I am a HUGE fan of Alton Brown – I give him total credit for learning how to cook. I watched the shows and read the books…I think it was because he added the SCIENCE into the explanation of cooking. When you have an understanding of the basics, it’s easy to adapt them into more complex dishes.
This has become one of our favorite recipes, and a go-to side dish – it’s highly adaptable – you can add many different ingredients to suit your purposes. Vegetables, dried fruits, nuts…We’ve even made spanish rice by using a different stock and adding ro-tel and taco seasoning.
Rice Pilaf
(adapted from a recipe by Alton Brown)- 4 T butter or olive oil
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1 C diced onion
- 1 t kosher salt
- 1 t fresh ground pepper
- 2 C long grain rice
- 3 C Chicken broth or stock
Preheat oven to 350*
Saute Onions & garlic in oil or butter over medium heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When the onions are translucent, add the rice. Saute until the rice gets light golden brown and takes on a slightly nutty aroma
Add your stock, and stir. When the mixture comes to a gentle boil, stir once and put a dish towel over the pan and cover with the lid (see photo below).
Bake at 350* for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes with the lid/towel on.
Fluff up and serve!
Here’s a picture of what the pan looks like with the towel and lid – I don’t know how or why it works, I just know it does 
Linked to Rachel’s Mouthwatering Monday – She has a fabulous new look (courtesy of yours truly) – go check it out!
