Summer Sides - Shallot/Lemon Brown Rice with Toasted Pine Nuts and Roasted Zaatar Carrots

I have always been all about the sides.



When you have a habit of wanting to taste the food on everyone's plate at the table, side dishes are important to you. They offer variety in a meal. Sure, the hunk of beef, chicken breast or fish maybe are delicious, but the side dishes really bring out the best in the main dish. I always like to have at least two sides, and one of them has to be special.

For this casual Sunday evening dinner, I was making some super easy tilapia with some herbs de provence and lemon rub. I decided to focus on some more adventurous sides. They both were very flavorful and turned out very well. I loved the zaatar carrots because the natural sweetness in the carrots contrasted the tangy kick of the zaatar spices; this made for such an interesting combination. I imagine you could substitute any vegetable for carrots like asparagus, zucchini, potatoes, etc. I also made brown rice with lemon, shallots and toasted pine nuts....yummmm. Yes, it was good.



Zaatar Carrots

(Serves 4, recipe from "Food Network Magazine")

Preheat 2 baking sheets in a 450 degree oven. Quarter 4 pounds carrots lengthwise and toss with 1/4 cup olive oil and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Spread on the hot baking sheets and roast until browned, 18 to 20 minutes. Toss with 4 teaspoons za'atar (a spice blend available at Middle Eastern markets), 3 tablespoons chopped parsley and the juice of 1 lemon.


Brown Rice with Lemon, Shallots and Toasted Pine Nuts

(Serves 4, recipe from "For the Love of Cooking")

2 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 shallot diced finely
1 tsp lemon zest divided in two
Brown rice prepared per instructions (use vegetable or chicken stock to cook the rice - it's much more flavorful). Also, add 1/2 tsp of lemon zest to rice while cooking.
1 tsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

While the brown rice is cooking, add pine nuts to a DRY skillet over medium heat. Toast the nuts stirring often, until they are golden brown 2-3 minutes. After the nuts are finished cooking, remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until soft and tender. They cook fast so stir them often. Once rice is finished cooking, add pine nuts, shallots, the remainder of lemon zest, butter and salt and pepper to taste.

Fast Fish and Rice Pilaf (couple's cooking class pt 2)

Crisptity-Crunchy-Yum on the outside.



Flaky, tender, meaty on the inside.

It is Saturday morning, and what can I say? I need my weekend time more than ever right now. Work has been picking up lately which is great, but the weekend has got to be spent away from the computer! As a result, I am going to get straight to it...



This is the kind of thing that got me into seafood in the first place. This is a great light late-summer meal that will still leave you feeling satisfied. Paired with crisp asparagus and a rich rice pilaf, this rustic-style red snapper is an easy four-star meal for a weeknight dinner. Did I say easy?



This rich rice pilaf is another dish we picked up on at the couples' cooking class Zach took me to a couple months ago. It is nice because once you set up all the ingredients, you don't have to worry about it. You just transfer the pot to the oven to finish cooking, and it turns out beautifully and flavorful.



Rustic-Style Red Snapper

(makes 4 filets)

4 red snapper filets
1 egg
1 lemon
panko bread crumbs (about 1/2 cup)
1/8 c oil
salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Season fish filets with salt and pepper
Whisk the egg and add a little salt and pepper
Brush the egg over the top side of each filet.
Spread out the bread crumbs in a shallow dish.
Press the side of the fish filet that has been brushed with egg into the bread crumbs.
Place a large skillet over high heat, and add oil (swirl around to coat the pan)
Once the oil is piping hot, place the fish (bred-side down) into the skillet and do not move. - Make sure each filet has its own space; do not crowd.
After about 1 minute, move the skillet into the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10 minutes (10 minutes per inch of thickness of the filets).
Serve the fish bred-side up, and garnish fish with lemon slices.


