How to - Brown Rice

Ahhh, brown rice. Brown rice is one of those foods that gets a bad rap for being “healthy.” I don’t mean healthy in that whole grains are good for you or that it has a lot of fiber as well as important vitamins minerals that are often stripped from white rice. No, I mean it is called “healthy” because when made at home it often doesn’t taste good and it’s only redeeming quality is its health value. Kind of like hearing that your blind date “has a good personality,” describing a food as healthy first has a way of decreasing your expectations for its actual flavor.



So let’s ignore the fact that brown rice is actually good for you. Brown rice is delicious – it’s nutty and chewy and actually adds something other than starch to your dish. Ok, a lot of brown rice is kind of gummy or crunchy but when it’s cooked well, brown rice can be amazing. Over the years I’ve cooked a lot of slightly under and over cooked brown rice. I’ve even been able to achieve the both over- and undercooked version of brown rice – you know, the one where the rice is both soggy and unpleasantly crunchy?



There are lots of recipes out there with varying levels of complexity. But I really think that rice should be easy to make – it should not require multiple techniques or an hour to bring a staggering volume of water to a boil. It should be that think you make to go with the leftovers from last night and it should be on the table within an hour and it should take you no more than 10 minutes of active time. Are you with me?



You will need:

Oven-safe medium sized pot with oven=proof lid – you can make a lid out of tinfoil if your lid isn’t oven safe.
1 2/3 or 2 cups water
1 tsp kosher salt – this is key, do not leave it out. Salt helps to mask bitter flavors and enhance sweet and savory ones. The resulting rice will taste better if it’s salted, no matter what method you choose.
1 cup Long grain brown rice – no short or medium grain here, they are too apt to get mushy and while that works in some cases, it’s not what we’re looking for here.
1 tbs olive oil (optional)

How to – baked brown rice
Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Step 1. Preheat over to 350F.

Optional Step 1(a). Heat the olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the rice and salt and cook for two minutes.

Step 2. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil.

Step 3. Cover pot and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Step 4. Remove rice from oven and let sit, covered, for 15 minutes (do not lift the lid until the time is up!)

Step 5. Fluff with a fork and enjoy.

How to – Stovetop* Brown Rice
*I think baked brown rice is superior to stove top since the all-around heat of the oven cooks the rice more evenly and results in rice that is chewy but not crunchy and never soggy. That said, if you still love the ease of the stovetop method, here’s the best way I’ve found to do it.

Step 1. Place the rice in a colander and rinse it thoroughly until the water runs clear and now longer contains starch.

Step 2. Place rice, salt and 1 2/3 cup water in a medium pot and bring to a boil.

Step 3. Cover the pot and turn the heat down to medium low – you still want a very gentle simmer. Set a timer for 30 minutes.

Step 4. While keeping the rice covered turn the heat off and move the pot to a cool burner or to a counter space. Let it sit and steam for 20 minutes. If you lift the lid when it comes out of the oven the rice will look wet, just let it steam and the water will absorb.

Step 5. Fluff with a fork and enjoy.

How to - Supremeing Citrus

Mandarin orange slices are one of the things I remember distinctly as a food I ate as a kid and which I have almost zero interest in buying now. I don’t think my mom bought them often, but every once in a while they would show up in the pantry in their little individual cups swimming in syrup or water or whatever that liquid was. They didn’t taste particularly like oranges, more like a non-descript sweetness. But I loved them for their texture not their taste. No chewy skin, no seeds, no bitter pith. Like most mediocre foods that are acceptable to feed to children but not adults, mandarin orange slices didn’t really occupy my thoughts for many years until I watched someone on some food show “supremeing” an orange and I realized this was a way to mimic the texture of those slices while still eating something that tasted like citrus

When learning new techniques in the kitchen, I always like to weigh the complexity of the task against the difficulty the name suggests. The more impressive the name and the easier the task, the more likely I am to accomplish it. Supreme (rhymes with “pants hem”) is a fancy word for an incredibly useful technique that is not actually particularly complicated but makes people ooh and ahh when you talk about it. The end result is clean citrus slices without any bitter skin or seeds that can be easily added to salads, fruit tarts, jams, and sauces. The remaining segment-less piece of citrus can also be juiced for some additional flavor. I like to add finely chopped supremed lemon to quinoa to perk up the flavor. Or just add them to my morning yogurt. This fancy technique needs no special occasion.


