Carla's Honey Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Honey. YUM.

Despite my slight fear of bees and some weird hang-ups about honeycomb (It’s actual WAX! That people eat!), honey is a super spectacular sweet flavoring that I can’t get enough of.  Predictably, I love honey swirled into tea or on crunchy toast with butter.  Instead of thinking of it as an accent for this week’s theme (as I usually do), I decided to brainstorm a dish that would really be able to show off the unique attributes of honey.

Immediately, I thought of how delicious honey is alongside cheese and decided the perfect concept would be to create a type of cheesecake.  This would allow me to combine some of my favorite flavors together with the honey: goat cheese and pistachios.

And so, the Honey Goat Cheese Cheesecake was born:

Honey Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Make in an 8x8 pan for 16 square sized pieces

For the Crust:

-          ½ cup pistachio meat (I was able to buy a small bag of the unshelled goods for only $5 at my Trader Joe’s)

-          1 cup graham cracker crumbs

-          2 tbsp sugar

-          6 tbsp butter (plus an extra pat to butter your pan)

For the Filling:

-          8 oz  cream cheese

-          10 oz goat cheese

-          1 tsp vanilla extract

-          1/3 cup honey

-          1 egg

For the Pistachio Dust

-          ¼ cup pistachio meat

-          1 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Pulse the pistachio meat in a food processor to mimic the texture of the graham crackers.  A few larger chunks are, of course, just fine (and likely even desirable.)   Melt your butter on the stove and let it cool.

Combine the ground pistachio meat, graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a bowl.

Once your butter is cool, add to the dry mixture and combine.  After properly buttering your pan, spread the crust mixture into the bottom of the pan.

Throw the pan in the oven for 8-12 minutes to set the crust and give it a nice toasty-brown look.  Set it out to cool.

Begin your filling by combining your cream cheese and goat cheese in a mixer.  Whip until just mixed.

 

Add the vanilla extract, honey and the beaten egg.  (Depending on your sweet tolerance, the 1/3 cup of honey may not be enough.  I wanted to get the honey flavor without too much sugar in order to be able to detect the goat cheese, so I loved it as is.  If you have a small taste of the filling and find it not sweet enough, consider adding a tbsp of sugar instead of more honey.  Since honey is sweeter than sugar, it’s easy to overdo it.)

(PS- If you’re not using a real vanilla extract (imitation extract is, sadly, in rampant use), may I suggest upgrading? My local TJ Maxx, Home Goods or Marshall’s often has versions for a great price and it really does make a difference.)

Pour the mixture over your crust.  Bake (at the same temperature of 350 degrees) for 35-45 minutes.  My oven required a full 45 minutes to set properly in a glass pan- what you’re looking for is a very slight jiggle in the center of the pan.  Once complete, cool the pan on a rack until it is able to be refrigerated.  Allow to refrigerate for AT LEAST two hours (and I ALWAYS prefer overnight for the best flavor and texture).

To create the pistachio dust to top off the cake, candy the nuts on your stove.  Add the nuts and sugar over medium heat.  As the sugar melts, stir to coat your nuts.  Once all the nuts are coated, set them aside and allow them to cool.  After they’re cool and crunchy again, pulse in the food processor before sprinkling over your completed cake.

The Verdict:

This slightly sweet cheesecake picks up some great tang from the goat cheese and a really amazing pistachio crunch from the crust.  A must-try (in my humble opinion).

Carla's Favorite Blogs

When news came out a few weeks ago that Google Reader was shutting down in July, I was so mad I couldn't speak (I could, however, shame-email my Google employee friend in ALL CAPS and commiserate with equally irritated Facebook friends).  I was a long-time user of Bloglines, which informed me several times over the years that it was moments away from shutting down (and... never did? I'm not sure). They played with my emotions for too long and eventually I gave up and moved to Google Reader several years ago.

