Mac and Cheese Quiche

Six tomatoes were sitting on the counter getting a bit old.  And, a bunch of asparagus was having the same problem in the fridge.  What to do with them?  I kept picturing a kind of quiche with a mac and cheese crust.  Couldn’t come up with a recipe on Eat Your Books or by searching the internet.  So, I decided to make one up.  By the time the box mix of mac and cheese was made I realized that using a pie plate and trying to have the “crust” come up the sides wasn’t going to work.  I pulled out a casserole dish instead.  A sprinkle of cheese on the bottom, the mac and cheese, the roasted tomatoes and asparagus, the egg mixture and then, finally, another sprinkle of cheese.  We gave this a solid four on a scale of one to five.  Connie asked during dinner if I’d written it down and I assured him I’d taken photos every step of the way and that I’d write the recipe down today.  Because this is absolutely a make again! 

 

Ingredients:

1 box macaroni and cheese prepared according to the package directions.  (I always toss in a handful of grated cheese)

2 large tomatoes, quartered

1 bunch asparagus

Olive oil

6 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

4 eggs

¼ c sour cream

1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning

 

Directions:

Prepare the mac and cheese.  While that’s cooking, roast the tomatoes and asparagus for about 15 minutes at 450.  I drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled them with freshly ground pepper prior to roasting.

Grate the cheese on the large holes of the grater.  Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese in the bottom of a casserole dish.  Add another 1/3 to the mac and cheese.  Reserve the last 1/3 for the topping

Mix the eggs, sour cream and Italian seasoning.

 

Pour the mac and cheese into the casserole dish and even the top.

 Put the roasted vegetables on top.

 Pour over the eggs.  Sprinkle on the last 1/3 of the cheese. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

 

 

  

 

 

Tomato Sandwiches

I thought BLT's were my favorite summer sandwiches.  Not quite sure how to say this, but I was wrong.  I've found something better.  Unbelievable, I know.  But, so true.  So, what is it?

It's a mash up of three sandwiches.  First and foremost, the BLT.  Bacon, lettuce and tomato.  Second, James Beard's onion sandwiches.  Third the famous Spanish sandwich, the pan con tomate.  Thanks to Melissa Clark writing in the New York Times, we have my new favorite.

You see, for probably the second time since we started this whole moving adventure, I went to the grocery store.  Because I was the logical one to be packing and unpacking and putting away, Connie did all the errands.  ALL the errands.  Other than work, moving and the fun things we've done, I've not been out and about.  I was itching to actually go shopping.  Not something I thought I'd EVER say because, quite frankly, I don't like shopping.  Unless it's a garden center or a hardware store.  Well, or the cookbook section of a bookstore.  Then, I like shopping.  Tonight I had the option to stay home and work on all the stuff I'd brought home from the office.  Or head to Sam's with Connie.  Now, I'll admit, part of the reason I wanted to head out with him was to have time to actually work on a couple of upcoming charitable events.  We've volunteered to participate for the third time in The ARC of Indiana's annual cook-off.  And, we're hosting a friendraiser for Actor's Theatre of Indiana in a couple of months.  I wanted time to chat about both of those.  We got the ARC solved.  Our entry will be Boss Tweeds.  One of my favorite drinks. Ought to be fun. 

We got home pretty late.  I'd read this recipe in the last few days.  We had one lovely heirloom tomato left.  We had some bacon left.  And, some rye bread.  Not what the recipe called for but one of our favorites.  This would be perfect.  Connie brought the haul in, I put bacon in a skillet and started putting stuff away.  Just about the time that I stuffed the last thing into the freezer, the last piece of bacon came out of the skillet to be drained.  Show time!

Connie stood on the other side of the counter juggling the camera and handing me the appropriate ingredients in the appropriate order.  

So, let's take a second and go back thru these sandwiches.  BLT.  Bacon, lettuce and tomato.  With mayonnaise.  A classic.  pan con tomate.  Toasted bread, garlic rubbed on it, tomato crushed over it and salt sprinkled over it.  Last, but not least, James Beard's onion sandwich.  Bread, mayo, VERY thin slices of onion. 

