Tex Mex Rice

This is a recipe that I have been making for years but I never took the time to write it down until now. It is so simple to pull together and a favorite of mine since I was a child. It reminds me so much of the rice served in the Mexican restaurants of Southern California when I was growing up, and then in Texas when I was an adult. The Mexicali version usually included sweet peas and corn, but I discovered an even better way to make it while living in Texas. I love to serve this with my homemade refried beans and tacos, enchiladas, or fajitas.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup of diced onions
• ½ cup of diced sweet peppers
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup of rice
• 1½ tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

• Add the broth, tomato paste, ground cumin, and salt to a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil on high, stir once, cover, and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and when hot sauté the onions and peppers just to the point they start to caramelize.
• Add the garlic and stir quickly for about 30-40 seconds.
• Add the dry rice and thoroughly coat the rice in the oil, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic mixture.
• Continue stirring the rice until it is dry and just about to toast. It will start to crackle when it is ready.
• Pour the broth mixture over the rice and bring it to a rapid boil on high. 
• Place a lid on the pan and set the temperature to a low simmer for 15 minutes. Do not remove the lid!
• When the 15 minutes simmer is completed, do not remove the lid. Just turn the burner off and let the rice finish cooking with the residual heat for about 18 minutes.
• When the time is up, gently fluff the rice with a fork and fold in the chopped cilantro.
• Just before serving squeeze the fresh lime juice and gently toss.

Enjoy!

Poor Man's Paella

One of the main ingredients for a great Paella is Saffron. Saffron is hard to find in Costa Rica, but Achiote Paste is available everywhere, and it is also a cheap ingredient.

Ingredients

Herb Blend
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice
• ½ pound of Andouille sausage
• 1 pound raw shrimp
Broth
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes or 2 chili de arbol
• 1 teaspoon salt
Paella
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Achiote* paste
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 sweet red pepper diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup of diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup of corn kernels
• 1.5 cups Arborio rice
• 2 tablespoons of chopped basil
• 1 tablespoon of drained and diced Pimento peppers

Instructions:

• Cook the Andouille Sausage and allow the sausage to cool completely. Once cooled, cut the sausage into ¼” - ½” coins and set aside.
• Clean and peel the shrimp, leaving the tails, and set aside.
• Prepare the Herb Blend and set aside.
• Prepare the Broth with the chicken stock, smoked Spanish paprika, turmeric, chili flakes and salt in a small saucepan. Bring the broth just to a simmer and keep warm.
• Heat a large cast iron skillet, or paella pan, over medium heat. Add the olive oil. When oil is hot, add the achiote paste. Once melted, add the onion and sweet peppers and sauté for 5 minutes, until they are softened and turning translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
  
• Add the rice and stir fry until the rice is completed coated with the oil and achiote.
• Stir in the seasoned broth and bring to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add in the sliced sausage and cook for about 5 more minutes.
• Arrange the shrimp on top, pressing the heads into the rice, leaving the tails exposed. Continue cooking for 10 more minutes or so, until liquid is evaporated and the rice is almost thoroughly cooked.
• 
  The secret to great Paella is the socarrat, the crusty crispy bottom of the paella that becomes caramelized and toasted on the bottom of the pan. When the rice is almost finished cooking, take the pan with the paella off of the heat, cover it, and let the rice absorb any remaining liquid. This will let the rest of the rice continue to cook while the heat from the bottom of the pan creates a crust.
• Sprinkle chopped basil and the diced & drained Pimento Peppers on top and serve.

Notes: 

* Achiote Paste can be found in most supermarkets in the Latino food aisle.

This is also delicious with the addition of mussels, shredded chicken, etc.

Spicy Asian Rice Bowl

This is a easy spicy Asian shrimp, chicken, or pork dish with vegetables served over Jasmine rice. You can change up the ingredients to use your favorite proteins and vegetables. The first time I made this, we had it with shrimp and it was fabulous. The second time, we had it with chicken, asparagus, green beans, sliced carrots, sweet peppers and onions. Again, it was delicious. 

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce (I use a mix of light and dark soy sauce)
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 roasted Hatch chili peppers pureed in a blended. The chili should be roasted with skin, seeds and stems removed. (You can substitute 1 tablespoon of chili paste for the Hatch chili peppers.)
• 2 tablespoons pineapple marmalade/jam
• 1 pound raw shrimp w/tails, headed and de-veined 
• or
• 1 pound of chicken/pork cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups of mixed sweet peppers cut into 1/2-inch dice. Use yellow, red & green pepper for color.
• 1 cup spring onions, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 cups of broccoli florets 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root, or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:

• Whisk soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, chili puree, and pineapple marmalade together in a bowl. Stir shrimp into the marinade; refrigerate for one hour.
• Add the Jasmine rice to a medium saucepan with high heat and cover the rice with 3 cups of boiling water. Cover the saucepan and lower the heat to a slow simmer for 20 minutes. Do not remove the lid.
• Turn off the heat to the rice and let it rest with the lid on for another 15 minutes.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Cook the vegetables in the oil until they just start to soften, 2-4 minutes. 
• Add the shrimp with all the marinade, and the garlic, ginger, and sesame oil into the vegetables.
• Sauté just until the shrimp is pink and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. 
• Serve over hot jasmine rice, sprinkled with sesame seeds and cilantro.

