Garlic and Herb Rice

Garlic Herb Rice

Rice makes a tasty and simple side dish. Some people have trouble making rice. I was one of those people for a long time. My husband taught me the easiest method. He showed me to just make sure I had three times as much water as I did rice, bring the water to a boil, add the rice and boil for 20 minutes and then drain. This works, but you cannot really flavor the rice. And sometimes you want flavor.

So, I practiced and practiced and threw away or choked down as much rice as I happily ate. I can now make a pot of wonderful, fluffy, tender separate grains of joy every time. Follow these instructions exactly and you will have success, too. 

If you want to change this up a bit, I have a few suggestions. You can substitute any herb for the chives. If you use thyme or basil use ½ tablespoon. If you are using rosemary, just throw in a whole sprig with the garlic and remove before serving. You could also toss in a tablespoon of toasted, chopped pecans or slivered almonds with the herbs.

Servings: 3 cups of rice, serves 4-6

Hardware:  A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a strainer (sieve,) a pot with a lid, a sauce pot, a paper towel covered plate, a slotted spoon and a fork

Time:  Active time 20 minutes; Cook: 30 minutes, rice in about 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 4+1 tablespoons butter
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon chicken base (I use Better than Bullion)
• 1 ¾ cups water
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh chives
• Salt

1. Rinse the rice in the sieve until the water runs clear. Slice the garlic into thin slivers. Dice the chives, the smaller the better. Set aside
2. Put the water onto boil in the sauce pan.
3. In the pot with the lid, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the garlic slices and sauté until they just begin to turn golden. Watch them and stir often because they can easily burn. Use the slotted spoon to place them on the paper towel covered plate. Make sure you have removed them all. Set the garlic aside.
4. Add the rice to butter and stir until the rice begins to toast (about two minutes.) Add the boiling water and chicken base and stir until the base dissolves.
5. Turn the rice down to simmer and cover with the lid. Simmer for exactly 18 minutes. Remove from the heat, but do not remove the lid. Allow the rice to rest for 10 minutes. It is still cooking so it is important to leave it alone.
6. Using a fork, stir in the herbs, toasted garlic and extra butter. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve warm.

How to Make a Charcuterie Board

Charcuterie (shar COOT er ee) literally means a butcher that specializes in pork product or the products made there. However, if you’ve ever been to happy hour at a brewery or a hipster bar it can also mean a plate of various meats, cheeses, spreads, fruits and crackers that can serve as an appetizer or as a meal. Charcuterie is the new cheese plate.

How to Make a Charcuterie Board

However, you don’t need to go out to enjoy ‘all the meats’. Making a good charcuterie board is easy and will please your guests. Last week my husband and I had one for a romantic dinner. You needn’t go to a specialty butcher. I just bought all of this at my local supermarket. Granted, you want to get the best meat that you can afford. It is going to be the center of the meal and skimping will be noticeable.

You can be creative and make a board that is pleasing to you. I will get you started by answering some basic questions.

How much meat will I need?

If the charcuterie is an appetizer, then you will need about 2 ounces per person. If the charcuterie is the main meal, you will need 5 ounces per person.

What type of meat should I get?

You want an interesting variety. Make sure you get some bold and some mild flavors. Depending on how many people you are feeding you should choose one or two whole muscle cuts, one or two sausages and something soft and spreadable.

Examples of whole muscles cuts include capicola, Jamón serrano, prosciutto, or roast beef. Mortadella, pepperoni, salami, soppressata and summer sausage are all good choices for sausage. The soft and spreadable option sometimes throws people. You can choose a pâté or use my recipe for Potted Beef. If you are less adventurous then you can substitute hummus or another bean spread.

Do I need cheese?

Yes. You should have at least one hard cheese and one soft cheese, more if you are serving this as a meal or as an appetizer for many people. Choose a pungent and a mild cheese. Cheeses are best served slightly below room temperature. For ideas, read my instructions for making a cheese plate.

 

Choose a variety of hard and soft cheeses

What else should I serve?

You should offer seasonal fruits, nuts and small pickles or olives. I also serve fruit paste. Fruit paste is like sliceable jelly and can usually be found in the deli section of your grocers. It adds a needed sweet element to your plate. I prefer Rutherford and Meyer. Jams such as fig or blackberry are also good sweet choices. Depending on the meats you are serving offer your guests stone ground mustards or prepared horseradish. Slices of soft baguette and crackers make a good foundation for these nibbles. Choose a mild cracker because you don’t want it to compete with the charcuterie.

