Cookin' ATVS Style: Venetian Rice

Much as we'd like to disagree, man does not live on grilled and/or smoked meats alone. And let's face it, nobody ever turns down the typical cookout side items: potato salad, mac & cheese, baked beans, roasted asparagus, etc...

Here's a very bright, colorful and refreshing, yet still filling option that comes courtesy of a friend of my wife's. It's kind of similar to a risotto, but it can be made pretty easily with basic white rice. We tried it out for Easter dinner, which was held at my house. Apologies for the lack of pictures, but this is relatively self-explanatory. Besides, I was outside tendin' to the grill as she made it.

Plus, it gave me an excuse for this...

Ingredients

3/4 cup white rice
1 10-oz bag of frozen peas
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1/4 lb bacon
1 12-oz can chicken stock
1/ 2 - 1/ 3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1.       Cook the bacon until crispy, chop and set aside.

2.       In a large skillet or Dutch oven, sauté the onion until translucent. Add the frozen peas and cook for five minutes.

3.       Add the rice and stir well. You might want to let it brown up just a bit in the pan a bit for texture purposes.

4.       Add the stock and season with salt & pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer nad cover. Cook the rice until done and the liquid is gone.

5.       Add the bacon and parmesan and toss well, solid-style.

Feeds 5-6 people.