Rice Recipes

My culantro plant has gotten full & bushy in the warm, sunny greenhouse. I couldn't wait to make a batch of culantro sofrito for beans, rice, eggs and just spooning onto everything to give winter a little 'summer' spice! Sofrito is a very flavorful blend of garlic, onions, peppers, tomato, culantro, cilantro, oregano and a little vinegar chopped or pureed and seasoned to taste. I think every chef has their own recipe for sofrito. It's simply heated in oil and added to a variety of dishes to add amazing flavor.

Instructors generally start at the CIA teaching Skills 1 & 2-arguably the most enjoyable & rewarding classes in the curriculum. When you finally get moved to another class you get a sense that you're doing ok... I went to Cuisines of the America's in the CE building and enjoyed researching the history of our great country. That's where I learned about hoppin' John, pot likker, hoe cakes and grits!

This recipe is dedicated to my friend Sam, a young entrepreneur in my neighborhood who is passionate about learning to cook. He asked me to teach him how to prepare Burritos... so I had to learn how first!

As a young CIA student, my day one job was to prepare rice pilaf in Skills One with Chef Aldo Bagna... I've always been 'math challenged' & totally messed up the ratio-my pilaf was a disaster. Fortunately I'm an overachiever & had volunteered to prepare lentils, I brought my delicious lentils up for a final grade of A & ditched the pilaf. I've been a pilaf fan ever since.

Rice & Mashed Potatoes Don't ask... this is an absolutely delicious & unique recipe I innovated with two fantastic favorites. ... it's amazing.

Sauteéd Mushrooms I'm a huge fan of mushrooms... and they come in all shapes , colors,sizes and flavors. Most mushrooms can be purchased fresh, dried, frozen and some come in cans. Mushrooms also come mixed so you get 3 or 4 types in one package. Mushrooms add great flavor t0 soups and stews, risotto and pasta dishes as well as stir fried meals. Dry cooking methods such as roasting, sautéing or grilling work especially well with mushrooms. Some types of mushrooms are delicious raw in salads or simply added to hot broths for great added flavor. The various sizes and textures generally dictate the cooking time-larger or denser mushrooms like portobello or shiitake need a little longer to cook while delicate, small types like enoki or beach mushrooms cook very quickly. I generally like to caramelize mushrooms and add to vegetable medleys, sauces, stuffings etc...