Put The Lime In The Chicken and Roast It All Up - Cilantro-Lime Flower Pot Chicken

This is a quick post.
Quick, because I have already covered the wonders of Terra Cotta Roasters before. It's simply a variation on a theme. I was at the Farmers Market in Gresham this weekend and found some fresh Cilantro and a couple of Limes, thus was born...

Cilantro/Lime FlowerPot Chicken

As before, you need a 4 lb chicken
Rub the roaster down with oil and set the chicken in.
Stab 2 Limes, multiple times with a fork, and shove them up the chicken's bu.. er, um.. backside...
Poke Cilantro leaves under the skin, then rub it down with olive oil and sprinkle with Salt & Pepper.

Cover and place in a cold oven, then crank it to 475 degrees for 1 hour.
Remove the cover and bake for 10-15 minutes more to brown the skin.
Serve.

It was awesomely juicy and delicious!!!

Mangia!!
~~

You Really Oughtta, Empanada!!!

OK, technically I am a day ahead, but I wanted to post this so it is seen on April 8th since it's National Empanada day. So this evening I made a bunch of Chipotle Chicken Empanadas. Oh yeah baby!! All kinds of spicy chicken goodness wrapped in a deep fried envelope of golden brown deliciousness.

The dough was the tricky part, I have seen yeast raised empanada skins, baking powder based skins, simple pâte brisée skins and even Puff Pastry skins. I decided to check on what Martha was doing on her web site (sometimes ya just gotta defer to Martha). She was using a hybrid corn flour pastry. That seemed like a good idea to me. So I ran with it.

The filling, well the filling is simply a modified version of the Chipotle Pulled Chicken that I make. I removed the can of tomatoes and the chicken stock so the filling would be drier. Then I just added cheese. I would have preferred Queso Asadero, but I could not find it. So I opted for 12 oz of Queso Enchilado instead.

Chipotle Chicken Empanadas

Chipotle Chicken Filling:
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Tenders
1 small Onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, Crushed
4 springs of Cilantro
2 tsp Salt
the Juice of 1 lime
Sauce:
3 cloved of garlic; minced
1/2 can of Chipotle Peppers in adobo sauce
3 TB Tomato Paste (I use the kind in the tube)
7 oz Tomato Sauce
Juice of 1 lime (If using Mexican/Key lime, use 3 limes)
1 small can Diced Green Chilies
12 oz Queso Enchilado or Asadero, shredded

In stockpot, bring chicken, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime and salt to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Remove Chicken and set aside to cool for 10 minutes; discard onion, garlic and coriander.

I used a new method for shedding this time, suggested by one of my BakeSpace buddies.
Place the chicken in the bowl of your mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the chicken into submission.

This was the coolest thing ever, normally it would have taken me 1/2 hour to shred all the chicken, the Kitchen Aid did it in 2 minutes.

WOW!!
In blender, puree the Chipotles in adobo, Garlic, Lime Juice, Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste.
Add to the pulled chicken and mix thoroughly along with the green chilies.

Stir in 3 cups of Shredded Asadero or Enchilado

Set aside and make Pastry

Corn Pastry:
3 cups AP Flour, plus more for work surface
1 1/4 cup + 2 TB Masa Harina or Corn Flour
1 TB sugar
3/4 tsp Salt
4 1/2 TB Unsalted Butter
3 large egg yolks
3/4 - 1 1/4 cup water

Whisk flours, sugar and salt together in a bowl.
Cut butter into small slices and work into the batter

until it begins to hold together when compressed.

Add egg yolks and mix with a fork.
Slowly add water, beginning with 3/4 of a cup, you may not need it all, it will depend on the humidity in your kitchen.

Knead until a soft dough is formed, then wrap in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough in 1/2

Roll out and cut 3 1/2 inch circles.

Stack them and cover to keep the pastry from drying out.

Preheat Deep fryer to 350 degrees
Place 1/2 TB in the center of the pastry circle.

Brush with a little water, fold and crimp with a fork.

Drop in to Hot oil for about 90 seconds, until Golden Brown and Delicious.

Drain on paper towels

and eat as soon as they are cool enough that you will not burn your fingers.

Mangia!
~~

Pullin Pollo - Pulled Chipotle Chicken

I don't make this very often because it takes a long time to pull the meat. Oh, I am not complaining. I just have to have the time to be able to do it. This weekend, I MADE the time. Why? We are about to migrate to a new system at work, as a computer geek (Software QA) I will more than likely be at work for many many hours over the next 2 weeks. It would not be the first time I have worked 12 hours a day 7 days a week. But sadly, this means less time to cook, so things that can be thrown together for a quick meal are an absolute must at times like this.

I usually eat this with white corn tortillas, but something today set my teeth for a little bit of an Asian influence. Thus the Butter lettuce as a wrapper. True, it would have been more authentic if I had used Napa cabbage maybe, but I was not in a cabbage mood, and I don't like Iceberg (I like SOME flavor to the wrap). The Romain at the grocery store looked a little suspicious, so Butter lettuce it was. The nice thing about Butter lettuce is that it is still alive, packaged with the root ball and a little soil... It lasts a lot longer in the refrigerator than other lettuces that have been unceremoniously hewn from their stems and haphazardly tossed into a crate with hundreds of others for shipping.
I am digressing again...

Chipotle Pulled Chicken

in Butter lettuce

Pulled Chicken:
2 lbs Boneless-Skinless Chicken Breasts or tenders
1 small Onion, roughly chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
4 springs of Cilantro
2 tsp Salt
the Juice of 1 lime

Chipotle Sauce:
3 TB Olive oil
3/4 cup Onion, finely minced
1 can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce
28 oz can of Diced Tomatoes
1 15 oz can Tomato Sauce
3 TB Tomato Paste (I use the kind in the tube)
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
Juice of 1 Lime (If using Mexican/Key lime, use 3 limes)
6 TB Cilantro, chopped (reserved for later)

In a large saucepan, combine chicken, onion, garlic, cilantro and lime juice and the limes themselves.
Add water to cover.

Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat.
Simmer until chicken is cooked through - about 20-25 minutes.
Drain chicken and discard onions, garlic and cilantro.
Let rest and cool for about 15 minutes.

Using 2 forks "Pull chicken" into shreds and set aside and begin the sauce.

Sauté onion over medium heat in oil.

Combine Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Tomato Paste and Chipotle Peppers and the Adobo in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth and add to the onion.

along with chicken stock and simmer for 35 minutes to thicken it.

Add the pulled chicken and oregano and salt, stirring to combine.

Simmer an additional 10 -20 minutes to ensure the chicken is only moist, not wet. (like Carnitas)
Remove from heat and let cool slightly before adding the cilantro and lime juice.

Serve with corn Tortillas or like I did, with large Butter Lettuce Leaves.
Garnish with Lime wedges, Sour Cream, Avocado and grated queso Asadero or queso Oaxaca, along with more chopped cilantro.

Yeah, I cheated and bought a pre-shredded mix that had queso Asadero & queso Quesadilla in it, cause I could not find just a hunk of the cheese.

Store any unused portion in a sealed container for up to 6 days.

Eat Well!!

Coffee + Rum = YUM!!

I am a coffee kinda guy.... Yes it's true. From coffee "drinks"... be it Latte, Breve, Espresso Macchiato (Not the Starbucks kind), or a Dry Cappuccino. When "shee shee poo poo" coffee drinks are in short supply, there is always good old brewed coffee from Vacuum pot, French Press, or my old CorningWare "Drip-o-lator". But I was sorely lacking one essential item needed to produce home coffee goodness. No I don't mean one of those "POD" things either.

I am talking about a Moka pot. My problem was that not just any Moka pot would do, as I have an aversion to all things aluminum touching my food. This is one of those neurosis things that was instilled in me while I was growing up. Well, most Moka pots are, sadly, made of raw aluminum.

The reasoning behind my neurosis it that aluminum reacts to acids, and coffee can be very acidic, thus aluminum oxide is ending up in my coffee... YUCK! As a worshiper of the powers of the dark brew, I find this disconcerting. SO, no Moka pot for me...
That is, until I found this.......


Yes folks, all metal parts are stainless steel and the top pot is lead free glazed porcelain. It's like they were reading my mind when the made it... This makes me extremely happy, and to top it off, it was on the clearance shelf for 10 bucks. WOOO HOOO!!!

So, happily I left the store with said Moka pot, giddy with anticipation of my first divine brew at home... And let me tell you, it was absolutely delicious.... Very deep, rich, velvety, sultry and smooth.

Which brings me to dessert this evening, since dinner was leftovers. I made a Spanish Coffee… a delightful concoction of coffee, lime, caramelized sugar, Bacardi 151, Kahlua, some form of Triple sec and, best of all, FIRE!!!

Oh yes, there is a connection between the Y Chromosome and open flame. Don't laugh... It's Deep and it's Real...

For my triple sec this evening, I chose Cointreau, which is made from a combination of Bitter and Sweet orange, mainly because my supply of Gran Marnier (Bitter orange) is alarmingly low. Incidentally, generic "Triple Sec" is made from sweet oranges only.

I was first exposed to Spanish Coffe at a great place in Portland Oregon, called Huber's, where they are made at your table by your server in a "ballet" of high pours, snapping matches, flash, spark and flames… Quite the experience... and extremely delicious

Spanish Coffee alla Huber's

A Coffee Glass (8 oz, the glass is thick enough to withstand the heat)
Lime wedge
Granulated Sugar for rimming the glass
1 oz Bacardi 151 Rum
1/2 oz Gran Marnier, Cointreau or triple sec
Fire from a long match or a Bar spoon & a lighter - (At Huber's they tip the glass and do a 1 handed matchbook strike)
1 1/2 oz Kahlua
Freshly Ground Nutmeg
Coffee To Fill The Glass (strong)
Thickened (Not Whipped) Heavy or Light Cream

Brew your coffee, I use the Moka Pot because I like my coffee strong and want to actually taste it amid all the liquor.

Rub a wedge of lime lightly around the rim of a coffee glass.

Dip the rim in granulated sugar.

Add the 151 and Cointreau.

With a long match, carefully light the liqueurs (This can also be done with a bar spoon as well. Dip the spoon in liquor, light spoon then return spoon to glass)

Swirl the glass to melt the sugar on the rim (this takes about 30 seconds).

Sprinkle with Nutmeg (It sparks, it's cool)
Pour in the Kahlua and then add the coffee to within 3/4 inch of the rim.

Top with lightly beaten cream (Just enough to thicken it slightly)
Sprinkle with another pinch of nutmeg and garnish with the lime wedge that was rubbed on the glass.

Serve Immediately… Careful though, the rim is usually VERY hot…

Ah, Delicious…!! But potent… Please, drink responsibly.

Cin, Cin!
~~