Chef Eric's Rice Pilaf

(recipe from Chef Eric's Culinary Classroom - makes 4 to 6 servings)



2 tbsp minced shallot
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp butter or oil
1 C long grain white rice
1 3/4 hot stock (I used chicken stock)
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a heavy pot, heat butter and sweat the shallots and garlic (about 5 min on med-low heat)
Add the rice to the pot and stir until rice is coated with butter/garlic/shallot
Add the hot stock, and bring to a boil.
Cover the pot and transfer to the oven for 16-18 minutes or until rice in tender and liquid is absorbed.

Ham it Up

Always wanting to be the center of attention...



I remember being described as a ham when I was growing up. What can I say? I like to make jokes, even bad ones. I was in some fantastic school musicals in high school including: Annie Get Your Gun, West Side Story, Music Man and 42nd Street. I am not sure that if you met me at this point in my life you would picture it. It really depends on whom you ask.

West Side Story is by far my favorite musical; it is also my favorite movie. I played the role of 'Anita' (played by Rita Moreno in the movie). She is one of my favorite characters of all time. She is smart, snappy, saucy and sexy. Playing that role in high school was one of my favorite memories growing up. I got to belt some great alto solos and trot around the stage, tossing my hair, stomping my feet and flapping my Spanish-style skirts. The accent came easily to me as I simply impersonated my Puerto Rican mother.

My musical days are behind me, but you may catch me occasionally singing a show tune in the car or impersonating my mom at the dinner table. Speaking of dinner table, Spanish, music and ham...I made something TASTY last week.



After Christmas dinner, we were left with what had been the center of attention that day: the ham. I have never eaten so much ham in my life in the days following the holiday (not that I am complaining), but I needed a way to put some of those leftovers to good use. Black beans slow-cooked with ham and tomato did the trick. Beans are the musical fruit after all. I like this recipe because you do not have to start with dry beans to get them to turn out flavorful. The only problem is I don't know that I can ever be satisfied eating black beans right out of the can without making them this way ever again.



Hasty Tasty Black Beans with Ham

(recipe adapted from Chef John Folse & Company - makes 6 - 8 servings)*

4 (15-ounce) cans black beans, undrained
1 pound lean or low-fat cubed ham
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onions, diced
¾ cup red bell peppers, diced
2 tbsps minced garlic
½ tsp ground cumin
3 tbsps chopped fresh cilantro
¼ tsp dried thyme
1 (10-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 Cup fat-free chicken stock
salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over med-high heat.
Saute onions, bell peppers and garlic until tender.
Add the ham, and cook for 3 minutes.
Add cumin, cilantro and thyme, and saute for 1 minute.
Mix in the Rotel tomatoes and tomatoe paste.
Once the tomato paste is blended, add the chicken stock and black beans.
Turn up the heat to bring the beans to a boil.
Reduce to simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

*I altered the original recipe (which was for a black bean soup) to make them thicker, more of a dish to serve over rice.



I also roasted a whole chicken, seasoned with a Goya rub, lemon, onions, olive oil and garlic.



To make the chicken, simply follow the cooking times and technique from my previous post, and season it however you like. I removed the skin from the chicken in the previous post, but I did not in this one. They were equally tender and dare I say moist so do whatever you prefer. You cannot really go wrong here.



Per an episode of Dr. Oz I watched during my vacation, I am trying to leave a couple bites of food on my plate after every meal.



...starting now, that is.

Christmas Eve, Puerto Rican Style

The Food.



The Family.



The Madness.



Who doesn't love the holiday season? I have been an absent blogger as of late. I have been chugging around town catching up with an elite list of people. It is not that I don't have time to blog; I just have nothing to blog about. When I visit Florida, I usually find myself at all my favorite restaurants from the homeland...no cooking involved. But it is time for Christmas, and this year has been a doozie. And yes, the kitchen is open.

Let's start with Christmas Eve. I like to call Christmas Eve the night of the Puerto Rican invasion. I think you can see why (see above picture).

It happens once a year. My mom's side of the family gets together to feast on the usual suspects: pork, arroz con gandules, green bean casserole and rum cake just to name a few. The whole family was together this year so it was very special.

