The “12 Days of Christmas” certainly had their appeal in the Middle Ages, with an extended period of celebrations with food and revelry starting on Christmas Day. When Charles Dickens published his “A Christmas Carol” in 1843, he was concerned that this custom was fading from England and gave it a boost for years to come.
We start modern-day celebrations right after Thanksgiving, and by New Year’s Day, there is an unacknowledged sigh in most households that life is about to return to “normal.” The leftovers are gone except for the cookies and some unappreciated fruitcake, we groan as we step on the bathroom scale, and we suddenly appreciate a quiet evening at home.
New Year’s resolutions come in all manner of variants beside the ones aiming for a more cordial relationship with your bathroom scale. Some of mine obviously have to do with cooking.
It is easy to get caught up in some of the new trends, so one of my resolutions will be to look at some old recipes with a view of updates with more varied ingredients to tweak our taste buds. This should not preclude discoveries of new and interesting combinations of ingredients from around the world.
Wild Rice with pine nuts and currants
With all the recent emphasis on grains in our diet, wild rice seems to have lost its prominence as an interesting natural grain. Wild rice (Zizania) and cultivated rice (Oryza) actually represent different genera of the grass family of plants. In North America, wild rice is grown primarily in Canada and Minnesota. It has a delightful nutty flavor and a firm texture requiring longer cooking time, but pairs well with poultry, pork, and smoked meats.
Rinse 1 cup wild rice in several changes of water and place in a medium pot with 3 cups of chicken broth or water and ¾ tsp. salt. Bring to boil, cover and cook on low heat for 1 hour. Some of the grains will puff open at this point.
While the wild rice is cooking, in a small pan saute 1 finely chopped shallot and 1 medium finely chopped stalk of celery for 5 minutes in 2 tbsp. butter. Stir in ¼ cup toasted pine nuts and ¼ cup dried currants. When rice is done, drain off any excess liquid, stir in the shallot mixture and heat everything on low heat for 5-10 minutes.
Serve hot. The mixture can be made ahead and carefully reheated with stirring.
Chinese spareribs with ginger
Wild rice won’t be on the menu in most Chinese restaurants, but it is a grain that is native also to China. Thinking ahead to the Chinese New Year (Jan. 25 – Year of the Metal Rat), the wild rice dish would go well with Chinese spareribs, which seem lighter than the western barbecued ribs.
Cut a 3-pound rack of pork spareribs into individual ribs and place in a shallow glass baking dish. In a bowl, mix together: 6 tbsp. honey; 6 tbsp. vinegar; 6 tbsp. soy sauce; 1 tbsp. sugar; a dash of Tabasco (optional); 3 minced cloves garlic; a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated; 1 ½ cups beef stock; and ¼ cup sherry. Stir marinade well and pour over the spareribs. Marinate 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator, turning the ribs once or twice.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove ribs from marinade and spread on rimmed baking pan and roast for 1 hour, turning ribs several times and pouring off the accumulated fat as well as basting with the marinade each time. The ribs should be crisp, but not dried out. If you serve this as a main course, use two racks of spareribs for six people.
Happy New Year!
(I. Winicov Harrington is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less Than $5.00 a Day: The Smart-Frugal Food Plan.” For more information, go to winicov-harrington.com.)