Note: This recipe is very versatile and you can change it up to use different vegetable and proteins like sugar snap peas, leaks, bok choy, cauliflower,  diced chicken or pork.

Creamy Risotto with White Wine and Cheese

We went to an Italian Deli & Market recently and I decided to pick up a box of Arborio rice. I've never cooked with it, but I wanted to learn how to make Risotto. I've been reading lots of online recipes from some of the best chefs, and finally, today is the day.

I made a delicious risotto with pan seared shrimp for lunch. I was surprised at how easy it is to make. It just takes time, but now that I've mastered this, we'll be enjoying this Italian comfort food a lot in the future.

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1¼ cup of Arborio rice
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 4-5 cups of chicken stock (you may not need all of the stock)
• ½ cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• ½ cup of grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
• 1 tablespoon of chopped chives
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

• You need to prep all of the ingredients first. Once you start cooking the rice, you won't be able to multi-task, because all of your attention needs to be on the rice.
• Heat the chicken stock in a sauce pan so it will be hot when you're ready to add it to the rice.
• In a large skillet heat the olive oil and butter over medium low heat. Add the onions and sauté for a minute or two, then add the garlic (if you add the garlic too soon, it could burn and give the garlic a bitter taste). 
• When the onions are clear, add the rice and stir constantly for about 2 minutes. You will hear the rice start to crackle, but it should not toast. 
• Now, add the wine, continue stirring and let the wine reduce. 
• Once the rice has absorbed the wine, add a ladle of chicken stock, keep stirring and the rice with absorb the stock. 
• Every time the chicken stock is absorbed by the rice, add another ladle of hot chicken stock, continue gently stirring and start checking the rice for doneness at about 15-20 minutes. 
• The Risotto is done when it is nice and thick, but not sticky. It should take about 20-25 minutes for the rice to be thoroughly cooked. 
• When it's cooked, stir in the cheeses, and salt and pepper to taste. 
• Serve immediately and top with the chopped chives.

Serves: 4

Note: There of lots of variations to making a good Risotto and in the future we'll be trying this with mushrooms, vegetables, heavy cream, and different flavored stocks.

Rice Pudding ~ Arroz con Leche

This is a twist on an old fashioned Creamy Rice Pudding recipe. Instead of raisins, try it with Craisins.

Traducción española sigue por debajo del Inglés

Rice Pudding

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
2½ cups milk, divided
¼ teaspoon salt
Generous dash of cinnamon
¾ cup Craisins (dried sweetened cranberries) or raisins (optional)
1 egg, beaten
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Mix the cooked rice with 2 cups of milk, salt and cinnamon in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy. Stir frequently to prevent the milk from scorching. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the rest of the milk, the sweetened cranberries or raisins, the beaten egg, and sugar into the rice mixture; stirring continually. Continue to cook until the the egg sets up, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; stir the butter and vanilla extract into the pudding.

Yield: 6 servings


Arroz con Leche

Ingredientes:
2 tazas de arroz cocido
2 ½ tazas de leche, dividido
¼ de cucharadita de sal
generosa pizca de canela
¾ taza de arándanos secos endulzados o pasas (opcional)
1 huevo batido
½ taza de azúcar
1 cucharada de mantequilla
½ cucharadita de vainilla

Preparación:
Mezcla el arroz cocido con 2 tazas de leche, la sal y la canela en una olla. Cocine a fuego medio hasta que esté espeso y cremoso. Revuelva con frecuencia para evitar que la leche se queme. Esto tomará alrededor de unos 15 a 20 minutos.

Añadir el resto de la leche (½ taza), los arándanos azucaradas o las pasas, el huevo batido y el azúcar a la mezcla de arroz; revolviendo constantemente. Continúe cocinando hasta que el huevo establece, unos 2 a 3 minutos. Quite la olla del fuego; revuelva la mantequilla y el extracto de vainilla en el arroz con leche.

Rinde: 6 porciones

Tropical Rice Pudding ~ Arroz con Leche Tropical

Yesterday a friend of ours was released from the hospital following an emergency appendectomy.  Doctors orders require her to eat soft & bland foods for a week, while her system gets back to normal.  

I decided to make her some rice pudding, but as I started to pull my normal ingredients together, I found I didn't have everything I needed.  Necessity being the mother of invention, I grabbed what I found in the pantry and came up with a new twist on the basic rice pudding.  

I used less cinnamon and no raisins this time, because my friend doesn't need anything that might be difficult to digest for awhile.  The results were better than expected and I may never go back to my old recipe.  I decided I had to write this recipe down so I can remember how to do it next time.  Give it a try. I think you'll enjoy it for a change up.

Update: 16-April-2013 - This was so good, I decided to make it again for friends we invited for lunch.  This time I modified the recipe a bit and I think the new variation is even better than my original.  See below for both recipes.

