Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Rice)

Even though this is a dish that you will find in virtually all Latin American countries, Arroz con Pollo has been adopted in Puerto Rico as a traditional dish. The difference between what you will find in Puerto Rico and in the rest of the world is that Puerto Ricans will traditionally use annato, sofrito (to include the recao plant), and pimentos or red bell pepper in their preparation. I have vivid memories (and can even smell it now) of my grandmother chopping the recao leaves to add to her version of the dish. The thought alone brings me back to the “good old days” of eating my grandmother’s cooking.

Needless to say, there is a special place in my heart for Arroz con Pollo. Most preparations of the dish call for the pieces of chicken to be left on the bone while cooking with the rice. However, I differ from this philosophy because I think the rice cooks better and more evenly if the bones are removed. This is pretty much my grandmother’s recipe (or what I can recall of it), so I hope you all enjoy it!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: About 2.5 hours, total
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: This recipe will serve 3-4 people, but feel free to double it up if you have more guests or if you want some leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp prepared Recaito or Sofrito (Goya is fine, homemade is better)
1 packet Sazón with Achiote (annato)
12-15 pimento-stuffed olives (sliced or whole, your choice)
2 chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin on and bone-in
1 cup uncooked white rice
2 oz tomato sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
Adobo, Salt, and Pepper to taste
Chicken stock or water, as needed

Procedure:

Peel back the skin on the chicken and season well with adobo (use salt and pepper if you don’t have the adobo). You should also use about half of the packet of Sazon to season the chicken under the skin. Replace the skin and season it and the other side of the chicken. Set aside.

Place a heavy-bottomed pot (preferably a dutch oven) over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once it just begins to shimmer, add the onions, green peppers, salt/pepper to taste, along with the remaining half of the Sazon packet and allow to saute until the onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the olives and continue cooking 1-2 minutes, then stir in the sofrito, tomato sauce, vinegar, and oregano and cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has dried out, about 7-10 minutes. Remove the veggies from the pot and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the chicken to the pot, skin side down. Cover and allow the chicken to cook, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Add the veggies back into the pot but do not move the chicken around, cover, and cook for another 30 minutes. Turn the chicken so that it’s skin-side up but make sure that it still touches the bottom of the pot, cover, and cook another 45 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the chicken from the pot, and set aside to cool (about 15 minutes). 

After the chicken has cooled, remove and discard the skin and cartilage (or you can do what I do and just eat the skin while I shred the chicken).  Use two forks to remove the chicken from the bone and shred it.  Set aside.  The pot should have some liquid in it from the vegetables and from the chicken, so you will need to add enough to make about 1 cup of liquid.  In my case, I added about 1/2 a cup of low-sodium chicken stock.  Bring the liquid to a boil, stir in the rice, and allow the liquid to reduce until the rice becomes visible, about 3-5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in the shredded chicken. Place the red bell pepper strips on top of the rice, cover, and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.

Buen Provecho!

Baked Buffalo Wings

It’s NFL Playoff season and everyone knows that nothing says football more than buffalo wings and beer (especially during the Superbowl!). Buffalo wings are normally fried to ensure that they have a crispy enough skin to hold up to the sauce they are then drenched in. Most baked wings become soggy because by the time the exterior gets crispy enough the wings are overcooked and dry. I’ve found a way to bake them and get them just as crispy as fried wings but without adding any oil, which ensures that the wings are nice and flavorful, yet never greasy. This recipe allows you to enjoy your wings and not have to feel guilty about eating fried food.

The key to getting them crispy in the oven is to dry them out and to coat them in a bit of baking powder to ensure the skin blisters when baked. The easiest way to dry the wings is to first pat them dry, then season them and place them in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 4 hours (overnight is best). I guarantee you will never fry your wings again!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40-45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: You can make your own buffalo sauce by combining equal parts melted butter and your favorite hot sauce.

Ingredients:

12 chicken wings
1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Procedure:

Remove the wings from their packaging and pat them dry with paper towels. Toss the wings in a bowl with the salt and baking powder, then lay them on a cooling rack, placed over a sheet pan, and set them on the lowest shelf in your refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 4 hours. Remove 30 minutes prior to baking.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to ensure the wings don’t stick. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees and place the wings on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and then into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, flip the wings over, and bake for another 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of your wings. Remove them and toss with your favorite buffalo wing sauce. Serve with blue cheese dressing.

