RICE PILAF

One of the first “gourmet” dishes I  learned to make was rice pilaf.  I borrowed a cookbook from one of my aunts, shortly after high school, because I wanted to learn how to cook for myself.  I used it over the years, eventually tweaking it to use organic ingredients.  It is one of my wife’s favorite dishes, especially when paired with breaded chicken cutlets, which I made for her tonight.

Ingredients

1 ½ tsps organic butter

1 ½ tsps good grade olive oil (one you can eat after dipping in bread)

1 medium onion diced

2 ½ cups broth (use a flavor that compliments your dish)

1 cup organic long grain brown rice

2 tsps fresh organic thyme

½ tsp black pepper

Salt and additional pepper to taste

I will be the first to say that I can’t stand seeing a recipe that says “salt and pepper to taste,” but the fact of the matter is that with this recipe, it all depends on your broth.  Here, I use my homemade chicken broth, to which I don’t add salt.

1. Preheat the oven to 375°
2. Warm broth.  If unsalted broth, add 1 tsp of salt.  If salted, don’t add salt.  Check for seasoning at the end.
3. Heat butter and olive oil in a bake safe dish.
4. Add diced onions until translucent, then add thyme.
5. Add rice to dish and sauté until rice is browned slightly.  Add black pepper.
6. Add broth to dish and simmer for two minutes.
7. Place in oven until liquid is absorbed (usually 45 – 60 minutes)
8. Serve with your dish

Here, I made my wife chicken cutlets with steamed broccoli.  As you can see, I added a candle and fresh roses.  I wanted to give her a special evening.  She is a remarkable woman who sacrifices so much for our family.