The options to switch to a new reader aren't that great so far, in my opinion.  Feedly seems ok, but it's an extension as opposed to a site that I can log into from any computer.  Bloglovin won't let me use folders.  The Old Reader seems promising in that it minimizes CHANGE (BONUS), except it only allows me to transfer 1,000 items from Google Reader.

HA.  HAAAA.

And therein lies the problem: I subscribe to roughly 1300 feeds.

I think you'll agree that there's some challenge involved in paring down a list of that size to a manageable post of favorites.  This may need to become a regular feature since I'm constantly finding new loves, but here's what I've come up with so far (in no particular order):

Recipes and Food:

Honest Cooking: Like Alyssa's suggestion of Punk Domestics earlier in the week, this blog is more of a compilation of recipes, travel reviews and food news.  I love them for their information, variety and inclusion of cocktails.

Simply Recipes: This blog has been around for years- initially they posted old school recipes, but now a lot of their recipes are new inventions.  A WONDERFUL searchable database for classic, easy, homey food.

The Amateur Gourmet: A delightful mixture of posts about food, recipes, how-tos and a heavy dose of wit.  

Love and Olive Oil: Lots of baking recipes, but when they post a savory treat I feel like they come up with lots of flavors that are tailored RIGHT to what I love.

Lottie and Doof: Mostly recipes.  Recipes of the delicious, make-me-now variety.

I ALSO enjoy reading blogs that talk about lots of things I'm interested in: Food. DIY projects and crafts.  Decorating. Clothes.  

Crafts and Recipes and DIY, OH MY

Sugar and Charm: I LOVE the tone of this blog: cheerful, bright, pretty without being twee.  

Elise Blaha: I'm almost sad to share Elise with y'all because I want to be friends with her and you're just going to be competition.  She's a goal-setter who does neat things with food, fitness and DIY (although she's expecting, so a little lighter on the fitness currently).  She also is a part of Project Life and, in addition to the kit she produced for them, she shares tons of tips and ideas, plus photos of her personal project every week. 

Craftzine:  Crafty things from around the web, I feel like I don't miss any great ideas following their stream. 

Honorable Mentions:

Hostess With the Mostess: THE place to search when you're throwing any sort of party, big or small.

Am I missing your favorite?  Come on now, I shared Elise with you- I think this means you owe me.

Carla's Strawberry Cake Batter Popcorn

The challenge with embarking on a popcorn recipe week is this: popcorn itself is the best part of popcorn.  Popcorn is great on its own (in my opinion) and serves as a marvelous vehicle for tons of flavor.  Like Alyssa's Chipotle Lime Popcorn earlier in the week, savory flavor opportunities abound!  My absolute favorite is browned butter with a sprinkle of garlic powder and parmesan cheese (the one in the green can) (really).

But I'm interested in the sweet, fun varieties too and so when I remembered seeing this recipe for Cake Batter Popcorn several months ago, I knew it would be perfect for a makeover, Carla Style.

Strawberry Cake Batter Popcorn

- About 10 cups of air popped popcorn (One version of the original recipe used microwave popcorn, but once you see the rest of the ingredients you'll notice this is a Special Occasion Treat.  I figured I should start with air-popped, if possible.  Also, I don't have a microwave.)

- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening

- 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

- 1 cup of strawberry flavored cake mix

- sprinkles

In a small saucepan, melt the vegetable shortening over low heat.  Once it turns liquid, add the white chocolate chips and mix constantly until melted.  (Make sure that you are using very low heat here.  The melted shortening will help to melt the chocolate quickly, but it is very easy to scorch chocolate when you're using direct heat in a saucepan.  Plan for a slow melt and it will work out just fine.)

Add the strawberry cake mix and stir until blended.

Arrange your popcorn in a baking pan.  The one I used is 9x13 and fit perfectly.  Pour the mixture all over the popcorn and mix until all the popcorn is coated in the chocolate mixture.

Add your sprinkles!

Set the pan aside to cool.  Look, you've probably already stolen a few pieces just to "make sure it's not poison".  But letting it cool completely makes the mixture less like a sweet, pink pan of Rice Krispie Treats and more individually coated.