Buen Provecho!

Chicken and Mushrooms with Balsamic Reduction

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love breaking with tradition and doing my own thing, and my eclectic cooking style is as much a testament to that as anything else I’ve ever done in my life. I love to take traditional and established recipes and play around with them a bit and see what I can come up with. In this case, I opted to switch up a few ingredients in a chicken marsala recipe and was very happy with the results.

I’d never attempted to make chicken marsala at home but I figured it had to be better than the bland, often mushy versions that I’ve had in many restaurants. Usually, I’m so disappointed in the flavors and textures of restaurant chicken marsala that I’ve stopped ordering it altogether, leaving me no option but to make it at home if I ever want to have it again. I toyed with the idea of using other cooking wines (such as sherry, or even making an “Asian” version with rice wine vinegar and saki) but settled on going the Italian route and using balsamic vinegar instead. Since balsamic tends to be a much stronger flavor than any cooking wine, I decided to reduce the amount in the recipe significantly.

I used one very large chicken breast (about 9-10 oz) so I decided to cut it in half and just use the one breast rather than using two and pounding them out to ensure even cooking. However, feel free to use two smaller breasts (say, 4-5 oz) if you don’t feel comfortable butterflying a chicken breast.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: I used dry herbs in this preparation but feel free to use fresh herbs if you have them on hand. Just make sure and use about twice the amounts in the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast, butterflied in half
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp butter
1/2 plus 1/4 tsp salt

Procedure:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with the 1/2 tsp of salt and then dredge in the flour (the flour is here to help thicken the sauce). Place the chicken in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes per side (do not move the chicken around after placing it in the skillet to ensure proper browning takes place).

Once the chicken has cooked for 3 minutes on the second side, lower the temperature to medium and add the sliced mushrooms, garlic, herbs, vinegar, broth, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the chicken and wrap it in foil. Raise the temperature to medium-high, add 1/4 tsp of salt and whisk to combine. Continue to reduce the sauce, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes. Once the sauce has reduced by half, turn off the the heat, remove the bay leaf, add the butter, and whisk to incorporate. Return the chicken to the skillet briefly to coat it in the sauce before plating. Serve with your favorite side, in this case some fresh pasta coated in garlic, browned butter, olive oil, and pecorino Romano cheese.

Buen Provecho!

General Tso’s Chicken

I was in the mood for take out Chinese food but not really in the mood to drive and pick some up. I had a bottle of Trader Joe’s General Tso’s sauce in the pantry for such an occasion and decided that this was as good a time as any to try it. I also didn’t feel like battering and frying some chicken pieces so I scoured the Internet in search of a “lighter” version where battering and frying wasn’t necessary. I came upon this recipe from Martha Stewart and thought it was as good as any.

The chicken was very crispy when it first came out (I cooked it in batches) but it was just barely crispy by the time I had coated it in the sauce and heated it for 2 minutes. It wasn’t bad, just not as crunchy as you would expect from a battered piece of chicken.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: I used store-bought sauce but you can make your own by following the recipe I linked above. Feel free to use either white or dark meat chicken (3 breasts or 4-5 thighs should be enough).

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken meat, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 cup steamed broccoli florets
3 tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 egg whites, beaten
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup store-bought sauce (or sauce from the recipe linked above)

Procedure:

Place the peanut oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Combine the egg whites, salt, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a bowl and whisk until a smooth batter is formed. Place the chicken in the batter, then stir fry in the wok for 3-4 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through), then remove to a plate. Work in batches until all the chicken is cooked.

After the chicken is all cooked, place the broccoli, red pepper flakes, chicken, and sauce back in the wok and stir fry until the sauce is just warmed through (about 1-2 minutes). Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Buen Provecho!

Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I’m not a huge fan of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I’m more of a thigh guy) because I find them too bland and dry. Most places overcook their chicken, especially chicken breasts, to the point to where it becomes unpalatable to me, so I rarely order it when we eat out. That’s why I usually slice my breasts thinly and cook them quickly (think stir fry) or bread them and either pan fry them or cook them in the oven (the breading helps the meat remain moist).

That being said, one of my favorite preparations is to stuff the breast with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes and then sauté it in butter. The goat cheese and butter are incredible at helping the breast meat stay moist, plus they add quite a bit of flavor. Once you try this recipe you will not want to eat a plain chicken breast again!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: Use your favorite goat cheese. I normally get the herbed or peppered goat cheese, but plain will do just fine.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 oz goat cheese
1 oz sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
salt and pepper to taste (I find that 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper are enough for two breasts)
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp water

Procedure:

Place the goat cheese and tomatoes in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.

