I am part of a small group of people that gets together each Sunday evening to watch nutty sci-fi television, usually Dr. Who. Because I'm involved, this also becomes a bit of an informal dinner party. So last weekend, I was hosting our gathering and offered to make roasted chicken and most of the rest of the meal. I figured I'd make rice with pesto. It was a great plan because I could put it all in the rice cooker and have little to fuss with. It was a great plan. A simple plan. A perfect plan.
Until ... I discovered there was barely a half cup of rice in the entire kitchen. I checked storage for more. None. I had two options. Soldier on and get rice at the store, meaning I'd be running around less than a half hour before dinner in the rain and cold, or consider another plan. Plan B, it is. My pantry might have been lean on rice, but I did have onions, chicken broth, butter and bread cubes on hand. So stuffing became my new friend! I mixed it together and left it a bit dry. Since the chicken was done and had some lovely pan juices and roasted onions and garlic alongside it, I simply poured the stuffing into the pan and let it soak up those great juices. Problem solved!
We went on to enjoy moist, roasted chicken, delicious stuffing, a crisp green salad and chilled white wine. Then we finished our meal with more wine and generous pieces of rocky road fudge. It ended up being a really lovely night ... even if the rice wasn't there. That said, I did get rice the next day!