Turning on the stove in my kitchen generates quite a bit of heat, so I set mine on a chair in front of my open door.  

It didn't work fast enough (I was on a schedule), so I ended up throwing the pan in the fridge for about twenty minutes.  With cooler chocolate, I was able to break up the clumpy pieces by hand into a more standard popcorn size.

The Verdict:

One sister and two nieces LOVED this.  They were savoring the individual popcorn morsels (I think maybe I didn't give them enough) and were SO excited.  The girls especially loved that there was chocolate AND popcorn AND pink involved, so it's pretty clear that this would be an awesome party item.

Another sister thought it was super tasty (albeit rich), but that it's a bit soft.  The heat and creaminess from the chocolate mixture end up making the popcorn less crispy than you might expect, but I think that's only a problem if you're thinking "popcorn" and not "super strawberry tasty treat of white chocolate delight".  If you tend to like a lot of crunch, I would try adding more sprinkles!  Another tip is to make sure that you chill the popcorn and keep it cool until you're about to serve it.  It definitely softens up easily at room temperature.

I think this is a super tasty treat, easy to make and super versatile.  I love strawberry cupcakes (the fake, shockingly bright pink kind) and so I knew using that flavor of cake batter would be amazing.  But you could use spice cake mix for a gingerbread-y holiday version- and don't forget chocolate cake mix (with milk and/or dark chocolate chips) for the chocoholics in your life!

PS- Since I'm always trying to figure out how I feel about corn in my diet in general (those of you who see me often have probably had me exclaim at you about how popcorn is a GRAIN! Not a VEGETABLE!), I thought it'd be interesting to point you to this article about popcorn's healthy attributes.  Go, popcorn!

Carla's Easy Sides: Roasted Cabbage

When is a vegetable MORE than just a vegetable?  When it's roasted!

As a general rule, vegetables make great easy sides.  They're super quick to steam, blanch or saute and you can eat them on their own without further preparation.  But beyond that, roasting is a great option since you can just throw the veggies in the oven while you prepare the rest of your meal without thinking about them too much. (Considering all the times I've over-steamed a veggie and created a veggie-mush, this is more important than you think.)

My latest roasted veggie of choice?  CABBAGE.

Here are the details:

- Pre heat your oven to somewhere around 450 degrees.

- Give your cabbage a quick rinse and remove a few of the outer leaves.

- Cut up the head into even slices, somewhere around 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide.  I like to make a triangle to remove the core in the center slices.  (you can see this in the photo above!)

- Lightly oil the bottom of a baking pan/sheet with olive oil and arrange the slices inside.  Brush the tops of the cabbage with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

- Throw in the oven for about 40-45 minutes.

- Check on them until they look like this:

You see those crispy brown edges?  DIVINE.  I love the texture variety when you roast cabbage this way, since the insides kind of steam themselves and the outsides are more dry and crispy (as opposed to slicing the cabbage into strips and roasting the leaves individually- this is faster, but results in a crispy-overall texture).

Try it!  You'll love it!  Team Roasted Cabbage!

Carla's Last Minute Easter Menu

So, did Easter sneak up on you too? I mean, the warning signs are always there: the appearance of Cadbury Mini Eggs and tulips, people giving up candy for lent, pretty pastel dresses showing up in all the stores and catalogs.  Still, since the date falls so early this year, it's no wonder you (like ME) kind of forgot about it.

I have a BIG immediate family: three sisters and assorted brothers-in law, plus four nieces and three nephews.  If we all get together without any guests (which we do quite often), there are 14 people to cook for.  This calls for some adjustments: the only "traditional" meal we cook anymore is Thanksgiving, probably because the kids are off the next day and most of the adults end up taking the day off of work.  After YEARS of a traditional Christmas meal (which was essentially Thanksgiving Volume 2), we started to go for Traditional MEXICAN Christmas.  This means that some time during late November and early December we get together and make dozens of tamales, steam them and freeze them for our big Christmas meal.  YUM.