Here's how you put them together:

Toast the bread
Rub both pieces with halved garlic cloves
Drizzle the bread (both pieces) with good extra virgin olive oil
Sprinkle with kosher salt
Cut the ends off REALLY ripe tomatoes and smoosh those onto the bread
Slather on mayonnaise
Lay very thin slices of tomato on the bread
Top with very thin slices of sweet onion
Top that with cooked bacon (which, by the way, I sprinkled with garlic and freshly ground pepper as it cooked)
Top with the other piece of bread

This sandwich is messy.  No, it's MESSY.  It's also fabulous and worth every bit of messiness it generates.  Either count on washing your napkins afterward or use paper. 

Here's how it looked:

adapted from The New York Times

Almond Gazpacho, Weekend in a French Kitchen

Gazpacho.  One of my favorite summer soups.  That and vichyssoise.  I'm one who could pretty much live on soup.  My mouth is watering as I'm typing this so please pardon me while I run fix myself a bowl of gazpacho for breakfast...   Ahhh, now that was good.  I always make my gazpacho by taking two-thirds of the veggies and pulsing them in the food processor with just a little bit of beef base.  Those get mixed with tomato juice, Clamato or V8 depending on my mood - and my pantry.  Then, I add in a bit of Tabasco and some extra virgin olive oil.  The other third is very finely diced and put into a separate storage container.  When I serve the gazpacho, I ladle some of the soup into a bowl, top it with a big handful of the diced veggies and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top.  One of our guests at a dinner party this past week declared it the best gazpacho he'd ever had.  The original recipe came from a cookbook called Indianapolis Cooks and Collects.

Here's what it looks like: 

Needless to say, I was entranced when I saw almond gazpacho on the Weekend in a French Kitchen recipe schedule.  Really?  Almond?  As I'm typing this, I'm recalling that one of the articles (yet to be fully read) in a New York Times recipe email is about the best gazpacho. 

"It is not the watered-down salsa or grainy sludge often served here under the name of gazpacho, but an emulsion of fat (olive oil) in liquid (vegetable juice and vinegar) that is light and fluffy on the tongue and a fantastic conductor of flavor, just like vinaigrette or hollandaise." 

Obviously, given my comments in the first paragraph I prefer the chunky gazpacho to the smooth.  So, when I read the instructions and found the first step to be soaking crustless white bread in water I cringed a bit.  Once the bread is soaked and drained and squeezed dry, it's put into the food processor with almonds, grapes, cucumber and garlic.  Then, ice water, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper are added.  The soup is put through a fine sieve and refrigerated until chilled.  It's topped with reserved almonds and garlic slices that have been crisped in some olive oil.  Then, it gets a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of piment d'Espelette. 

Once I got over the fact that this was not going to be anything at all like the gazpacho I love, I decided this was pretty darned good.  It's not something that I'll make with any regularity but is a lovely recipe for a starter for a dinner party.  Or a luncheon with a bowl of this and some great sandwiches. 



Here's the ingredient list for the gazpacho I make:

Indianapolis Collects and Cooks Gazpacho
6 c tomato juice
2 T olive oil
2-3 T lemon juice
1 c beef broth
1/2 c finely minced onion
3 tomatoes, finely minced
2 c finely minced celery
1/2 green pepper, finely minced
2 cucumbers, seeded and finely minced
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
dash of tabasco

Tomato Salad with Shallots and Parsley

Take the name of the dish and, there but for a bit of extra virgin olive oil, a dash of Dijon mustard and some judiciously sprinkled kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, you have the recipe.  It just doesn't get any more simple than this absolutely perfect summer dish.  I've been a huge fan of caprese salads since discovering them lo these many years ago.  This is the other salad enjoyed throughout the summer by our French friends.  And, this will be heresy to my dear friend Donna, but I do believe I like this better!

As part of Weekend in a French Kitchen, we're cooking our way through two cookbooks.  This is from the Sunday book:  A Kitchen in France by Mimi Thorisson.  David, Kara, Bradley and Rosie gave me an Amazon gift card for Mother's Day.  This lovely cookbook is how I used the gift card.  It's already getting stained and dog eared.  The mark of a well-loved cookbook!

