Champagne Rice Pilaf - Chef Patrick Louineau, Chef, University of Notre Dame Test Kitchen

The cooking class students jokingly referred to this dish as a kicked up rice a roni.  Of course it is heads above the packaged product and makes a very nice accompaniment to nearly any meat dish with which you would drink champagne.  How do we know?  Well, it has champagne in it, of course.

Ingredients:

5 1/4 oz. butter, sliced
11 1/2 oz. long grain white rice
7 1/2 oz. vermicelli broken into 2" pieces
34 oz. hot water
1/2 oz. chicken base
4 oz. champagne or other sparkling white wine
2 oz. blanched almonds, slivered
1 1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper.

Heat butter in a saute pan.  Add rice and vermicelli and saute over low heat until vermicelli is golden brown.

Make a stock by dissolving chicken base in hot water.  Add 3/4 of the stock to the rice and vermicelli mix.  Blend and bring to a boil.  Add champagne, almonds and seasoning.  Continue to cook and add additional stock as needed until rice is completely cooked.  Serves 20.