Kitchen Parade: May 2015

Monday, May 18, 2015

Afghan Chicken & Rice Casserole (Kabeli Palau)

The Recipe: Chicken with rice, all bound together with a quick sauce made with caramelized onions and warm spices, topped with a quick sauté of matchstick carrots, raisins, almonds and saffron. Sound, um, unusual? It's amazing.

The Conversation: So what do you think, would you eat with your fingers? Just once, maybe, to try it, in the company of friends?

Afghan Beef & Rice Casserole ♥ KitchenParade.com, rotisserie chicken, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, great for feeding a crowd.

A couple weeks back, my book club met to talk about the book A Thousand Splendid Sons by Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini. (You may know him from his first book, the amazing story called The Kite Runner.)

"Come hungry," I told everyone the day before. "I'm cooking Afghan food."

"Will we eat with our fingers?" one friend asked with an email giggle. "Why not?" I thought.

So when we sat down to what turned out to be a great meal and excellent party food, this Afghan Chicken & Rice Casserole and an amazing eggplant and tomato layered casserole, Afghan Eggplant & Tomato Casserole, I suggested give eating with our hands a try.

And call me surprised but only half my friends were willing to experiment with eating with our fingers. For those of us who did? It was weird and awkward. But y'know, what an easy thing to try. Why not?!

"QUICK" CARAMELIZED ONIONS Oops, no time to make Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions? No problem! Just slice a pound of yellow onions and cook slowly on the stove, stirring often, with 1/2 tablespoon butter, 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon white wine, bourbon or dry sherry. Watch the onions carefully, they'll burn in a flash. Allow about 30 minutes of cooking time, that's why "Quick" is in quotes. The time is mostly unattended but do stay close!

GARAM MASALA What's this, you ask? It's a spice blend from India, there are many, many variations based on locale and personal taste. You can buy a commercial spice blend for garam masala but it's easy to make your own. This is the spice mix I used for this recipe. I make a triple batch to keep on hand but to make your own, just enough for this recipe, combine 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon each coriander and cardamom, 1/3 teaspoon each black pepper and cinnamon, 1/6 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg.

ALANNA's TIPS So right off, let me say that you may want to play with the proportions of chicken and rice, depending on how much meat the rotisserie chicken yields. Both times I made Afghan Chicken & Rice Casserole, I bought rotisserie chickens from Sam's Club. They are H-U-G-E, a real value for five bucks. That first chicken yielded almost two pounds of meat and I considered using less than the 16 ounces of rice (cooked) – that's a trick I use all the time, intentionally reversing the proportions of a starch (like rice or pasta) and vegetables/protein. So for the second casserole, I fully planned to cook only 8 ounces of rice. But then that second chicken yielded a full three pounds of meat! So I stuck with cooking the full 16 ounces of rice. My recommendation? Stick with 8 ounces of rice for a smaller chicken, the full 16 ounces for a larger chicken.

Is rinsing the rice really necessary? Probably not but when I made the same casserole with beef, not chicken, I did and that version version was especially good.

For rice, both times I used a Trader Joe's package of "Basmati Rice Medley" – it's got a little wild rice plus dehydrated carrot, leek. Honestly, I love the bit of added color! (You wouldn't want to rinse this rice, however.) With plain basmati rice, I'd be tempted to throw in some wild rice.

Both times, I also thought about adding some other ingredients to the chicken and rice, chopped artichokes is a top candidate.

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.

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AFGHAN CHICKEN & RICE CASSEROLE (Kabeli Palau)

Hands-on time: 45 minutes
Time to table: 2 hours
Makes 15 cups (freezes beautifully)

3 or 6 cups water
1 or 2 teaspoons kosher salt
8 or 16 ounces basmati rice

2 large cloves garlic
1 cup Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions or "Quick" Caramelized Onions, see left
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon saffron, optional
1/2 cup chicken stock

1 rotisserie chicken, meat "picked" from the bones, torn into bite-size pieces (or 2 – 3 pounds cooked chicken)
1 12-ounce jar roasted red pepper, drained and chopped
Caramelized Onion Sauce
Cooked Rice
Additional chicken stock, if necessary

1 tablespoon butter
2 carrots, cut in matchsticks
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
1/2 cup slivered toasted almonds
Pinch saffron, optional
1/2 cup hot water

Heat oven to 350F/180C.

