Some weeks, it feels like we are swimming in jello. Everything is so much harder than it has to be. To start, our Ben’s Day Wednesday meal was delayed a day. Was Ben happy? He was not. He kept his powder dry, however, so he could demand 3 dishes with various moving parts, by which I mean we essentially made 5 dishes. It’s new math. Get with the program.
All recipes originally came from Christopher Kimball, but we did what we had to do.
First, we started the cumin rice with caramelized onions. This was almost the easiest thing, but Ben kept getting out random ingredients we did not need, and had to take some PTO during the onion caramelization process because he found stirring the onions to prevent their burning tedious (my word). “Super boring. I can’t take this.” (His words.)
Caramelized Onion Rice
3 tablespoons butter
2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups rice
- Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt, cooking and stirring patiently, while onions caramelize, about 10-15 minutes, reducing heat if necessary.
- Stir in the rice, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer 15-18 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Ok. We’ve got the rice on the run. Let’s start the chicken. I asked Ben to get out a sheet pan because I had “chicken hands.” That boy took his sweet old time, during which some onions browned more than recommended, but luckily, the chicken was the easiest item, so we had another dish under control.
Roasted Chicken with Avocado Sauce
3-5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and ground black pepper
2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and peeled
1 1/2 cups cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 jalepeño chili, stemmed and seeded
2 tablespoons chopped white onion
3 tablespoons white vinegar
- Heat oven to 450º with a rack in the middle position. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss thighs with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange skin side up and roast 30-40 minutes, until internal thigh temperature reaches 175º. Remove from oven and let rest while you prepare avocado sauce.
- In a food processor, combine the avocados, cilantro, jalepeño, onion, vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Process until smooth, adding a bit of water if necessary. Serve alongside chicken.
Next, we moved on to the salad. The salad had three main ingredients (romaine lettuce, apple, and celery), but the dressing was kind of a diva (parsley, cilantro, tahini, lemon juice, honey, garlic, salt and pepper).
Ben wanted to taste the tahini while building the salad, and this was his reaction.
If you have ever seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie, you know that he makes cameo appearances. Ben has apparently taken a page out of Hitchcock’s playbook. Every couple minutes after dinner, he kept walking through the living room in various states of dress or undress. First, he stomped through, like a bureaucrat with an axe to grind, carrying laundry, and wearing no shirt. (His thought bubble: I’ve had it with you people! Mine: Yes, I’d love to have you take a swing at that underwear.)
One minute later, he strolled through the living room with a shirt on, but no pants, carrying ice cream. I told him it wasn’t casual Friday, and he scoffed in my general direction.
Finally, he was all business. The next time he came through the living room, he was fully clothed and wearing Phil’s glasses.
The chicken and rice were great, but if you make the recipes, realize you are only getting in on half the fun. We can’t guarantee results if you don’t have this guy (maybe dressed, maybe not – it’s part of the Ben mystique) cooking, tasting, scoffing, and laughing. Cheers!