I was invited to a dinner party last weekend and the host asked me to bring a side dish. Side dish??? Me??? I am not one of those people who has a queue of favorite dinner menus catalogued and readily accessible. I was at a loss for a delectable dish to take that would be not only presentable, but edible, for a party. At potlucks, I am usually able to fly under the radar with a green bean casserole or sometimes my husband helps me out and cooks a pot roast. This challenge was of a different sort; however, and you will be pleased to know I rose to the challenge!
If you are like me and are not the Martha Stewart of cooking, today's post will be one you can benefit from. For today, I present the Golden Rice Salad as found in Talk About Good! from the Junior League of Lafayette Publications. This recipe is found on page 94 and is submitted by Mrs. John Allen Bernard.
I am going to present this recipe in a way that I would want it explained to me. I need to have it broken down into its separate parts, otherwise I am sure to mess it up! Note, for those of you who don't cook like me, I have listed the ingredients separately at the bottom of the post.
Here we go:
cook 4 1/2 cups of brown rice in 3 cups of chicken broth (I use a rice cooker, so I simply set up the rice and water and sprinkled some (that is a measurement for me) dry powdered chicken broth into the water.
after the rice is cooked, mix these things together in a measuring cup: * 1/4 Cup of Salad Oil (ooops, I think I used Italian Salad dressing, but it tasted good anyway) * 2 Tbsp. vinegar (I used balsamic) * 1 1/2 tsp. salt (hope you have sea salt) * 1/8 tsp. black pepper *Ms. Bernard calls for 1/8 tsp. of red pepper, but I am allergic to it, so add it if you want. I assume she means cayenne?
mix the ingredients above with a fork or a wire whisk (yes, I have one) and mix into the hot rice. Then cover and set the hot rice in the refrigerator long enough to cool it down.
now is the time to do a whole lot of chopping. This is where I ask my husband to step in because he makes such pretty little pieces, but when it becomes a necessity, I can do it myself. The following items and proportions are specified in the recipe. I just put what looks like "enough" to me. I am NOT a measurer! (One day you will hear about the sugar cookies) OK: *1 Cup of ripe olives, cut in large pieces (I used canned black, but think Calamata would have been better); *2 hard-cooked eggs, diced (I didn't feel like boiling eggs, so, yep, you guessed it, these got left out); *1 1/2 Cup celery, sliced; * 1/4 Cup dill pickle, chopped; * 1 small onion, minced. Ms. Bernard notes that parsley and green onion tops may be added. (I added the green onions, they look pretty and taste yummy)
Put all of these chopped things in a bowl and add the following: * 1/2 Cup mayonnaise (I recommend the new kind made with olive oil), and finally 2 Tbsp. prepared mustard (this is a fancy name for the kind in the yellow bottle)
then add all of this to your rice. I like to press the entire mixture down with my spatula. It is my reasoning that this gets rid of air spaces and allows all the ingredients to become savory. Sounds good, huh?
I might add that before taking this to the table, put it in a pretty bowl. Funny how the presentation makes such an impact on the taste.
Here is a picture of what my salad looked like in a one-serving sized bowl along with what I came up with after the leftovers had been served for three days. I simply made a skeleton of a salad with lettuce, avocado, and radishes and tossed some leftover rice salad over it. It was as good as it looks! M
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My presentation of the Golden Rice Salad
Rice Salad sprinkled over a green salad was delicious!
For the professionals:
1/4 c. salad oil
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. red pepper
4 1/2 c. hot cooked rice
(1 1/2 c. raw rice) cooked in
3 c. chicken broth
1 c. ripe olives, cut in large pieces
2 hard-cooked eggs, diced
1 1/2 c. celery, sliced
1/4 c. dill pickle, chopped
1 small onion, minced
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. prepared mustard
You and your doctor should make responsible decisions regarding your health.
Please do not rely on my comments and opinions for your diet choices.
