Fried Rice. Wow.

Stop the presses, stop your diet, stop everything and make this rice.

Before today, I had never made the same dish twice in once evening. This rice, from Mark Bittman, forced me to. Seriously, it FORCED me. I absolutely could not not eat it again. "Let's have it again tomorrow night" suggested the ever-reasonable David (who, I might add, ate this faster than I have ever seen him eat anything). But waiting was just not going to happen. I ate the last bite of the first incarnation, and immediately put the rice on to boil for the second.

I know that I'm a little (a lot) late to this party, that every blogger and home cook worth their salt (including Smitten Kitchen and Sarah) has made it and raved about it. It has been on my "to cook" list since it was published back in January. The problem: we don't have leftover rice. You see, after a childhood of watching my mom throw away half a cup of leftover rice almost every night, I was determined to always cook the exact amount of rice--to get it down to a science. And I did! Which was great for my conscience, but bad for fried rice. Finally, last night, I remembered to make a couple of extra cups of rice, specifically for this dish. And now, I will probably never make exactly enough rice again. David says that he could happily eat this every night for the rest of his life, and I'm inclined to agree.

Ginger Fried Rice (adapted from Mark Bittman)

This recipe is perfectly adaptable to any kind of rice. The first time, I used leftover brown basmati rice, and the second time I used fresh sushi rice. Mark says not to use fresh rice, that it must be day-old, but I just stuck my fresh rice, uncovered, in the freezer while the leeks softened, and it turned out just fine. I originally halved it, but, obviously, making the whole thing should be just fine for two.

1/2 cup peanut oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons minced ginger

Salt

2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried

4 cups day-old cooked rice, preferably jasmine, at room temperature

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons sesame oil

4 teaspoons soy sauce.

1. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly.

2. Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons oil and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.

3. Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through. Season to taste with salt.

4. In a nonstick skillet, fry eggs in remaining oil, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.

5. Divide rice among four dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Sausage and Beans, Two.

Another sausage+legume combo, which is a favorite of mine. This is a really great winter dish, which manages to feel hearty while still being quite healthy. It also makes great leftovers. The remains of this particular casserole were living happily in the freezer over spring break when the electricity went off. For almost a week! It was with a heavy heart that I returned to Chicago and threw out frozen shrimp, a stash of good sausages, and many leftovers. (Not to mention two gallons of homemade chicken stock...)

Anyway, this dish is so easy and cheap to make that the leftovers weren't too much of a loss, and if this chilly weather keeps up I might make it again soon. Any kind of chicken sausage should be fine; I used hot italian, but only because it was the most interesting type to be had at Treasure Island.

Chicken Sausage and White Bean Casserole (adapted from Martha Stewart)

Note: the original recipe calls for fresh bread crumbs to top the casserole. I had no bread, which meant no fresh bread crumbs. However, I'm sure it would make this even better.

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-25-30 fresh sage leaves

-1 medium yellow onion, diced

-6 cloves garlic, minced

-3/4 chicken sausage, casings removed (in my grocery store, chicken sausage comes in 1.25 lb packages of 5 links. For this, I use 3 links and save the other two for grilling)

-1/2 cup white wine

-2 cans cannellini beans

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. When hot, add sage leaves and fry until crisp, then remove to a paper towel.

2. Add onion and garlic to the pan and saute until translucent.

3. Add the sausage and fry until no longer pink, breaking up with a spoon/spatula. Add beans and wine to the pan and cook about 3 minutes, until everything is heated through. Season with salt and lots of pepper.

4. Transfer sausage/beans to a casserole dish and top with the fried sage leaves. Bake 15-20 minutes and serve with parmesan and a vegetable of some kind.

Photography note: These pictures are better! They might even be good! All credit goes to the sun, which, these days, is sometimes out when I finish cooking. I've been taking pictures on the back porch, see.

<- Bike and Beans.

I'm Back.

Hello! Did you miss me?

It has been over a month since I last posted, and I'm pretty embarrassed. I'm sure that some of you gave up on me (or at least on my blog) entirely. But, here I am, back from an eventful spring break and a painful transition into the new quarter. I started off this quarter fully intending to cut myself some academic slack, but four days in found myself having promised to sit in on an extra class, write an extra paper, and take on some extra hours at work. This isn't a personal blog, so I will (try) to keep the whining to a minimum, but I just wanted you to know that I haven't been spending all this time twiddling my thumbs, or whatever.

Today I'm back with cake, and in the next few days I will posting meals from the past month that I managed to photograph, but didn't manage to write up.

This cake. Oh man, this cake. I made for a party that I threw on Friday, for the Art History majors, obviously. This is by far the best chocolate cake that I have made, and it might just be the best one I've had. It is moist beyond belief, and the inclusion of cocoa powder AND melted chocolate... mmmm. I'm eating a slice of the leftovers right now, and it might just be even better after a day in the fridge.

The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, of course, with no modifications, and the frosting is basic cream cheese. As for the successful decoration, that's thanks to SK as well. In one of her many, many helpful cake posts, she explains that smooth frosting is achieved using the "crumb layer" technique. A thin layer of frosting is spread on the cake, and the cake is then refrigerated/frozen until the frosting is solid. Then, a second, SMOOTH layer goes on. It works fantastically well.

Smitten Kitchen's Best Chocolate Cake