Penne Senese

How it's supposed to look:


How Mines looks:

As you guys can probably tell, I am obsessed with the recipes at the Olivegarden.com. It's amazing. Its having all this great tasting food without leaving your home. I'm a huge huge fan. I tried a new recipe, just because one day I had my friend come over and I wanted to cook a good dinner for my guest. :-)

Penne Senese

Prep Time:	20 minutes
Cook Time:	30 minutes
Serving Size:	4 8 12

Ingredients
1 lb penne pasta, cooked according to package directions
2 Tbsp butter
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ lb mushroom, sliced
6 Italian sausage links, casing removed
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 quart heavy cream
¼ lb prosciutto ham, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh sage (or 1 tsp dry)
1 Tbsp fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dry)
½ lb grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic pepper (optional)
Salt to taste

Procedures

1. HEAT pan over medium heat. Add butter and allow to melt. Add oil, onions and garlic. Reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sausage. Cook until pink is no longer visible in sausage.
   
2. ADD white wine and bring to a boil. Whisk in flour and let cook for 1 minute to remove flour taste. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until sauce reaches desired consistency.
   
3. ADD cooked, drained pasta to pan with sauce. Toss well.
   
4. TRANSFER to large serving platter and garnish with fresh basil, sage and additional parmesan cheese, if desired.

Conclusion:
I really enjoyed this. One of the better pasta dishes I've made. The issue is there's a lot of butter and oil that goes into this. It's hard to shake the idea that you're eating fat. lol

How it's supposed to look:


How Mine Looks:

As promised in my Food to Come entry I wanted to make Tandoori Chicken. I love Indian food and my Chicken Vindaloo was such a success, I decided to make another Indian chicken. With that I decided to make my fave rice ever, peas rice or as the Jamaicans call it rice and peas.

Tandoori Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
• 1 cup full fat Greek Yogurt
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method

1. Prepare chicken by pricking it with a fork to create holes for the marinade to get into the chicken breasts. Then combine all ingredients, except chicken in a large bowl. Mix well. Add chicken and marinate for 2-3 hours, or overnight, refrigerated.
2. Preheat oven to highest temperature, for me that’s 550 degrees. Bake chicken on wire rack over baking dish until golden and internal temperature is 165 degrees. You can also prepare this chicken on the grill.
3. To get the chicken a little more charred, I turned the broiler on high in the last few minutes of cooking, while watching carefully, so I didn’t burn it.

Peas Rice

2 cups of rice
Kidney Beans 4 cups of Water

Directions:

1. Boil the beans in Water until cooked.

2. Add the rice and then put low to a simmer until rice is soft.

Conclusion:

So this was interesting cuz I messed up. The beans, were not cooked. These kind of beans need to cook for awhile by its self before you put in the rice. I felt the beans saw they were almost cooked and then put in the rice. The rice cooked, but the beans weren't so the rice was difficult to eat...

The chicken came out extremely dry. Not sure why. I'm going to have to try again.

A different recipe for fried rice

Here's how it's supposed to look:


Here's how mine looks:



Ok, so as you know earlier on in the blog I made fried rice. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I found a new recipe, that I LOVE!

Fried Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 2 stalks celery with leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 lb fresh snow peas
• 3 stalks green onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups cooked rice

Method

1. Preheat large skillet or wok. Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce to the beaten eggs. Add one teaspoon sesame oil to the preheated wok, and scramble eggs until set. Remove from wok and set aside.
2. Add the tablespoon each of sesame oil and olive oil to wok. Add onions, green and red peppers, snow peas, and celery to wok. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes longer.
3. Add cooked rice and carrots. Sprinkle in the 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Add more olive oil if necessary. Cook the rice for about 5 minutes, until heated through.
4. Add cooked eggs and green onions, and cook for 1 minute more before serving.

Conclusion:

So, I loved this. Love it, like I'll make it any day of the week and enjoy it. I did make some changes, I didn't use carrots, red pepper or peas. I added chicken and broccoli instead. Soo good, love it. LOVE IT.

Chicken with Lemon Sage Sauce and Saffron Rice

I saw this chicken on the Olive Garden website and I just HAD to try it. I was like wow that looks fancy. I also decided to try a fancy rice and got this recipe for Saffron rice Allrecipes.com. Which is fast becoming my fave website.

Chicken with Lemon Sage Sauce

Prep Time:	45 minutes
Cook Time:	45 minutes
Serving Size:	4 8 12

Ingredients
PICCATTA BATTER
6 eggs, whole
1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup fresh Romano cheese, grated
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 tsp dry)
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tsp dry)

CHICKEN
4 ea 6oz. chicken breasts, boneless skinless, split
2 cups flour, seasoned with salt and black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil (or as needed)

LEMON SAGE SAUCE
1/4 cup shallots, finely chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped (or 2 tsp dry)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedures
Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.

