Tequila-Lime Chicken with Fried Plantains

I'm baaaaack.

Yes, I know. I've been away for far too long. But in my defense, I've had several job interviews (yaaay), have been doing some part-time editorial assisting (yaaay), babies have been born in the family (yaaay!!) and I have been sick on and off for the past couple weeks (booo) — and thus did not have the time and energy to blog.

Not that I haven't been cooking/eating. See? Here's proof:

Carrot Cake for cake balls {post coming soon}

Mocha chocolate chip cookies

Chicken salad from The Lemp Mansion cafe

BBQ Brisket sandwich from The Lemp Mansion cafe 

Divine French onion soup from The Lemp Mansion cafe.

Perfect mango

Roasted butternut squash

The only artichoke pesto you'll ever want.

Darla is doing well also, in case you were wondering...

Though she's questioning her fashion sense.

***

Anyway, a little while ago Justin and I decided to branch out of our typical Italian-style dinner and go Central/South American. Fried plantains and rice were the inspiration, and because Justin is an excellent chicken roaster, we thought we'd put a saucy spin on his signature dish with tequila-lime chicken.

Ingredients
For the rice:
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 serrano pepper
1 sprig cilantro
1/2 tsp salt

For the beans:
2-3 cups dried pinto beans
2 bay leaves
1 bell pepper
1-2 garlic cloves
1 tsp oregano

For the chicken:
1 2-3 lb whole chicken
3 tbsp tequila-lime seasoning
butcher's twine
roasting pan

Procedure:

1. Soak the beans overnight in a big bowl of water. Drain. Either in a slow cooker or in a heavy-bottomed pot, put in the beans and other ingredients (I cut the bottom off the green bell pepper, you can use about half if you like), and fill the pot with water so that you cover the beans by a couple inches. Simmer for 4-5 hours or until the beans have soaked up the water and they're soft. You may have to add more water as you go. Disclaimer: Don't salt your beans. It'll mess up the cooking process. You can salt them once they're cooked.

2. Pluck out the bay leaves and pepper before serving.

3. For the chicken, smother the meat with the seasoning and roast the chicken at 425 for about an hour.

4. For the rice: combine the chicken broth, rice, the tip of a serrano pepper (don't put the seeds in), salt, and cilantro sprig in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, covered. Turn off the heat and let the rice absorb the broth for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

5. For the plantains: Fry them up for 2 minutes on each side in some olive oil. Salt them when they come out.

Plantains are starchier and not as sweet as bananas. With the rice and chicken, they lend a hint of creaminess and crunch with a subtle sweetness that goes very well with the spice of the rice and beans. 

 

-Katie

Thai Green Curry

I love taking dishes from my favorite restaurants and trying to recreate them at home. When Justin and I went to Fort Lauderdale a few weeks ago, one of our top spots was Thai on the Beach. One night I got the pad thai (pretty good, but a bit sweet for me) and Justin got the thai green curry.

Justin got the curry extra spicy, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake. As it turns out, what is spicy to an American who likes Thai food is NOT the same as what is spicy to a Thai person's palate. Breathing. Fire. 

But, we really liked the basic flavor, once we got past the tongue-melting liquid lava. So the other day I decided to give it a go. I turned down the dial on heat a bit, and the flavor profile was fresh, delicious, and fulfilling.

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients
For green curry paste:
1 1/2-inch knob ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic

1 serrano pepper
1 handful cilantro
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 tsp fish sauce
1 stalk lemongrass
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 lime
1/2 cup coconut milk

For the rice:
2 cups jasmine rice
4 cups chicken broth or water
3 sprigs cilantro
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lime (juice)

For the stir fry:
Thai green curry paste
1 lb cod (substitute: chicken, pork)
1 orange bell pepper
1 head broccoli, florets
1/2 lime
1 serrano chili
Extra cilantro for garnish
1/2 to 1 cup coconut milk
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth


Preparation

For the paste: 

Thwack the lemongrass to crack the stalk. Remove the tough outer leaves. Chop up the light green portion. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blitz until smooth.

For the rice:

Rinse the rice well. Put it into a pot with the sprigs of cilantro, garlic, and salt. Bring to a boil, 

In a wok, pour in a dab of sunflower or olive oil and fry up the paste so that the lemongrass, ginger and garlic cook slightly. You want to do this just so you don't have that raw flavor.

Add in the bell pepper, broccoli, serrano, chicken broth and coconut milk. Saute for 10 minutes or so until the veggies are cooked through.

Meanwhile, saute the cod in a separate pan for 5-6 minutes per side or until it flakes easily with a fork.

