Wild Rice and Barley Pilaf - Will This Colorful Autumn Sidedish Make It To The Thanksgiving Table?

Some people select side-dishes to serve at Thanksgiving based on taste and tradition. I have more stringent criteria. I'll caste tradition aside if a vegetable side-dish meets the following standards:

1. delicious flavor 

2. relatively simple to make

3.  won't deteriorate in appearance or taste if it must wait for the rest of the food and family to be ready to eat

Additional criteria which improve a side-dish's chances of being chosen, but won't disqualify it if not met are:

1. Uses colorful ingredients reminiscent of an autumn landscape
2. Can be prepared ahead of time

With these criteria in mind, I prepared Wild Rice and Barley Pilaf in a test run for the Thanksgiving table. I found the recipe in the cookbook: Recipes for Sweetened Dried Cranberries.

I was looking for a rice dish because I wanted an alternative to Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. I know the kids love them, but I can't help associating them with ready-mix concrete. I shovel them into my mouth. They plop down my throat. They land in my stomach and proceed to harden into a single, heavy-weighted mass. A belly full of mashed potatoes is like wearing concrete shoes on the inside. Don't get me wrong - their flavor is terrific, but there must be something just as tasty but lighter in effect. That's why I was looking to rice.

I knew that the mix of russet cranberries, brown raisins, charcoal-gray wild rice and cream-colored barley would give this side-dish an interesting and autumn-colored appearance. The pilaf would provide appealing contrast to white turkey.

Preparing the pilaf was extremely simple, - my kind of cooking. No, I didn't simply open cans and combine their contents as I've written about in past posts. For this recipe, I opened packages. Here are the ingredients:

• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
• 3 cups chicken broth (I got Swanson's chicken broth in the box)
• 1/2 cup pearl barley (I used medium grain)
• 1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted  

Then I followed the instructions:

Rinse and drain rice; place in saucepan. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in barley, dried cranberries, raisins, and butter. Transfer to a greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Add almonds and fluff with fork.

To test the pilaf's skill at maintaining tasteful integrity when serving time is delayed, I employed the company of good friends. These are the same friends who came for dinner a few weeks ago and for entertainment remodeled my kitchen. This time Dan arrived with window caulking as a follow up to our conversation about winter-time insulation in Wisconsin. In two plastic bags, he carried a large assortment of rope caulks and tools. Kay carried the wine. She entered the door asking, "Do we eat first or insulate?"

"Insulate." I declared. Wisconsin winters are serious. Preparation for them must not be compromised by frivolity. I left the wine corked, but did put out Wisconsin cheddar cheese and crackers for sustenance in case our resolve weakened. Because we were busy caulking windows and doors, the rice pilaf had to postpone its table-side appearance for nearly an hour and a half. It waited silently in a warm oven, but did make its presence known with a delicious, nutty aroma. "Good," I thought, "Just enough pleasing smell to urge our team to work efficiently, but not so overwhelmingly tempting to make us work in a sloppy hurry." Atmosphere is important in any worthwhile endeavor.

When served at last with whitefish and a Caesar salad, the Wild Rice and Barley Pilaf was a clear winner! We really liked it. The waiting didn't seem to have hurt it. I had several helpings because my tongue was so happy and my stomach didn't fall into my but.

So Wild Rice and Barley Pilaf met the first four criteria. But would it meet the last? Could it be prepared ahead of time and taste just as good the next day? How would it look in the glare of morning light, without the ambiance of wine and candlelight? Would it pass the grueling morning-after test? To find out, this morning I microwaved some in a small dish. The color and texture were the same, - good sign. The flavor? Well, now that's hard to say. The flavor was good; I ate all the rice in the bowl and a bit more. But did it taste exactly like the previous night? Well, maybe not. But I'm not sure if I don't think so simply because I'm unaccustomed to rice for breakfast. I understand that millions of people enjoy it, my own son does in fact. But me? Well, I preferred the left-over Wisconsin cheese apple pie. Perhaps I'm just more of a pie-for-breakfast-type of person.

So regarding that last criterion, I'm going to abstain from judgment. Make Wild Rice and Barley Pilaf and decide for yourself if it tastes just as good the next day. If it doesn't, then you'll be even happier you ate so much of it the night before.

  

Here are more choices for delicious Thanksgiving foods that will make this American holiday a gourmet celebration:

Whole Smoked Turkey

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Nueske Snack Assortment 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

 

Sweetened Dried Cranberries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Premium Dry Roasted Wild Rice and Festival Medley

 

 

 

Sweetie Pie Fruit Pies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and here's wishing everyone:

A Happy Thanksgiving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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