Foodmomiac

Baba Rice (a weeknight lifesaver)

This is my dear friend Lisa. Our husbands have known each other since Kindergarten (!!) and when we lived in Toledo, Lisa was a constant in my life. I remember calling Lisa and Todd just a couple of days after they brought their oldest son home from the hospital to tell them that we, too were going to have a baby! Now Ty is almost 11, and Dylan is 10, and I feel like an elderly woman, but that's a story for another day.

Lisa is the friend who introduced me to Bunco (which I greatly miss - why don't people play Bunco in Chicago??), and the person who brought over food after Dylie and Max were born. And the one dish that was ALWAYS included with this delivery was Baba Rice. Baba was Todd's grandma, and she was from Bulgaria. I love Baba Rice, but I could never make it properly no matter how many times Lisa walked me through it over the phone.

This has always been a source of frustration for me, so when we visited Todd and Lisa Thanksgiving weekend, I watched her make it and took very detailed notes. I am happy to report that I have now made Baba Rice twice and was successful both times. Woot!

And now I am sharing with you. Enjoy.

Baba Rice
2-1/2 cups Uncle Ben's rice (the brand is important here, so don't try to get all fancy. You need the original Uncle Ben's converted rice)
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 small onions, chopped
5 cups chicken broth
freshly ground black pepper
1 Tb. dill
1 Tb Spike seasoning or summer savory (Chubritza is the Bulgarian word for this)
1 tsp chicken bouillion paste (I use that Better than Bouillion stuff from the supermarket)
1/4 cup canola oil 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put the rice in a 9x13 Pyrex dish. Add the celery, onion, broth and spices. Break the bouillion paste up into smaller pieces and distribute throughout the dish. Pour in the oil and mix everything well. Cover the pan with foil and place into the oven for an hour. Remove from the oven and mix up a bit with a fork. Enjoy!

The Monday Night Dinner that Garnered a Standing Ovation (Lamb Meatballs and Mujadara)

The title of this post is no exaggeration. Shortly after declaring it, "the best meal you have cooked in five years," Michael told the kids they should give me a round of applause. And then Dylan stood up on the bench in the kitchen to turn that round of applause into a full out standing o. This is NOT the norm in my household, but damn, it was definitely satisfying.

Dinner was an old favorite that I hadn't made for years (mujadarah) along with a new dish that I tried for the very first time (lamb meatballs). The lamb recipe has a gajillion steps, so I am just going to link to it rather than adapt it and repost here. Click here for amazing lamb meatballs.

I will, however, share with you the recipe for Mujadara. This recipe comes from David Rosengarten, a chef who was a very big deal on the Food Network back in 1996 when I worked there. (He also wore a ridiculous amount of makeup when recording his shows, so when he'd swing by the cubicles to talk to the "little folk," we always ended up laughing over his oompa loompa face as soon as he left.) 

Mujadara

1 cup green or brown lentils
1 quart cold water
3 large white onions, sliced into thin half moons
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup basmati or jasmine rice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice

Bring the lentils to a boil in the cold water and then turn the heat down to simmer. Let them cook for about 25 minutes or until they are just about tender. Reserve 1.5 cups of cooking liquid (you likely won't be able to reserve this much, but you can just make up the difference with fresh water), and drain the lentils.

While the lentils are cooking, cook the onions in olive oil until they get nice and soft (the original recipe calls for five minutes, but this took me at least 10). Pull out 1.5 cups of the onions and set them aside. Cook the rest of the onions until they are caramelized and verging on crispy (again, they say five minutes, but it was more like 10 or 15). Drain these on a paper towel and set them aside.

In that same saucepan, add the cooked lentils, the reserved liquid, the softened onions (not the caramelized ones), the rice, salt and allspice. Cook this over low heat, covered, until the rice is tender, which should happen in about 20 minutes. Serve topped with caramelized onions. Sit back while your family applauds your efforts.

A Great and Healthy Recipe: Butternut Squash and Kale Risotto

I was really excited about tonight's recipe. It's from The Gastrokid Cookbook. The concept of the book is awesome. All of the recipes are created to be kid-friendly, but it's not your usual chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese. This recipe was ideal because it used two of the veggies I bought at Sunday's Farmer's Market - butternut squash and lacinato kale. The original recipe includes pancetta, but we decided not to include it, as part of our effort to be healthier.

Dylan loved the risotto, but Max wouldn't take one bite (even after I removed the kale). One day I'll make a healthy dinner that both kids eat. Oh well - he ate a piece of last night's lasagna (the one that DYLAN hated). I personally thought this dish was fantastic and can't wait to have leftovers for lunch.

The recipe is below, but let me first remind you that I'm posting every day for a month to raise money for Healthy Schools Campaign. Thank you so much to Kim for her generous donation. We're continuing to plug away. If you'd like to help the cause, please click here and choose your donation amount. Every little bit helps.