PICCATTA BATTER

1. COMBINE eggs, cheeses, parsley and basil together in a large mixing bowl.

CHICKEN

1. POUND chicken breasts until ¼” thick. Dredge chicken in the flour mixture and dip it in the Piccata batter; coat evenly on both sides.
2. HEAT olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Place chicken in the skillet and fry until edges are golden brown on each side. Transfer chicken from skillet into a baking pan.
3. BAKE in a 350ºF oven for 5-6 minutes, until juices run clear.

SAUCE

1. DRAIN 3/4 of the oil from skillet and add the shallots, garlic and herbs. Saute over medium heat until shallots are transparent. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, white wine and reduce liquid by 1/2. Add heavy cream and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly.
2. REMOVE pan from heat and whip in the cold butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

SERVE

1. POUR ¼ cup of sauce on plate and place chicken on top. Serve immediately.]

Saffron Rice

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 6 whole cardamom seeds
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cups boiling vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Cover rice with cold water and set aside to soak for 30 minutes.
2. Soak saffron threads in 2 tablespoons boiling water.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; add cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and fry 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Stir in the rice, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Pour in the boiling broth and stir in the salt and saffron.
5. Cover and cook until rice is cooked and all liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes.

Conclusion:

Wow, one of the best things I have ever made. I am SUPER UPSET that my camera is not working, because I would love to show you guys what my food looks like. It was soo good, different in taste. Especially the rice, between the cardamom, cinnamon and saffron, it's such a different, but tasty feel,

Gnocchi with Spicy Tomato and Wine Sauce

So my camera broke. Which really sucks, because I have no pictures of what my version of the food looks like. It's close enough to the official picture that it shouldn't be too difficult.

The recipe is from the Olive Garden.


Gnocchi with Spicy Tomato and Wine Sauce

Prep Time:	15 minutes
Cook Time:	30 minutes
Serving Size:	4 8 12

Ingredients
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves fresh garlic
1 pinch chili flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 14.5-oz cans tomatoes
1/2 stick sweet cream butter, chilled, cut into 1” cubes
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 lb gnocchi (potato dumplings), cooked according to package directions
Fresh chopped basil to taste

Procedures

1. SAUTE olive oil, garlic and chili flakes in a pan on medium heat until garlic turns a light golden brown. Add white wine and chicken broth and simmer about 10 minutes.
2. REDUCE wine and broth by half, add tomatoes and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
3. PUREE half of the sauce in blender with butter and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove sauce from blender and stir in with other half of sauce that was not pureed.
4. REMOVE gnocchi from boiling water, drain and mix with sauce.
5. SERVE gnocchi topped with Parmesan cheese and basil.

Conclusion:

This was a bit disappointing. I didn't have chili flakes so I used my chili seasoning and just wasn't good enough. It was also very watery. It was ok, but I just didn't like it.

Chicken Castellina

How it's supposed to look:

How Mines looks

So, the Olive Garden has recipes. Yup, recipes for food. I have been cooking from the website nonstop and here is the first meal I tied from there.

Chicken Castellina

Prep Time:	25 minutes
Cook Time:	25 minutes
Serving Size:	4 8 12

Ingredients
Sauce
1/4 cup pancetta (or bacon), diced
6 Tbsp butter, cubed
1 tsp garlic, chopped
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups milk
1 oz cornstarch
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup smoked Gouda cheese, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
8.5 oz can sliced artichokes, drained
1/4 tsp pepper
¼ cup mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 lbs pasta of choice, cooked according to package directions

Chicken
1 1/2 lbs skinless/boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1 - 1 ½” pieces
¾ cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup white wine

Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Procedures
Sauce

1. SAUTÉ pancetta (or bacon) in a 3-qt sauce pan or large pot, over medium/high heat until crisp and golden brown. Reduce heat, add butter and allow it to melt. Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Sauté for approximately one minute, stirring frequently (do not brown).
2. WHISK in cream, milk and cornstarch. Raise heat to medium/high. Whisk in Parmesan and Gouda cheeses. Once cheese melts, add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring continuously.
3. REMOVE from heat and let stand uncovered.

Chicken

1. MIX flour with salt and pepper. Coat chicken in seasoned flour, shaking off excess flour.
2. HEAT olive oil in large sauté pan. Add chicken in a single layer and cook until golden brown on both sides (approximately 7 minutes total). Juices should run clear.
3. ADD wine to chicken in pan (caution: there will be a low flame in pan). Toss gently until wine is evaporated. Add sauce and bring to a boil on medium/high heat.
4. TRANSFER drained, cooked pasta to large platter. Evenly distribute chicken and sauce over pasta.
5. GARNISH with chopped parsley and serve.

