Rice & Grains

Posole is a hearty soup from the Jalisco region of Mexico that is traditionally made with pork and hominy. Hominy is dried corn kernels from which the hulls and germs have been removed. (In its ground form hominy is called grits.) Dried hominy takes several hours to cook, so I have opted for the canned version in the interest of time. I have also developed a lighter version with shredded chicken and tomatillo salsa (hence green posole). This dish is ridiculously easy to make and quite satisfying with all the additional garnishes. Serve with Southwestern Sweet Potato Saute.

We've been making tabbouleh for years, but when Fran's Iranian friend Parvine Latimore made it for a special party, we both changed our recipes. Parvine used extra lemon juice and more fresh herbs than we were used to. The result was incredible—a delicious taste of lemon with every bite of grain and a burst of freshness from the blend of fresh herbs with every mouthful.

This is probably the most requested dish at my restaurant, davidburke & donatella. You can, of course, adjust the heat in this dish to your own palate. I really like it to have a powerful note. It is another terrific dish for entertaining as the rice, basil, and tomatoes can all be made in advance. The rice can be kept warm over hot water or it can be reheated in a microwave. The lobster can be cut up in advance, and then all that is left to do is to put it all together, which should take no more than twenty minutes.

This name came from a Frank Zappa song called "Jewish Princess" where he says: "I want a dainty little Jewish princess with a couple of sisters who can raise a few blisters." I decided to make something called Blisters on My Sisters, and when I went to the kitchen to make it, this is what I came up with. I make the rice and beans mixture in a bowl because all my ingredients are hot all the time, but since you are probably starting with cold ingredients, I gave you directions for mixing the ingredients together over heat.

This dish is a true Southern delight, our riff on Louisiana-style spicy shrimp combined with cheesy grits just the way we make ’em at The Lady & Sons. It’s amazing how easy this is to whip up. Make it for your family, and they’ll swear you spent all day tied to the stove.

Traditionally, this dish was made with short-grain rice, Arborio or Carnaroli, that’s been boiled in salted water with a little oil, and that’s how I make it here. If you have leftover risotto, you can use that instead of starting from scratch with the rice. On the other hand, if you have leftover Bolognese sauce, you can skip making the ragù; all you need do is to add some peas and a little water to the sauce and simmer until the peas are tender and the sauce is dense, not runny. The recipe for the ragù below makes about 3 cups, approximately twice as much as you’ll need. Either freeze the remaining ragù for your next batch of rice balls, or enjoy the sauce over pasta like rigatoni or penne.

Wheat berries are whole wheat kernels that become appealingly chewy when cooked, and bulgur, a Middle Eastern staple, is crushed dried wheat kernels (best known as the basis for tabbouleh). Together they make a nutritious and satisfying salad (the grains are hearty and filling) that can stand alone as a meal or work as a side dish with grilled lamb chops or crispy seared fish. I’ve called for celery hearts because I love their sweetness, but regular stalks of celery work just fine.

A bâtarde is a loaf of bread that is slightly thicker but shorter than a baguette. This version gets nice texture and flavor from cooked wild rice. Be sure to cook and cool the rice before making the bread.

These hearty rolls are packed with good-for-you stuff: whole wheat flour, old-fashioned oats, and wheat bran.

Here is a good basic cereal. As baby gets a little older, you can add a few things to the cereal such as a tablespoon of banana puree. You can make this ahead and refrigerate it for a day or two—at most—or simply have the rice, barley, or oatmeal ground and ready to go.

This pudding has more protein than a basic rice pudding. Because of the whole milk and eggs, it is suitable for children only over one year old.

Many teething biscuits crumble and break too easily. These are a little sturdier and safer for baby to eat.

For a falling-off-the-bone roast (about $4 a pound), crack open a tenderizing can of beer.

It's pretty hard to upstage bacon, but if you get your hands on some heirloom Carolina Gold rice, the granddaddy of long-grain rices in the United States, that's what you might end up doing. Lee cooks it uncovered, which allows the water to evaporate and thus concentrates the richness of the chicken stock and tomato juice.

Lee believes that classic dishes are far from being precious artifacts; they are inherently adaptable, and that's what makes them timeless. The starting point here was his "very Italian" wine importer, Enrico Battisti, but instead of polenta, Lee uses quick-cooking stone-ground grits from Anson Mills, in Columbia, South Carolina."They're better than any polenta," he says, "because they're so fresh. I call them hero grits."

Sofrito, a sautéed vegetable mixture that typically contains garlic, onion, and bell pepper, is used as a seasoning in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. Here, it flavors yellow rice. The color comes from annatto seeds—which have an astringent, slightly peppery flavor—heated in oil until bright red-orange.

Cinnamon sticks are made from long pieces of bark from various laurel trees that are rolled, pressed and dried. The type of cinnamon used in Thailand is from the Cassia tree. Cinnamon has a sweet, woody fragrance in both ground and stick forms. Rich in therapeutic essential oils, cinnamon warms the body and enhances digestion. It boosts metabolism and is thus useful for weight loss. It is also good for diabetes as it stimulates insulin production.

All of the components of this healthful one-dish dinner are roasted in the same skillet: The rice goes in first, then the salmon and broccolini. And they're all flavored with a lime, honey, and cilantro sauce. If desired, serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.