rice!

I am a huge fan of Lundberg rice, and have kvelled about it often. Here are two quite different but equally yummy things I made from the same pot of this rice recently.

First I cooked almost a whole package of rice in chicken stock (1:2 ratio) with a dab of butter and bit pinch of salt for about 50 minutes (I find it needs the full time + a little more, usually, including at least 10 min resting). From this sprang:

a Rarebit-like experience!

While the rice was cooking I made a sauce by first making a roux (butter, flour) then adding about 1/2 c. vermouth and cooking it furiously to get out some of the fumey alcohol. Then I added 2 c. of chicken stock and once it had come to a boil continued to add: All the Cheese I Had in the House (the remains of some grated Romano and four slices of American no judging cheese), a slug of Worchestershire, a little dry mustard, and some pepper. I also added 8 oz. of diced up ham (on sale! it was lurking in the freezer, defrosted it first). The result: a not too thick, cheesy, winey sauce with lots of ham (you can see why I didn't add salt). I served it in a big bowl over the hot rice and it was just great. It needed a fireplace to be eaten next to.

then a Salad thing!

I needed a dish for a potluck the next day, so I took the rice out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

For a vinaigrette in a skillet I slowly heated a handful of finely diced prosciutto in a tablespoon of olive oil and cooked until it was slightly crisp, then removed from heat, and while it was still hot (but off the heat) I added a pinch of dried thyme. Once it was cool, I add two more tablespoons of oil, the zest and juice of two lemons, a splash of rice wine vinegar, a lot of pepper, and whisked it together. (I was inspired by a friend's really great vinaigrette I had this spring, the key to which seems to be adding the lemon zest as well as the juice--so delicious.)

I quartered, lengthwise, 1-1/2 humungous hothouse cucumbers, then cut them into thin slices. I added the cukes to the rice, then to the entire mixture added the vinaigrette and tossed very thoroughly. I let it sit some more to mature, then--yum!