This is a Side Car. I’ve never had a sidecar until a couple weeks ago.
I highly recommend such a drink after you move your first-born child into her college dorm.
Cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice… how can you go wrong with all of this citrusy goodness? I think this is my new favorite, along with the Sazerac.
Here’s a great link for a recipe that is very close to what I had, right down to the lemon sugar on the rim.
seriouseats.com/sidecarrecipe
I grew up eating a healthy mix of home cooking and pre-made junk. Dinner could be Packet of Spaghetti Seasonings + ground beef = Spaghetti Sauce… or maybe fried chicken from scratch. Casserole with Cream O’ Something Soup was just as likely to be on the table as a completely homemade soup- homemade right down to the broth… yum! My mom, grandmother, and later, mom-in-law all had great dishes to pass on. I love to cook and feel indebted to them for sharing.
Once while babysitting, the mom of the house had me finish cooking her son’s favorite dish they called “Hawaiian Chicken and Rice.” It was simply browned boneless chicken breast and pineapple chunks added to chicken flavored Rice-A-Roni. It was great! The kid and I polished the entire dinner and I soon started making it for myself at home. I haven’t thought of that boxed side dish since those baby sitting days, but this weekend I saw America’s Test Kitchen crew prepare their own version and I had to try it…
Here’s how I made it- the only change made was using salted butter… and skipping the parsley. Enjoy my notes on and mistakes during the cooking process:
1- Place rice in a large bowl and rinse a few times to remove excess starch. Fill bowl with hot water an inch or two above the level of the rice and let it sit for about 15 minutes. I think my water wasn’t hot enough- on the TV show, it was steaming hot. This part helps to par cook the rice, and if the water isn’t hot enough, expect a longer cook time in the end…
2- In a heavy pot, brown the pasta in the butter over medium heat for about three minutes. Watch out- it will turn from light to browned very quickly… in about as much time it takes to snap a picture of it for you blog, for instance, it can go from blond to over browned. Yep.
3- Add grated onion, salt, and garlic. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until clear. Add rice, sauté until clear, another 3-4 minutes. If you thought the pasta smelled great while it browned in the butter, this will smell even better.
4- Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, turn to low and cover for 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Mine took more like 20 minutes (water wasn’t hot enough to par cook the rice in step one, I think).
5- Let your pilaf finish by resting with a towel between the lid and the pot. Fluff up and serve! I’ve never done this extra step before, with the towel, but I really think it did help keep the pilaf fluffy.
So, how easy was this? About as easy as the original boxed recipe, really. Except for grating the onion… I’ve never grated onion before, and some of my knuckle got into the dish, I think. Ouch. Overall though, it was a pretty tasty side dish!
And most importantly, better than the boxed mix.
Green Flash Brewing Company‘s collaboration with Alpine Beer Company put a big smile on The Husband’s mug. Now he doesn’t have to drive up to Alpine to enjoy what he identifies as his overall favorite San Diego brewery. High praise from a guy who loves his San Diego style IPAs.
I’m still on my quest to find beers that I like, still amazed by the fact that I do like beer… it’s just the hops that I never cared for. So on my inaugural visit to Green Flash in Sorrento Valley, we found Captain Stout and I’m here to say that I loved it!
I also love that I can get small pours instead of half pints. I’m small, a lightweight, and am quite obnoxious sober… no need to add much alcohol. Really.
After a mighty busy couple of weeks of people moving and school craziness, I’m back on my blog, yea! I really did do something new every day, even when moving The Girl into her dorm room out of state- If you don’t think that counts as new enough, just know that I’m still not quite ready to talk about it very much. It is a powerful phase to transition into, I gotta say. Blogging about committing to try new experiences daily was one of the smartest things I have done recently.
As for Green Flash, I’m looking forward to touring the brewery soon.
“How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?”
Dr. Seuss
We have attended every one of both of our children’s Parent’s Nights offered by their schools. From preschool, to parochial K-8th; from splitting our time between two schools; all the way through the 12th grade.
Except for tonight.
Tonight, three of us are hanging out in a hotel, waiting to move The Girl into her dorm room. I’d rather be home with both of my kids jumping on my bed and fighting for room as we tuck in and argue which cartoons to watch before bed. Would it be Phineas and Ferb? Bugs Bunny? Don’t tell me they’ve grown up enough to watch The Simpsons, I don’t want to hear that.
Time to move on and move in!
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost,
to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“It is always sad when someone leaves home, unless they are simply going around the corner and will return in a few minutes with ice-cream sandwiches.”
Lemony Snicket, Horseradish
Tonight The Husband and I took The Girl out to get dinner at one of her favorite restaurants. She is leaving this week for college and is she filling up on In-N-Out? The best Mexican food this side of the border? Nope. She wanted to sit at Nakamura-san’s counter at Akai Hana, one of the best restaurants for sushi in the San Diego area.
Her farewell dinner = my win!
Tonight’s new-to-me masterpiece was salmon roe. Previously familiar to me only as bait that I once used to fish in our local lakes with my father, our Sushi Chef caught this fish on an Alaskan trip and prepared the roe with mirin (a sweet cooking wine) and other ingredients that he said way too fast for me to understand…
The flavors were so fresh and light, I could hardly believe how delicious the tender roe could be.
It was a great meal spent with wonderful people… just the three of us. “My sense of humor is packing up and leaving,” I joke about her inevitable departure. On to bigger and better things for her!
branching out... on a limb 