Wild Rice and Vegetable Pilaf

This is an ugly duckling that I had the good fortune to stumble on. It is delicious and I highly recommend this casserole to you. It's wonderful with pork and duck or turkey. From my perspective, the best thing it has going for it, save for its great flavor, is that it can be made ahead of time and rewarmed in the microwave when it's needed. It obviously is a busy cooks delight. I suspect that many of you will question the amount of butter that's used in this recipe. Now, while I hate to say this, you can use half that amount without seriously damaging the taste of this dish, but please don't cut back any further than that. Butter is important to the over-all flavor of this casserole. I hope you'll give this dish a try. It's a wonderful accompaniment for holiday or company meals and I know you like it. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup uncooked wild rice

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 cup butter, cubed

3 cups fresh broccoli florets

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Salt to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a shallow 2-quart casserole.

2) Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add wild rice and reduce heat. Cover pan and cook for 30 minutes. Add long grain rice and cook, covered, for another 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

3) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion, carrots and thyme in butter until vegetables are tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the rice, broccoli and pepper.

4) Transfer to prepared baking dish. Cover and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until rice is heated through and broccoli is crisp tender. Fluff with fork before serving. Yield: 10 to 12 servings.