Stuffed Rice w/ Red Quinoa Caps

Two of my roommates went down to Oregon and ate at a Thai restaurant called Sweet Basil, in Eugene. They told me about how beautifully the rice was presented there: a layer of red rice topping white rice in the shape of a star. I thought that was so cool that I wanted to riff on it, so I expanded the idea into an entree. Unfortunately, I couldn't find red rice but I used red quinoa for a similar visual effect and a delicious nutty taste.

Ingredients:
1 t cooking oil
5 chicken drumsticks, scored*
1 onion, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pt cherry tomatoes
salt & pepper TT

2 C white or brown rice (we used brown jasmine rice)
1 C red quinoa (or regular quinoa if you can't find red)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken and brown it well.
3. Remove the chicken to a baking dish. Drop the heat to medium-high and add the onion.
4. Saute the onion for 3-4 minutes, then add the tomatoes and garlic. Season with salt & pepper, then add to the chicken. Cover and braise for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook the rice & quinoa according to the package directions.
6. When the chicken is done, pull the meat off the bone and mix it with the braised onions, tomatoes & garlic. Season this filling to taste.
7. Line a medium-sized bowl with plastic wrap. Put in a layer of the quinoa, pat it down and make a depression in the middle where you can stack the filling. Put about a half cup of filling in, then cover with the rice. Pack that down neatly. Put a plate upside down on top of the bowl, get a good hold of everything, and quickly invert the whole thing, unmolding your stuffed rice onto the plate. Repeat. Fun, right?

*I've found that if you're going to braise something and you want the process to go faster, you can just cut into the item with a knife before browning it so that the second-stage, low-and-slow moist heat penetrates more quickly.

Vegetables over Rice

Ingredients:
1 t oil
½ bu celery, peeled & sliced ½” thick
1/2 head garlic, peeled & sliced ¼“
½ cup water
1 t oil
5 carrots, peeled & sliced ¼”
1 1/2 C rice
salted water
1 wax cucumber or ½ English cucumber, peeled (if wax) and sliced ¼ inch thick
salt & pepper TT
2 T white wine vinegar

Instructions:
1.Heat a saute pan over high heat and add 1 tsp oil. Add the celery and garlic, season and brown for a few minutes. Transfer to a small saucepan.
2.Deglaze the saute pan with the water, then pour over the celery and garlic. Cover the saucepan and cook on low for 20 minutes.
3.Meanwhile, start to prepare the rice according to package instructions.
4.Heat the saute pan again over medium-high heat, and add the last 1 tsp oil. Add the carrots, season and and saute for 2-3 minutes.
5.When all the vegetables are done, combine with the cucumber and add the vinegar. Taste for seasoning. Serve over the rice.

Braised Chicken & Greens over Rice

Ingredients:

6 chicken hindquarters, drumsticks cut from thighs and scored with a knife (for faster cooking)

1 T & 1 t salt

2 t pepper

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & rough chopped

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

2 T oil

1½ pounds mushrooms, sliced

1 T salt

1 t pepper

2-3 bunches assorted greens, chopped

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 head garlic, peeled and sliced

3 tomatoes, diced

2 C rice

Water (to cover rice, see instruction #7)

2 T salt or TT

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a sauté pan over high heat, add 2 T oil and heat up. Add chicken and brown well.

4. Add 2 tomatoes, then transfer to a baking dish and cover partially. Put in the oven and cook 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, heat another sauté pan over high heat, add 2 T oil and add mushrooms when oil is hot, brown well.

6. Add greens, onion, garlic and 3 tomatoes. Cook 15-20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

7. To cook rice, rinse under running water in strainer, the put in saucepan and cover until water is up to your first knuckle when fingertip is touching the rice. Add salt until water tastes salty as rice should taste. Bring to a high simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low, cook 20 minutes.

8. Assemble and serve.