Woops!

So much for my March Madness bracket.  It wasn't looking so good for me after the first round, but I think this weekend was the death knell.

Shrimp with Lemon Ginger Rice Pilaf

This weeks cooking class at culinaerie was focused on grains.  It was mostly review, but we learned more about how various types of semi-processed grains are made.  My partner and I also decided to experiment a little with the flavors of a traditional pilaf.  We added lemon, ginger, and garlic to the usual shallots and butter.  The result was outstanding!  I made some sauted shrimp with lemon pepper seasoning to round it out into a meal.

Rice Pilaf

Rice pilaf is one of the easiest ways to make really flavorful rice.  The typical pattern is to sweat onions in butter, then add rice and aromatics, toss to coat in the butter, then add the liquid and bring to a boil.  Finish in a 400-degree oven for 17 minutes.

Here is how we tweaked this traditional procedure to make our ginger lemon rice pilaf:

Ingredients:

- Butter

- 1c basmatti (or other long-grain) rice

- ~2c chicken stock

- 1 shallot, finely diced

- 1 lemon (zest and juice)

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1T grated ginger

- Salt & Pepper

Melt the butter over medium heat.  Add diced shallot and sweat until shallot is translucent.  Add the ginger, lemon zest, and garlic and stir to incorporate.  Add the rice and stir so that the butter coats the grains.  This helps supress the starches on the outside of the rice grains, so that the rice does not get sticky. 

Add the juice from the lemon plus enough chicken stock so that the total liquid is 2 cups.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and put in a 400-degree oven for 17 minutes.

For the shrimp, I simply seasoned it with lemon pepper seasoning and sauted it in equal parts butter and oil until it was nice and pink. 

Garnish with parsley.

Signs of Spring

It was still only 32 degrees this morning when George and I went out for our morning run, but there are signs of spring popping up everywhere, including our front yard!

Spring is on the way.... hopefully it will be accompanied by a renewed dedication to my blog!