Easter is a BIG holiday, but since we ALSO all attend different churches (not because we don't LIKE to go together- we span three different technical religions) it's MUCH harder to prepare a meal.  Throw in the fact that we all have to go to work and school the next day and... we're having enchiladas.  We're ok with this.

I'm still dreaming of a tastier, more classic meal full of spring flavors though.  Maybe these will make it onto the table of my fellow last-minute cooks!

My first choices were actually lamp chops and asparagus, just as Alyssa posted earlier in the week!  I heartily recommend those recipes too.

For a quick, but ridiculously tasty start, prepare these Pan Roasted Brined Pork Chops:

image from bonappetit.com

For two tasty sides, my recommendation is a Dill Pickle Potato Salad (make TONS extra for work lunches throughout the week- guaranteed to make you a happy camper) and a batch of Parmesan Coated Cauliflower:

images from tasteofhome.com and bonappetit.com

Finally, use the surprise ingredient in these Lemon-Cream Cheese Cupcakes for a moist dessert full of spring flavor:

Have a very Happy Easter, friends!

Carla's Pickling Recipe: Refrigerator Pickles for First Timers

It's pickling week!  As a first time pickler (in fact, this is my first time using a mason jar to make something myself!), I was pretty nervous.  Folks have assured me for years that it's an easy process, but it seems so involved.  Special brine!  Jar purchases!  Popping!

I may not be a pickler, but I sure do LOVE pickles.  Over the past couple of years, I've seen an increase in pickle prices.  (I can't believe I just said that.)  Since they're only a few bucks a jar it doesn't seem like a huge dent- STILL, I bought all my ingredients at notoriously high-priced Whole Foods this week and the total was $2.73.  For two pint jars of pickles and three cucumbers left over for my next recipe.  SCORE.

Super Fast, Super Easy Refrigerator Pickles

- White Vinegar

- Onions (I used about half of a sweet onion, but would happily have added more.)

- Dill Weed (some recipes call for Dill Seed, but I thought using this type of dill would provide plenty of flavor)

- Garlic (for the love of Pete, use real garlic gloves. I mistakenly thought I had some at home and had to resort to this crushed garlic.  And then it smelled off when I opened it and I had to FURTHER resort to garlic powder.  Just... buy garlic.)

- Picking Cucumbers (I used about 5 for this recipe)

1. Cut up your cucumbers into spears:

2. Slice your onion into strips.  Line the bottom of a mason jar with a layer of onions.  Add one teaspoon of dill weed.  Add one garlic clove (or, in my case, one teaspoon of garlic powder).

3. Slide your cucumber spears in the jar until they're cozy.

4. Add 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar and 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt to a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring just a bit to ensure the salt is dissolved.  Once boiling, pour the mixture into the jars, leaving about 1/4 inch spare room at the top to avoid spillover when closing.  Place your lid/bands on the jar and close tightly.  

(As Alyssa advised me when we chatted about pickles, you don't even have to use mason jars for this recipe!  Any jar will do- I save old pickle jars and could just have easily used those for this project.)

No one told me to shake them up, but I did it anyway.  (And then I felt a TREMENDOUS sense of pride at having PICKLED something.  Like the olden days.)

5. Throw them in the refrigerator and wait two days before you crack them open to eat them up.  (These babies will technically last for two weeks in the fridge, but I dare you to let them stick around that long.)

The Verdict:

These pickles were, hands down, the best pickles I've ever had.  They're crisp!  And light!  They retain their cucumber freshness along with the yummy vinegar/pickled flavor.

I shared a jar with my man friend before I tasted them and he declared them to be the best pickles he's ever had as well.  

Final tips:

- Sharing is good, but you'll still be sad you decreased your pickle supply by 50%.

- My work friend Jessbee tells me that you should try apple cider vinegar for an extra special/different pickle-y flavor.