Using a boning knife (or other thin-bladed knife), cut a pocket in the side of each breast (the opening to the pocket should be about an inch and a half long in the center of the breast). Try to cut the breast in the center and extend as far back and to the sides as possible without poking through the other sides. Once both breasts are complete, stuff each with half of the cheese/tomato mixture, season the exterior with the salt and pepper, and set aside for 10 minutes before cooking.

Add the butter to a skillet (that you have a lid for) and place over medium heat until the butter begins to foam. Place the breasts in the skillet and let them cook for 6 minutes, undisturbed. Flip the chicken, add the water, and cover. Allow it to cook for an additional 5-6 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken breasts). Remove to a plate and let it rest 5 minutes before carving/serving.

Buen Provecho!

Buffalo Chicken and Spinach Dip

It’s football season, which in my house means that there must be snacks available on Sunday afternoons. Buffalo wings are delicious and popular, but they do tend to get messy. I was looking for a way to keep the buffalo flavor in some sort of finger food but eliminate the need for a whole roll of paper towels. I also wanted to make it a bit healthier by adding some green, leafy vegetables (i.e. spinach) to the mix. Think of it as a combination of two very popular appetizers: buffalo wings and spinach dip.

I chose to poach my chicken breasts because I wanted a clean chicken flavor to come through. Feel free to cook your chicken however you like it most. You can even buy a pre-cooked chicken (a rotisserie chicken works well here) if you want to save time. Just remember that the flavor of the chicken, and how it’s cooked, will come through in the dip.

You may be tempted to serve this with chips or even some sort of cracker. Don’t! This dip needs the bulk and crunch provided by Melba Toast or some other form of crostini. If you try to scoop it up something that isn’t hard or sturdy, it will just end up breaking in the dip and creating a mess. Trust me.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes or less
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: You can dice the chicken if you’d like, but I think it works better if you shred it.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 ounces), cooked and shredded
6 oz light cream cheese
4 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of all excess water
4 oz Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup each Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce and Blue Cheese Dressing

Procedure:

The recipe calls for cooked chicken but I want to give instructions on how to poach the chicken because I think it adds a cleaner flavor to the dip. Place the chicken in a pot that has a tight-fitting lid. Fill with water until the breasts are covered by about 1/2 inch of water. Add 1 tsp salt, 12-15 whole pepper corns, 2 bay leafs, and 1 tbsp dry thyme. Place the pot over hi heat until the water comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium low and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn the breasts over, remove from the heat, and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Let them stand for 20 minutes, then remove to a plate and let them cool enough to handle. Shred with two forks.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In an oven-safe bowl, combine all the ingredients except the blue cheese crumbles and mix until everything is well incorporated. Add the blue cheese crumbles and fold them in carefully so that they don’t break too much. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and place it in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until everything is heated through. Remove and serve while still warm.

Buen Provecho!

Review: El Pollo Rico

I lived in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for over six years, so I know the area quite well. Yet, out of all the restaurants that I came to love over that time, there was only one that I had to patronize during my weekend visit: El Pollo Rico.

El Pollo Rico (known as Dirty Bird in my household) is a Peruvian chicken joint located in the Clarendon area of Arlington, VA, and has the best tasting rotisserie chicken I’ve ever had. The chicken is cooked on a spit over charcoal and is marinated in a number of secret Peruvian spices that they are just not willing to divulge. I know that cumin is one of the primary spices as you can smell it when you walk in the door and it’s the strongest flavor profile when you actually bite into the bird, but I couldn’t tell you what else they use if my life depended on it. They serve the chicken with two sides (coleslaw and french fries) and two sauces – one green and one yellow.

The sauces play a huge role in the Dirty Bird experience. The yellow sauce is the mild option and consists of mayonnaise, mustard, and “spices” (that’s all I could get out of the staff) while the spicy sauce (the green sauce) is ground/chopped jalapeños and “spices”. Most people order extra sauces (at $.20 each), me included. I typically need three sauces (two yellow, one green) with my 1/4 chicken meal because I mix half of the green sauce with one yellow sauce to create a spicy, mayonnaise-based sauce that goes great with the chicken and the fries (I get fries only, no coleslaw). To be honest, the chicken doesn’t need the sauce and can stand on it’s own, so I end up using most of my sauce on the fries.