Spoon the curry over the rice, top with fish and sprinkle some fresh cilantro over the top.

We had ours with Thai Iced Tea:

Brew 4 cups water + 3 bags regular black tea with:

1/2 star anise

1 knob lemongrass

1 knob ginger (no need to peel)

Serve with a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk and a lemon wedge.

-Katie

Meatball Stuffed Eggplant

Now that I'm done with school forever and ever, it's time to start thinking about getting a job. I'm experiencing some sort of weird mix between excitement and terror, especially with the somewhat grim outlook everyone seems to have on the economy.

My goal is to be employed by the end of the summer (fingers crossed), and so until then, between applying for positions, I'm going to enjoy my time cooking as much as possible.

This is one of those recipes that just sort of happened randomly as I was thinking about what to do with my time now that there's no more grad school lurking over my shoulder. And anyway, Justin needs a little extra TLC now that he's hunkering down to take his Step 1 boards (a major test in 2nd year med school to basically determine if you're going to move on).

{Printable Recipe}
Ingredients
1 eggplant, cut lengthwise
3/4 lb ground turkey
2 cups brown rice, cooked (or you can use quinoa)
1 egg
2 tbsp fresh basil + parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
2 cups tomato sauce (I used the leftover sauce from chicken cacciatore)
2 cups shredded Italian cheese

Preparation

I made this healthy and used brown rice and ground turkey, but if you like you can go ahead and go whole hog! 

Cut the eggplant lengthwise. Scoop out the inside, leaving enough so that the eggplant doesn't just flop apart when you stuff it. Oil them down and salt them. They WILL turn brown, but that's ok.

Meanwhile, cook the ground turkey in some olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix the cooked rice, turkey, Pecorino Romano, and a couple tablespoons of olive oil to moisten.

Add the egg in when it's cooled down a bit. Stuff the eggplant as much as you can (I had a bit left over)

Spoon the tomato sauce over the eggplant and top with cheese.

 Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until it's bubbly and the eggplant is soft.

-Katie

Braised Rabbit with Asparagus Risotto

This meal screams spring, with asparagus now being in season and rabbit being reminiscent of the warming atmosphere. If you've never tried rabbit, you can get it at Soulard Market like we did. It tastes kind of like chicken, but richer and just a touch gamey. I'm not into gamey flavor though, so don't be put off by it being a wild animal. 


If the thought of eating fluffy little bunnies bothers you, just know that at least they were wild and free before the hunter got them, unlike the caged conditions that many of our domesticated animals live in.


Plus, they're delicious. And very healthy, too!


{Printable Recipe}


Ingredients for Braised Rabbit
1 rabbit, cut into large pieces
Flour, cayenne, salt, pepper
1 egg, beaten
Dash soy sauce
Dash rice wine vinegar
3 cups chicken stock
Bunch fresh thyme

Ingredients for Risotto
1 cup arborio rice
2 tbsp bacon fat (or olive oil if you're being good)
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 lemon
1/2 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Handful thin asparagus, chopped
1 sprig thyme
red pepper flakes (pinch)
Salt
1.5 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Procedure

For the rabbit:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

You'll probably need to cut the rabbit into large sections. Cut the legs from the rest of the body, and cut the torso into reasonable sizes.

I know, it looks kind of like alien meat. But I promise, it will look better once it's cooked.

Combine the flour, cayenne, salt and pepper. You'll need enough flour to coat the rabbit, probably a cup or two. The spices are to taste, so start out light.

Whisk the egg with a dash of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.

Dunk the rabbit pieces into the egg and then dredge in the flour.

Sear the meat in some olive oil.  

Pour in the stock and thyme. Throw it in the oven to braise for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes in the oven

For the risotto:

Saute the onion and garlic in some bacon fat (yes, we keep it in the fridge). Season with salt and red pepper flakes. Add the rice and let it toast in the pan for 5 minutes. Add thyme.

Meanwhile, heat up the stock with the lemon half.

To cook the rice, add 2 ladles of stock to the rice and stir. Let this slowly evaporate. When it's almost completely gone, add 2 more ladles of stock. You cook risotto this way, very slowly and in batches of stock. This lets the starch leech out and make the rice very creamy.

This is what it looks like when it's ready for another ladle of stock

Continuously taste the rice to check for doneness. It'll take about 25 minutes and a good 5 or 6 additions of stock. When it's very close to being done and you only have one more addition of stock to go, add the asparagus.

When it's done, turn off the heat and add the butter and Parmesan to finish it off.

Spring on a plate.

-Katie