Saffron and Adobo, a Yellow Friday

Chicken Drumsticks baked with Adobo seasoning, freshly dried Oregano, Olive Oil.

Risotto with Carnaroli rice, and Saffron for color and taste.

A big 'ol dish worth of delicious cheesy-rice.

Today I picked up some expensive herb. No, not that herb - I'm talking saffron! Tonight was a theme of yellow-colored seasonings and herbs. To satisfy my need of meat, I decided to roast some drumsticks of chicken. For flavor, I tried out my roommate's bottled Adobo seasoning (found in large quantities in any ethnic supermarket). I had passed by her room too many times smelling deliciously seasoned poultry and shrimp. So, although it was less exciting seasoning from a pre-made mix, it paid off. But of course, I couldn't just have chicken for dinner. To make it a meal, I made a large batch of saffron risotto.

I'll start with the simple stuff- the chicken. To make it, I poured on the bottled adobo seasoning (again, you can find this at any supermarket) and added some newly dried oregano that my mom gifted me from her garden. I drizzled some olive oil in my cast iron skillet and over the meat, and I placed it in the oven at 350, for 45 minutes. Halfway through, I flipped the drumsticks and gave them an additional olive oil drizzle and freshly ground salt and pepper. That's it. The chicken was easy, but came out deliciously seasoned through to the bone, and juicy tender throughout. Perfect.

The risotto was a little more of a process. I got my recipe from the Joy of Cooking (go buy that book, it's the bible of cooking!). The important part of this recipe was both the saffron and the rice grain used. I used a traditional Italian Carnaroli rice which really worked out well with this recipe. The saffron was also important - being the most expensive spice in the world, hand picked from flowers that yield only a few stigmas each. Risotto was a very long cooking process that involved simmering rice with saffron, onions and chicken broth for hours. The chicken broth is added very slowly, as the rice absorbs it. Eventually, the mixture is extremely creamy even though minimal butter was used. In the end, you add a bunch of parmesan or romano cheese and it thickens up a bit more. Although work intensive, risotto is a very easy recipe that calls for few ingredients (but a ton of broth!). I cheated a bit by buying one box of very expensive chicken stock, and then using bouillon powder to make the other 6 cups of broth that the recipe called for.

I'm stuffed now, and satisfied by this delicious meal. It'll definitely feed a large family, or at least me for a couple of days. Happy eating!