Chicken & Rice

Originally we were going to barbecue on Memorial Day weekend, but broke the usual by having a different kind of dinner. The original recipe was supposed to be Barefoot Contessa’s stuffed chicken but when I got a hold of it, it changed a few times, from chicken with Irish potatoes and Minnesota wild rice to… in the end, chicken with fried potato stuffing and basmati rice cooked Arabic style. Not too much of a difference, I mean… scientists say that Minnesota wild rice is a close cousin of Basmati rice… divided by only seven thousand miles of land and water. :) Also, what dinner would be complete without something sweet in the end? It’s sunnah, and oh-so-satisfying. I made a two-tiered double chocolate fudge cake with German chocolate icing. Yeah… kinda on the heavy side…but again, oh-so-satisfying.

First I’m going to give you the recipe of the desert, because although chefs always show they make it last, it is not true. Desert should always be made first and stored in the fridge so you can get on with the heavy hot cooking.

MJ’s Double Chocolate Fudge Cake with German Chocolate Icing (serves 10, or 3 guys)

Take a large bowl, whisk in 2 cups of sugar and one cup of corn oil. Add ½ cup of sour cream and keep whisking. Then one at a time, add four eggs and keep whisking. Then add 5 ounces of melted chocolate. I used Cadburys, but you can use any kind. Then mix in 1 ½ cups of flour, ½ cup of cocoa, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix in well. Then slowly add 1 cup of strong black coffee, cooled to room temperature.

Mix in everything very well and then pour into two pans which have already been greased. Preheat oven to 350F, and let them back for about 30 minutes. Check the middle of the cake with a clean toothpick. If it comes out dry, you’re done. Pull them out, let them cool.

To make the German chocolate icing, take a medium bowl. Add 10 ounces of melted chocolate. I chose German chocolate. Whisk in 1/3 cup of sour cream and one table spoon of butter. Mix in 1 cup of powdered sugar, and keep adding milk one teaspoon at a time until the frosting reaches desired consistency. Before finished up the frosting, I added ¼ cup of Nutella. My brothers love it and I wanted to add a hit of that.

Put it in the fridge to cool it more. Then spread it over the first half of the cake, and then put the other cake on top and ice that one. Refrigerate again.

Arabic Rice

This rice was made without beef stock. It was completely vegetarian.

Take 3 cups of basmati rice, and soak it in room temperature water. Put it to the side. Put a pot or pan on the stove and drop in 4 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Chop up one medium sized onion into small cubes and drop it in the pot

After the onions are golden, add 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped garlic. Stir in 1 teaspoon ground cardamom and 1 leveled tablespoon of salt. Measure 6 cups of water and pour it in. Add a little black pepper and a dozen whole cardamoms, give or take. Put the temperature on high and bring the water to boil. Take the rice that has been soaking for at least thirty minutes now, strain it and dump it in the pot. Cover and cook on low for fifteen minutes.

Take a small pan and add four tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Chop some carrots, thin and long and add them to the oil to fry. When the carrots turn a bit on the golden side, add ¼ cup of sugar and caramelize it. After the sugar has almost disappeared becoming more of a syrup, add ¼ cup of raisins. Shut off the heat after one minute because the raisins don’t take long to plump up.

Add this mixture to the rice. Mix it in carefully, you don’t want the basmati to become mangled. Every grain should be by itself, not stuck to something. That is the trick of Basmati.

Chicken with Fried Potato Stuffing

Okay, this chicken took me forever. But it was worth it. I had marinated it 24 hours before it had to be cooked so it was oozing with flavors.

To marinate, start with a whole zabiha halal fresh chicken, and wash and clean thoroughly. Put it in a bowl or pot which is the size of the chicken itself so the chicken has nowhere to run, seriously. Make a couple of cuts here and there. Not too deep. First lather it with 1 table spoon of ginger and 2 tablespoons of garlic. Massage it in really well. Now add 1 ½ teaspoon of red pepper, 1 ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of turmeric, ½ teaspoon of black pepper, ½ teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Why so much of the spices? Because you’re marinating it, in 24 hours the spices will lose their ‘hit’ and blend in really well with the other ingredients. Make sure you also rub them into the inside of the chicken where the stuffing will go. Cover the bowl now with aluminum foil or a plastic bag really well and refrigerate for a day.

The next day, which was today for me, start with taking a large pan, put two tablespoons of oil in it on medium heat. Chop four large potatoes into small cubes and throw them in the pan. Fry them until deep golden. Take out and spread on a large paper towel to soak out all the oil.

Now take a large onion, chop into small cubes and drop them in the same pan that is already on the stove with the remaining oil. Fry till golden brown and spread over another paper towel.

Take two carrots, chop them into small cubes and fry them until golden in the same pan. Add more oil if you have to. Take out and spread them out too.

The reason for doing everything separate is to keep them from ‘mushing’ together, and to keep their geometrical shapes and have that ‘fried’ taste.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 350F. Get a shallow pan to cook the chicken in. I chose shallow because I wanted the chicken to be moist but not liquidy. With a deep pan, you can create a great gravy or curry, but I already had a great stuffing.

Grease the pan with olive oil. Put the chicken in the middle. The chicken is probably all juiced up with the marinade from the day before. Then take a bowl and mix in the fried potatoes, onions, and carrots. Stuff the chicken with this mixture. I would have used celery and bell peppers as well, but I didn’t have any today. Tie up the legs of the chicken so the stuffing stays inside.

Grease the pan with olive oil. Put the chicken in the middle. The chicken is probably all juiced up with the marinade from the day before. Then take a bowl and mix in the fried potatoes, onions, and carrots. Stuff the chicken with this mixture. I would have used celery and bell peppers as well, but I didn’t have any today.

Tie up the legs of the chicken so the stuffing stays inside. Chop two extra potatoes in large cubes and throw them around the chicken. Also take a medium onion, cut it circularly and put it in the pan as well. If you have some stuffing left, put it in a nicer bowl so you can serve it on the side. Drizzle some oil over everything and put it in the oven for about 45 minutes. Drizzle some oil over everything and put it in the oven for about 45 minutes. When it’s done, garnish it with cilantro.

Baked Asparagus

Take about a dozen asparagus sticks, and throw them in a pan. Put a pinch of garlic salt, a pinch of black pepper, some olive oil and bake it for fifteen minutes.

Garlic Sauce

Mix one tablespoon of freshly puréed garlic into one cup of yogurt. Add in half teaspoon of salt, and one teaspoon of mayo. Also, add two tablespoons of milk to get the desired consistency.

I wish I could have included a picture of the entire display of all the dishes, but unfortunately the hunger took over and I forgot. It was only after we had pillaged the cake that I remembered. :)

Bon Appetit!