 

Potted Beef

What should we drink?

Again, this is up to you. You can serve white wines if you are serving mild meats. Hardier meats require red wines or even beers.

Try to have salty, sour, sweet, bitter and spicy flavors on your charcuterie board. Have soft and hard cheese, Soft bread and crackers. Crunchy pickles and soft jams. This will allow your guests to make many interesting combinations of flavors and textures. Charcuterie items need to be served slightly chilled. It is never a good idea to allow meat to sit out for too long. I place the meats in the fridge on several small plates, wrapped in plastic. I can rotate these out and make sure that they are fresh. Also, if we don’t need everything that I purchased, the meats in the fridge become a delicious lunch tomorrow! Make sure to have many small dessert plates and napkins on hand. You will also need a few cheese spreaders and appetizer forks. (Or just use toothpicks and plastic knives, we aren’t judging you.)

Most importantly, have fun.

Instant Pot® Corned Beef and Cabbage

 Instant Pot® Corned Beef & Cabbage

I know that not all of you have an Instant Pot®, so I am trying not to allow it to eat my blog, but I cannot help myself. It is just so easy. AND if you choose the correct food for this cooking method, the food is so delicious.

I have not had the IP for long, so I am still using it to speed up the time on foods I would normally cook in the crock pot. St. Patrick’s Day is very soon and my husband and I both love corned beef. Corned beef brisket is a meat that takes around 9 hours, low and slow. You read that right, 9 hours. Ain’t nobody got no time for that! I decided to try the IP. OMG! This was so good. We are probably going to make it again next week. We used the leftovers to make Eggs O’Benedict (replaced the Canadian bacon with leftover corned beef.)

Now for the tweaks: I used beer as my liquid. You can substitute chicken broth. I also added molasses. You could substitute brown sugar or maple syrup, but molasses is inexpensive, and it is hard to replicate that flavor. Finally, you can just use the package of spices that come with the brisket. However, I like the flavor of everything to be turned up to eleven, so I added extra. I weighed the brisket when I removed it from the IP. It had reduced from 3 pounds to 1 ¼. So, plan accordingly.

I am not Irish, not even a little. However, I think I made Corned Beef and Cabbage that would fool you into believing that I am.

Servings: 4-6

Hardware: A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a silicone spatula, tongs, an Instant Pot®, foil and an oven mitt

Time: Active time: 10 minutes; Cook: 2 hours; brisket in about 2 ½ hours

Ingredients

• 3-pound flat cut, corned beef brisket
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• small onion (4 ounces)
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 cup Guinness draught Stout
• 1 pound of new potatoes
• 3 carrots
• 1 small head of cabbage

1. Thoroughly rinse the brisket under cool running water. The meat is very salty and can be inedible if you aren’t careful. Cut as much of the fat away as possible. Set aside.
2. Quarter the onion. Pour the oil into the Instant Pot and turn on the sauté setting. Place the onion into the IP and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients except the veggies. Bring to a boil and stir until the molasses and mustard are incorporated.
3. Place the trivet into the IP. Add the brisket. Set the valve on sealing and close the lid. Turn the pressure setting to high and set the timer for 1:45.
4. Make a bowl to hold the cabbage by wrapping foil around half the cabbage. Make enough layers for your bowl to be sturdy. Carefully remove it from the cabbage. (See the picture,)
5. Close to end of the meat’s cooking time, prep the veggies. Wash the carrots and cut them into 3 pieces each. Scrub the potatoes. Slice the cabbage. Set aside.
6. When the meat is done, allow it to natural release for 15 minutes. Then, wearing the oven mitt, turn the lid valve to venting. When the float has dropped, remove the lid and using the tongs, place the brisket on a large piece of foil. Wrap it up to keep it warm.
7. Put the potatoes and carrots right into the liquid in the IP. Put the foil bowl you made on top of the veggies and fill it with cabbage. Set the valve on sealing and close the lid. Pressure cook on high for 7 minutes. Then use the oven mitt to release the pressure. When the valve drops----get your Irish on.
8. To serve, slice the meat against the grain. Make a nest of cabbage, generously pepper your nest and fill it up with veggies and brisket. Discard the liquid.