Dirty Rice and a Great Start to 2010

Last night we joined our friends John, Ginger, and Trevor for dinner.  John is a fantastic cook and I had been begging him to teach me to make Dirty Rice.  I've had it in cajun restaurants but John's is the best (see recipe below).  He served it a couple of years ago at Thanksgiving.  Mmm so good.

Along with the rice we had an amazing meal of black bean soup, salmon, grilled sweet potatoes, and a delicious salad.  All I did was bring angel food cake and strawberries.  We got the easy end of this deal.

Ginger and the delicious salad.

The salmon had a soy sauce/brown sugar/cinnamon glaze and was absolutely delicious.

Ginger was sweet enough to jot down the Dirty Rice recipe.

Now here's trouble!  Brennan, Thomas and Trevor.  Brennan and Trevor are a day apart and are about to celebrate their 8th birthdays!

During dinner Ginger gave each of us a card with a healthy tip on it.  We discussed these since we all have fitness goals we're focusing on in 2010.  In addition she had a Resolutions/Wish jar on the table.  She's asking everyone that comes over to write down a 2010 Wish or Resolution on a piece of paper with their name and she'll give them back towards the end of the year.  I thought this was a really fun thing to do. 

Great friends, great conversation, a new recipe, a fantastic meal, and resolutions.  Great start to the new year!

John's Dirty Rice
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. beef broth
1 c onion
1/2 c celery
1/2 c bell pepper
4 cups cooked rice

Brown the pork (with salt and pepper) and add the broth, onion, celery and pepper.  Cook until the vegetables are soft.  Add the rice and continue cooking until all is heated through and the vegetables are soft.

**John pureed 1 lb. of chicken livers instead of beef broth.  Most classic Dirty Rice recipes call for this.  I was sort of freaked out and then could taste it later.  John suggested beef broth instead of the chicken livers and I'm happy to try that route next time!


Thanks John!