Pitter-Pat Rice Patties (Glorious Leftovers for a Rainy Day)

It is a universal (to me) truth that the more I have to do, the more I will take on. Somehow in the ADD din, this comforts & makes sense to me. Today I am committed to many projects, including making gnocchi, & finishing a costume for SFBP tomorrow night.

So what do I do? Make a delicious brunch, of course! Since it's raining, I wanted something hot, & luckily this meal was simple to prepare. The hardest part was stopping to take photos before I ate.

I've seen several variations on how to turn leftover rice into a tasty hot patty, but I think the one I made up worked very well. I used just enough egg to bind the rice together, and a little cheese to add creaminess and character. Depending on what kind of rice you have, add complimentary ingredients & moisture as needed. Goat cheese would make an amazing binder for these cakes. Instead of mixing it into the batter, I would hide a dollop of it inside each patty, or let it melt on top of the fried patties.

I started with leftover yellow curry rice. I make this rice often & eat it with diced tomato, avocado, salt & pepper. See recipe for rice below. Since this blog is about the leftovers, I will start with the patty recipe.


To Make the Rice Cakes
2 cups leftover curried rice
2 large eggs
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (or goat cheese if you have it)
1/2 cup chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
Sriracha or other hot sauce
salt
pepper
butter
olive oil

Saute the diced onion in some butter & oil until brown & caramelized. Take about 1/2 cup of the rice along with the cooked onions, and blend them in a mini prep or blender until somewhat emulsified. This step is not necessary, but will add a creamier texture to your patties.

Combine the rice, eggs, rice/onion mixture, parmesan cheese, most of the parsley (leave some for garnish), in a bowl. Season as desired with hot sauce, salt & pepper. Since the eggs are raw here and I can't taste, I go easy on the salt & sprinkle a bit more on before frying.

Form into patties and refrigerate for about 20 minutes (also can be left overnight, but who can wait that long?) Chilling will help set the patties and ensure they stay together when flipped.

Heat the pan from your onions, and add more butter. Once it starts to sizzle, add the patties and fry for 4-5 minutes on each side. You want a nice crispy crust on these, so be patient and only flip once.

I served these with a fried egg on top, extra hot sauce & parsley. Aside from adding color, the parsley kicked the flavor into high gear.

A hot cup of cardamom coffee is a delicious accompaniment to this dish. Simply add a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to 2 packed tablespoons of grounds. Makes 3-4 cups, depending on how strong you brew it.


To Make Yellow Curry Rice
Boil 1.5 cups of water and set aside.
Measure 1 cup dry white rice (I find that jasmine, or any regular medium-grain rice works well)
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a quart-sized saucepan (one that has a lid)
Stir in the rice, & add 1 tablespoon yellow curry (I like the Sun Brand Madras Curry), 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt.
Pour the 1.5 cups of boiling water over the rice. It will come to a rapid boil. Stir, cover with the lid, & turn the heat all the way down. A gas burner should be barely going. On an electric burner, use the lowest setting.
Set your timer for 15 minutes. Do not take the lid off the rice during this cooking time.
Once the timer goes off, turn off the burner but LEAVE THE LID ON THE RICE FOR ANOTHER 5 MINUTES.
After the full 20 minutes, remove the lid, and fluff the rice with a fork.
If you prefer, omit or change the seasoning as desired. Just remember that salt it key. You can also use veggie or chicken broth for more flavor. Add onion, herbs, & almonds or pine nuts for a pilaf.
Store leftover rice in a container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

¡Cracksadillas!

KICKIN' VEGGIE QUESADILLAS with CHIPOTLE SAUCE

By no means do I condone the use of crack, but if "crack/drug user" makes it onto Family Feud's top survey answers, I feel pretty good about calling my chipotle sauce crack-like.

Make this once, and eat it for 2-3 days, or serve it at a dinner party. All of these veggies are coming into season now, so you can enjoy this meal for months to come.

Makes 5 10" Quesadillas

THE VEGGIE MIX
corn cut from 2 ears
1 large zucchini, diced to about the size of a kernel of corn
1 large red or orange bell pepper, diced as above
1 medium white onion, diced as above
1 jalapeno, seeded & finely diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
fresh pepper

THE EXTRAS
1 pound pepper jack cheese, grated
10 burrito-sized thick flour tortillas (but hey, use what you like!)

Over a medium-high flame, heat a large skillet, then add a few tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion, and saute until clear. Add the corn, and turn the heat up a bit. You want to brown the corn, but not overcook it, so it stays crunchy. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, & keep stirring. Once the corn starts to caramelize a bit, transfer the corn & onion to a bowl, and lower the heat on the pan to medium. Add another tablespoon of oil if needed, and add the bell pepper and zucchini. If they're not sizzling, turn up the heat a little. You want them to just cook until tender, but not burn or steam. Keep stirring for a couple minutes, then add the corn & onion back into the pan. Add the jalapeno, cumin, the rest of the salt, and pepper to taste. Stir & heat through. Transfer the mixture to a bowl & wipe out the pan.

THE CRACK SAUCE
2/3 cup sour cream (lo siento, MGM)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
lime juice (start with 1/2 a lime, add more if needed)
canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

Stir together the sour cream & mayo. Start adding teaspoons of the adobo sauce from the chipotles until you get the heat you want. Add some lime juice to balance the flavor, and wella! Crack sauce.

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED
To assemble the quesadillas, heat the skillet to medium/medium-low, and warm the tortillas. If you brown them a little at first, you'll get rid of that flour taste, and have a crispier quesadilla.

Place a tortilla on the skillet & sprinkle it with some of the grated cheese. Spread on 1/5th of the veggie mixture, add more cheese, & top with another tortilla. Using a spatula, lift the quesadilla to see if it's nice & browned on the bottom, then flip it over & brown the other side. Slice into 1/4s & serve with the crack sauce.

Store leftovers separately in the fridge, & assemble more quesadillas as desired for 2-3 days (if they last that long).

Vegetarian Chili & Jalapeno Cornbread

This chili recipe is easily altered, depending on what you have around. Make more, make less (if you can), or change the types of beans and vegetables. The cornbread is a variation on a recipe I found on a cornmeal package. I prefer finely ground cornmeal for a really soft bread. The cheese helps make it moist and extra delicious.

CHILI

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped red bell peppers (about 2 medium)

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved

1 16-ounce can tomato sauce

TOPPINGS
Chopped fresh cilantro

Sour cream

Grated Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever you prefer)

Chopped green onions

Preparation:

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes. Mix in beans, 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid, and tomato sauce. Bring chili to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle chili into bowls. Add toppings if you wish. Serve with cornbread (recipe below).

JALAPENO CORNBREAD

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups cornmeal (fine grind, like Arrowhead Mills brand)

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 cups milk

6 tablespoons butter, melted

4 tablespoons honey or sugar

2 cups grated pepper jack cheese

2-4 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400’F.

Grease a 9x13" pan with oil or butter.

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in one bowl.

Combine eggs, milk, oil/butter (melted), honey/sugar in a separate bowl. Beat well.

Combine all ingredients, until just moistened. Stir in the jalapenos and most of the cheese (leave a little aside to top the batter before baking).

Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over batter, and bake approximately 20 minutes, until edges are golden and center is set (springs back to the touch).

Cool bread in pan(s) at least 10 minutes before serving. Wrap leftover bread (once cool) in plastic and store at room temperature up to 3 days.