Rice, Rice Baby & The Food Network Kitchens

Good morning!
This past week was all about rice. We learned about different kinds of the grain, how to cook them, and of course, how to eat them! We made saffron rice pilaf, pad thai noodles with ground turkey, and dahl, a thick lentil stew/paste that is often served with rice. Below, you'll see a pile of saffron, one of the most expensive foods in the world. Harvested by hand from the stamen of the crocus flower, these threads are used to infuse food with a sharp/sweet aroma and bright yellow color. About 4,000 threads are used for an ounce.

The box below cost approximately $150 (for a few ounces).

Below, onions and garlic are sweating for dahl (on the left) and onions for rice pilaf (on the right). We worked in partner groups to get more variety of dishes complete in one class.

Right: lentils, water, and spices are added to the onions and garlic
Left: bay leaves, chicken broth, and saffron are added to the onions

Below, our chef explaining the process

Below, our chef demonstrating the technique for wok-prepared pad thai

Plated dahl and rice pilaf:

Mine and my partners' dish is second from the top on the left corner of the table. We plated the dish in a bowl with a sprig of cilantro as garnish. The finished pad thai is sitting at the bottom right of the table. In it, we put fried egg, ground turkey, chili paste, soy sauce, lime juice, and several other ingredients (see below). This was my takeaway portion that I had for lunch and dinner that day!

See bottom of post for pilaf and dahl recipes*


Later that afternoon, at the Food Network, I got a peek at one of the test kitchens. There are several other kitchen locations, including at the headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, and they are used for prepping food for beauty shoots, testing recipes, and even to shoot a few FN shows, like Chopped.

 Below, little appetizers are prepared.

 A little empty at the moment. Usually, it's full of people working.

 You can see the lights on the ceiling that are used when shooting shows.

Hopefully, I'll get up there again when there's a little more going on... Stay tuned!

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Saffron Rice Pilaf
2-3 servings
1 oz. butter or fat
1 oz. olive oil
2 oz. finely diced onion
1 cup long-grain rice

chicken stock (or water, if you prefer)

1 bay leaf

1 TB saffron "tea" (pinch of saffron in hot water)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 300F.

Make the saffron tea by adding a pinch of saffron to 1 TB of hot water.

Heat the chicken stock and add salt if needed. 

(*TIP: the more flavorful your liquid, the tastier your rice will be.) 

Heat butter and oil in saucepan and add onions when the liquid is hot.

Sweat the onions on medium heat until they are translucent. Stir periodically.

Add the rice and mix well for a few minutes.

Add the chicken stock or water, bay leaf, and saffron "tea." Taste and add salt if needed.

Stir well to avoid rice cling-ons on the side of the pot.

Cook until half of the liquid is absorbed, then cover and place in oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and fluff with fork. Something like this fork will allow for the fluffiest rice. Otherwise, use a regular fork.

Dahl
8 oz red lentils
washed and soaked for 20 minutes
2 TB canola oil
1 lg onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
3 1/2 cups hot water
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garam masala

Heat oil in saucepan. Fry onions, garlic, and ginger until onion is golden brown.

Add turmeric and stir well. 

Drain the lentils and fry them in the pot for 2 minutes.

Add hot water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until thick.

Add the garam masala and season to taste. Serve with rice or eat like thick soup.

Enjoy!