Chicken Veracruz with Carrot Beet Salad

Tonight we had yet another Mexican-inspired meal. This one began a few nights ago, when we made a batch of Chicken Verazruz, using some leftover hen. Tonight, we combined this duly marinated re-heat with fresh rice and a lightly-cooked salad. The picture may not look like much but the taste is wonderful. The sweetness of the beets and carrots perfectly offset the tartness of the Salsa Veracruzana and the creamy Mexican crema and queso.

Chicken Veracruzana (keeps for a few days and tastes better reheated after a couple of days in the fridge.

Ingredients:
1T. Grapeseed oil
1 wide slice of yellow onion, diced small
2 cloves mild garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
A dash of white wine
1 med. can diced cooked tomatoes
One large bay leaf
Twelve green olives, quartered*
Eight large capers halved*
A few strips canned red pepper, diced*
Two canned jalapeno or serrano peppers, minced
2 c. diced, cooked chicken

* GOYA brand makes a canned mix with these three ingredients -- economical and tasty

In a small sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat...when hot but not smoking add the onion and sautee until translucent; add garlic and sautee for another minute. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a quick boil. Reduce for about 10 minutes.

Add all other ingredients but the chicken. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for a couple minutes.


Rice

1 c. long-grain white rice
2 c. chicken stock

Per directions on rice bag, cook rice in chicken stock (instead of water) until done



Simple Carrot Beet Salad (adapted from Restaurant El Pariaso in Mahajual, Mexico)

Three large carrots, lightly steamed, cut into rounds, and cooled
One medium beet, halved, steamed for about 25 minutes, and cut into carrot-slice sized pieces, and cooled
1 t. white sesame seeds
1 t. black sesame seeds
2 T. rice vinegar
2 t. olive oil

In separate bowls, combine:
1. carrots, 1 T. rice vinegar, 1 t. olive oil, and black sesame seeds
2. beets, 1 T. rice vinegar, 1 t. olive oil, and white sesame seeds

Serve on one plate -- with the "salad" as a side and with the chicken verazruz over the rice. Top the Chicken with Mexican crema and grated queso anejo.

Last-Minute Enchiladas

Our recent trip to Mexico inspired us, so we've been making a lot of Mexican-influenced dishes since our return. The food is fun because you only need a few key ingredients to make a variety of dishes. Since vegetables and beans feature prominently in Mexican cuisine, it is easy to create quick, healthy meals. Last night, a quick look in the fridge revealed that it was the perfect time to make enchiladas, accompanied by simple spiced rice and a "Mexican" salad.

Ingredients, enchiladas:
2 t. grapeseed oil
2 large mushrooms, diced small
1 thick slice of yellow onion, diced small (reserve half for rice)
A dash of beer (optional)
4 T. refried beans
1/2 c. grated queso anejo
4 tortillas, either soft corn or flour
A can of enchilada sauce
Mexican sour cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sautee the mushrooms, onion, and beer for a few minutes in the grapeseed oil. Put about 1T. beans, 1/4 of the mushroom/onion mixture, and a little cheese in each tortilla and wrap it tightly. Cover all four enchiladas with some sauce and the remaining cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove and top with more sauce and a dollop of cream.

While the enchiladas bake, make the rice and the salad:

Ingredients, rice:
1-1/4 cup cooked white rice
1 t. paprika
1/8 t. tumeric
Onion reserved from enchiladas
A few canned, diced tomatoes
salt/pepper to taste

Heat the oil, add the onion and sautee until translucent. Add the other ingredients and stir well.

Ingredients, salad:
Romaine lettuce, chopped thinly
Six cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
Two large red radishes, diced
Half an avocado, diced

Combine ingredients and top with your favorite salad dressing.

Mexico Meals

Mexico Starters

Barley Kale Gratin

This dish -- again, perfect for winter -- tastes like dessert and an entree, all in one. We adapted it from a recipe by Deborah Madison as published in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Given the success of this version, I am sure we will soon be experimenting with more pureed vegetable gratin recipes. It's a brilliant mix of color, texure, taste, and nutrition.