Conclusion:

I used Penne instead of bowtie, and I have the unfortunate urge to never listen to directions. They always say pour the sauce over the pasta, and I always drench the pasta in the sauce. I also cooked the pasta too long, so it was super soft and stuck together.


It was the first time I've made sauce from scratch and it was great. I took a bowl to work and my friend totally chomped away at it without my permission. That's how good.

Frittata

How it's supposed to look:


This summer I discovered something amazing. A Fritatta. Basically baked egg! Crazy. I wanted to make it super bad, but my mom had a strict no oven in the summer rule. Finally, I'm in my own place and in the mood for a fancy breakfast!

How mines looks:






America Frittata

Ingredients

• 4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 onions, sliced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 8 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup cubed ham
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft.
3. Stir in eggs, drained potatoes, ham, salt and pepper. Cook until eggs are firm on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Top frittata with shredded cheese and place in preheated oven until cheese is melted and eggs are completely firm, about 10 minutes.

Conclusion:

This is AWESOME! I forgot to put in the salt, but that's easily fixed. I also, threw in some spinach, used turkey sausage as opposed to ham and added in mushrooms. How I never heard of this before, blows my mind!!!

Fried Dumplings...Antiguan style.

What it's supposed to look like:


I am Antiguan. It's an Island in the Caribbean. As much as it pains me, think Jamaica. My aunt makes the BEST dumplings. So, I decided to try making something from home, instead of something crazy this time... this is how I fared.

What mines look like:

Fried Dumplings...West Indian style

Ingredients

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
Oil for frying

Directions

• Sieve the flour in to a bowl, stir in the salt and baking powder

• Cut the butter in to small lumps and add to the mixture

• Work the mixture in to a breadcrumb-like texture

• Add the milk a little bit at a time and work in to the mixture (if it is added too quickly the mixture may not bind properly)

• Knead the mixture until it is smooth.

• Divide the mixture in to small balls about 5cm in diameter then flatten the balls so they are about 2cm thick. The dumplings are now ready to be either boiled or fried.
• Heat the oil over a low heat.Fry until golden brown (this should take about five minutes)

Conclusion:

My only problem was that this is extremely hard to knead. EXTREMELY. Like, my hands were so covered in dough. It was a bloody mess. You know, a mess that was bloody. Anyway, it got to the point where I just like dropped globs on to the frying pan. It tastes exactly how it's supposed to. It was fun to make, like being a 5 yr old playing with playto.

Chinese Garlic Chicken and Jamaican Style Rice

How it's supposed to look:



Making Sesame chicken made me wonder about my other fave chinese style chicken, garlic chicken. I looked it up, saw it was practically the same ingredients as sesame chicken and got to work.

How mine looks:





Garlic Chicken:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 15 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons Shao-Hsing cooking wine or dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 1/3 cups chicken stock

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and black pepper. Toss with flour until coated.
2. Heat peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add chicken, and stir fry until the pieces are lightly browned on the outside, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn heat to medium and stir in whole garlic cloves; continue stir frying for 5 minutes.
3. Turn heat to low, and add Shao-Hsing wine, soy sauce, and chicken stock. Cover, and simmer for 20 minutes until the chicken is tender. Remove garlic cloves before serving.

Jamaican Styled Rice:

Ingredients:

2 Cup Long Grain Rice

1 Cup Pigeon peas [optional]

1 Cup Red Kidney Beans [optional]

1 Medium Onion chopped

1 Cup Fresh Coconut milk

2 Cloves Garlic Minced

2 Teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive oil

1 Large Habanero Pepper

1 Pinch Of Ground Black Pepper

1 Pinch Of Table Salt

Directions:
When draining peas save liquid for dish. add to the coconut milk. with enough water to have 4 cups. In a large skillet or saucepan saute the onion, garlic, and Habanero pepper until there are tender but still crunchy. Add all the liquid along with rice, cover and simmer cook on low-medium heat for 30 minutes. All liquid will absorb and rice will be tender and fluffy. Gently fluff with fork.

Conclusion:

So here it is. I almost went blind cooking this meal. I couldn't find habanero Pepper's so I got jalpeno. There I am cutting and cutting and then I rubbed my eyes. Rubbed my eyes and a few minutes later the burn began. I ran to the bathroom, and stuck my head under the facucate. Nothing happened. I couldn't open my eyes for a good 5-10 minutes and I thought that I my life was over, but it wasn't. I freaked out on my roommate, freaked out on my friend and then freaked out on my mother. Who laughed and sagely told me to open my eyes, take the burn and let my natural tears wash it out. Luckily. she was right. At that point, it was a case of honor. I had to keep my dignity and continue to make the rice. It was very good.