- Make more than two pint jars.

Carla's 3 Random Facts About Me

What is one thing that you wish you were great at?

RUNNING.  It's likely that the answer to this question will ALWAYS be running and I've probably told you this before if we've ever been running, seen a runner or run together.

So, the funny part about this is that I actually run.  Not so much recently, but I've completed 3 full marathons and... 8 halfs?  And I hate almost every step.  It never really feels good, I don't get a runner's high and I am pretty darn sure I'm not at all good at it.  But I'll keep doing it anyway and hope that one day I can answer this question with something else.

I've run the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco three times.  This year was one of my very favorites, running with my friends (L to R) April, Sandra and Nasim.  (That's me in the blue wig!)

What are some of your biggest pet peeves?

People who leave gunk on condiment lids.  Ketchup or mustard crust, salsa rings- YUCK.  This extends to an overly messy refrigerator because food has spilled out and it hasn't been cleaned.

Putting an outfit on in the morning and hating it the moment you get to work.

Expensive thrift shops.

What are three things you are scared of?

GOATS.  I mean, I can be around them without hyperventilating.  I just don't want to.  They have SQUARE PUPILS everyone- a crystal clear indication that they're not to be taken lightly.

THUNDER.  We have a thunderstorm here only every few years and I think they are terrifying.

FLYING.  I love traveling and I will eagerly take an airplane anywhere, but I think it's pretty scary and I never am excited about the actual flying part.  It gets easier when I do it more often, but since I don't fly at all for work anymore my flights are few and far between.

Fortunately, I'm about the calmest terrified person you'll find.  When I had an emergency crash(ish) landing on a flight diverted from Maui to Oahu last year, you would never have known I was horrified.  I'm still waiting for my Medal of Valor in the mail.

Carla's Bread Recipe: Kentucky Biscuits

I am an equal-opportunity biscuit eater.  I like drop biscuits and cut biscuits and KFC biscuits.  Since my mom is a teacher, I grew up with new recipes coming from the teacher's lounge every week or so.  Some of them were seriously gross -- I vaguely remember some sort of strange meatless patty made with mayonnaise and oatmeal. But some of them were amazing: TWA (a chicken broccoli casserole with a weird name) and these Kentucky Biscuits which are both ridiculously easy and finger-licking good. The only bizarre thing about them is that I can't figure out where the "Kentucky" part of the name comes from, but since that state gives me bourbon, I'm ok with giving them credit for these biscuits too.

Kentucky Biscuits

via my Mom's teacher lounge friends

2 cups all-purpose flour (No need to sift.)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking POWDER

1/2 teaspoon baking SODA

A dash of salt

1 tablespoon of white sugar

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup buttermilk

Set your oven to 400 degrees.

I like to minimize the number of bowls that I use when cooking, so I mix up the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar) right into the blender bowl and mix it up well with a wooden spoon.  

Cut up your butter into smallish chunks and get the right attachment ready.  (The one on the left there.)

Dump in your cubed butter and mix on medium until crumbly.  This will take a while if your butter is too cold, so you'll want it to be out of the refrigerator for at least twenty minutes or so.

Add the buttermilk (I just pour it in all at once to avoid the little-bit-at-a-time mess.)  Give it a quick whirl on medium until the dough pulls away from the sides and starts to resemble a chunk around the mixer blade, like so:

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  It should easily fall off the sides of the bowl and the mixer attachment.  Knead for two minutes.

Make a square-like shape, roughly 6 inches by 6 inches and place it on a cookie sheet.  (Ignore the yellow stains my sheet- it's clean, I just like turmeric on my roasted cauliflower.) 

I don't remember where I got that plastic pie slice cutter, but it's perfect for the next task: score the square into biscuit sized sections.  The original recipe specifies 12 pieces, but YOU know the right size of biscuit for YOU.  ( For example: I have made 9 before with the same amount of dough and nothing bad happened except for the fact that I had delightfully large biscuits.)

