Mole Chicken and Rice

The more you cook, the more comfortable you become with flavors, combinations and techniques. The more comfortable you become, the more you are able to improvise and cook without any kind of a recipe. That’s what this dish was for me. It was a dish that I threw together based up on techniques and flavor combinations that I have picked up along the way over the last several years.

And you know what? It was really good.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil or butter
1 onion (chopped)
1 celery rib (chopped)
2 carrots (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
Coarse kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 can Ro*tel tomatoes & green chilies
1 cup mole sauce*
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
1 1/4 cup long grain brown rice

3-4 chicken breasts (bone in, skin removed)
3-4 tablespoons all purpose flour
Seasoning salt (like Tony Chacheres's Creole seasoning)
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

*If no mole sauce is available, you may substitute something else like some tomato paste and chili powder or omit completely.

You will also need:

Oven safe skillet with lid
Heavy skillet (like cast iron)

Method:

Sauté onion in oil or butter over medium-high heat in oven safe skillet to soften, then add celery and carrots and sauté a few minutes more. Add garlic and stir while cooking for just a few seconds. Next, add Mexican oregano, cumin and coriander and stir while cooking until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Salt and pepper the mixture. Next add Ro*Tel tomatoes, about 1/2 cup of mole sauce, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil and add rice. Let the mixture boil on the stove top until chicken is ready to add.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Season flour with seasoning salt, kosher salt and ground pepper. Lightly coat chicken breasts in flour and pan fry to lightly brown in a separate skillet (cast iron). (I did this in some bacon fat and it was awesome!!!)

Once lightly browned on all sides, place chicken directly on top of the boiling rice/vegetable mixture. Cover with a lid and place in a 375 F oven. Bake for close to an hour until chicken is done (170 F) and rice is tender. Remove from the oven and use the remaining mole sauce over the top of each chicken breast and return to oven to heat for just a few minutes. (Or, you may try adding the mole on top of the chicken earlier. It was just a last minute thought for me.)

Note: Resist the urge to reach in and periodically stir the rice. From my understanding, constantly messing with brown rice will make it sticky and gross. Don’t do it. Just let it bake on it’s own and it’ll turn out great.

Apple Muffins

Makes 12-15 muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick butter, cool room temperature
1 cup buttermilk cool room temperature*
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ - 2 cups coarsely chopped peeled Granny Smith apples
2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar**
1 tablespoon butter

* Milk may be substituted for buttermilk.
** I keep a mixture of cinnamon sugar around that is made of ½ cup sugar + 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon


You will also need:

Small bowl
sauté pan
Large bowl
Spatula/spoonula
Muffin pan
Baking liners (optional)


Method:

Sprinkle 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar with coarsely chopped apples and toss to lightly coat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in small sauté pan over medium high heat. Once the butter is fully melted and bubbling in the middle, add apples and allow them to cook just until they start to sizzle while stirring periodically. This will only take a few minutes (approximately 3 minutes). Once they have cooked down a little (released some of their juice) and look nice and sticky, remove from heat, return to the bowl you used to toss them in the cinnamon sugar and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Work room temperature butter into dry ingredients using fingers until it makes various sized “pebbles”. Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add buttermilk and vanilla. Gently begin folding wet and dry ingredients together and gently fold in apple chunks at the same time. Do not over-mix as the dough should remain rather lumpy. Spoon into 12-15 muffin cups and bake at 425 F for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 5-10 minutes or so before removing to a wire rack to continue cooling.






Peel your apples and use a corer/slicer to make segments. Cut the segments in half lengthwise both from the top and from the side, then slice into small chunks.



















Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the diced apple and toss to coat.



Cook the cinnamon sugar coated apple chunks in the melted butter for about 2-3 minutes until you begin to see these sticky webby strands.



While the apples cool, whisk the dry ingredients together, work the butter in with your fingers, make a well in the middle, pour in your wet ingredients and begin to gently fold it all together along with the apples.