Now, I'm a day late posting.  Sunday dawned bright and sunny.  We worked on the house for a bit before Connie dropped me off at the office and started out on his errands...  grocery, hardware store, bird food...  I had him drop me off so as to set a stop time.  I was working on a very complicated retirement plan and wanted some good uninterrupted time.  About three o'clock we got home.  Saturday we'd made great progress on the garage.  We're having a big party in a week and we want the house and garage to look great.  Not like we just moved in two months ago but like we've lived here for a while.  We looked at each other and said, "Let's dig in."  Dinner was to be my dish for Blogger C.L.U.E. Society, posting this Wednesday.  Dinner was at 9:30.  Thank goodness for long days or I'd not have been able to grill as easily.  By the time we finished dinner I was too exhausted to even take a shower.  Bedtime it was.  No blogging for me!

Now, my eagle-eyed friends, I'm certain you'll notice that my herb of choice was basil and not parsley.  I confess.  Basil is what I had so basil is what I used.  And have used since.  Yes, we've made this again.  And, will make it probably weekly this summer.  Until we get tired of warm, ripe tomatoes!  Which right now just doesn't seem possible, now does it?

Soup Time!

Soup.  I could live on the stuff.  Connie, not so much.  In his book it's right up there with fruit.  Or, down there, I should say.  My stack of soup recipes rarely gets used because I get tired of the griping.  But, this weekend is an exception to the rule.  I'm making three soups. 

You see, I'm getting to meet one of my food blogging friends in person.  How much fun is that?  I'll head over to another food blogging friend's house and we'll all have lunch.  Liz will make the dessert since she's the baking pro.  Her blog is That Skinny Chick Can Bake.  Not only does she have tons of wonderful baked goods there, she also has a boatload of wonderful entrees, side dishes etc.  The other blogger is our friend, Christiane.  She has a blog called Taking on Magazines.  You can find her as The Mom Chef.  Just like Liz's blog, Christiane's is loaded with fabulous recipes.  I've never made anything from either blog that I've not liked.  In fact as I type this I'm thinking about Liz's Mounds Bars and Christiane's cucumber salad...

After going through every sandwich on my blog and in my recipe box, I settled on crabmeat melts for our sandwiches.  They're a favorite from my childhood.  What better way to say hello to a friend than share a childhood memory? 

For those who'd prefer an entrée salad, I'm making Meridian Hills Special Salad.  Another childhood memory.  It's romaine lettuce, shredded Swiss cheese, turkey and ham topped with Caesar dressing and a bit of pickle relish. 

Last but not least, soups.  Pat King's chunky tomato soup sounded good.  But, Liz and I weren't sure if everyone in Christiane's family liked tomatoes.  So, a fallback was in order:  Cauliflower Cheese Soup.  It's from one of the first community cookbooks I ever got, Park Tudor Treasures.  My cookbook is marked "Excellent, 3/83" on that one.  It's proven to be the best cauliflower cheese soup ever.  In fact, I've given up making any other cauliflower cheese soups.  They just aren't as good so why mess with perfection?  Ok, that'd do it for this party.

And, what a party it was!  It was fabulous to meet Christiane and Doug and Sophie in person.

Ok, I have to put this in...  Liz has a great sun room that she uses for her photography studio.  Ergo, the wonderful photo of the tomato soup...  But, here's how Liz takes her overhead shots:

Looks fine, doesn't it?  Here's the rest of the story...  Now, I'm thinking Bill needs to get her a more stable set up for Christmas!

Then, there was Thanksgiving.  My brother John and sister-in-law, Pam host it every year.  John always does a turkey breast early so those who like cold turkey can have cold turkey.  He also does a turkey on the grill for those of us who want the regular Thanksgiving meal.  This year I took Mom's stuffing, Liz's spinach soufflé and persimmon pudding. 

