Peruvian-Style Fried Rice

Jaden of Steamy Kitchen recently posted Meat Fried Rice - Four Ways which really got me thinking about how versatile fried rice can be. When I saw this recipe for Peruvian-Style Fried Rice in the May, 2008 issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine I knew I wanted to give it a try. Anything with shrimp and chorizo sounds good to me. This recipe takes a traditional Chinese dish and gives it a Latin spin.

One warning I have for you if you make this recipe is that a large skillet is simply not large enough. I used a large skillet and it was filled up with the onion, shrimp and chorizo. There was no room for the rice! I ended up using a large dutch oven and that worked out really well.

This recipe yields a HUGE quantity - I have enough for about 6 meals for myself here. The nice thing is that it reheats really well. But one can only eat so much of the same thing! The doggies are loving the fact that I have so much left over because they get it (it's not spicy, just a bit rich, but so far so good).

Peruvian-Style Fried Rice Serves 6 Cooking spray 2 large eggs, beaten 3 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 cups chopped chorizo (about 8 oz.) 1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 4 cups cooked white rice, cooled 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 Tbsp. sherry Chopped cilantro, for garnish

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over high heat and coat with cooking spray. Pour half of the eggs into the pan, swirling to coat the bottom, and let cook until set, about 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat, flip the eggs and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer the egg "tortilla" to a cutting board and repeat the process with the cooking spray and the remaining egg. Roll up each egg "tortilla" and slice crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips.

In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil over high heat. Add the shrimp, chorizo and onion and cook, stirring, until the shrimp is just opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in the rice, soy sauce and sherry. Cook until heated through. Stir in the egg strips and top with cilantro.

Valentine's Dinner for One

I love to celebrate holidays. Not a celebration in a party or anything like that. But with the food! So this Valentine's Day I decided to take some suggestions from the February/March 2007 issue of Fine Cooking magazine. Apparently this magazine has been around for about five years but I have never seen it before. I'm glad I saw it this time because I really like it. There are TONS of interesting tips and of course plenty of recipes.

There is a special section in this issue dedicated to making the perfect rice pilaf. I am a big Rice-A-Roni girl because it is so easy and tastes to good. But actually making my own . . . very intriguing! There are four pilaf recipes but I decided to go with Rice Pilaf with Sage, Parmigiano & Prosciutto. It was perfect because I had some sage leftover from the sauteed chicken I made last week. I think sage is becoming my favorite herb because each time I use it I find another combo of flavors it goes with. It tasted good but it smelled great! I want to buy a candle to burn in my house with the smell of the sage, butter, garlic and shallots.

While I enjoyed the rice pilaf and could have made a meal out of it, the main treat for my dinner was the lamb chops. Lamb Chops with Lemon, Thyme & Mustard Butter was the simplest way to make lamb chops elegant that I have ever prepared. Simply make a fancy butter the put some on top of broiled lamb chops! It was super flavorful. I am not a big lemon fan and this sauce had just the perfect lemon flavor without it being overpowering.

Rice Pilaf with Sage, Parmigiano & Prosciutto Serves 6 to 8 Ingredients: 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 lb. very thinly sliced prosciutto     (about 5 slices), cut crosswise     into 1-inch-wide strips 4 Tbs. unsalted butter 3 Tbs. chopped fresh sage 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice 1 tsp. kosher salt; more as needed 1 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth 2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano, coarsely     grated on the large holes of     box grater (about 2/3 cup)

Instructions:
In a 3-qt. heavy-based saucepan with a tight lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cool half the prosciutto in the hot oil, stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy, 1 to 2 minutes. With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the prosciutto to a paper towel to drain. Repeat with the remaining prosciutto.

Add 2 Tbs. of the butter to the pan and reduce the heat to low. When the butter had melted, add 2 Tbs. of the sage and cook for a few seconds, and then add the garlic and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and salt and stir well to coat each grain with oil. Toast for a full 5 minutes, stirring regularly to keep the grains separated and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan (the rice may turn opaque before 5 minutes is up, but keep going).

