Stuffed with Love Sticky Rice Stuffing

Thanksgiving – the gathering of loved ones, the expressing of gratitude, the stuffing of food!

Did you, like me, abandon your calorie count and gorge yourselves at your spectacular Thanksgiving Feast? Are you as tired of leftovers as I am?  Does your stomach groan when it hears the words “Gravy”, “Gratin”, and “Casserole”?

If so, I thought I’d spare you all the recipes of the fluffy sweet potato souffle and the cheesy eggplant zucchini gratin and post a dish that is still related to this holiday, but may not have been on your Thanksgiving table.

Chinese Sticky Rice (also known as Nuo Mi Fan) has been a tradition in my family since well as long as I can remember. Instead of the traditional bread cubes or cornbread, we make our stuffing with good old rice!  What’s not to love? It’s a dish that’s aromatically fragrant, infused with ingredients that trigger your “umami” tastebuds, and a refreshingly healthy choice next to all the bubbling cheese and sugary pies. I’ll admit, it’s a time consuming recipe, but worth every minute. AND it’s not just for Thanksgiving, which means you can enjoy it…right now (or more accurately in 3 hours)!

Our Thanksgiving Feast (Chinese Minestrone Soup, Eggplant Zucchini Gratin, Sweet Potato Souffle, Stuffed Mushrooms, Sticky Rice, and Sesame Peanut Noodles (surprisingly the most popular dish of the night!)

What You’ll Need:

• 3 cups short grained sticky rice
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 1 handful chinese black mushrooms (soaked in water until soft), sliced
• 3-4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp chili sauce
• 1 cup Morningstar veggie sausage crumbles
• 1 cup of frozen mixed corn/peas/carrots (or you can use fresh ones)
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• canola oil (to cook with)

Sticking Together:

1. Soak the sticky rice in cold water for 2 hours (make sure water completely covers the rice by at least 1 inch in excess).
2. Indulge yourself and catch up on some blog reading or tv shows while rice is soaking
3. In a frying pan or wok, heat up some canola oil and throw in the sliced mushrooms and Morningstar crumbles adding in just a tad bit of soy sauce and salt & pepper. Stir fry until you can smell the aroma of the black mushrooms.
4. Add in the corn/peas/carrots/veggie mix and continue to stir fry for a couple minutes
5. Drain the sticky rice and add to the pan/wok.
6. Stir in the remaining soy sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce, and half of the cilantro until rice is well coated and mixed
7. Now, add the veggie broth, making sure rice is mostly covered. Turn the heat to medium low, cover with a lid, and let simmer for 30 minutes.
8. When the rice is done, all liquid should be absorbed and it should have a soft, sticky consistency.
9. Next, mix everything up again, add in any last minute flavoring, garnish with the rest of cilantro, and…Bon Appetit!

Variations:

• Like fried rice, you can add in any of your favorite ingredients. I’d advise that the black mushroom remain a staple because it adds so much flavor but here are some other suggestions: Water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, snow peas, cabbage, spinach, hard tofu cubes, leeks.
• Feel free to add in other spices and flavors that strike your fancy, like curry, five spice, oyster sauce, or sweet chili sauce.
• Take some seaweed wrappers and wrap them inside like sushi for a twist
• Wrap them in some spring roll wrappers and you’ll have yourself a Chinese burrito!
• If you’re in the mood for something sweet instead, simply swap the soy sauce and savory ingredients for agave infused water and raisins, dates, and red bean paste.

And if you’ve made it this far down, I’d like to express my deepest Thanksgiving thanks to all of you! The support I’ve gotten and the friendships I’ve made through this blog has added so much flavor and excitement to my life. So I’m passing on this 09 blog appreciation award to all of you before 2009 ends! Thanks to Kristy for passing this along to me.  Kristy’s enthusiasm in the kitchen and her effervescent personality is just infectious. She has been such an inspiration and her blog is full of delights and surprises, so give it a visit if you haven’t yet!

I also received this awesome Peas Love Carrots award from Mathea. Mae is a truly original artist and total trendsetter, even though she emphasizes that she is not “hip”. Her ideas are astonishing, her writing is whimsical, and her creations are imaginatively exceptional. I’m hoping she won’t get mad at me for not 100% following the rules and posting 7 odd facts about me. I’ve already done that and I’m afraid posting 7 more will really make all of you wonder if I’m quite right in the head. However, I will pass on the blog love to people I haven’t had a chance to pass on an award yet.

1. Kristy @ My Little Space - I think the above says it all!
2. Sanjana @ Ko Rasoi This is a girl who knows how to make extraordinary food and has a warm personality to match
3. Noelle @ A Singer In the Kitchen Someone who shares my predicament/adventure of having a carnivorous man in the house
4. Rochelle @ Acquired Flavor Delicious and original recipes, complemented with mouthwatering drool-inducing photos 
5. Divina @ Sense and Serendipity Stumble upon some serendipitous posts on nutritious dishes – you’ll be happy you did!
6. Penny @ Jeroxie Her posts will make you feel like you are right there living through all her adventures
7. Joy @ joylicious Make some discoveries in the joy of food!
   

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Choco-Me-Crazy Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment Recap

 

Twas the day of the Chocolate Experiment
And all through the Bell House
Chefs busily prepped their stations
With hopes of obtaining some ”wow’s”

 

Savory creations led the way
Their aromatic flavors filling the air
Succulent, tasty, and umami
They fearlessly challenged and dared

Yours Truly

Bonnie Suarez's Umami Chocolate Black Beans with Roasted Cauliflower & Pork Belly (My personal favorite)

Jill Strominger’s Ole! Mole, (And the sweetest "neighbor" I could ask for!)