Curried Green Barley and Kale Gratin

2/3 cup organic pearl barley, rinsed
1-1/4 pounds kale (two bunches, depending on the season), stemmed and washed
2 T. butter
2 T. wheat flour
3/4 cup organic skim milk
3/4 cup organic, free-range chicken broth
a few "shakes" fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 t. Penzey's Balti Seasoning http://www.penzeys.com/
3/4 cup fine grated gruyere cheese

Directions:

In a saucepan, add 1/2 tsp salt and barley to boiling water. Simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. While the barley is cooking, cook the kale in a pot of salted boiling water, 8 minutes. Drain kale reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Puree kale with reserved liquid until smooth.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, whisk in the flour, and then add the milk and the stock. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat, until thick. Seson with nutmeg and Balti seasoning. Combine with barley, pureed kale and cheese; check the seasonings and then transfer mixture to a lightly buttered baking dish. Bake until lightly browned on top, about 32 minutes.

Kitchen Sink Chili

It's definitely the time of year for warm foods, and since it's well below zero outside, a "kitchen sink" chili was the perfect thing for this week.

The things we put together for a fantastic chili (all luckily already in the pantry or fridge, so no extra grocery trips out into the cold):

2 T. grapeseed oil
one medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
two shallots, peeled and chopped fine
a few mushrooms, chopped
three large carrots, peeled and chopped
a pound of ground bison
half a green pepper, diced
a 15 oz. can of whole, stewed, diced tomatoes
two 15 oz cans of tomato sauce
two russett potatoes, washed and cubed
most of a 15 oz can of pickled nopalitos (cactus), drained, separated, and chopped
3 T. Penzey's chili powder
2 t. Penzey's turkish seasoning
1 T. hungarian paprika
black/white peppercorn mix, fresh ground to taste
1/2 t. salt
dash of pick-a-pepper
dash of chipotle hot sauce

Over medium heat in a stock pot, warm the grapeseed oil to hot but not smoking. Add the onion and shallot and sautee until translucent. Add the bison, sautee until cooked. Add everything but the seasonings, and cook at a simmer for appx. 40 minutes. Season and simmer for five minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve with garnishes such as sour cream, chopped scallions, chopped black olives, cilantro, grated cheese, and/or other favorite chili garnishes.

Pulled Pork & Manchego Grits

The Best Easy Pulled Pork

Part 1: 8 to 10 hours

Ingredients:
pork roast- 2- 2.5 lbs
2 cups coffee
3 cups beef stock
shot bourbon whiskey
garlic bulb, or about 12 cloves mashed
1 white onion
dash fresh cumin

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker on low

Part 2:
Drain slowcooker. Discard onion and garlic. Remove pork to separate shallow bowl and shred using two forks. Make BBQ sauce in another medium bowl.

BBQ ingredients:

For 2-2.5 lbs of pork you will need about 3-4 cups of BBQ sauce. This can be accomplished with 2 12oz. bottles of BBQ sauce (use 2 different kinds for more complex flavor)
OR by the slightly more arduous, but far more rewarding, homemade BBQ sauce.
All amounts are to taste:

most of a large bottle of ketchup
3-4 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp mustard
4 tbsp soy sauce
dash cumin
1 tbsp smokey chipotle-style hot sauce (we used Buffalo Chipotle Mexican Hot sauce)~
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Return pork and bbq sauce to slow cooker for another 1-2 hours.

Serve the pulled pork on a nice bun that does not overpower the pork. We found a great potato bun that is sweet, soft, and does not fall apart.

Manchego Cheese Grits

Once again we delved into Miami Spice by Steven Raichlen. His Manchego grits were true to form and fantastic fresh. As leftovers they are just OK. We are still looking for the holy grail of grits recipes that we know must exist: our friend from Key West makes them to accompany grilled gulf shrimp. Eventually, we'll just have to ask.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
1 jalepeno chili, seeded and minced
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup grits
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Manchego cheese

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, bell peppers, and chili and cook until soft and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the chicken broth and a pepper and bring to a boil. Add the grits in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the grits, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooked, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the grits cool slightly.
3. Stir the beaten eggs into the grits, followed by the cheese. Correct the seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. For a touch of heat, add hot sauce. Spoon the mixture into a buttered 12 x 8-inch baking dish.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
5. Bake the grits until thoroughly heated through and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve at once.