RICE Bring the water (3 cups for 8 ounces of rice, 6 cups for 16) to a boil. Rinse the rice under running water in a strainer or colander two or three times. Add the salt and rice to the water, bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and let boil quite hard for 6 minutes until the rice is "almost cooked". Turn off the heat and let the rice rest, it will absorb the rest of the water, it's fine if there's a bit of unabsorbed water.

CARAMELIZED ONION SAUCE While the rice cooks, in a food processor (a mini food processor works fine), pulse the garlic cloves a few times to mince. Add the Caramelized Onions, tomato paste, garam masala, saffron and process until smooth. Add the chicken stock, process until smooth. Be aware, on its own, this sauce will taste very salty; don't worry, though, it's seasoning the entire casserole, salt is necessary!

CHICKEN In a large bowl, collect the meat. Stir in the roasted peppers, the Caramelized Onion Sauce, then the Cooked Rice. Transfer to an oven-safe baking dish.

BAKE Place the baking dish, uncovered, in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Check it every 15 minutes, the edges should get a little crispy and crackly but if the casserole seems to be getting too dry, drizzle it with chicken stock to moisten. (A turkey baster simplifies this job, I filled one three or four times.)

TOPPING In a skillet, melt the butter until sizzly. Add the carrots and sauté until soft and beginning to turn color. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the water has cooked off. Set aside until ready to serve.

TO SERVE When the casserole is hot and bubbly throughout, remove from the oven. Spread the topping over top and serve hot.

MAKE-AHEAD TIPS Both times I made this, I made the casserole a few hours ahead of time and refrigerated the chicken-sauce-rice combination until it was time to go in the oven. The topping can also be made ahead of time, just keep it separate.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (assumes 3 pounds of chicken and 16 ounces of uncooked rice) Per Cup: 320 Calories; 6g Tot Fat; 2g Sat Fat; 71mg Cholesterol; 623mg Sodium; 34g Carb; 2g Fiber; 6g Sugar; 27g Protein.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS WW Old Points 6.5 & WW Points Plus 8.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (my best estimate for 2 pounds of chicken and 8 ounces of uncooked rice, sorry, I didn't measure the yield for this, so that's why it's a looser estimate than usual) Per Cup: 274 Calories; 6g Tot Fat; 2g Sat Fat; 60mg Cholesterol; 759mg Sodium; 28g Carb; 2g Fiber; 8g Sugar; 24g Protein.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS WW Old Points 5.5 & WW Points Plus 7.

Inspired by Global Table Adventure, a wonderful blog.

Afghan Chicken: Except with Beef!

Afghan Beef & Rice Casserole ♥ KitchenParade.com, slow cooker shredded beef, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, great for feeding a crowd.

When you have a freezer full of grass-fed, corn-finished beef raised by your neighbors in the country, it's just crazy to buy chicken and pork! That's why you'll find so many beef recipes here at Kitchen Parade. We loved-loved-loved this beef version of Afghan Chicken. Since there's no beefy equivalent of rotisserie chicken to conveniently buy at the grocery store, instead I made some Slow Cooker Shredded Beef. The salsa added a little heat to the cassserole, that was good too! Other than that, I followed the recipe just the same. Wonderful!

More Favorite Casserole Recipes

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)

More Favorite Rice Recipes

Julia Child's Soubise (Onion & Rice Casserole)

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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Rhubarb Muffins

The Recipe: Simple whole-grain muffins studded with soft, sour pockets of a late-spring treat, rhubarb. Rhubarb Muffins are barely sweet and oh-so-tender and definitely – definitely! – not cupcakes. For all who prefer a less-sweet, less-rich but ever-so-satisfying morning-bread treat, this is your recipe!

The Conversation: Victory! I harvested rhubarb from my very own rhubarb patch!

Rhubarb Muffins ♥ KitchenParade.com, less sweet, all whole-wheat, moist and fruity.

People! Did you hear crazy cheers of joy from the back yard this week?!! Did you see the CNN cameras? Did you see the headlines at Fine Cooking, Saveur and Gourmet? Did you watch the heavens part and world peace descend?

