What to do when you have two disparate ideas for dinner? Why, make both of them, of course!

I wanted rice cakes and I wanted something creamy since the weather has turned winter-ish.  The logical conclusion really was to make both. Rice cakes and chicken stew. A perfect combination. I figured the rice cakes could take the place of potatoes or noodles. What the heck.

Rice cakes are tricky. You really need a sticky, glutinous rice or they tend to totally fall apart. Arborio or other short-grained rices work well. Brown rice and long grain rices, not as well. I have a jar of Thai sticky rice that I used. It was the perfect glutinous foundation.

I cooked one cup of rice according to package instructions and then let it cool a bit. I placed it in a bowl and added 1 egg, about a cup of shredded cheese, a bit of garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper. The sage was in honor of the chicken.

I formed them into patties and then put them in the ‘fridge to chill completely – cold rice cakes have a better chance of staying together. Right before cooking, I rolled them in plain, unseasoned flour and fried them in grape seed oil until crispy-browned.

They had a nice, creamy interior and a slight crunch on the outside.

They came out well.

The chicken stew was chicken tenders cut up, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and frozen mixed vegetables. I added about a third of a cup of rice to thicken it. The rice pretty much broke down and made it creamy-good!

Nonna cleaned her plate.  Again.

That’s always a good sign…