Wild Rice Casserole

Tonight, we had a family dinner of game hens, broccolini, dill bread, wild rice casserole and pecan pie for dessert before we opened presents from Japan from Nick and Sachiyo. They leave December 9th so we are having our Christmas early while they are here.

I know this doesn't sound like a Christmas dinner but Nick is putting in requests of what he'd like to eat while he's home and I am doing my best to accommodate him - pecan pie, roast beef and gravy, Great Harvest cinnamon rolls - to name a few favorites. I almost forgot to take a photo of my plate, most of my broccolini is gone...and you can see that I like a little butter on my dill bread.

I love wild rice but it can be hard to prepare because it is so tough. It isn't a rice at all but a type of grass and it can be quite expensive. We got this wild rice from Bruce's nephew and wife who live in Minnesota where wild rice is a native plant. I use to make this recipe a lot when we lived in Iowa. It is from the same cookbook as the teriyaki flank steak called The Taste of Terrace Hill. It was written by the wife of the Governor of Iowa at the time, Billie Ray, in 1979 and Terrace Hill was where the governor lived in Des Moines, Iowa. Often times, wild rice recipes are mixed with other types of rice to "tone down" that wild rice flavor but this recipe is a pure wild rice recipe and it's a good one. The only thing I changed in it was I use fresh mushrooms instead of canned mushrooms, which the original recipe calls for. And I usually make this recipe in the fall because it reminds us of hunting season since wild rice goes really well with pheasant and other game birds.

Makes 6 servings

1 cup wild rice
1 10-1/2 ounce can consommé
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 8-ounce package sliced fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

1. Wash rice in several waters.

2. Place in buttered 1-1/2 quart casserole and add remaining ingredients.

3. Let stand for 3 hours or overnight.

4. Bake, covered, in 350 degree oven for 2 hours or until rice is tender. Stir once during cooking.

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