Connie tells the story of his taking seconds of the cornbread stuffing his first mother-in-law prepared.  Later, his first wife asked him if he wished she could make it as well.  He confessed that he was just being polite but that, no, he really doesn't care for cornbread.  Needless to say, Mom's stuffing with cornbread and Pepperidge Farm white bread doesn't thrill him.  We're of the light and kind of moist but not soggy stuffing clan.  Pam's family is of the soggy white bread stuffing clan.  I do believe that's the Thanksgiving dish with the most variations nationwide.

Of course, Thanksgiving is always better with babies.  There's my Mom with her great-granddaughter, the paparazzi trying to get Charlotte to smile, Charlotte smiling with anticipation...  Yeah, I took mostly Charlotte pics.  I mean, who could resist?  She's SO cute!

Last but not least, our friend Kathy had back surgery.  I thought I'd take Kathy and her hubby Dan some soup.  So, I doubled the tomato soup recipe and made minestrone too.  There are funny stories about both.  The tomato soup recipe as written calls for "chicken broth."  Some have read it to mean a 46 oz can and some a 14 oz can.  As you might guess, it's a very different soup when prepared with that much broth.  I prefer the smaller can so it's more tomatoey.  Is that a word?  Well, it is for these purposes!  As for the minestrone, the recipe card says from MOM.  A few years ago I commented to her that her minestrone soup is my favorite of all time.   She didn't remember making it...  Isn't it funny how something that becomes a favorite in one household is a one and done in another?

Pat King's Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

onion
celery
carrots
2 T extra virgin olive oil
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 T Italian seasoning
glob of garlic (that's what the recipe says, I think it's funny so left it in!)
chicken broth

Directions:

You're probably wondering how much of the vegetables???  Me too.  I always start with a medium onion or two and toss them in the food processor.  Then, once they're finely chopped, I toss them in a large saucepan with the olive oil and let them cook down a bit to release some moisture.  Then, I finely chop a couple of handfuls of the baby carrots and a few ribs of celery, using the food processor.  All of those plus the garlic and Italian seasoning go in with the onions.  Once everything is softened, I pour the tomatoes and a 14 oz can of chicken broth in.  Actually, we've switched to using Better than Bouillon so I make a couple of cups of chicken broth and pour that in.  Simmer, uncovered, for a couple of hours.  This is best served the next day.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Ingredients 

1 small head fresh cauliflower
2 c water
1/2 c onion, chopped (I just use a medium onion)
1/4 c butter
1/2 c flour
1- 2 T chicken flavored instant bouillon (we use Better than Bouillon)
2 - 3 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 c milk
1/4 t ground nutmeg

Directions:

Core the cauliflower.  Tear it into florets.  Cook them in the water until they're softened.  Drain and reserve the cooking liquid.  Set the cauliflower and the cooking liquid aside.  In the same saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the onion and cook until it's translucent.  Stir in the flour.  Cook it for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.  While that's cooking, reserve a cup of the cauliflower florets.  Take a cup of the cooking liquid plus the bouillon (we use better than bouillon and you may find you only need a tablespoon rather than the full two...) plus the rest of the cauliflower and process it in your food processor.  Slowly pour the rest of the reserved cooking liquid into the onion/flour mixture.  Stir constantly until it thickens.  Then, add the cauliflower puree followed by the milk.  Once it's a bit thickened, add the cheddar cheese and the nutmeg.  Heat through and serve.

Mom's Minnestrone

Ingredients:

9 c beef stock
1 1/2 c dried white beans (Great Northern or baby limas are best)
1/2 c olive oil
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 c fresh green beans, cut into 1" lengths (a little north of a pound)
3 c diced zucchini (about 3 med)
3 c coarsely chopped cabbage (I use a bag of cole slaw mix)
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped carrots
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped celery
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped potato
28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, include juice
1 T crushed rosemary

Directions:

Soak the beans overnight.  Drain.  Pour the olive oil into a very large stock pot.  Add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes.  Then, add the green beans, zucchini, cabbage, carrots and celery.  Saute for another 10 minutes stirring every couple of minutes.  Lastly, add the potato, tomato, rosemary, beans and beef stock.  Put a lid on and cook on medium heat for several hours.  Here's the deal...  I always refer to the ingredients as collapsing to describe when they're done.  The soup can technically be done but not be right.  You literally need for everything to totally cook.  Taste along the way and you'll see what I mean.  This may take eight hours of cooking to get it right.  As I type this, mine has been going for three hours and is nowhere near done...