The sweet and scrumptious treats

Each more decadent and sinfully rich

They lured you with their siren song

And your tastebuds they bewitched

 

Roopa Marcello's Winning Thai Chili-Lime Chocolate Ice Cream (Sadly, I didn't get to sample this!)

Jordon Goldstein's Mango Sticky Rice Lolipops (sweet and slightly tangy, and delicious filling)

Pervaiz Shallwani and Rebecca Marx’s Chocolate Hush Puppies (My personal sweet favorite – just the right amount of sweetness with a satisfying crunch!)

Lily Olive’s PB & Hot Chocolate Truffles (A nice dude brought these over in exchange for samples of my dish. The cayenne really gets you at the end and I found that to be a pleasant surprise)

Attic Sugar Bakery’s Hazelnut Brownies (Again didn’t get to taste this, but who am I to contest Andrew Knowlton & judge’s 3rd place pick?)

The voracious chocoholics came streaming in

Seeking the holy chocolate grail

The chefs didn’t disappoint

The chocolate poured in without fail

 

 

With a beer in one hand and plate in other

The crowd casted votes on a chocolate high

The judges sniffed, tasted, savored and licked

All the chilis, cookies, cakes, and pies

 

My plate of goodies brought over by one of my gracious helpers. Too bad it was knocked over before I could finish it all

The judges deep in deliberation

The vivacious hosts Nick and Theo

Charmed the crowd with banter and cheer

The winners were announced

And congratulated with prizes and beer

 

 

An afterparty followed

Of which the Experimental Chef missed

Tired from the long long day

And a sick sous chef at home to kiss

 

So ends another Experiment

Hope you had your fill of cocoa craze

“Oh chocolate, how do I love thee

Let me count the ways”

 

Winners:

Judges Award
3rd – Attic Sugar Bakery – Hazelnut Brownies
2nd – Bonnie Suarez – Chocolate Black beans with cauliflower and pork belly
1st – Roopa Marcello – Thai Chocolate Ice Cream

Honorable Mention Sweet – Alyssa Lees – Deconstructed Truffles
Honorable Mention Savory – Lei Takahashi – “Pig in Drag”

Nick and Theo Prize – Pervaiz Shallwani + Rebecca Marx – Chocolate
Hush Puppies

Audience Award
3rd -  Team Peanut – Chocolate Chipotle Chili
2nd – Lei Takahashi – “Pig in Drag”
1st  – Roopa Marcello – Thai Chocolate Ice Cream

*Photo credits: The Lovely Irene, and The Effervescent Aurelia

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The Serendipitous Burger

Serendipity ~ luck, or good fortune, in finding something good accidentally

For someone who likes to be creative and experimental, I am actually quite the control freak. That is, I don’t deal well with things that “don’t go as planned”. I pack for trips 3-4 days in advance; I factor in Plans B and C for my vacation itineraries; heck, I even write down notes before I type my blog posts!

So you can only imagine my chagrin when I came home from Trader Joe’s before the chocolate cookoff to discover that the 10 cans of whole pinto beans I meant to buy were actually refried pinto beans. What was I to do with mushy beans in a chili dish? I was also too lazy to make that trek back downtown to return the refried beans, so in my pantry they sat.

Then yesterday, I tuned in to an old episode of Top Chef and watched Lorraine Bracco make this amazing Panko-Crusted Portabella Bun, and thought: That’s IT! I’m going to make this with a Pinto Bean Burger! So there it was – my serendipitous revelation turned my useless cans of refried beans into a tasty, hearty meal!

Earthy, slightly sweet PINTO BEAN BURGER
paired with
Citrusy AVOCADO TOMATO RELISH
sandwiched between
Two blissfully crispy & meaty PANKO PORTABELLA BUNS

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15oz) pinto refried beans
• 1 cup breadcrumbs, seasoned with herbs of your choice (salt & pepper, basil, parsley, etc)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 4 large portabella mushrooms, stems removed
• a couple cups flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
• a couple cups of panko bread crumbs, seasoned with salt & pepper
• 3 Tbsp dried basil
• 1-2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/2 lime
• 1/4 cup agave nectar

Stumbling Upon Serendipity:

1. Saute onions in a pan with some light butter until carmelized. Add in the chopped bell peppers and cook for another couple minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix the refried beans, bread crumbs, 1 egg, chopped cilantro, and the onion/bell pepper mixture. Cover and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
   *While burger mixture is chilling, make the mushroom buns:
3. Thoroughly brush the portabella mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dried basil.
4. Dip the portabella mushrooms in this order until well covered: a) flour b) 2 eggs, beaten c) panko bread crumbs
5. Stick the panko-crusted mushrooms into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes
   *Now make the avocado-tomato relish
6. Combine the chopped tomatoes, avocado, and some cilantro. Squeeze in lime and add the agave nectar until desired sweet-sour balance is achieved
7. Take the pinto bean burger mixture out of the refridgerator, form into golf-sized balls, dip them into flour, flatten them, and fry in a pan, flipping constantly until they are crispy and golden brown.
8. Remove the portabella buns from the oven and assemble this delicious burger.

Variations:

• Don’t have pinto beans? Try using black beans for a more traditional black bean burger. Garbanzo beans would also work beautifully (almost like falafel burgers!)
• Substitute the relish with your favorite salsa – maybe a pineapple salsa or maybe even marinara sauce!
• If you’re not in the mood for citrus flavors, try some leafy steamed spinach or kale instead of the relish
• I almost didn’t want to suggest this, because that panko-portabella is absolutely divine, but it can be more filling than the usual buns, so if you’re not looking for a filling meal, you can replace with 2 pieces of whole wheat toast, or 2 sesame buns.

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