My grandmother and my aunt make arroz con gandules once a year for the holidays. This is something I look forward to in life. Grandma Laura is from Puerto Rico. She is the mother of two daughters, Janet and Nicky (my mother). She is a woman of sincere faith and compassion. My aunt Janet has been in training for years learning to perfect my grandmother's arroz con gandules technique. I have a lot of catching up to do.

This is how it works (although I imagine this is one of those "you had to be there" recipes):

Grandma Laura's Arroz Con Gandules

1 whole bunch of cilantro
1 onion
1 whole head of garlic
1 green bell pepper
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 envelopes ham bullion (Goya makes "jamon en polvo") - about 2 tbsp
2 envelopes Sazon con Azafran (Goya also makes this) - about 2 tbsp
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
12 oz tomato sauce
1/2 slice of cooking ham (include the bone if you can) - about 3/4 C cubed ham
1 lb of pork chops, cubed (about one inch)
1/4 C capers
1/2 C green olives stuffed with pimientos (some chopped some left whole)
5 bay leaves
2 cans green pigeon peas (reserve the juice)
2 lbs white long grain rice (you can also use short grain, just make sure whatever rice you use is high quality)

First make the SOFRITO. This is a sauce, used as a base for many Puerto Rican dishes. You can use this recipe to make soups, stews (like ropa vieja) or even stuffing at Thanksgiving. To make the sofrito, simply chop up the first ten ingredients (cilantro through tomato sauce). Blend everything in a food processor (or if you do not have one, just chop it very fine). You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate or even freeze it to use later.



Place the pork chops and cooking ham (preferably with the bone) in a large pot over medium heat until cooked all the way through.
Once the meat is cooked, transfer to a large stew pot (you must have a tightly fitted lid that goes with it) over medium heat, and pour the sofrito over it. (Tip: Swish some water around in the dish the sofrito was poured from, and reserve it for later in case you need to add more water to the rice).



Drain the juice from the 2 canes of green pigeon peas into the pot with the meat and sofrito (do not add the beans themselves at this point).
Add the olives, capers, and bay leaves.



Mix everything to combine, and bring the mixture to a fast boil (it should be very bubbly before you move on).



Pour both cans of beans into the pot and stir.
When the mixture begins to bubble again, it is time to add the rice.
Add the rice slowly by creating a small pile in the middle of the pot (about 1 cup at a time).



Do not mix the rice into the meat/sofrito mixture quickly. Rather, use a wooden spoon to slowly spread the rice around the pot, starting from the middle and working your way out. The goal is to get the rice to sink towards the bottom without simply whisking it around.



Continue to add rice to the mixture until you can see that the rice is evenly distributed throughout it. You will know this has happened when you can see some rice floating towards the top (it should be about 2 lbs, but you will really have to go by sight more than anything).
Once the rice is added, cover the pot with a fitted lid that will not release any steam from the pot, and cook for 20 minutes between the low and medium stovetop heat setting.
After 20 minutes, uncover the pot. Use a sturdy spoon to carefully flip the rice. The idea here is to get the rice on the bottom f the pot to the top and vise versa for even cooking. You need to work very slowly because simply mixing the rice quickly will cause it to become mushy.



Also use this time to scrape away any bits of the mixture that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
When you have finished flipping the rice, use the spoon to pack the rice down into the pot.



Start on the outsides, and work your way in, creating a mound.



Use a lid to a smaller pot, and place it on top of the mound of rice to pack it in as tightly as possible.



Leave the smaller lid in the pot, and place the lid fitted to the pot back on top (at this point you will have a lid inside the pot and a lid fitting the pot).



Cook the rice with the two lids for another 40 minutes over the low/medium heat setting.
If the rice is still a little raw after the 40 min, you may need to add some hot water (you can use the water that you rinsed the sofrito bowl with) and continue cooking as needed.

I suspect if you are going to try to make this dish, you will have questions. You can post a question as a comment, and I will see what I can do to help!