New Cooking Techniques

I've been spending way too much time on the internet. But, I occasionally find some things that are actually useful to me.

I can cook boil-in-the-bag rice, but I'm not very good at cooking regular rice. I really want to stir it! And that's bad. And if I control myself and don't stir it, everything on the bottom sticks or burns. I guess I haven't found just the right consistent temperature setting on my stovetop.....

Now, I can cook brown rice just perfectly! Thanks to Alton Brown and everyone that circulated the recipe on Pinterest.

This tastes so much better than the boil-in-the-bag stuff. It takes a little longer, but it's not any extra work. You just have to think ahead and be prepared for the extra time.

BAKED BROWN RICE

1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice

2 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt  

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  

Boil the water and add the butter and salt. Stir to dissolve salt and melt butter.  

Place the dry rice in an 8" square casserole dish. Pour the boiling water mixture over the rice and stir. 

Cover with foil and bake on the middle rack for 1 hour.  

Fluff with fork and serve.

I like to have hard-boiled eggs on hand for a quick breakfast sometimes. This is a good way to cook several eggs at once and, again, this is easier for me and the eggs turn out great. This is also from Alton Brown.

BAKED HARD-COOKED EGGS

Position the rack in the center of the oven.

Place the eggs on the rack (as many as you want for the week).

Place a baking sheet or foil in the bottom of the oven (just in case an egg breaks).

Set the oven to 325 degrees, and bake for 30 minutes.

When the eggs are done, fill a large bowl with ice water and move the eggs into the bowl.

Peel the eggs as soon as they're cool enough to handle, then return them to the ice water to thoroughly chill. Store in a container in the refrigerator.

I like to slice up the egg for a breakfast sandwich.