Throw the sheet in the oven for fifteen minutes until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean and the biscuits are golden.

These biscuits are the very, very best when they're hot and right out of the oven.  I love them with butter and honey or jam and a nice big mug of tea.  They're not too sweet, so if you like biscuits with chili or chicken soup, these will fit right in.

Carla's Favorite Cookbook

When Alyssa and I come up with an idea or theme for future posts, we each stick them into a Google document so we can decide on what's coming next.  I add things like "make things with lemons!" and SHE adds things like "bake bread".  This is actually a terrible example since we're making bread for next week, but you can probably tell the technical different between Lemons! and BREAD with YEAST AND SCARY THINGS!  (I'm, um, probably not doing the yeast thing...)  So since you've probably already read her post about her favorite cookbook, I'm betting you know what's coming.

This is my cookbook area:

Yup, they're on top of my wine stand.  And there are so few that I have to improvise the spare space with a candle.  Throw in the fact that a lot of these books are really only HALF cookbooks mixed with decorating ideas or ways to throw a party or make meals quickly and well, I'M JUST A TOUCH SHY HERE.  In fact, the Smitten Kitchen cookbook is twins with the Pioneer Woman cookbook (oddly not pictured) as the only "real" cookbooks in the house, with the Junior League cookbooks trailing very closely behind.

But if I had to pick a favorite from that picture, it's the Party Central book from the defunct magazine Budget Living. (I greatly mourn the loss of so many magazines, isn't it a bummer when they shut down?)

I should start off by mentioning that I've never ever thrown a party.  Never.  It's both a goal and a terrifying  prospect because I'm THIRTY ONE YEARS OLD, people.  When am I going to start with parties if not negative ten years ago?  This book is genius though because I really enjoy parties and I defnitely like making things to bring to YOUR party.  The book is set up into one party theme for each month (that's the July Red, White and New theme pictured up there on the right) and gives ideas for decorating and music and menus.  The items are easy enough to make and often include a yummy cocktail, making it even easier to get it all right.  I've made items as simple as Parmesan Popcorn and as "complicated" as Potato Zucchini Pancakes and everything has been scrumptious and perfect for a group (or just me).  Right now there are 15 copies available on Amazon starting at only $2.44!

Still, like many of you, I'm sure- my favorite resources are actually online or (even BETTER) magazines.

I have a very real addiction to magazines (which is probably what makes me so sad when they shut down).  I crave all sorts of magazines, but the food and wine ones are so amazing and I probably spend the most time rereading and scouring them.  Look at that Bon Appetit cover!  THE CREAMIEST CHOCOLATE MOUSSE?  OK!  Healthy ways to make breakfast? PASTA?!  Absolutely. However, unlike Alyssa's strategy of keeping the whole magazine (which I actually would really love to have done in hindsight since I'm certain that my tastes and food wants have changed since I started), I tend to pull out anything I really want to make.

(In that case, I loved the ideas for Simple Syrups.  Great for at-home cocktails or tea!)

You can see I have quite a stack amassed there.  That's FAR more honest than what I'm about to show you, but the intention is that eventually all the pages that you see up there will get bound up in a binder for easy reference.  Full pages get thrown into a plastic sheet protector.  Smaller recipes get cut out and attached to a clean sheet of paper, ready for recipe friends and notes and further ideas.

As you can see, it's easy to attach recipes and organize them into their sections.  Even better, I can write tips right onto the paper!  And if I clip something that I ultimately don't enjoy, I use removable tape and can chuck it into recycling without a second thought or even much any rearranging pain.  (PS- if you like Ginger Ale, especially the "real" Reed's kind, etc- MAKE THAT RECIPE.  If you can't see it, let me know and I'm happy to email it to you.  I preferred a bit more honey (as you can tell from my note), but it was crisp and ginger-y and incredible.)

Despite my scattered brand of recipe culling, here are some cookbooks that are currently on my wish list:

Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones: 90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery 

(The fact that I didn't own this exact book is actually the reason I never made ice cream until my Mexican Hot Chocolate Ice Cream post.  I LOVE Bi-Rite ice cream and can't wait to make it at home.)

Tart and Sweet: 101 Canning and Pickling Recipes for the Modern Kitchen

(I saw a similar title in Mendocino while on a quick weekend trip recently and found this book (which is better reviewed) on a search for the original.  I've never canned or pickled before, but I'd love to learn and make a small stockpile for myself and to share with those around me.)

True Food: Seasonable, Sustainable, Simple, Pure

(As a food lover, I'm OF COURSE interested in the idea of cooking in a sustainable way that is healthy, delicious and conscious.  Lucky for us, we grow MANY things here and are rarely unable to find an item which is not "in season". (Imagine my surprise when I moved to New England and realized there really IS a blueberry "season"!)

Bouchon Bakery

(I feel like this one is self-explanatory, but I love baking and I love Bouchon.  Kind of a no-brainer, this one.)

Carla's Soup Recipe: Chinese Sizzling Rice Soup

I find it pretty awesome that Alyssa and I both chose to go Asian with our soup theme this week.  She's got a scrumptious looking khao soi gai on the blog this week that I hope to make really, really soon.

This soup recipe is a long time coming.  Several years ago, my mom's best friend was in town visiting from San Diego.  Restaurants were a HUGE treat as a kid and we didn't visit them often, so it's no surprise that her visit marks the first time I can remember eating in a Chinese restaurant.  One of the items she ordered was SO COOL for a six year old: Chinese Sizzling Rice Soup.  Not only is it delicious, it has the neatest sizzling sound effect that the waitress creates right at the table when she pours the rice into the hot, hot soup.  Ever since, I've been ordering it every time.  I've had it with assorted meats and with just chicken, with tons of vegetables and barely any.  Since it's so customizable, it's kind of a wonder that its taken me so many years to decide to make it on my own.

The challenge in making this recipe (for ME) was figuring out the rice part.  You don't get too close to the pre-soup rice when it's being served to you in the restaurant and I wasn't sure which of the many online recipes was closest to that rice.  There were two main ways offered: fry the crap out of some uncooked long grain white rice or or cook some rice and throw it in the oven for two hours to crisp it up.  Neither of these options seemed like they would work if I was looking for the consistency of the restaurant rice: very crispy, non-oily, and cooked-but-dry.  I persevered in my Googling and finally landed on a page which reminded me that YOU CAN BUY THESE THINGS.  In all my years of ordering the soup, I remember a few restaurants had used pre-sized rice cakes, similar to the product highlighted on that page.  A trip to the nearest Asian Grocery was in order!

Although I'm literally four minutes from an AMAZING Chinatown, I thought I would personally have more luck at a market selling a range of items from several different countries.  The 99 Ranch market (you're in luck if you're in CA, WA, NV and TX since there may be one near you) carries a wide variety of Asian products, produce, bakery and meat items along with a few random American items thrown in (Frosted Flakes, Sanka, that kind of thing.)  If you've never shopped one and aren't sure if you'd like to make sizzling rice soup, I'd still recommend checking it out for the experience alone.  You're likely to find something to gawk at, cook or take secret photos of.

I ended up finding two products at the market that day: the recommended rice cakes and a version called Instant Sizzling Rice:

I picked them both up, took 'em home and got to cooking.

* Delicious sparkling water optional, but highly recommended.

As I was in the process of settling in with my manufactured rice items, my oldest sister clued me in that I might, in fact, be able fry up some uncooked rice.  Before we make Mexican rice, (I'm Mexican. We eat a lot of Mexican rice) we fry up the uncooked rice for a minute or two to brown it and add extra flavor.  Since she's not the most TIMELY cook, she'd left her rice to fry for longer more than once and told me that eventually they get hot and crispy and puff up a bit like popcorn.  LIKE POPCORN?  COUNT ME IN.