Because I finally harvested my very own rhubarb – yep, those crisp, bright-red stalks of late-spring sourness – from my very own rhubarb patch in my very own garden. I harvested my own rhubarb! [insert squeals of glee]

It's been a long, long time coming – a lo-o-o-n-g time, we're talking years, here.

Interstate-transport, a cross-town move and transplant shock all contributed to the delay. My mom's rhubarb, our dear Auntie Meryl's rhubarb, even local rhubarb, none of it thrived in Missouri's hot, dry summers.

Three years ago, it looked as if all was lost. Someone – I'm not sayin' who except that he now goes by no-longer-around – sprayed my rhubarb with Round-Up. That was the saddest-maddest day ever. Granted, the rhubarb leaves were small and looked a lot like the wild burdock that grows with weedy-abandon in the wooded areas nearby. But still! What was he thinking?! That was my rhubarb!

Despite the setback, I held out hope. After all, for years my own father tried to kill my mom's back-step rhubarb, one spray after another. He was unsuccessful! Even on the north side of the house, with little sun, a plant or two survive.

Still, extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary action.

I erected fences for protection. I put up flags to call attention. And I warned anyone who dared come near, "Stay back! That's my rhubarb!"

Those momma-rhubarb protector instincts paid off! A few weeks ago, tiny leaves poked their curly fronds out of the ground. Now they are giant leaves and the stalks are bright red and totally sweet.

So yeah, people. I harvested my own rhubarb.

And then I made muffins. And for the first time this year, we ate breakfast on the patio. It was a perfect day.

ALANNA's TIPS My favorite muffin recipes are the ones that for twelve muffins, combine a half stick of butter (versus the whole stick in many richer recipes that produce cupcake-like muffins) and call for an "acidic" dairy like buttermilk, sour cream or Greek yogurt.

No whole-wheat pastry flour? Use a 50:50 blend of all-purpose flour and whole-wheat flour. All all-purpose works too but you do lose some of the appealing nutty color and taste.

Rhubarb Muffins feel "naked" without a sugary coating on top, just an extra tablespoon. I love the look and texture of raw sugar, a less-processed sugar, but again, regular granulated sugar is fine too.

I recommend Penzey's Cake Spice (and its newer Baking Spice) all the time – and have for at least fifteen years, maybe longer. Any time that cinnamon is called for, Cake Spice and Baking Spice add a noticeably brighter taste. People always ask, "What's that spice?"

RHUBARB MUFFINS

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour
Makes 12 regular-size muffins

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces/57g) salted butter, melted
2/3 cup (168g) buttermilk or low-fat sour cream or low-fat or non-fat Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
1-2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring or 207g
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon or my favorite spice blend, Penzey's Cake Spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 to 3 cups (200-300g) diced rhubarb

1 tablespoon raw sugar (or regular sugar)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 350F/180C. Spray the cups of a standard-size muffin pan with baking spray.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter in microwave in ten-second increments until melted. Whisk in the buttermilk, this will cool the butter down so not to cook the egg. Whisk in the egg and vanilla.

In a second bowl, smash the brown sugar with the back of a spoon to remove any lumps of tiny clumps. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until completely combined. Stir in the rhubarb, this coats the pieces with flour so they won't sink to the bottom of the muffins. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the center of the well, use a spatula to gently combine the wet and dry mixtures. You don't want to overmix, just stir until combined, otherwise the baked muffins will have small tunnels (they don't affect the taste, just the appearance).

With two spoons, one to scoop and one to scrape, or a large cookie scoop, fill the muffin trays.

In a small bowl, stir together raw sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, use a spoon to sprinkle over the muffin tops.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until tops are crisp and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then use a slim fork or knife or something similar to help gently lift the muffins out of the muffin tins.

Rhubarb Muffins are best warm from the oven but stay fresh and special for at least two days. Longer than that? No idea because they don't last that long!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Muffin: 118 Calories; 4g Tot Fat; 3g Sat Fat; 28mg Cholesterol; 239mg Sodium; 18g Carb; 1g Fiber; 14g Sugar; 2g Protein.