Saffron Rice Pilaf

When my friend Kerissa Barron first told me about this buttery rice pilaf, I couldn't wait to try it. Then she told me it had saffron in it. Uh oh. For some reason, saffron is a spice that sort of tastes like soap to me. Not a big fan. But, I'll try just about anything once, and in this case, thank goodness. I couldn't stop eating this rice. Browned in clarified butter, with cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, cooked in a saffron infusion, and tossed with nuts and raisins, this rice is the bomb.

Kerissa came over the other day to make it with me. Here's what she says about it:

Throughout college and beyond, I've always loved spending time at my friend Heather's family home. While it doesn't hurt that her family lives on a gorgeous bluff overlooking sunny Santa Barbara, or that they keep one of those pantries any cook dreams of, stocked with every size and shape of pan imaginable and five types of baking cocoa, I think one of my fondest memories and one of the many reasons I'm always finding/inventing a reason to visit, is this golden, buttery, delicious rice. I've had it on nearly every occasion I've visited and with good reason. Whether you are making it to accompany a homemade Indian feast or simply serving alongside a roast chicken from the supermarket, this rice, specked with nuts and raisins, imbued with the golden color of saffron, and fragranced with cardamom, cinnamon, clove and orange can truly hold its own.

Saffron Rice Pilaf Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 40 minutes

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INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 teaspoon of saffron threads
• 2 Tbsp ghee or clarified butter*
• 4 cardamom pods
• 1 small (2-inch) cinnamon stick
• 4 whole cloves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 2 1/2 cups long grain white rice**
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• Zest of one orange (about 1 1/2 teaspoons, packed)
• 2 Tbsp pistachios
• 2 Tbsp blanched slivered or sliced almonds
• 2 Tbsp golden raisins

*To make clarified butter for this recipe, melt 4 tablespoons of sliced unsalted butter in a small saucepan on medium heat. Let the butter foam up, which releases its moisture. When the foaming subsides a bit, you may see solids in the melted butter beginning to brown, remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel (to strain out the solids) into a bowl.

**Sometimes depending on how the rice was packed, it will need to be rinsed before cooking, especially rice that you buy in large bulk bags. If there is powdery stuff around the rice, you'll need to rinse it. If this is the case with your rice, rinse it until the rinsing water runs clear, and spread the rice out to dry on a large baking sheet. Make sure it is completely dry before frying.

METHOD

1 Heat a large kettle of water (a little more than a quart) to boiling. Place saffron in a small bowl, cover with 2 Tbsp of the hot water, set aside.

2 Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee or clarified butter in a 2 quart, thick-bottomed saucepan on medium-high heat until hot. Add the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, and peppercorns to the pan. Gently fry the spices for 2 minutes.

3 Add rice, and fry for 3 more minutes, stirring after a minute or two. Some of the rice should brown at the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from heat. Add four cups of the hot water you prepared in step one to the pan, taking care to add slowly as it may bubble up and splatter. Add two teaspoons of salt. Add the saffron threads and their soaking liquid. Add the orange zest. Stir, bring quickly to a boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes.

4 While the rice is cooking, in a small frying pan, heat on medium high heat and add the pistachios and slivered almonds. Toast until lightly browned, about 3 or 4 minutes, remove from pan into a bowl.

5 After 20 minutes, remove the lid from the rice, pick out the spices that have floated to the top of the rice - the cinnamon stick, any whole cardamom pods, black peppercorns or cloves. Scatter golden raisins over the top of the rice. Replace the lid and cook for 5 more minutes.

6 Stir in the toasted almonds and pistachios.

Serve.

Yield: Serves 5 to 6.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Here's another recipe from the archives while I'm on vacation. Enjoy! ~Elise

Spring here means strawberries and rhubarb, sweet peas and asparagus, and dreams of the summer bounty to come. Asparagus are everywhere, big, fat, and fresh. And yes, although we can get them all year round, I'm especially happy to eat them in Spring. Not only are they likely to have been grown in the same Hemisphere, and could even be local, their very abundance signals the renewal of the season and a good-bye to Winter. Here is a fresh and easy asparagus soup recipe, a perfect excuse to buy more than one bunch.

Creamy Asparagus Soup Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs asparagus, trimmed of woody stem bottoms
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped)
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• Leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp dry vermouth
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1 Cut tips from the asparagus 1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick. Reserve for garnish. Chop the remaining asparagus stalks into 1/4-inch rounds.

2 Melt the butter in a 4 to 5 quart pot on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped asparagus (not the spear tips) to the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 5 minutes.

3 Add the broth, water, and thyme to the pot. Increase the heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, until the asparagus are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, stir in the chopped parsley.