Sesame Chicken without the seeds

What it's supposed to look like:


So as promised in my "What's to Come" post, i finally made Sesame Chicken. Pretty proud of myself. It came out pretty good. I was super super pleased with it. So, lets just get to the point..shall we?

What Mine Looks like:

Ingredients:

• 3 whole boneless chicken breasts
• Marinade:
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cooking wine or dry sherry
• a few drops of sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Sauce for Sesame Chicken:
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/8 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 TB dark soy sauce
• 2 TB sesame oil
• 1 tsp chili paste, or more if desired
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• Other:
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (see recipe directions for link to how to toast)
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups peanut oil for deep-frying

Directions:

Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken for 20 minutes.

To prepare the sauce: mix together all of the sauce ingredients. Pour them into a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Turn the heat down to low and keep warm while you are deep-frying the chicken.

To deep-fry the chicken: add the marinated chicken pieces a few at a time, and deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken.

Just before you are finished deep-frying, bring the sauce back up to a boil.
Place the chicken on a large platter and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve the Sesame Chicken with rice.


Conclusion:
So, I was like surprised to learn I had to fry the chicken. Luckily I have these two steel pots. So I had to improvise, but it fried just fine, coming out just like it was supposed to. I also decided NOT, to buy sesame seeds. It's just for garnish. And I decided not to spend another couple of bucks for no reason. Also it says to pour sauce on it, and I decided to just drop it in. So it was just clumps of chicken and thick sauce, BUT who cares it tasted good.

Southwest Rice and Jerk Chicken

How it's supposed to look:


So I decided to make another different kind of rice. I have turmeric due to the chicken Vindaloo, so I am trying to make food where I can use my ingredients. I have all these different spices ,I need to use them. lol, that's a reason to cook, to waste my spices. It's also been months since I made my fave bbq jerk chicken.

How Mines Look:

Southwest Rice:

Ingredients

• 1 medium green pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn, thawed

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the green pepper, onion and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, rice, cumin and turmeric; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Add beans, tomatoes and corn; heat through.

Barbaque Jerk Chicken:




Ingredients

• Chicken Legs
• Jerk seasoning (Hot or Mild, I chose hot)
• BBQ sauce (I chose Kraft)

Directions
1. Marinate the Chicken legs in BBQ seasoning at least for four hours, best if overnight.
2. In a pirax dish, bake chicken for a few minutes with a little of the BBQ sauce. As time goes on pout the rest of the BBQ sauce on the chicken and bake for about an hour.

Chicken Vindaloo and Indian Style Rice

How it's supposed to look:


I made soo much of that South West Pasta Bake, that I was eating it for days. By Friday, I was like "nope you need something completely different." Choice? Indian food. I love chicken Vindaloo. When I go out for Indian food, it's like almost always what I order. LOVE IT! So why pay someone else to make it, when I can make it?





How Mine looks:


Chicken Vindaloo via epicurious

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes (about 4 medium)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon garam masala*
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon (or more) cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth or water

Directions

Blend first 11 ingredients and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in processor until paste forms. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add paste from processor and cook until golden, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add chicken and potatoes; sauté 5 minutes. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Season with more cayenne, if desired, and salt and pepper.

*A spice mixture available at Indian markets, some specialty foods stores, and many supermarkets. To substitute, mix 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; use 1 teaspoon of mixture.

Indian Style Basmati Rice via Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
• 2 pods green cardamom
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Place rice into a bowl with enough water to cover. Set aside to soak for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves, and cumin seed. Cook and stir for about a minute, then add the onion to the pot. Saute the onion until a rich golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the water from the rice, and stir into the pot. Cook and stir the rice for a few minutes, until lightly toasted. Add salt and water to the pot, and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork before serving.

Conclusion

Well I did good. Not to toot my own horn, but making this was a battle. First I had to spend a crap load of money on getting the ingredients. Then, I couldn't find one of the ingredients so I had to go to a whole different supermarket, wait for someone to figure out what cardamom is and get it for me. Of course Whole Foods is also the king of long long lines. So I waited forever on the line, got up stairs and then got ready to cook, but guess what needed a blender. At this point the meet was already out, and all the other ingredients and I had it in my head that I was going to eat Indian food, so I went up to Kmart and got my self a pretty nice blender. I begin mixing and cooking and guess what! I do not have one of the ingredients. A spice that I looked dead at and said "do I need that? No" and walked away from. So back out and got the turmeric and began to cook. An hr and a half later, I had some amazing Vindaloo chicken and rice. (side note, I had jasmine rice in my kitchen and I was not going to spend money on buying bismati rice just for this recipe) Probably the best thing I have cooked so far... :-)

My Kitchen: