Feed The Resistance: Baked Rice-Cake w/ Ham & Cheese…paired with Lucky Buddha Enlightened Beer!

Looking for something to do with Easter Brunch leftovers, I stumbled upon a recipe that I haven’t made in several years – it’s similar to Arancini (deep-fried rice balls), but without the deep-frying…which I CAN’T DO!  I’ve tried…and failed…many times to deep fry food, and it just doesn’t work!  This is a cake, made with risotto-style rice and stuffed with ham (leftover from Easter) and cheese – and then baked in the oven (NOT DEEP-FRIED!).  Since the flavors are similar to Arancini, I made a sauce that I found with another Arancini recipe – it’s spicy, and adds a great flavor to the whole dish!

For this week’s beer pairing – Dee played off the rice flavor of the dish, and paired it with Lucky Buddha Enlightened Beer – a rice beer from China.  Not only did it taste great…but it also comes in the best bottle EVER!