Add the wine, stir well, and cook over medium heat until the wine is mostly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, stir once, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 18 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit, still covered, for 5 minutes.

Once the pilaf has rested, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Cut the remaining 2 Tbs. butter into several pieces and, using the fork, gently fold it into the rice with the remaining 1 Tbs. sage, the Parmigiano, and the cooked prosciutto. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Red Rice with Chorizo

I didn't mean to make so many Rachael Ray recipes this weekend. Yet here is another one from the February, 2007 issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine. I originally planned to make this Red Rice with Chorizo around Valentine's Day -- because it's "Red". But my Superbowl plans fell through tonight and I wanted something quick.

I was excited to try out this recipe because I ordered some chorizo from La Tienda. It's the real thing - imported from Spain. Actually, the chroizo I ordered is dry-cured and I'm not quite sure if I was supposed to use it or not. But i was dying to make something with it and this recipe seemed simple.


Using the dry-cured chorizo added a tougher texture to the dish. It was less sausage-like and more pepperoni-like. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It is a quick and easy recipe that yields a very tasty meal.

This recipe makes alot of food. I think it can feed six instead of just four. Also, I think there is a typo. The recipe calls for a 15-ounce can of sliced black olives. I could not find one. The regular size can, which is a 15-ounce of something like soup, only contains 6.5 ounces. I used that one and it was the perfect amount.

Red Rice with Chorizo (4 servings) Ingredients: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 8 ounces chorizo, sliced 1/4 inch thick 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice 1 1/2 cups red salsa 2 cups thawed frozen corn One 15-ounce can sliced large black olives 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:
In a heavy medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute to coat. Stir in 1 1/2 cups water and the salsa and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

Fluff the rice and stir in the corn. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the olives and cilantro.

Trini's Curried Pumpkin and Rice

Coffer over at My Khazana of Recipes has started a new blogging event. January's theme for the first Monthly Blogging Patrol is Around the World.

Earlier this week I found the recipe for Curried Pumpkin and Rice on TriniGourmet.com. Her photo of the finished dish looked so amazing. When I read the ingredients I was hooked. Curry and Pumpkin. Two things I have wanted to start cooking more with. As a matter of fact, I have never cooked anything with a fresh pumpkin before so I got excited and immediately added the ingredients needed to my grocery list.


I will admit that I had a bit of an adventure trying to find a pumpkin in January. I know they are really popular in October and November, but I assumed I could get them year round. Not true, at least at the supermarkets near me here in Florida. My backup plan was to use a butternut squash or something like that. But I couldn't find any of those either. Finally I spotted some type of squash thing near the cut up cantaloupe and fresh papaya. It was called Squash Calabaza. I asked the guy at the counter if it was similar to a pumpkin. He said it's Spanish pumpkin. So I was set.

There so many reasons I can recommend trying this recipe. Here are my top 5 (except for the obvious that it tastes great):

1. This meal for 6 costs less than $10
2. You get to cook with fun ingredients like pumpkin and curry
3. It is very filling and very healthy. You can even use brown rice if you want.
4. Leftovers! This will make great lunches throughout the week.
5. Your house will smell great while it's cooking.


The final dish comes out more like and Italian Risotto than what I consider to be a traditional, saucy curry. And while it is filling, unlike Risotto, it is not overly heavy. It is almost refreshingly fulfilling if that makes sense. There must be something about the pumpkin. I did prefer it when I left my pumpkin in cubes rather than smashing the bits up as the recipe suggests. And I added a lot of Cilantro because that added an element of freshness.

Be hungry when you make this because the recipe makes yields quite a bit of food. I already have two Tupperware containers filled with my lunches for Monday and Tuesday. And tomorrow night the dogs are going to be getting some with dinner.

This is definitely a recipe that I will make again . . . and I rarely make anything twice.

note* based on six servings, a serving of this made with white rice is 7 Weight Watchers points.