Recipe #1
Ingredients:
2 cups of white rice
3½ cups of boiling water
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
½ cup of powered milk (normally I would use a small can of evaporated milk)
¾ cup of granulated sugar
1 - 12 ounce can of Piña Colada mix
2 cups of milk
1 stick of butter
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions:
Cook the rice in the boiling water on a low simmer for 15 minutes and turn it off with the lid on.  While the rice is cooking, use a large sauce pan and mix together the condensed milk, powdered milk, sugar, regular milk and Piña Colada mix.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium hear, stirring frequently so the milk does not scorch.  Add the stick of butter and cinnamon until the butter is melted, then add the cooked rice.  Bring everything back to a low boil and stir constantly for about 15 minutes until the pudding starts to thicken and the rice absorbs the liquid.

Serve warm, or cold, with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top.

16-April-2013 Variation!
Recipe #2
Ingredients:
2 cups of white rice
3½ cups of boiling water
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces of evaporated milk
½ cup of granulated sugar
1 - 15 ounce can of Coconut Cream (Leche de Coco)
1 - cup of Pineapple pulp (I use unsweetented concentrated Piña pulp. The kind used for making fruit beverages.)
1 cups of milk
1 stick of butter
1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Directions:
Cook the rice in the boiling water on a low simmer for 15 minutes and turn it off with the lid on.  While the rice is cooking, use a large sauce pan and mix together the condensed milk, evaporated milk, sugar, regular milk and coconut cream.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium hear, stirring frequently so the milk does not scorch.  Add the stick of butter and cinnamon until the butter is melted, then add the pineapple pulp and cooked rice.  Bring everything back to a low boil and stir constantly for about 15 minutes until the pudding starts to thicken and the rice absorbs the liquid.

Serve warm, or cold, with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top.

Gallo Pinto

"Gallo Pinto" is a typical Costa Rican breakfast dish. It is generally accompanied by fried eggs, meat and sometimes with a side of fried ripe plantain (Platano Maduro).

Ingredients:
2 cups Rice (pre-cooked/leftovers)
1 cup Black Beans (pre-cooked/leftovers)
2 cloves Garlic minced
½ cup Onion diced
¼ cup Sweet Peppers diced
¼ cup Celery diced
Cilantro
Salsa Lizano
Tabasco

Saute garlic, onion, sweet peppers and celery in a large skillet. Add cooked rice and stir until throughly heated. Add beans (with or without broth) and stir until throughly heated. Add Salsa Lizano and Tabasco to taste and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro just before serving.

If you want to kick this up a notch, dice up whatever leftover meat, or chicken and saute it with the garlic, peppers and celery. Just a little bit of minced Jalapeño will push it over the top.

Serves: 4

Originally posted 11/10/07

Rice Pudding ~ Arroz con leche

Ingredients:
1 liter of milk
1 can of condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 4 ounce stick butter
1 cup of raisins
250 grams of rice
100 grams of sugar
Zest of 1 lemon rind
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
In a saucepan bring water to a boil and cook the rice. In another deep sauce pan bring all three milks to a boil, add the sugar and butter and stir constantly until it dissolved. Once the mixture comes to a boiled again, you can add the cooked rice, raisins, lemon zest and cinnamon. Let it simmer on low boil for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon before serving. This is delicious served hot or cold.

Originally posted 4/13/08

Arroz Tita (Costa Rican Rice Casserole)

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 medium Onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup celery stalk, diced
1/2 cup carrot, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound kielbasa sausage* (see NOTE below about chicken or shrimp)
1/2 teaspoon paprika, ground
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped fine
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1/8 teaspoon oregano, crushed
10 ounces RoTel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles, canned (If Ro-Tel is not available, use a finely diced large tomato with all it's juice and dice up a couple of mild to medium hot chili peppers.)
2 1/3 cups water
2 cups long-grain white rice

Directions:
Using a heavy 4 quart pot, saute garlic onion, peppers, celery and carrots in olive oil until onions and celery are clear. In a separate container bring the water and RoTel diced tomatoes & green chiles together to boil. ( I use a large, one quart, measuring cup in the microwave, set on high for 5 minutes.)

Add rice to sauteed vegetables and continue to saute on medium heat until the rice is very hot and crackling. About 2-3 minutes. DO NOT LET THE RICE TOAST

Add the meat, seasoning salt, oregano and cilantro and liquid. Quickly bring pot to a full boil and cover tightly for 25 minutes on low simmer. DO NOT REMOVE THE LID AT ANY TIME.

Turn off the heat, leave the pot stand on the burner for 15-20 minutes. DO NOT REMOVE THE COVER.

NOTE: Kielbasa needs to be sliced about a 1/4" thick. The Kielbasa sausage can be subsituted for a pound of cooked chicken or cooked shrimp. Chicken needs to be cubed in bite size chunks and added with the liquid. Shrimp must be headed peeled and precooked. The stock from the shrimp can be substituted for the water. You can keep the shimp tender by not adding it until the rice has completely finished cooking and cooled for 20 minutes.There should be enough liquid to come up about 1/2" to 3/4" over the level rice when it begins to boil. All of the vegetables and meats are optional. If you leave the them out, use a little less water.

"This Recipe evolved from several different rice & meat casseroles I used to make while living in Costa Rica"

Originally posted 2/2/07