While waiting to fix the oven, I started to lose patience and got nervous: time was running out and we were getting too close to Thanksgiving day without knowing if I will be able to cook our traditional dinner. I thought I could cook many items on the stove, even grill meat on the outside grill, but what about the turkey? A first option is completely out of the question: I cannot fry a turkey..I don't have the proper utensils, nor a big enough pot, and of course I cannot take the risk of setting the place on fire, as we see on TV. I had to think and think fast. I have a rotisserie, but it's rather small, it can take two chicken, but a very small turkey. So, no good. Can we have something else? No way, said my husband. Even so, I will still need an oven. So, one day while reading the Sunday papers and carefully studying all the ads and fliers that come with them, I came upon something very interesting: an electric roaster big enough to cook a 22 lb turkey. It seemed to have many other functions, but what caught my eye was this huge capacity. The next day at work I was talking about it with my dear friend Sonia, who immediately offered to get it for me. She insisted that the store was close to her place, that it wasn't a problem for her to bring it over. She did, and I had the machine at home two days later. The next week-end I decided to give it a try. It was really big, looked like a slow cooker, probably it has also this function, and had a rack inside it to hold the turkey. I had a rather huge chicken ready to start the experiment. All I did was rinse it inside out, remove the extra visible fat, and sprinkle some Adobo seasoning inside it and on it. I set the roaster on 350 degrees, put the chicken in and covered it. I went on with my life, to prepare a nice side dish. I didn't touch it for a whole hour. Then my curiosity prevailed. I removed the cover to check on it. The chicken was barely pale yellow. I returned the cover, feeling a bit let down. Was it going to work? I really didn't know. But I decided to give it more time. I gave it 40 more minutes. A quick peek confirmed that it was done. The result? Fantastic. The meat was falling off the bones and it tasted delicious. Mom said she never had chicken like that before, "it was like butter", she said.
BLACK AND WHITE FRAGRANT RICE
I had thought of this dish for Thanksgiving, but when I told my husband about it, he insisted that I make my regular fragrant rice with nuts. It's tradition, he said. OK, can we have it today? I asked. He agreed and promised that he'll give it a chance. Actually if you know how to cook rice, you'll be able to do this. It's very easy, it doesn't even need a recipe. It all depends on your taste: you can use a little more of this or a little less of that. The only thing you have to take into consideration is the ratio of wild rice to regular rice. Wild rice tends to expand when cooked, so it has to be in a smaller amount than the white rice. You'll need:
1/2 cup wild rice
1 and 1/2 cup white rice (I used long grain)
2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture
4 to 5 baby carrots, pulverized in a food processor
1/2 small bunch each: parsley and dill, very finely chopped
1 container white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
In a sauce pan, cover the wild rice with water and bring to a boil. Add some salt to the water. Keep cooking until the rice has opened up and is al dente. You will have to add more water to obtain the needed result. Drain and set aside.
In a non-stick pot cook the onion/garlic mixture in the oil for 3 minutes, then add the carrots and stir. Cook for another 3 minutes and add the dill and parsley. Rinse the white rice, drain and add to the pot. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add liquid (water or stock) according to package directions and salt to taste. Cover and let cook over high heat, until all the liquid is absorbed. Add the sliced mushrooms and stir to combine. Lower the heat and let it cook for a couple of minutes before adding the cooked wild rice. Stir to combine. Let it cook over very low heat, preferably using a heat diffuser under the pot, until the rice is tender and done.
NOTE: I had tried a different version of this rice before, but made the mistake of adding the mushrooms when I added the other vegetables. I ended up with a barely visible sliced mushrooms. When you add them when I did this time, they will cook and you'll be able to see them with the colorful specks of green and orange from the other veggies.
BLACK AND WHITE FRAGRANT RICE
I had thought of this dish for Thanksgiving, but when I told my husband about it, he insisted that I make my regular fragrant rice with nuts. It's tradition, he said. OK, can we have it today? I asked. He agreed and promised that he'll give it a chance. Actually if you know how to cook rice, you'll be able to do this. It's very easy, it doesn't even need a recipe. It all depends on your taste: you can use a little more of this or a little less of that. The only thing you have to take into consideration is the ratio of wild rice to regular rice. Wild rice tends to expand when cooked, so it has to be in a smaller amount than the white rice. You'll need:
1/2 cup wild rice
1 and 1/2 cup white rice (I used long grain)
2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture
4 to 5 baby carrots, pulverized in a food processor
1/2 small bunch each: parsley and dill, very finely chopped
1 container white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
In a sauce pan, cover the wild rice with water and bring to a boil. Add some salt to the water. Keep cooking until the rice has opened up and is al dente. You will have to add more water to obtain the needed result. Drain and set aside.
In a non-stick pot cook the onion/garlic mixture in the oil for 3 minutes, then add the carrots and stir. Cook for another 3 minutes and add the dill and parsley. Rinse the white rice, drain and add to the pot. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add liquid (water or stock) according to package directions and salt to taste. Cover and let cook over high heat, until all the liquid is absorbed. Add the sliced mushrooms and stir to combine. Lower the heat and let it cook for a couple of minutes before adding the cooked wild rice. Stir to combine. Let it cook over very low heat, preferably using a heat diffuser under the pot, until the rice is tender and done.
NOTE: I had tried a different version of this rice before, but made the mistake of adding the mushrooms when I added the other vegetables. I ended up with a barely visible sliced mushrooms. When you add them when I did this time, they will cook and you'll be able to see them with the colorful specks of green and orange from the other veggies.
No comments:
Post a Comment