Spoiler. It's NOT like popcorn:

As the rice got hotter and hotter it started to bubble. My thinking is that the water in the rice was being released and mixing with the oil?  Not sure, but I never got to "popcorn" stage.  I stopped at extremely-toasted brown.

Dehydrated browned rice didn't really seem to be what I was going for, but some of the grains appeared to be a little fatter?  We would have to see.

Chinese Sizzling Rice Soup

(Adaped from several recipes, but mostly this one.)

6 cups chicken broth

1 boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips

8 oz of raw shrimp (I prefer to cut the tails off prior to cooking)

1-2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/4-1/2 cups canned water chestntuts

Handful of sugar snap peas

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

salt and pepper, to taste

Prepared rice cakes, or your choice of crispy rice (see below)

Bring the chicken broth to a boil.  Add chicken, salt, pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Once the broth is boiling again, reduce to a simmer.  Add mushrooms, water chestnuts and snap peas.  

After the mushrooms have reached your desired cooking consistency (I like them soft), add the raw shrimp.  Ensure the shrimp is cooked through, but we're adding it last so that it is not overcooked in the boiling soup.  Three to four minutes should be perfect.

Dish up the soup.  Add crispy rice (SIZZLE...)!

(I realized after finishing this batch that I would prefer a lot more veggies.  A lot of the restaurants add frozen peas and carrots to the mix and I think that would be ok, but I'd REALLY like to add green beans and fresh carrots.  Just add them to the simmering soup to cook them to your desired consistency before you add the shrimp.)

The Verdict:

I can't believe I didn't make this sooner.  Not only is it just as good as the restaurant version (which I wasn't sure could be accomplished), it's BETTER.  I especially like that I can add as much of any ingredient I want rather than getting one shrimp, a lot of frozen peas and a piece or two of pork (which seems to be the usual restaurant serving- not bad, just not as good).

But, WAIT! What happened with the rice?

I tried them all, ladies and gentleman. 

Rice Cakes (green and yellow package): PERFECTION.  Not oily and satisfactorily crispy, yet soaked up the soup and had a good bite.

Instant Sizzling Rice: I chucked these things in the bowl and tried to eat them, but no luck.  They were gummy and didn't seem to soak up too much of the water.  I tried to give them some time, but after not being able to chew on them I ended up taking them out of the bowl.

Homemade: AS WE ALL SUSPECTED, this... did not work.  Even a little bit.  It was actually edible, I suppose, if you like really really crispy bits in your soup.  This rice definitely tasted good, but was completely wrong for the soup with its lack of sizzle and crunch.

Except... there's more to the story.

As I was gathering my reference links for this post, I happened across a blog post which had not shown up in my Google search previously.   YOU GUYS.  Those Instant Sizzling Rice cakes that I had to REMOVE from my soup for being inedible?  YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO FRY THEM UP.  It says it in plain English RIGHT ON THE PACKAGE.  I'm not sure if it's better (for future use) or worse (for my pride) that it only takes 15 SECONDS, according to the author.

Fifteen seconds and it would have puffed up just like the rice on the left in that photo up there.

I thoughtfully chewed two whole squares of uncooked, gummy rice and didn't immediately figure out that something was wrong.  It didn't even occur to me and I can ASSURE you that I had I not come across that post out of sheer luck I would be here telling you that it's a darn shame they let the market sell those things because someone is going to break a tooth. And also they aren't "instant" anything so that's FALSE ADVERTISING.

I, um, learned my lesson.

If you can't find ANY pre-made rice cakes in your neighborhood, both the rice cake and instant rice cakes are available online.  I am fairly confident given the consistency of the winning option that the best homemade version would be to cook the rice and then bake it on a cookie sheet in the oven at 325 degrees for about 2 hours until it's crisp and brown, a la Rice Krispie cereal.  Depending on it's crispy-ness, it could be worth giving it a quick fry, but it appears the baking would probably be enough according to the several recipes I've researched online.