You’ll need
At least 1 piece of citrus - orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, all have excellent uses
A relatively sharp knife
Hands free of cuts and hangnails or the juice will sting – Alternatively wear non-latex gloves. I keep them around for working with chiles as well.

Step 1. Cut off the top and bottom – stem and blossom ends - of the citrus you’re working with so that it will sit flat on a cutting board.



Step 2. Starting from the top and working around the natural curve of the fruit, slice away strips of the peel and pith so that the flesh of the fruit is exposed. You may cut away a large amount of fruit in the beginning but better waste some fruit than leave pith on the finished product.I find that it’s often helpful to turn the fruit upside down after cutting away all the peel, to make sure all the pith is removed as well - unlike in the picture below. The curve of the orange can hide spots.



Step 3. Holding the citrus in your hand, identify the segments of the citrus, separated by a thin white line created by the skin separating the segments.



Step 4.Insert your knife about 1/8 inch from the line of pith and gently slice towards the center. Do the same on the other side of the segment, 1/8 inch away from the pith. At this point the segment should gently slide out from the fruit. If it doesn’t repeat your cuts going slightly deeper in the center of the fruit and angling the cuts towards one another until they meet in the middle, freeing the segment.


Step 5.Continue to remove segments by slicing them on both sides and removing while leaving the skin between segments intact. The final product will be juicy segments of citrus and a pinwheel shaped remainder of the original fruit.



The empty remains of the fruit can be squeeze for additional juice that is often a good addition to whatever dish you're making with the segments. Or it can be saved for sweet addition to a vinaigrette. Or put straight into a glass and enjoyed.

How To - Flaky Piecrust

Ahh, pie crust. Pie dough is one of those things that is pretty good from a package. But well done homemade pie dough can take a pie from “this is good pie” to “this pie is amazing.” I make a pretty mean pie crust. And there’s no reason you shouldn’t too. Don’t know how? Well this is your lucky day.

“This pie crust is so good that it makes anyone who uses store bought pie crust look like someone who doesn’t know how to make pie crust.” – Michael Tyler Frederickson.

Nicely said! Added bonus, when you make this pie dough you know exactly what goes into it. And it doesn’t include Yellow 5 or Red 40 or preservatives. Unless you’re into that thing. In which case this recipe will not help. But for the rest of us, let’s begin.

You’ll need:
1 stick (8 tbs) cold butter
1 cup flour, sift before measuring – this part is really important for consistent results! It minimizes differences in the amount measured due to how tightly the flour is packed.
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbs apple cider vinegar - makes the crust more tender and relaxes the gluten formed while mixing.
Up to 1/3 cup of water, added 2 tbs at a time.

Step 1: Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and add the butter, cut in slices. Mix the flour/salt and butter together using just your fingers. Don’t use your whole hand to do the mixing since your palms are usually pretty warm and you want to keep the butter as cold as possible. Mix until most of the flour has at least some butter on it but there are still some large chunks of butter hanging around. Those big pieces are essential to lovely flaky layers so err on the side of undermixing.



Step 2: Add the vinegar and then add water a few tablespoons at a time until the flour comes together into a dough. It should all stick together but it shouldn’t stick to the bowl or to your hands when you press it.



Step 3: Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and flatten it with your hands into a disc about 6 inches across. This can also be a last minute check for stickiness. If the dough sticks to your fingers when you press it out, sprinkle it with a little extra four, then wrap it up. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes. You can even make the dough a few days ahead and leave it in the fridge or freeze it for up to a month before using.



Step 4: Roll it out so that it’s about an inch or two bigger than your pie pan on all sides. This part will be important for sealing the top crust or making a pretty crimped edge. And those lovely big pieces of butter in the dough? Those are going to make some nice flaky pastry!



Step 5: The best way I’ve found to transfer dough is sprinkle extra flour on top, fold it into quarters, then place it so the tip of the triangle is in the center of the pie pan and unfold. Works like a charm.



Bonus step: Crimp the edges by folding that extra inch of dough under so you now have a double layer of dough on the rim of the pie pan with the edge hidden under the dough. If some areas of the dough are longer, rip that piece off and use it to patch a shorter piece. To get that traditional crimp place your index finger and middle finger on the outer edge of the dough about a half inch apart and your thumb on the inner edge of the dough between them. Pinch lightly. Now move your index finger to the indent made by your middle finger and repeat. End result, a beautifully crimped edge.



Use with your favorite pie recipe. Also with your second favorites. Try this one. Wow your friends. Tell them, “It was easy.” Right?