I like to use liners for clean up purposes, but also because it seems to keep the muffin a little tighter and gives a prettier top, but that is totally a preference thing.

I also use an ice cream scoop thing to evenly distribute the muffin batter. But again, whatever works for you.



And here's the good part. A nice warm muffin that is doused in melting butter.

Breakfast comfort food doesn't get much better.



Amen.

Greek Celebration Bread (Artos)

from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (pg 112-114)



NOTE: You have to start this process a day ahead of time if you don't already have a pre-ferment made.

Also you may see my first Artos attempt for the Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge here.


Ingredients:

1 cup (7 ounces) pre-ferment such as poolish or sourdough starter
3 1/2 cups (16 ounces) bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs (slightly beaten)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup milk (lukewarm, 90-100 F)


Optional:

1 cup dried fruit (combination of two including raisins, apricots, figs, cherries)
1/2 cup nuts (lightly toasted chopped walnuts or slivered almonds)


Glaze:

2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon orange extract
sesame seeds


You will also need:

Stand mixer with paddle & dough hook attachments
Large bowl
Spray oil
Saucepan
Pastry brush


Method:

Take your poolish or other pre-ferment out of the refrigerator at least an hour ahead of time to let it get to roughly room temperature.

In bowl of stand mixer, put flour, salt, yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Mix with paddle attachment for a few minutes until all ingredients are incorporated.

Add room temperature pre-ferment, orange extract, vanilla, eggs, honey, oil and milk. Continue mixing with paddle attachment until the dough becomes a rough ball then switch to the dough hook. Knead with the dough hook for about 10 minutes adding flour if necessary. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl and be soft and tacky, but not sticky. It should also pass the windowpane test.

If you are adding dried fruit and/or nuts, add them toward the end of your kneading time or turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the fruit/nuts in by hand.

Spray or drizzle some oil in a bowl and transfer to dough to that bowl. Lightly coat it with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and ferment for about 1 1/2 hours (until it doubles in size).

After fermentation, remove the dough from the bowl and prepare to shape. You may simply shape into a boule, but I like to braid this bread. I am working on instructions for braiding but you can view a quick video here of some Greek women braiding bread to get an idea of what to do. You can also look back at my original Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge post here for instructions.

Three strand braid:



Five strand braid:



Spray with oil, cover loosely with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature for 60-90 minutes (dough should nearly double in size). Preheat the oven to 350 F during the last 15 minutes of proofing time.

Bake the loaf for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees and continue to bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. When done, it should register 190 F internally and make a hollow sound when thumped. You can brush the glaze on as soon as it comes of out the oven.

For the glaze, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil in a sauce pan. Add the honey and extract, turn off the heat and stir together. Brush on the loaf straight out of the oven with a pastry brush then sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Before glaze:


After glaze:

Herb Oil

adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (pg 163)


Ingredients:

2 cups olive oil
1/3 cup fresh basil (chopped)
1/3 cup fresh thyme (chopped)
1/3 cup fresh oregano (chopped)
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
6 cloves fresh garlic (pressed)
1 tablespoon dried minced onions


You will also need:

Heat proof bowl or sauce pan (I used a large heat-proof metal measuring cup.)


Method:

Warm oil over low heat to about 100 F. Add chopped herbs, salt, pepper, garlic and dried minced onions. Stir together to incorporate. Turn off heat and allow the herbs to steep in the oil for a couple of hours or as long as possible.

Can be used as a dipping oil or as a topping for focaccia or pizza crust.

Store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

"Not So WAY More Homemade" Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe is a little more like food assembly (a la Food Network's Sandra Lee) but it's good and quick for a weeknight dinner solution. I will be posting my real HOMEMADE version of this soup soon.

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken (from grocery store)
Olive oil or butter for sautee
1 onion (rough dice)
2-3 cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole kernel corn (drained) (optional)
1 can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes
1 can [regular] diced tomatoes
Chicken broth/stock to taste


You will also need:

Stock pot
Tortilla Chips
Pre-shredded Mexican cheese blend


Method:

De-bone at least half of the roasted chicken and coarsely chop it into bite sized chunks.

