Easter Menu (Including Zuni Chicken)

I made a pretty epic feast for Easter. I am being lazy about writing out these recipes (especially Zuni chicken), so I’m just going to link to what we had for dinner.

Zuni chicken and bread salad

Roast potatoes

Pressure cooker risotto (using the milanese variation)

Asparagus with green goddess dressing

Green Tea Rice

I made this (out of Women’s Health) but neither John nor I were particularly excited about it. Maybe it was the recipe? Who knows.

Hainese Chicken Rice

This dish has been on my to-make list for YEARS and I finally bit the bullet (I don’t remember if this is the recipe version I originally wanted to make, but it worked great). A little overly ambitious for a Monday night, but very delicious — and it makes a ton. I was nervous about the skin being too gelatinous but the texture actually worked fine in this preparation.

Note: In lieu of buying kecap manis, I just reduced some tamari with brown sugar. I did not have the pandan leaves.

Arroz Con Pollo

John made this recipe as is, so just linking over. But next time we make it, we’d just use boneless chicken thighs – the skin didn’t stay all that crisp and we preferred the dark meat to light.

Rice Salad with Spinach and Feta

I had this salad at my friend Sonja’s house. I like it because it works served cold, room temperature or warm. I served it room temperature as kind of a picnic-y lunch, along with some chicken tenderloins. As a note, I found that the original recipe didn’t use nearly enough liquid, so I ended up continuing to add to it until the rice was done. So I’m adjusting the recipe’s liquid amount as a result.

Thai-style Crab Fried Rice

Awesome and pretty healthy! From one of my Thai cookbooks. Pictured with pesto asparagus (recipe to follow).

Mushroom Risotto with Lobster Stock

I noticed this recipe when flipping through one of my sister’s cookbooks (the companion book to the Spain television series featuring Gwyneth Paltro, Mark Bittman, Mario Batali, etc.), and thought it sounded simple but delicious. Plus I have like three quarts of lobster stock taking up space in the freezer. It has a nice earthy flavor despite few ingredients.

This recipe can be made entirely vegetarian by swapping in vegetable or mushroom stock but will lose some of its complexity.