Rice Pilaf for a Crowd (corn-free)

Whether or not you are allergic to corn, this original Near East rice pilaf is a good choice for feeding a crowd. While it is one of the few prepared foods that doesn't contain corn products, it does contain wheat (pasta).

People love it - even KIDS. They served it for breakfast at our stake's girl's camp one year. But get the restaurant-size box from Smart & Final, Sam's Club or Costco. Makes 18 one-cup servings. The small boxes are much more expensive per serving.

Uses a cube (1/2 cup) of butter (more than a teaspoon per serving). That's one thing that makes it good. Add one large or two small grated carrots, some finely diced scallion tops and/or parsley partway through cooking if you want to add some color. Throw on top of rice mixture and stir in when fluffing rice after cooking. Some diced fresh or dried bell pepper will give a different flavor - nice with diced chicken or ham added.

To enhance the flavor further, brown the butter slightly in your heavy kettle before adding the water. To use oil instead of butter, consider caramelizing a big diced onion in the oil or in a mixture of oil and butter. Or sautee some mushrooms in part of the oil. Veggies should be added on top of the rice while cooking. Or lightly mix some diced, cooked meat into the prepared pilaf for a main dish, maybe with some cooked, frozen peas.

To make a substitute for HOLIDAY DRESSING, saute 2 or 3 big diced onions in oil or oil and butter until translucent, adding a generous amount of diced celery part way through cooking. Add minced celery leaves, parsley and a little minced fresh sage, dried sage or poultry seasoning. Season with fresh-ground black pepper. Use chicken or vegetable broth in place of part of the water (watch that you don't get your mixture too salty - the pilaf mix contains plenty of salt). Some of the new boxed "natural" brands of broth contain no corn products and come in reduced-sodium versions. Pile veggies on top of rice while cooking so they don't burn, like they might if they touched the bottom of the pan.

If you're serving more than 18 people, you can stretch the mix by adding 2 cups of "converted" (parboiled) rice. Add an extra 4 cups water and celery salt/salt to taste or add 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth. Add converted rice to the boiling water/broth when you add the contents of the box. Or, cook brown rice separately according to package directions (it takes longer than white rice) and mix in when you fluff the pilaf. Add some veggies or caramelized onion as above.

For a FRIED RICE facsimile for a crowd, add 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce OR 1/3 cup shredded, peeled minced fresh ginger to water for the pilaf. Omit butter and add 1/4 cup oil. Stir-fry vegetables such as diced onion, carrot, celery, squash mushrooms, julienne water chestnuts or jicama and frozen peas in 1/4 cup oil. Add diced cooked chicken or ham if desired. When rice is cooked, lightly mix in stir-fried veggies and meat plus two or three bunches of finely sliced raw scallions and, if desired, egg scrambled, seasoned and cooked in a thin layer, then shredded. To stretch recipe, add parboiled or brown rice as above, using part soy sauce or chicken broth in place of part of the added water.