French Friday with Dorie: Creamy, Cheesy, Garlicky Rice with Spinach

FRENCH VS SPANISH STUFFED PEPPERS

I decided to have a cook-off between Dorie's French style rice/stuffed peppers and our usual "Spanish" style rice/stuffed peppers. 

CRISP, FRAGRANT GREEN BELL PEPPERS--PERFECT FOR STUFFING

JUICY TOMATOES FOR THE SPANISH BASE

NOT A STANDARD INGREDIENT, HOWEVER WHO CAN RESIST?

Early this morning I went marketing hoping to find fresh vegetable ingredients and the variety of rice suggested by Dorie, Arborio, a risotto rice, that we rarely use.  YIPEE!  The garden fresh fare has finally made it to AZ.  I lugged home a bountiful quantity and variety of fresh fruits and veges, the like's of which I've not seen in months.  Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico produce has finally made it to our area and the quality is instantly appreciated.  This produce looks and smells wonderful and tastes unlike the usual grocery store pickings.  These wonderful foods cannot grow when temps stay in the 116^ range for weeks at a time so we appreciate the growers who ship their wonderful items to us...sometimes overnight so that we here in the desert heat can also enjoy farm fresh produce.

THE RICE & VEGES READY FOR CHEESE AND CREAM

First I cooked the rice in chicken stock while the spinach steamed, and onions with garlic were sauteed in butter.  These ingredients were seasoned  with salt and pepper and when cooked were tossed together in a large pot. After adding the rice,  French style grated cheese was added and then heavy cream was stirred in creating a "Creamy, Cheesy" rice dish that is a perfect contrast to our traditional Spanish style rice.  I added double the cream suggested by the recipe as this rice mixture became too stiff or dry.

TOMATO BASE WITH VEGES READY FOR CHEESE

Our contrasting rice was made at the same time as the French rice.  Instead of chicken stock, our traditional rice uses a base of fresh tomatoes which are crushed.  Like the French style, this rice also included sauteed onion...in olive oil, not butter.  Instead of spinach, cilantro was used.  I had brought home red, green, yellow, and orange peppers which were diced and added to the saute pot with the onions.  And we finally have great corn so I cut the kernels from several cobs and stirred them into the mixture.   Next my precooked long grain rice was added.  Then the tomatoes were combined and this mixture was thoroughly heated.  Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses were grated and then stirred in.  With all these additions the juice from the tomatoes was absorbed and this mixture was just right.   The only seasonings used were salt and pepper.

BLANCHING THE PEPPERS

DRAINED AND READY

I  purchased crisp, fresh green peppers for stuffing.  3 were used for the French rice and 3 for the Spanish.  Before stuffing the peppers, I removed the seeds and then quickly blanched the peppers instead of using Dorie's Bonne Idee for oven-cooking the peppers.  My method is quick and the peppers are perfect.  When stuffed they can be baked for a short time just to uniformly heat all the already hot ingredients and melt any cheese added to the top.  Actually at this point, the Spanish peppers can be refrigerated and just microwaved before eating...these peppers will keep well for a few days in the fridge where Dorie suggests that her version should be eaten  "soon after it's made."

 

BEFORE BAKING GRATED CHEESE WILL BE ADDED

FUN TO TRY NEW FLAVORS AND VARIETY OF RICE

Some of my favorite tasters came to stay with me this evening.  3 of my grandkiddies tried both varieties of stuffed peppers.  They were actually excited to do this...they love stuffed peppers!

Penguin:  I love the Spanish style but most of all I like the green pepper. (She enjoyed both varieties of rice and  asked for seconds of the Spanish rice.)

Peacock:  I like them both but I want to eat them cold...please do not warm them up.  (She ate everything on her plate.)

Turkey:  This is a good dinner.  The best part is the green pepper.  I like all the red parts and all the green parts and I like the big green part the most.

There we have it.  The reviews are in.  I was proud of the kids to be excited to try a new flavor and happy all the meal was enjoyed.  I thought it was funny that the best part of the meal was the green pepper that held the rice. All three cleaned their plates and liked both rice flavors.   They were excited to be my judges.

Honey also came later and ate a bowl...she mixed both types together and created her own variety.  She liked it.




For me, this means that when I have extra tomatoes to use, the Spanish style will always be enjoyed, but when I have spinach or want something more creamy...maybe as a side to go with something like chicken, the French variety will also be enjoyed.

And, it was fun to use a stickier rice.  I think this rice would make pretty scoops that would stay in place on a plate, making a fancier dinner side dish.

Note:  Both varieties were re-heated and were good.  I was worried that the French creamy rice would not survive as a leftover due to Dorie's comments that this rice should be eaten soon after making it.  It was, however, really good the next day.

I look forward to seeing my fellow Dorista's experiences with this dish...always great ideas and tips to make my cooking better.