Rethinking Chicken & Rice

There are many different, easy versions of chicken and rice, from the one-pot Campbell's Soup recipe, to box mixes and the like. But most don't really taste that great, which is why the recipe I found on a bag of jasmine rice really stood out to me.

Chicken & Double Jasmine Rice, recipe below

The chicken and rice mixture is infused with jasmine tea, and the resulting taste is subtle, yet nice when combined with the chicken. I usually add garlic and portobello mushrooms, but this time I added apples and green peppers. The apples were a great contrast to the rice and added a pop of tart-sweetness. Some of the apples really cooked down and blended in nicely.
Because those two ingredients increased the water amount, the rice texture ended up being risotto-like instead of a bit sticky, but mainly separate. If you want a drier consistency, decrease the water to 1¼ cup.

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Chicken & Double Jasmine Rice
From Dynasty Jasmine Rice
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Ingredients:

• 1 jasmine tea bag


• 1 chicken bouillon cube (I usually use 1½-2 teaspoons kosher salt


• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil


• 8 chicken thighs, excess skin and fat removed (I sprinkle the the chicken lightly with a bit of kosher salt)


• ½ cup chopped onion


• 5 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped


• 2 small, unpeeled Granny Smith apples, chopped


• Half of a green pepper, chopped


• ¾ cup jasmine rice


• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Directions:

1. Add tea bag to 1½ cups hot water; let stand 2 minutes. Remove and discard tea bag. Ad bouillon to tea to dissolve.


2. Heat large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add butter to melt. Add chicken, in single layer. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until browned; remove from pan.


3. Add onion, garlic, apples, and green pepper to same pan and sauté for 1 minute. Mix in rice, pepper, and tea mixture. Arrange chicken, in single layer, on top. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Let stand covered for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings

The Count of Monte Cristo is a Vegetarian

This was meant to be a grilled veggie sandwich, but I opted to make a Monte Cristo instead. What makes it different is that you are basically making a savory stuffed French toast sandwich. I put a bit of chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, and kosher salt in the eggs to give it a little more flavor.

For the innards I went with green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, and muenster cheese, with a sprinkling of kosher salt and oregano. Satisfying and delicious.

I usually don't blog about complete randomness, but this Snickers 'Adventure Bar' was pretty good. The only difference from a regular Snickers bar is the addition of coconut. It was like a sweet-salty Mounds bar, which I really liked.

That's all.

Polito's Redux

The grand reopening of Polito's Pizzeria was tonight, and of course I had to go.

The new restaurant definitely had a more spacious, open feel, and it was louder and colder than their other place. I mention the cold because I'm uber susceptible to cold and restaurants that are always cold.

We ordered a 'large thin works', with black olives, garlic, green peppers, mushrooms, and sausage.

The crust looked and felt more chewy and a slight bit doughy underneath the toppings than what I remembered. It had a rather crispy, buttery taste to it.

I always thought the underside looked rather distinct, slightly charred and it looked like there were dots.

The sauce seemed different, too, but I can't exactly say what's missing. I'm figuring it'll take a while to get back to where they were, especially if the dough was made using an 'old dough' method, which I don't know at all if they do. The atmosphere was upbeat and everyone seemed 'alive'.

I'll be back!

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Polito's Pizza

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