pilaf

Subterfuge

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I blame the Kardashians.When I was in junior high, cosmetics were a pretty simple affair.  I had a couple bottles of nail polish, one lip gloss in strawberry, one in bubblegum, and one very highly prized cake of purple eye shadow.  And my collection was not unlike those of most pubescent girls.

Then Kim, her mom Kalamity, and sisters Klondike, Keester, Ketchup, and Kandy Korn, with their professionally contoured, surgically enhanced mugs exploded out of their yoga pants and into our living rooms. Now twelve-year-olds have their own You Tube channels where they offer makeup tutorials.  These children, using stuff like primers, BB and CC creams, highlighting and lowlighting, sculpt their faces to look like glowing alabaster Erté statues.

But nothing like themselves.  They become imposters inside their own skin.

Which brings me to this week’s topic.  It’s a delicious meal that looks like something you might order at a trendy restaurant.  But in actuality, it’s insanely easy, and can be completely prepped out hours before dining.  And once that’s done, finishing is literally just the application of heat.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOn the menu is tender, unctuous pork belly, rice pilaf with mushrooms, and spectacularly garlicky haricot verts (that’s green beans, y’all)

The rice took the most time, but was still a breeze.

Bob’s brown and wild rice pilaf with ‘shrooms

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill brown and wild rice

2 ½ cups broth:

   2 ½ cups chicken stock

   2 teaspoons umami or tomato paste

   2 bay leaves

   ½ teaspoon dried thyme

   Big splash Worcestershire sauce

   Salt and pepper to taste

   Put all stock ingredients into saucepan and bring to simmer.  Take off heat and refrigerate until     it’s time to make the ricebobs-rice-and-p-bellyMushrooms:

   16 ounces button or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

   2 shallots, sliced into half moons

   1 tablespoon butter

   ½ teaspoon dry thyme

   Salt and pepper

   1 teaspoon umami or tomato paste

   ¼ cup dry sherry

  Melt butter in small skillet. Add mushrooms, shallots, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper.   Cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until water has been released from veg.  Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has all cooked in, and ‘shrooms and shallots have caramelized.  Stir in paste, and cook until the color of paste has deepened.  Pour in sherry, stir everything together, and continue to cook until sherry’s cooked off.

At this point, everything can sit and wait for you.  An hour before dinner, finish rice and cook pork belly and beans.

To finish: Stir together rice mix, stock, and mushrooms.  Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat to medium-low and cook for 45-55 minutes or until liquid is gone and rice is cooked through.  Let sit 10-15 minutes, covered. For the past few visits to Trader Joe’s, The Kid and I have been ogling their pork belly.  It’s fully cooked, which is great because cooking belly from Jump Street takes a long time.  And it’s only about 6 bucks or so for a piece large enough for two.  I finally succumbed and picked up one.

The cooking of it was ridiculously simple.  I sliced it into six ¼-inch slices, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, then threw it into my hot cast iron skillet.  I browned one side, flipped and brown the other.On the same trip I grabbed a bag of their fresh haricot vert.  They come ready to cook (BTW-they’re pretty tasty raw, as well).  I laid them into a non-stick frying pan with a couple tablespoons of water, a tablespoon of butter, ½ teaspoon of chicken base, 4 minced cloves of garlic, salt and pepper.

When the rice was resting and I’d started the belly, I covered the skillet and turned it to medium for about 5-7 minutes.  I then removed the cover, turned the burner to medium-high.  When the liquid had mostly evaporated and had made a light sauce, the beans were done.

So, even though my makeup routine consists of attempting to lube away the ravages of time, and 4 or 5 coats of mascara, I’m all about imposters.As long as it’s camouflaging a quick weeknight meal so that it looks like a fancy labor-intensive dinner, that is.

Thanks for your time.

Of Rice and Men

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I kept seeing it everywhere.

3 mags.png

Every month, without fail, I read three magazines cover to cover: British Cosmopolitan, Mad Magazine, and Our State (you’d think I’d be embarrassed by that admission, but, no, not so much).

I occasionally pick up other titles like InStyle, Family Circle, and the odd cooking magazine.

But I draw the line at those one-off, specialty food publications.  You know the ones; church supper potluck recipes, gifts from the kitchen, 200 recipes for hamburger, that kind of thing.

While I love specially curated culinary collections, they start at about ten bucks and go up from there.  I just can’t justify laying down that amount of cheddar for a magazine that I might only read once.

But lately, every time I’ve stood in line at a grocery or bookstore, this one publication was staring me in the face.  There was a stack of gorgeous, golden fried green tomatoes on the cover, and the promise of many more delights inside.

It was Southern Cast Iron, and after I saw it for the fourteenth time, I finally broke down and bought it.

I’m really glad I did.

It was no bait and switch rag.  It had tons of delicious-sounding recipes, and the inside was as gorgeous as the cover.

There was one story that really caught my eye.  It was an interview with Nathalie Dupree and co-author Cynthia Graubart about their book, Mastering The Art of Southern Vegetables.  This was actually before I knew we’d have a food chat.  Quelle coincidence!

They talked about the history of vegetables in the south, their philosophy, and their love of cast iron cooking.  Along with the interview were some recipes.

One was for okra pilau (unbelievably it’s usually pronounced “per-lou”—don’t ask, I’ve no idea).  Pilau is a Southern take on rice pilaf.

Regardless what it’s called, every rice culture has some kind of pilaf.  It possibly originated in ancient Persia, but traveled far and wide, and showed up in various cultures with names like, pilau, polow, and even paella.

Well last week I made it, and it was a huge hit.  It was simple, but full of flavor.  The Kid thought I had added herbs and spices, but the sole ingredients were bacon, rice, okra, salt and pepper.  Since the magazine has already printed it, I’m doing a pilau which is inspired by Nathalie’s tasty, tasty dish.

Pecan Pilau

corn pilau

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup pecan pieces

1 large yellow onion, sliced into half moons

1 cup white shoe peg corn

1 cup rice

2 cups water

Salt and pepper

Heat large cast iron skillet to medium.  Melt butter and add pecans.  Season and sauté until toasted.  Remove and set aside, leaving the butter.

Add onions, and reduce heat to medium-low.  Season, and cook stirring occasionally until caramel colored.

Turn burner to medium, add corn, and cook until there’s a little color on the kernels.  Add rice, and cook until the grains start to smell nutty.  Add water and bring to boil.

When it begins to boil, cover, reduce heat, and cook for 17-20 minutes or the water’s all cooked in.  Remove from heat, leave covered, and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

When ready to serve, add back pecans, and gently toss with a large fork.  Serves 4-6 as a side.

So, there you go.  You learned a new recipe and some history about rice.  And now you probably know way more about what goes on in the dim, chaotic crawl space of my mind than you ever wanted.

Thanks for your time.