SIMPLE SALAD FOR THE BUSY SEASON

Monday, December 12, 2005

One semester of my life as a PhD student has officially come to a close, and I could not be happier. Well, I guess if it was my last semester as a PhD student and graduation was in my near future I could, possibly, feel happier. But this semester's end brings with it the Christmas season, which I dearly love, and the promise of visits with family and friends I have not seen in a while, whom I have missed.

And, of course now I have time to go into my cooking-baking-holiday frenzy with full gusto! No papers to distract me, no students to correspond with, no grading to do. Blissful, undistracted cooking. Here's what I have planned: tonight, my friends from Missouri, Casey and Christy are coming over for a kind of farewell holiday dinner (we will be going our separate ways for the holiday break), and so before they head all the way up to Missouri and Illinois, where their family lives, I am cooking them a southern feast. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato pie. The weekend's food festivities include more people I love: my girlfriends from college, Patty and Lydia, are headed down for a visit. We do have going-out plans, of course, but for their arrival on Friday, I promised to cook a meal, which you will have to wait until Monday to discover!

Before heading to Mississippi, my kitchen will be full and busy and happy, just the way I like it. My favorite part about cooking during this season is that most of the food I cook I'm making to give away or feed to someone I love. I hope to share many of those recipes with you in the coming days.

Today's recipe comes from Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge's scandalous but delicious cookbook Intercourses, a rice salad that would be the perfect side dish to take to a dinner party, or main course to serve for a light lunch. It is better the second day, so I like to make enough to have on hand for a quick leftovers lunch. It is very flexible too; you can serve it warm, cold, or at room temperature. I liked it best at room temp.

I hope you all are enjoying this holiday season--I'd love to know what you are cooking!

Mediterranean Rice Salad

1 cup basmati rice

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 1/2 T. olive oil

1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup fresh arugula leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup green onion, chopped

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Bring the rice and chicken broth to a boil; reduce the heat and cook, covered until the rice is tender, about 15-20 minutes. All of the liquid should be absorbed. Dump the rice into a bowl. Add the olives, arugula, green onions, pine nuts, and cheese, and toss to combine. Drizzle with the olive oil and lemon, and toss some more. Season with salt and cracked black pepper. Makes enough for 6-8 side-sized servings.

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BLT Pizza

Monday, December 12, 2005

Well, faithful readers, the end of the semester is nigh for me--my last essay is due tomorrow afternoon. Until then, I shall have to turn all of my attention on my studies, but I leave you with this quick recipe for BLT pizza. It is an old favorite from my old waitressing post in Jackson, the Brick-Oven Cafe, and the red and green I thought appropriate for the season. Plus, I can hardly imagine better study food than pizza. Here's the recipe:

BLT Pizza

Prepared pizza crust dough or shell

8 slices bacon, cooked

Ranch salad dressing

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 cup of chopped green onions

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Romaine lettuce, arugula, or other greens

Preheat oven to 475. Once crust has been properly prepared, drizzle the surface with Ranch dressing, spreading to coat. You will want a thin layer over the whole crust, so the amount depends on how large your pizza is. Crumble bacon and sprinkle evenly across pizza. Follow with the chopped tomatoes and green onions. Sprinkle cheeses on top last; bake until the crust is golden and the cheese melted, about 10 minutes. To serve, top each slice with shredded lettuce or arugula and drizzle with a tiny bit of dressing.

Updated menu and archives tomorrow, I promise!

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