Dinner at Rama and Erik's

Saturday 19 October

Rama and Erik invited us and some other friends over for dinner, and we were delighted to come and to bring one of our specialties.  Rama was curious about Holt's signature chiles rellenos, so he made a version that was breaded with panko and could be oven-baked, so we could carry them over in a casserole, pop them in the oven, and serve them fresh and hot (though we didn't do the sauce).

As we sat and snacked on vegetable crisps of every sort, Rama whisked up a delicious mushroom sauté flavored with sherry, insalata Caprese, and Indian Rice Pilaf. 

Rama gave us the recipe for the pilaf: it had bay leaves (6), cardamom (6-8 cloves), garam masala (1 tbsp.) and turmeric powder (3/4 tsp); she used a 16 oz. package of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, beans, corn, peas) and 3 cups of Thai Jasmine long grain rice.  She sautéed one finely chopped onion in 3 tbsps. of oil first and added the rest of the vedge and spices and sautéed for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.  She then added 3 cups of rice and sautéed the mix until the rice was coated with the oil and spices and then added 5 1/2 cups of water and brought the mixture to a boil.  She covered the pot and let the rice and vedge cook for 20 minutes on a medium-low flame, making sure that the water did not boil over.  And that was that - and very good too.

We topped that off with a fruit dessert with sour cream, chocolate chips and cookie crumbles.  So thanks, Rama and Erik, for the entertaining evening!