4 While the soup is cooking, blanche the asparagus tips in a small pot of boiling, salted water (about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt per quart of water), until the tips are just tender, about 2-4 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. Drain. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

5 Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. (If you use an upright blender, work in small batches, fill no more than a third the blender bowl at a time, and hold down the lid while blending.) For a creamy texture, if you want, press the puréed soup through a sieve or food mill. Stir in the cream. Stir in the vermouth and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with asparagus tips. 

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Kale with Sausage and White Beans

"You've converted me into a kale lover," a friend declared after eating a hearty bowl of this kale with sausage and white beans. Yay! I love it when I hear things like this. At our house a green vegetable is always served with dinner, and half the time it's some sort of green like chard, kale, spinach, mustard greens, or collards. It's my not-so-secret mission in my heart of hearts to convert everyone to loving their greens. Of course, it's hard to go wrong when you mix kale with Italian sausage and white beans. But, baby steps people. Baby steps.

Kale with Sausage and White Beans Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes

We used curly kale for this recipe, but you could use any kale, as well as chard, turnip greens, beet greens, or collards. A splash of vinegar (sherry, red wine, cider) is a nice touch right at the end of cooking.

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage, or other sausage (use gluten-free sausage if cooking gluten-free)
• 1 onion, sliced thin (about 1 1/2 cup's worth of sliced onions)
• 2 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 pound kale (1 large bunch), center thick rib removed, leaves roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 15-ounce can of white beans, rinsed and drained
• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1 Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the bulk sausage; if you can't find bulk sausage, remove the casings on the links. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the onion slices and turn the heat to high. Cook until the edges of the onions brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

2 Add the kale, sprinkle salt over everything, then add the chicken stock. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes.

3 Uncover, mix everything well (the kale will have cooked down by now) and add the beans. Cover the pot again and lower the heat to low. Cook another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve.

Yield: Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord, who grilled these chicken skewers with me the other day to rave reviews from the 'rents. ~Elise

I've always been a fan of combining sweet fruits with savory spices, it sets up a certain flavor balance that just works so well. Mango with chili pepper, peaches and thyme, rhubarb and rosemary. They're all delicious, so can there be any question that blackberries and rosemary would just be a match made in heaven?

Elise and I found the inspiration for this recipe in a tattered old cookbook; it needed a quite a bit of tweaking but we finally nailed it. The sweet sauce really makes the rosemary pop on these summer time chicken skewers. Believe me, we were sopping up this marinade with bits of watermelon, lettuce, strawberries, anything we could get our hands on.

Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce Recipe

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INGREDIENTS

For the chicken:

• 4-6 boneless chicken thighs or breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), skin on or off
• 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine or vermouth
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 3/4 cup of fresh or frozen blackberries or boysenberries
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of red currant jelly (or berry jam or jelly)
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

METHOD

1 Cut the chicken into 1 1/2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Mix with the wine, oil, rosemary, and pepper. Cover and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for one hour.

2 Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Thread the chicken onto skewers and season generously with salt.

3a Grilling Preheat the grill for direct high heat. Brush the grill grates with olive oil. Place chicken skewers on grill and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with foil to allow the chicken to rest.

3b Broiling Preheat the broiler. Place skewers on an oiled broiling pan, 5 to 6 inches away from the burner. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with foil to allow the chicken to rest.

4To make the sauce, place the marinade and the berries in a sauce pan and simmer gently until the berries are soft. Press through a strainer and discard the pulp.

5 Return the juice and marinade mixture to the pan. Add the vinegar, jelly, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered until it has reduced by about 1/3 to a light syrup-like consistency.

Plate the skewers and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Grilled Oysters

One of my favorite ways to eat oysters (especially those strongly flavored big ones) is grilled. Guest author Jaden shares a personal lesson from the Shuckmeister on how to do it. Enjoy! ~Elise

Even though I live all the way on the other side of the country, I think I see Elise more often than I see some of my neighbors. Just this year alone, we've been to Seattle, Chicago, Bahamas and twice to San Francisco! Since I talk in my sleep and Elise sings in her sleep, we make excellent traveling companions. I just feel sorry for any hotel guests who share adjoining walls with us!

On our last trip to San Francisco, we participated in the Foodbuzz Festival. The first night was sort of like a street food party, where the best of the best San Francisco street food carts came and camped out right in front of the Ferry Building. About 200 hungry hungry hippos (i.e. food bloggers) came to enjoy the pulled pork sandwiches, thin-crusted pizzas, local beers and oysters. Oh oysters galore! Hog Island Oyster Company brought hundreds of Kumamoto Oysters and Small Sweetwater Oysters! Their "shuckmeister" shucked and served...Elise and I slurped and swooned.

We got to talking with the Shuckmeister (forgot his name) about grilled oysters, a popular way to enjoy oysters in the SF Bay Area, especially in Tomales Bay.

There are several ways you can make their grilled oysters - it all depends on your ability to shuck a raw oyster (Shuckmeister made it look really easy...but it takes a ton of practice) and how big your oysters are. I'll give you all of the options!