Chicken Diablo and Skillet-Fried Mac and Cheese

Yet another home run from Michael Symon.  On his 15th wedding anniversary too :-)   I know I've said this before but I'm going to say it again.  5 in 5 is a winner.  This cookbook has so many wonderful, quick, easy, flavorful recipes.  I'd really recommend adding it to your collection.

Friday was supposed to be my day to get a lot done.  It wasn't happening.  We had an audit in the morning.  That went well since I'm pretty detail oriented about making sure that everything's in good order.  But, after that the wheels fell off.  My back and my belly hurt.  I just wanted to be at home in my chair - or better yet on my couch.  Lunch didn't happen.  Needless to say, we went home early.  And, by that time I was finally hungry.  Connie made us a cocktail that was fabulous.  I'll let him tell you about that.  I wanted mac and cheese.  So, I pulled out the Mac and Cheese cookbook by Ellen Brown and started hunting.  I found a perfect one that Alton Brown had deemed the best mac and cheese in America.  When I opened the fridge to get the cheddar cheese, there I was, looking at the chicken thighs that were supposed to be dinner.  Hmmm.  Do I serve mac and cheese as a side along with chicken thighs cooked with loads of yummy veggies or do I just load up on the mac and cheese?  Healthy won out. And, I am certainly glad it did since the chicken was the winner of the evening. 

The only change I'd make would be to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  Try as we might we couldn't find boneless, skin on thighs.  So, I used bone in, skin on.  And, they released a veritable torrent of fat.  I had to drain the skillet!  Ok, so actually, I used the full sauce recipe for two thighs.  That meant a whole bite of veggies with each bite of chicken.  If I ever make four or six thighs, I'll double the sauce recipe.  It was that good.

When it came to the mac and cheese, I used an old, faithful skillet.  The cheese stuck.  Not just a little.  It took Connie about 10 minutes to scrape it.  He finally came up with the idea of deglazing it with some white wine.  That worked perfectly.  So, whatever you do, don't use a skillet that's infamous for sticking!

Overall, the chicken was a five and the mac and cheese a four.  Both were fabulous.  The chicken is a super easy weeknight dish that will be a regular around here.  Well, as regular as any dish - probably twice a year :-)

Chicken Diablo

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
2 - 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
1 red or green bell pepper
1 jalapeno minced (the recipe called for rings but I'm a baby...)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
2 T capers, rinsed and drained
1/2 c roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Directions:

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. 

Heat the olive oil to shimmering in a large skillet.  Brown the chicken on both sides.  Add the bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno and sauté until they're softened. 

Add the tomatoes, juice and capers. 

Cover the pan and simmer for 2 minutes.  Serve sprinkled with the fresh parsley

adapted from 5 in 5 by Michael Symon


Skillet Fried Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

1/2 lb macaroni
2 T unsalted butter
3 T chopped onion
1 bay leaf
1 T flour
3/4 c whole milk, warmed
2 T heavy cream, warmed
1/2 t Dijon mustard
8 oz, sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper
1 T olive oil

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the macaroni, reduce the heat and cook until al dente.  Drain and rinse the macaroni. 

While the macaroni is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Add the onions and bay leaf and sauté until the onions are softened. 

Stir in the flour.  Cook for a couple of minutes until the flour is just slightly beige.  Remove the bay leaf.  Gradually add the milk/cream mixture, while stirring constantly.  Cook the sauce until it's thickened.  Add the mustard. 

Gradually add the shredded cheddar. 

Once all of the cheese has melted into the sauce, combine the sauce and macaroni. 

Now, while all of the above is going on, heat a large skillet with the tablespoon of olive oil in it.  Once the sauce and macaroni have been combined, pour them into the skillet.  Smooth out the mac and cheese so the entire bottom of the skillet is covered. 

