It's getting hot in here, so make chipotle rice...

I had grand plans for posting my latest and greatest recipe last Monday, but I had a little trouble at the office.

So in light of my crazy week at work, I've decided to make chipotle rice pilaf. No that doesn't make any sense, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want to.

Anyhoo, I've always been fascinated by chipotles. I've passed by them several hundred times in the market, and somehow I've been able to avoid their siren song of heat and smoky goodness. I'm not as hard core as Sam at Becks & Posh (she made her own chipotles en adobo), but I think I've managed to take my first steps into this delicious new world.

Why rice? Well I'd love to make my own version of Nuevo Laredo's Chicken Diablo, but Jenny doesn't like super spicy food and I don't think my stomach could take eating all the leftovers. Mostly it comes from the guilt of always resorting to a boxed (horrors!) Spanish rice mix when I cook Mexican food. I guess it was high time that I man up and make some rice from scratch.

Excuse me for the ego, but I think my first real Spanish rice tastes pretty good. It's based on Good Eats' rice pilaf, but I've added a whole ton of other bits and now I think it's nothing like where it started.

Out of respect for my guests, I made this version pretty mild. If I were making it for heartier folk, I'd double the chipotles and adobo sauce. Oh and before you all start complaining, I know that there are like a half-dozen chipotles in the can. Don't worry, I'll find some use for the remaining soldiers and post about it here. Sheesh.

This recipe makes a ton of rice, which was plenty for a party of 6, but if you're not willing to eat chipotle rice pilaf for a week you can scale the recipe down. If you do, change the liquid according to Alton's recommended amounts (see scene 7).

Chipotle Rice Pilaf

3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 med Onion, diced
1 med Green Pepper, diced
3 cups White Rice
4 lg. cloves Garlic, finely diced
2 Chipotle Peppers, seeds removed and diced
1 tablespoon Adobo Sauce
1 can (14.5 oz.) "Petite" Diced Tomatoes, drained with liquid reserved*
Approx. 2 cans (14 oz. each) Vegetable Stock*
2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
2 teaspoons Salt
2 Bay Leaves
Cilantro, for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350°.

In a large oven-safe pan or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and sweat the pepper and onion until translucent. Add garlic and rice. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the rice is fragrant (it'll smell like nuts) and darkens slightly.

Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove and let sit, covered, for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

If you want to get all fancy-pants, garnish with cilantro. Whoever finds a bay leaf gets 1 year of good luck.

Makes 8 servings (approx. 1 cup per serving), 6 points per serving.

*Add enough vegetable stock to the reserved tomato liquid to bring the total volume to 3 1/2 cups.