborio (long grain) rice

chicken bouillon

chopped onion

chopped spinach

chopped red & hot peppers

fresh basil

salt & pepper

And add 2 c. water intermittently as the rice dries out.

Stir, sip, stir, and fret, until the rice is done!

To prepare, make golf-ball sized balls, and stick a dice-sized cube of any pungent, delicious cheese into the middle. We used Parrano -- a beautiful parmesan-gouda mix.

Then roll them in:

1. flour

2. beaten egg

3. bread crumbs (we used Panko)

And then you get your boyfriend ("what?!") -

to fry them into a deliciously filling package.

Stuffed Grape Leaves!

First came the cooking of the Basmati rice, which produced a much greater yield than I expected with a measley half cup of the darn things; they swelled and wriggled to a giant bowlful of aromatic grains.

Then, the chopping of wonderfully complementary vegetables -- mushrooms and tomatoes, of course; my altogether favorites.

All of this boiled with the rice, until it reached a delicious tenderness:

olive oil

leftover fresh coriander

chopped onion

chopped scallion (redundant?)

basil leaves

garlic

salt

And then came the unfurling of the jarred grape leaves.

And the rolling.....

Here they are, all hot side-by-side in their lil' dish:

I'd forgotten that grape leaves have a taste all their own; I was simply using them as a containing mechanism. But their taste reminds me of childhood days when a loud, German man would cook us leaves stuffed with lamb and rice, and tell us tales of the world.

Arancini!

Ever since we went to Giorgio's Martini Bar last, Bean has been infatuated with the memory of their arancini appetizer. I had never tried anything like this; they are cheesy rice balls coated in bread crumbs and fried, a dish originating in Sicily (and thus being very appropriate for a Greek restaurant such as Bean is wont to adore).

Tonight, we decided to try making them ourselves.

First, saute:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

When it's browned, add:

1 cup rice

1 1/2 cups water

We used sushi rice in the hopes that it would all stick together in the end. Better safe than sorry, for there is, you see, a hard-to-overcome fear of deep-frying that runs throughout the household. I am inclined to agree. But! We decided to try it this once.

After some scrounging, we added fresh parsley and saffron; a festive affair! And the smells were delicious.

When all of the water is absorbed, mix in:

1 cup shredded Parmesan

1 beaten egg

Form into balls, and into each stuff a bit of delicious Italian cheese that you had previously bought and subsequently forgot about. Then roll each ball in (respectively):

A pile of flour

A pile of egg and milk

A pile of bread crumbs

Here they are about to jump in a pot of boiling oil:

Reunion

A series of pictures from our college reunion, which involved friends, spicy (sort of) food, alcohol, and rock band.

Inluding:

1. Rum & Merlot Sangria (Boodle)

2. Cinnamon & cocoa coookies -- more of an appetizer than a dessert... (Boodle)

3. Spicy rice with so many wonderful vegetables -- and disgusting fake meat, for Bethers' sake (Ry)

4. Delicious from-scratch cornbread (Bethers)

Everything was satisfying, and the gathering was quite nice, even with the snow-laden traffic and buggers on the highway.

Can we do it again?

Martinis and Eggs

I love a good olive-laden gin martini, and order them nearly every time we eat out. Tonight, though, I bought some extra-dry vermouth, which means I can make my own. A dangerous thought, to be sure! But tonight I made a mini one; perhaps 1/3 the volume of a bar serving. It was oh-so cute.

And after unsuccessfully attempting to coerce Bean's elderly Father to take us to dinner, we whipped up a delightfully refreshing meal of rice, broccoli and asparagus, topped with an over-easy egg expertly cooked by Bean. I added mushrooms and kimchi. Mmmm.

Why was this so delicious?!

Simon was perhaps too excited about the building possibilities:

(Kind of) Burritos

Was hungry hungry today because my class got out at 10 PM. Since, however, I had this avocado to use up, I had to be patient with the meal, but it was pleasing as ever to concoct alone in the kitchen -- it never ceases to be relaxing.

So!

This made two tiny burritos. I mashed up all of these ingredients in a bowl:

1/4 avocado

1/4 c. pinto beans (mashed)

1/2 c. white rice

scoop of salsa

red pepper flakes

garlic

salt

I also had pita pockets in the fridge, so I carefully sliced one in half (which turned out to the most difficult part of the meal) and wrapped the burritos in them. Then I fried them in a pan with Simon's leftover fried egg butter and some cooking spray. They were hot and GOOD.

Keep in mind that this is how burritos must be assembled:

Thai Try

Simon has been suggesting we attempt to make something Thai like for weeks now, so today we went to the store and bought tons of fresh vegetables and some basil leaves and chicken and went to town.

We started by sautéing some:

olive oil

garlic

basil leaves

red pepper

scallions

and then added

diced chicken breast

broccoli

asparagus

soy sauce

red pepper flakes

and side by side we steamed

spinach

broccoli

tomatoes

And then, finally, we added rice to the mix and proceeded to place it inside of us.