We’re having a perfect fall weekend here in Denver. Just recovering from an absurd snow storm on Thursday, we’re finally warming back up to the mid 60s.
Yesterday was a pumpkin patch which involved me maxing out my credit cards and eating an unholy amount of apples. Today, it’s making pumpkin pie, pumpkin seeds and smoked brisket while I catch up on some blog posts.
Ever since we got the house, I’ve been pushing myself to do, do, do every weekend. Take care of a project, get something for the house, clean up (how is it always messy around here).
This weekend, I made a point to do the things I’d do if I didn’t own a house and have a million house projects. What’s going to happen if they get done?
They’re still waiting for me, but in the meantime I got to have myself the best weekend ever. I guess weekends look a little different at 32 than they did at 22.
This next Israeli recipe, Spiced Chicken and Rice, is ideal when you want to cozy up inside the house and have an easy, low key but entirely delicious dinner.
Spiced Chicken and Rice is great for inviting friends over or for curling up on the couch with your favorite show (I use that example a lot, I really need to start going out more).
The spice are warm and comforting. Cardamom isn’t a super popular spice here in the states but I’ve seen up pop up in Persian month and Israeli month quite a bit.
Its my new favorite because it can pair well with sweet or savory recipes.
I picked this recipe up from this cookbook. Order it!
The original recipe called for full spice seeds here but I didn’t love the texture or the random bursts of flavor. So I recommend grinding them up.
Chicken thighs are ideal here because they stay juicy and cooking with the skin on brings even more flavor into the dish.
For the best part – everything happens in one pan and I swear doing dishes is the worst part of this whole food blogging thing.
I swear to you, here and now, I will try to find more one pan dishes to save us all from future clean up.
Top with yogurt and fresh herbs to brighten everything up and you’ve got yourself a perfectly balanced (one pan!) dinner.
Spiced Chicken and Rice
(start making 60 minutes before you want Spiced Chicken and Rice)
*The original recipe calls for full seeds, I didn’t like the texture or variation in flavor so I suggested grinding these up.
Heat half the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add your sliced onions and good for 10-15 minutes until browned. Stir every few minutes. Once browned, transfer to a small bowl.
Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining olive oil, ground cardamom pods, ground cloves and cinnamon sticks. Use your hands to mix everything together. In the same frying pan over medium high heat, fry each side of the chicken thighs for about 5 minutes until the skin is brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. The chicken won’t be cooked through, but that’s okay.
In the same pan, add the rice, caramelized onion, currents, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir well then nestle the chicken back in the pan with the rice. Pour the hot water over the rice and chicken, then cover the pan, reduce the heat to low for 30 minutes.
Then, remove the lid quickly, place a clean tea towel over the pan and seal again with the lid (the towel will be between the pan and the lid). Turn the heat off and let sit for 10 minutes.
Then add herbs, and serve with yogurt and olive oil.
Danielle
