On 2/12/2016 1:03 PM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
> "dsi1" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 2/12/2016 10:09 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>>
>>> "Janet B" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> On Fri, 12 Feb 2016 03:45:35 -0800, "Julie Bove"
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "Janet B" > wrote in message
>>>>> ...
>>>>>> On Thu, 11 Feb 2016 19:51:40 -0600, "cshenk" > wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Julie Bove wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "cshenk" > wrote in message
>>>>>>>> ...
>>>>>>>> > Julie Bove wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>> > >
>>>>>>>> > wrote in message
>>>>>>>> > > ...
>>>>>>>> >>> I like canned spanish rice.
>>>>>>>> > >
>>>>>>>> > > I bought some many years ago that was good. Can't remember the
>>>>>>>> > > brand or where I was living when I bought it. But the only
>>>>>>>> kind
>>>>>>>> > > I can find now in a can isn't good.
>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>> > I have never noticed canned rice. Could be they don't sell it
>>>>>>>> > here. I *do* recall a rather nice small can at HEB in San
>>>>>>>> Antonio
>>>>>>>> > Texas that was a premade 'spanish rice' seasonings. You added it
>>>>>>>> > to cooked rice.
>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>> > Fortunately for me I have a rice machine (small unit) so even
>>>>>>>> if I
>>>>>>>> > don't feel like cooking, that one is easy. If I'm really lazy, I
>>>>>>>> > ask my daughter to make it (grin).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I most likely bought it at the military commissary and as I'm sure
>>>>>>>> you know, they often sell things that you can't get elsewhere. But
>>>>>>>> how can you do Spanish rice in a rice machine? How would you brown
>>>>>>>> it?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Smile, you make the rice then brown it if that particular recipe
>>>>>>> calls
>>>>>>> for browning at all. Fact is there are so many varieties of
>>>>>>> 'spanish
>>>>>>> or mexican rice' that it's very possible you are used to making it
>>>>>>> almost rice-a-roni ish where you brown the rice in butter then
>>>>>>> add the
>>>>>>> water and seasonings?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Others use fresh cooked rice which is then lightly stir fried in
>>>>>>> butter
>>>>>>> and olive oil then added spices and tomatoes are added.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> A simple sort that is soft and works well is to make a batch of rice
>>>>>>> (you'd want about 3 cups yield at least) then add Ro-Tel (or a store
>>>>>>> knock off) and heat then serve. Some heat the ro-tel separate in
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> microwave then use it to top the rice. While not haute cuisine,
>>>>>>> it's
>>>>>>> simple and fast and in your house may be more effective since people
>>>>>>> could chose to top the rice with that or something else.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The dish is a pilaf and is thousands of years old. Pilaf exists
>>>>>> every
>>>>>> where in the world and is made according to local traditions
>>>>>> Generally
>>>>>> the basics are rice is 'browned' in a fat, cooked in a broth and
>>>>>> meats/vegetables are added. Rice a Roni, a rice and pasta dish is
>>>>>> still a pilaf.
>>>>>> Janet US
>>>>>
>>>>> Not according to this:
>>>>>
>>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilaf
>>>>
>>>> It is the style of the dish as opposed to cooking the rice in water
>>>> and eating plain or cooking the rice and then adding to other
>>>> ingredients to the rice. The rice, broth and other ingredients are
>>>> cooked together. I investigated pilaf years and years ago when I
>>>> noticed the likeness of several recipes
>>>> Carol's cooked rice with Rotel added to the cooked rice is not pilaf.
>>>> Arroz con Pollo is pilaf because the broth, chicken and vegetables are
>>>> cooked together.. As far as I can tell, Mexican/Spanish rice is pilaf
>>>> I very carefully said 'made according to local traditions' and
>>>> 'generally the basics'. There are huge variations in the dish. Read
>>>> some recipes. Quite a few include pasta and some even include
>>>> potatoes.
>>>> Sorry, I didn't want to be "teachy", I'm just fascinated by how few
>>>> actual different 'recipes' there are. There are base methods that
>>>> have been adjusted to reflect available food stuffs, climate,
>>>> religions.
>>>> Photos of huge differences:
>>>> http://tinyurl.com/gvfmclx
>>>> Janet US
>>>
>>> But you said that the rice was browned in fat. I suppose some recipes
>>> might be but my mom always made hers in the oven and it wasn't browned
>>> in fat. I did look it up and didn't see any that was browned in fat
>>> either. I once made a Greek rice and spinach dish where not only was
>>> the rice browned in fat to start with but it was made in a skillet with
>>> no lid. You added broth to it as it cooked, stirring all the while. I
>>> only made it once as nobody else liked it. I did. But it wasn't
>>> called pilaf.
>>
>> I have fried raw rice in a pan when making Spanish rice. I was never
>> able to make an acceptable Spanish rice though. Mostly, people learn
>> this odd technique from making that San Francisco treat - Rice-A-Roni.
>
> I grew up eating that stuff and it was no treat! Then I remember
> getting my first apartment and time and time again buying their Spanish
> or Mexican or whatever they called it rice when it was on sale. It was
> awful. But I kept trying because people kept telling me that I must be
> making it wrong. No. It's just awful and not a thing like the real thing.
>
> Oddly enough, my husband who is not a fan of rice or pasta will eat
> Rice-A-Roni and likes it.

I've made Rice-A-Roni several times in my life because I like rice and
San Francisco. I thought browning the rice and pasta was a nutty idea
the first time I made it. You'd think it would give the dish a
toasted-nutty kind of taste but mostly it tastes like salty rice. That's
the breaks.