Open all cans (tomatoes, soup and corn).

Heat some butter or oil in a stock pot over medium high heat, add diced onion and sautee for a few minutes. Add garlic and cook for just a minute. Then and chili powder, cumin and coriander and stir while cooking until fragrant. Add in coarsley chopped chicken and stir around to coat the chicken in the spices just a bit.

Now comes the easy part. Empty all cans into the pot... cream of chicken soup, creamed corn, whole kernel corn, Ro*Tel and diced tomatoes. Stir around and begin slowly adding chicken stock/broth until it reaches the thickness/thinness that you desire. Heat until all is completely combined and thouroughly warmed.

Serve in a shallow bowl. Assemble by breaking up some tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl, sprinkling generously with cheese and ladeling the soup over the top. I like to sprinkle a little extra cheese right on top.

Key Lime Cheesecake

Crust:

1 cup (8 whole) cinnamon graham crackers
1 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 tablespoon butter (melted separately)

Break graham crackers into rough pieces and process in food processor until uniformly fine. Add sugar and process just a little more. Pour graham cracker crumbs into a medium bowl and drizzle with melted butter. Using a fork, mix and incorporate melted butter throughout the graham cracker crumbs until the mixture resembles wet sand. Brush bottom of spring-form pan with melted butter. Transfer graham cracker mixture into spring-form pan and press into the bottom of the pan using a ramekin or metal measuring cup. Bake at 325ºF for 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool completely on cooling rack.


Cheesecake filling:

3 – 8 ounce packages cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
¼ cup key lime juice
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cut cream cheese into cubes and let stand at room temperature while preparing crust. In stand mixer using paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down bowl and paddle attachment. Add sugar and mix well; until fluffy. Again scrape down paddle and sides of bowl. Add eggs one at a time and mix in thoroughly between each addition scraping down bowl and paddle as well between additions. Add key lime juice and vanilla and mix until completely combined. Brush sides of spring-form pan with remaining melted butter (see above) and pour cheesecake mixture into pan. Bake at 300ºF for 45-60 minutes (I'm a little fuzzy on the time here as the original recipe I had said to bake at 350, but the outside got done faster than the inside at that temperature. I'd say go lower and longer, but I have not had a chance to test it yet.)


Topping:

2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla together. (I just mix them together in the same bowl that I mixed the cheesecake mixture in.) Remove the cheesecake from the oven and increase the temperature to 350ºF. Spread the sour cream mixture on top and bake for another 10-15 minutes.


Glaze:

(Begin after cheesecake initially goes into the oven.)
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup key lime juice
1/2 teaspoon key lime zest (minced)(optional)
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter

Combine water, lime juice, zest & yolk in small saucepan. Stir in sugar, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly (about 10 minutes) until thickened. Add butter and stir until it melts. Remove from heat and cool for 20 minutes before spreading over cheesecake (will still be warm).

Let everything cool, then refrigerate.



~~

While the crust baked, I began zesting and juicing my Key Limes. It takes about 25 Key Limes to render 1 cup of juice (about 6 key limes = 1/4 cup) .


















As soon as the cheesecake went into the oven, I mixed the sour cream topping and began work on the glaze.












Allow everything to set up and cool while still in the spring-form pan and then refrigerate. When ready to serve, run a sharp paring knife around the edges to loosen and then carefully unmold the cheesecake.


Garnish with some thin slices of Key Limes and enjoy!

Lemon Thyme Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon minced fresh Lemon Thyme
3 tablespoons fresh lemon (or lime) juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
16 large shrimp (peeled & deveined)

In a bowl, combine lemon thyme, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt. Add shrimp & toss to coat. Cover & refrigerate 1 - 2 hours. Pop those bad boys on a grill for just a few minutes until done.

Enjoy with some fresh grilled asparagus garnished with lemon juice and olive oil.