Moroccan Couscous

I love this recipe for couscous. It is the only one I use.  It comes from Barefoot Contessa, but I didn't not which cookbook.


Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup chopped shallots
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 cups couscous
1/2 cup pignoli nuts toasted
1/4 cup currants ( I use dried cherries)
Melt the butter in a large sauce pan, add the shallots and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the chicken stock, salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high and bring the stock to a boil. Cut off the heat and add the couscous. Cover the pan and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Add the pignoli nuts and cuttants to the couscous. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Coconut Rice

Ingredients:
2 cups jasmine-scented white rice ( I just used regular rice)
2 cups coconut milk
1 3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon canola oil ( for rubbing in pot)
Optional - 1 teaspoon white or brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring
2 Tablespoons toasted coconut
1. Rub oil onbottom of deep-sided pot
2. Place rice, coconut milk, water, and salt in the pot on medium/high heat - Stirring well
3. Add sugar and flavorings if desired. Con tinue stirring until rice mixture begins to boil. Stirring keeps the rice from sticking and burning.
4. Once mixture is boilin stop stirring and turn heat to medium/low. Place lid askew on the pot to allow steam to escape.
5. Cook 15-20 minutes or until almost all liquid has been absorbed.
6. Turn off heat, but leave pot on burner. Cover pot with lid and let rest 5-10 minutes. It will have a sticky texture.
7. When ready to serve, fluff rice with a fork. Place toasted coconut on top of each serving if desired.

Maggie's Beans

My daughter-in-law's mother makes some amazing beans. She makes one batch for our daughter, Stacy and the rest of her family and she makes one batch for the rest of our family that likes hot, but not as hot as she likes it. I will give you her recipe and then in parenthesis what I do.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of pinto beans ( I use 1 pound)
Maggie buys loose beans not prepackaged so she can find the new beans. Lighter colors are fresh and clean the darker ones are older and not as fresh ( I buy packaged beans)
1 finely chopped medium size onion
4-5 finely chopped medium size tomatoes very ripe
3-4 chopped jalapenos - chopped small ( I use two)
3-4 chopped serrano peppers - chopped small ( I use none)
1 chopped habanero pepper just in case the others are not hot enough (I use none)
1 lb package of bacon ( I use 1/2 package)
1 bunch cilantro, everything even the stems she says that is the tastiest part
salt to taste
Clean and rinse beans. Put beans in a 5-6 quart pot and fill with water. If it's bigger it's o.k. because when you pour in all the ingredients you need room so it won't overflow. Plus you want plenty of water because that will end up being the tastiest part of the beans. Set it to high until they come to a boil and then set to medium-low. Beans will cook for an hour to and hour and a half until they are tender. Mae sure to look over them throughout to make sure they have plenty of water. Add water as needed to make sure they are covered. While beans are cooking prepare the other ingredients.
Chopbacon in small pieces and cook in aseparate pan. Once the bacon is crispy add chopped onion and chopped peppers. Leave the bacon greese in pan to saute' them. Then add chopped cilantro and continue cooking. Add in finely chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 min. If there isn't enough oil from th bacon, just add 1/4 cup of cooking oil so everything gets cooked well.
When bens are tender, pour everything rom the pan with bacon ingredients into the beans. After 5 minutes, taste to see how much salt is needed. The bacon will add salt so be sure to taste. The longer they cook, the tastier they get.

Thanks Maggie, we love your beans even though we tame them way too much for your taste.
Next, I want your salsa recipe. It is amazing.

Corny Polenta

Food Network's Rachel Ray


Ingredients:
2 ears of fresh corn on the cob or 1 cup frozen kernels of corn, defrosted
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3-4 scallions finely chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup quick-cooking polenta
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons hot sauce (or to taste)
Kosher salt
Directions:
Scrap the corn from the cob using a sharp knife ( I put my corn in the middle of a bunt cake pan and allow the kernels to fall into the pan)
Heat the extra virgin olive oil to medium/high heat in a medium size sauce pan. Heat the corn until it starts to brown on the edges (3-4 min.) Add the scallions and cook 1 min. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Whisk in the polenta and cook until thick. (2-3 min.) Stir in the butter and hot sauce to taste. Transfer to serving bowl and serve or place in a 12" X 13" pan and place in refrigerator to get solid. Cut into squares and fry in butter when ready to use. I like to serve mine with marinara sauce.

Corn Omelet with Smoked Mozzarella and Basil

Ingredients:
1 ear of corn, grilled or raw, the kernels sliced off the cob
2 eggs, beaten with 1 Tablespoon of water
a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 oz. grated low-fat smoked mozzarella cheese
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
If you are using new corn, put it in a small skillet with a few Tablespoons of water and simmer until tender and heated through. Drain, then add it to the beaten eggs and season with salt and pepper and basil. Stir in cheese. Whipe out the skillet you cooked corn in and add the olive oil. When it foams, pour in the eggs and give them a couple of quick stire around the pan. Cover with the plate you plan to eat from (it will warm it), lower the heat, and cook the eggs until pale gold on the bottom. Slide the omplet onto the plate, invert the pan over it, grasp the whole unit, and flip it over. Slide the omelet back into the pan and cook the second side just until it sets, about a min. Tip it onto your plate, and add a sliced tomato salad and serve.