Allow it to cook for three minutes before scraping the mac and cheese and crust off the skillet.  Continue to cook it this way until more than 15% of the mac and cheese has a crust.

adapted from Mac and Cheese 

Tomatoes, Baked, Gazpacho, Pesto BLT's...

Me behind on things to do at the house?  To the best of my knowledge I've never gotten to the point of having three loads of scrunchies to wash.  There must've been eight full loads of wash.  When you're talking about two people that's a lot of clothes, folks.  My excuse?  Well, we're still dealing with the tsunami of paperwork in the office.  AND, we've been fringing and going to Indians baseball games and going to wine tastings and various sundry fun things. 

Fringing, you say?  Yup.  Indianapolis is lucky enough to have our own Fringe Festival.  It runs for eleven days in several venues on or near Mass Ave downtown.  The first evening we saw Phil Van Hest's new show, "What Biscuits."  When he first started doing Fringe, Phil lived in LA.  Then, he met a lovely lady named Noelle and moved to Indy.  This time his nine month old son, Gray, came to his show for his first time.  And, his last until he's old enough to not do the monkey hear, monkey say thing.  Just saying.  Phil does know a few four letter words, ya know.  And, they do show up in his show.  We ran into Phil on the Avenue later and he confirmed that Gray will not be attending in the near future.  After that we saw a show that's played to rave reviews at other Fringe Festivals - "Under the Lintel."  It was very good but a bit deep for us.  We prefer the straight comedy shows.  Along the way we saw five more shows.  Our favorite this year was Act of Foo.  Those guys were an amazing improv troupe.  We laughed until our sides hurt.  Our second favorite was a fellow we loved a couple of years ago.  Paul Strickland was back with a new show - Ain't True and Uncle False.  Again, we laughed until our sides hurt.  There we ran into my friend, Dave Andrichick who owns the Chatterbox Tavern.  Dave said he'd been to a dozen shows.  We had at least that many we wanted to see but just didn't have the time to spend.  At 50 minutes and $10 a person per show, it's bargain entertainment!  Finally, last night we went to a Fringe reprise at the Fringe Theatre.  A parody of Walt Disney shows and one about an auction called Going, Going, Gone.  Two more side-splitters!

We've been existing on tomatoes.  Tomatoes and cottage cheese.  Caprese salads

Baked stuffed tomatoes.  BLT's, plain and with pesto. 

Tomatoes sautéed with other veggies.  I am going to turn into a tomato.  We've got easily a dozen varieties in our garden.  Two different cherries.  One red and one gold.  Two yellow tomatoes.  Three kinds of romas.  Three different Brandywines.  And, three or four other heirlooms.  I totally forgot to take a photo of the finished dish of one of my favorites - gazpacho.

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

Large tomatoes
Olive oil
Panko bread crumbs
Garlic, minced
Fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley and basil)
Freshly grated romano cheese

Brown the panko and garlic in the olive oil. 

While they're browning, core the tomatoes and scoop out some of the interior. 

Chop the tomato interiors and add those plus the cheese and herbs to the panko. 

Gently stuff the tomatoes and bake or grill on a grill pan.

Gazpacho

Ingredients:

6 c tomato juice (I typically use V8 instead)
2 T olive oil
2-3 T lemon juice
1 c beef broth
1/2 c minced onion
4-5 tomatoes, finely minced
2 c finely minced celery
1/2 green pepper, finely minced
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely minced
1 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
1/4 t Tabasco

Directions:

Divide each of the veggies in half.  Put half of each in a food processor.  Process until liquefied.  Pour them into a bowl.  Add the V8 and beef broth and mix well.  Add the other ingredients.  Chill overnight before serving. 

adapted from Indianapolis Collects and Cooks



We've also got about two dozen basil plants.  So, I've been fixing a LOT of pesto (my friend Monica's is the BEST.)  Like the recipe I made up last night.  Pesto fish with pesto rice.  The pesto coating kept the fish really moist.  And, the bit of pesto in the rice really carried the flavor through.