Brazilian Rice and Beans

I recently asked a Brazilian who had been living in the states for 2 years what food he missed most from Brazil. He said without hesitation, "rice and beans!" I don't think one day went by when I was in Brazil that I didn't eat rice and beans. It is a staple there. They eat it at every meal and love it. You would think that they would get tired eating the same thing every day, but they don't. I never did.

Also shown in this picture is Pão de Queijo see my previous blog post.

Arroz con Pollo

I had a hard time making a meal plan for this last week. I love to cook and I love food, but for some odd reason when it comes to planning meals for the week I hate it! I had one day left and was having difficulty knowing what to make and then it came to me. Arroz con Pollo! It’s a classic Latin American dish that you can find variations in almost every country in Latin America and Spain. Its Latin American comfort food and I can get down with that! Most recipes I found used saffron which is the most expensive spice and I just didn’t want to drop that kind of money so I kept looking. I decided to look at my go to blog www.simplyrecipes.com and see if they had a recipe. They did and theirs did not use saffron. My suggestion for this recipe is use only thighs or thighs and legs and not breasts. The breasts turned out a little dry. Other than that I think this was a home run.

Arroz Con Pollo Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Chicken

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 1/2 to 3 pounds of chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry

1/2 cup of flour for dredging

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Paprika

Rice

2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice

3 cups* chicken stock

1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained

Pinch of oregano

1 teaspoon salt

*Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

METHOD

1 Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (a skillet that has a cover) on medium high heat. Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (You can skip the flour dredging part if you want. It just makes a nicer coating for the chicken.) Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and set aside.

2 Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let it brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown. Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic and rice mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes.

3 Place the chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of the rice. In a separate bowl, mix together the stock, tomato, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done. Fluff the rice with a fork. If you want you can sprinkle with some peas. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I have always wanted to make a risotto but haven't for two reasons. 1) Gordon Ramsey scares me and he always yells at people for messing up the risotto. 2) They always have mushrooms and I hate mushrooms. So I got over my embarrassing fear of Gordon Ramsey...kind of, and found a risotto without mushrooms. I first tried this recipe at our gourmet night with Stephanie and Michael. It was so good I couldn't stop eating it and knew I would have to try it for myself. Risotto is a really creamy rice dish, but doesn't have any cream in it. The creamy texture is made by slowly adding liquid which draws out the starch of the rice. This recipe is really easy, but requires attention. It's not a set it and forget it kind of recipe. I know fall is creeping in and the butternut squash makes this a great fall dish. Don't let the Gordon Ramsey in your head call you a bleeping idiot and give this recipe a try!

Butternut Squash Risotto

INGREDIENTS

6-8 cups chicken broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian option)

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cups butternut squash, peeled, and finely diced

2 cups arborio rice (can substitute medium grained white rice, but arborio is preferred)

1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp chopped chives or garlic chives

Salt

METHOD

1 Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan; add onion and butternut squash. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2 Add rice to onion and squash. Cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine. Cook, stirring constantly until wine has been absorbed by the rice or evaporated. Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover rice. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes.

3 During the last minutes of cooking, add remaining tablespoon of butter, 1/3 cup Parmesan, and chives. At this point the rice should have a creamy consistency. Add salt to taste. Serve with remaining grated Parmesan.

Serves 4 to 6.