Butternut Squash and Kale Risotto (adapted from The Gastrokid Cookbook)

6 cups chicken stock
extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch fresh kale, stemmed and chopped (if you use lacinato or dino kale like we did, cook it a bit longer)
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed (Trader Joe's sells it pre-cubed if you are short on time)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Heat the chicken stock in a small saucepan and keep warm on a low burner.

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add a splash of oil and the kale. Saute for about five minutes (or longer if using lacinato). Remove the kale from the pan and put it aside.

Add another splash of olive oil to the pan and toss in the squash. Season with salt and pepper and saute for about five minutes. Add the rice and saute for another minute. Turn up the heat just a bit and add the wine. Cook, stirring constantly until the wine is absorbed. Add two ladles of stock. Cook, stirring constantly until the stock is absorbed. Add another two ladles of stock and repeat the above. Continue doing this until the squash is softened (but not dissolved) and the rice is al dente. This can take 15-30 minutes. For us, it was a good 25 minutes.

Once the risotto is ready, add one more ladle of stock and the kale. Mix to combine, and add the grated cheese.

Serve in bowls with additional cheese on the side. Enjoy!

(serves 4)

Roasted Vegetable Risotto (with a story)

  Roasted Vegetable Risotto 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

Jen was my roommate in college for both our sophomore and our senior years. Actually, (and this is probably one of the reasons we still keep in touch), we never had to share a room. Our sophomore year, we had the very best dorm room at Vassar. It was called the Rockefeller suite, and legend had it that it was built for the Rockefeller girls. I'm not sure if that's true, but the room ROCKED. There were two bedrooms, a full bath (seriously!) and built-in bookcases. We were living the life.

Senior year, we shared a townhouse with three other roommates, and did a ton of cooking. Towards the end of the year, we decided to invite one of our professors over for dinner with his wife. I can no longer recall what inspired us to do this, but I remember working so hard on a risotto dish. I'll need to pull out that recipe sometime, but it wasn't a true risotto (I'll explain what that is in a minute). It was basically rice, veggies and LOTS of cheese. It was really good, though. So good, in fact, that a couple of months ago, Jen emailed me asking for the recipe and for tips on how to make risotto!

As is often the case with me, I don't use a recipe. But, trust me, this is easy. I made this last night with Max literally hanging from my back pocket. (I don't recommend that, by the way. TOTALLY annoying.)

Risotto alla Danielle

Stock
Onion, chopped finely
Arborio Rice
White wine or dry vermouth
Stuff (roasted vegetables, cooked chicken, sauteed mushrooms, whatever you want)
Parmigiano Reggiano

Pull out two pots (one bigger one, one smaller one). In the small one, heat up some stock (chicken or vegetable), and keep at a low simmer (I used almost an entire 32 oz. box). Heat the large one over medium heat, and add some olive oil. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Put in the rice. For a family of four, a cup of raw rice is sufficient. Saute the rice for a minute or two. Add a splash or two of the wine (I used dry vermouth since I didn't have a bottle of white open), and cook until it evaporates. Then, using a ladle, add a 1/2 cup or so of stock and stir it into the rice. Continue stirring until the rice absorbs the liquid. Once it's absorbed, add some more. You want to continue doing this until the rice is cooked. Arborio rice will still be kind of al dente when it's done. It will have a nice chew to it. When the rice is NEARLY done, you can add your "stuff." I added some roasted cauliflower and asparagus (roasted with olive oil at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes). You can add sauteed mushrooms, or cooked chicken, or whatever, really. A good idea is to Google "risotto" and find some ideas. The above formula will work for whatever risotto you make.

When the risotto is done, top with grated Parm and serve!

Chicken and Rice Casserole - A Not So Surprising Hit!

  Chicken and Rice Casserole 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

Late yesterday at work, I realized that I had no plans for dinner, didn't want to take the kids out, and couldn't bear the thought of another home-cooked meal snubbed by my children.

After thinking things over, I decided to stick with a tried and true kids' favorite, the casserole. Now, I know this might be surprising to those of you who consider me a food snob, but sometimes we all crave comfort food, and sometimes we all need a dish that is easy to prep and leaves very few dishes in its wake.

The other day on eGullet, someone linked to the top 100 recipes piece on the Food Network site. Number six was this casserole, and something about it hit home for me. It just seemed like it would be so comforting and easy. It totally was, and both kids ate it. (Cue applause.)

I made a bunch of changes, so feel free to do so yourself. I used frozen Trader Joe's french green beans (broken up) instead of canned. I added frozen peas. I omitted the water chestnuts and pimentos. I used a touch less mayo. I used dehydrated minced onion instead of a fresh one sauteed. I used organic cream of celery soup. Oh, and I used Jasmine rice instead of a wild rice blend. To add to the ease of preparation, the rice I used was the precooked kind from the Trader Joe's freezer section - it cooked in 3 minutes. For the chicken, I didn't have any cooked chicken on hand, so based on a past recommendation from City Mama herself, I used the ultra premium canned chicken from Trader Joe's. And, it was perfectly good.