Grilled Oysters Recipe

I know for sure that Hog Island doesn't put their oysters on a bed of rice! But the rice helps steady the oysters and prevents the flavorful sauce and juices from spilling. Of course, I only used rice because I didn't have any rock salt in the house. You can use either, or if you're able to balance the oysters on the grill grates, go for it!

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INGREDIENTS

Makes 16 oysters

• 16 whole live oysters
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (or substitute with dashes of Tabasco)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon finely minced parsley

METHOD

Heat a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. When hot, add the olive oil and the butter. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, chili pepper flakes, salt, pepper and parsley. Turn off heat.

How to grill oysters
If you can find large, fat oysters, you can place the oysters directly on the grill grates. It's best to wear long, sturdy BBQ gloves so you can handle the oysters by hand instead of using tongs, spoons or spatula. However, if the oysters are small and flat, you'll run the risk of spilling its valuable, flavorful juices as well as the garlic-butter sauce. You can do what I've done, which is to place the oysters on a bed of rock salt or rice in a small pan -- and then placing the entire pan inside the grill or under a broiler. This steadies the oysters and prevents them from wobbling.

If you are a shuckmeister
Shuck the oysters, spoon a little sauce in each oyster. Place oysters on a very hot, preheated grill, cover and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the edges of oysters curl slightly.

If you can't shuck
Place the oysters, cup side up on a very hot, preheated grill, cover and cook for 1 minute. The oysters should now be slightly open. Quickly remove the oysters. Hold an oyster with an oven mitt and use a shucking knife (or a clean screwdriver if you don't have one) to pry open the oyster. It should easily open. Spoon sauce into each oyster and return oysters to the grill. Cover and grill 4-5 minutes.

Sweet and Spicy Mushroom Stir Fry

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord as he shares a lip-smacking recipe for mushroom stir-fry he recreated from one he enjoyed in China. ~Elise

During a recent trip through China I ate a lot of life changing food. Sichuan stir-fried duck tongues, homemade noodles in beef sauce, spicy lotus root with ginger, Sandouping-style boiled peanuts, curried yak with butter, deep fried river shrimp with garlic... Oh! The list goes on! You can believe that I was taking plenty of notes so that I could recreate these dishes back in the States.

While in Beijing and Xi'an I noticed that much of the food there was sweeter than the rest of China. One particular dish we had quite a few times was a simple mushroom stir-fry. It was spicy, but not too much. Just enough to make the tongue tingle a bit. It was also quite sweet, but not sickeningly so. When I asked one of the cooks what made it sweet he pulled down a jar of practically-black honey whose musky fragrance, even with the lid firmly closed, dominated a kitchen packed with garlic and scallions. I was smitten.

I went back to my dish and began to pick it apart; chilies, garlic, ginger, and glazed mushrooms of all kinds... I was so keen on how the cook had achieved such flavor with such simple ingredients that I was determined to figure it out.

After a bit of playing I've re-created the recipe and I think it's rather spot on. Composed of a lightly sweet glaze, a carefree sauce, and ingredients you likely have at home or can easily find at any grocery store it's a light, savory, and honeyed recipe you'll quickly add to your cold weather repertoire.

Sweet and Spicy Mushroom Stir Fry Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes

Any clear honey will do, the darker the better.

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INGREDIENTS

Glaze

• 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if cooking gluten-free)

Sauce

• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if cooking gluten-free)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine or cooking sherry
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

Stir-Fry

• 4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 2-5 dried red chilies, roughly chopped OR 1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 3 tablespoons sesame, grapeseed, or other high smoke-point oil
• 2 lbs. of mixed mushrooms (oyster, crimini, button, shitake, enoki, whathaveyou...), roughly chopped or quartered (you want bite-sized pieces)
• 1 1/2 cups of snow peas or snap peas, de-stringed
• 8 green onions, chopped
• Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

METHOD

1 Make the glaze by whisking together the stock, honey, and soy sauce in a bowl and set aside. Make the sauce by whisking together the stock, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, cooking wine or sherry, and the corn starch in a bowl and set that aside as well.

2 Place 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or a wok over high heat. When the oil is glistening and a bead of water evaporates in under a second add the mushrooms and toss. Allow the mushrooms to cook for a few minutes until they start to squeak and give up their water (you'll see their water in the pan). When they do add the glaze. Allow the glaze to boil off, stirring occasionally, about 5-6 minutes. When barely any more liquid remains take the mushrooms off the heat and set them aside in a bowl. There may be bits of sugar caramelized to the side of the pan, don't fret about it.

3 Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic, ginger, and chilies and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the snow peas and green onions and toss for about 30 more seconds.

4 Increase heat to high. Add the sauce and allow the mixture to come to a boil. The sauce will thicken considerably. Add the mushrooms back to the mixture and cook for about 20 more seconds. Take off the heat. Serve over rice and garnish with sesame seeds if using.

Yield: Serves 4.