Every year the girls in my office combine our resources and get a nice gift for our boss for Christmas. We struggle every year with what to get, but we somehow manage to pull something together at the last minute that's unique and personal.
This year someone heard him say he wanted to spend more time cooking, so we ran with that. We got him a variety of wonderful cook books, a bamboo cutting board, and a high quality knife. We also decided to include a recipe card booklet filled with favorite recipes from everyone in the office.
I was in charge of putting the recipe booklet together. I loved this job because I got to see everyone's contribution. Boy, we have some wonderful cooks in our office. Every recipe sounded fabulous. (In fact, I copied them all just for my own personal use.)
I wanted some pictures in the recipe booklet of the completed recipes, so I made some of the recipes just so I could take photos of them.
Today's recipe is one I made just so I could take a picture. However, this baked rice dish was so delicious I decided to change my Christmas Eve dinner menu entirely. I'm now going with a Mexican theme for Christmas Eve dinner, and I'm building my whole menu around this rice dish. It was that tasty!
I should have expected it to be great since the recipe was from Cyrhen (one of the greatest cooks I know). The picture of this recipe doesn't do it justice. It's a recipe you will be asked to make over and over again.
BAKED RICE WITH CORN, CHILES, AND SOUR CREAM
2 cups cooked rice
2 poblano chiles*, charred and chopped
(or 1 large can of green chiles)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
3/4 cup corn
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cop chopped cilantro
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add chiles and saute 1 minute. Mix together cooked rice, corn and sauted mixture. Mix in sour cream, cilantro. Stir in grated cheese.
Turn mixture into a buttered 2 quart dish and bake at 325 degrees until sides are light brown and rice is heated through. About 25 minutes.
Serves 4
*To char poblano chiles (aka, pasilla chiles) broil under hot flame until skin is black and bubbly. Turn over as needed to char all sides. Place hot blackened chiles in paper bag or foil and seal until cool enough to work with. Peel of blackened skin and remove seeds (I usually rinse seeds off with water). Chop chiles to desired size.
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Mexican theme for Christmas. . . Well, Feliz Navidad, CaliCook, or should I say CaliCocinera? In either language, this dish is muy bien.
ReplyDeleteWow, CaliCook... I didn't realize you changed your whole theme because of this dish... but I agree, it is that tasty. I'm so glad you liked it that much. I've made this many times, and on some nights it IS dinner. I'd love to tell you af a great wine to pair this with, but truthfully, a real good cold beer is the best compliment! Thanks again for your lovely words. It is a privilage to work along side of you!
ReplyDeleteWow. You even have commenters in Spanish. This is a blog for all the world's people.
ReplyDeleteGracias anonymous, Cryhen, and Jamie. I appreciate you all so much.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is muy bien.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of beer with this dish, but I'd still like a suggestion for a wine. I'm thinking a red wine, but not too heavy. Something like you'd drink with pasta. Maybe a Chianti. I went online, and they said stay away from reds with heavy oak and tannins. But they like going white -- They said Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Pinot Blanc go well with spicy foods. I'm still leaning toward a red, though.
ReplyDeleteHow did that Mexican dinner go over on Christmas? Dying to hear the rave reviews from your family.
ReplyDeleteWell, Most of them liked it a lot, but for some, it was too spicy hot. In the future I will cut back on the chiles for large crowds, since many people don't like things as hot as I do. I think the poblanos I used at Christmas were hotter than the ones I used the week before. But overall, it was a hit. It was great warmed up the next day too. Thanks for the comment.
ReplyDelete