If you live in DC, or you plan on visiting, make sure you put this restaurant on your short list. It’s kind of a dive (Guy Fieri would feel at home here), but don’t be afraid, it’s a very safe location. I guarantee it’s the best rotisserie chicken you’ll ever have. I’m only giving it a 9/10 for value because the prices have crept up quite a bit. You can expect to pay $4.50, plus tax, for 1/4 chicken and sides or about $15.00 for a whole rotisserie chicken (about twice as much as buying one at the grocery store), plus extra for your sauces.

Grade:

Taste: 10/10
Value: 9/10
Would I eat it again? I’d make the 4-hour drive, one way, just to satisfy my craving!

Food Review: KFC Doublicious

I’ve always been a KFC guy.  My wife doesn’t like the thick air or the greasy smell in the restaurants, but I grew up eating fried chicken (a lot of it from KFC, though Church’s Chicken is better, IMHO) so it’s comfort food.  I’ll admit to being curious when it comes to food; that should be no surprise to anyone who knows me.  And, if curiosity killed the cat, my curiosity might just raise my blood pressure, cholesterol, and risk of heart attack but, hey, we all die in the long run so you might as well enjoy the food on your way there.

I had seen a few ads for the sandwich and decided to give it a try.  I was extremely tired when I got home from work yesterday so I ended up taking a nap and woke up too late to thaw out dinner.  Mrs. Belly Full (sorry, honey, I thought the name was cute) didn’t want to scrounge around the house for a meal so we decided to go out and pick something up.  She wanted Taco Bell and since there is a KFC/Taco Bell just 5 minutes from the house, I decided this was as good a time as any to try the new Doublicious.

I had tried the Double Down a few months ago, for the same curiosity-killing reasons .  I found the Double Down to be too salty on it’s own so I placed each patty in a regular hamburger bun and found that the bread actually made a big difference in reducing the salty taste.  Seeing as this new sandwich is nothing more than half a Double Down placed in a sweet Hawaiian roll, I figured it would be a bit better than my hamburger-bun-experiment with the original.

Here is the advertisement from the KFC website:

Here is what it looked like when I got it home:

Review:

The first thing I noticed, before I even closed my mouth on the first bite, was a hint of sweetness.  The bun is not overly sweet, but just enough to notice it’s there.  That sweet taste quickly went away once I bit down, tho, and was quickly overwhelmed by the levels of sodium in the sandwich.  The salt really overwhelmed the palette and made it hard to taste the other ingredients.  The bacon might as well not even been there (wait, what?!?!  Did I just say that?), and the Monterey Jack cheese could’ve been Kraft Singles white American for all I knew.  The only thing the cheese did for the sandwich was lend a bit of creaminess, which could’ve been achieved by adding a bit more sauce.  The sauce tasted good on it’s own, but there wasn’t enough on the sandwich to really notice it.

The chicken, while much saltier than any KFC  Original Recipe chicken I can ever remember eating, was at least a nice size.  It was also cooked right and I found it to be moist and juicy, as you can see in the picture below.  The breading was not too thick but the spices (other than salt) weren’t very pronounced.  The one thing that could save this sandwich is a bit of heat, either in the breading or in the sauce itself.  If I ever order one again, I’ll make sure to bring the Texas Pete with me.

Overall, I’m glad I scratched that itch and tried the sandwich.  I doubt I’ll be rushing to the nearest KFC for another one any time soon, but I don’t think it’s a horrible meal, either.  Plus, for $5 including a side and a drink, it’s not really all that expensive when compared to it’s competitors from Wendy’s, McDonalds, or Chick-fil-a (though I’d pick every one of those before I returned to KFC).

Grade:

Taste: 5 out of 10
Value: 6.5 out of 10
Would I eat it again?  Only if we’re ever at war with Eastasia

Nutritional Information:

Here is the nutritional info, courtesy of shopandcook:

Anaheim Jack Chicken

I entered this recipe in a national recipe contest, the Ted’s Montana Grill Secret Ingredient Showdown, and received an honorable mention in it.  I’m quite proud to say that it’s only the second recipe I’ve ever submitted to a contest and I did well enough to at least get mentioned in the top 5.  Here is a screen capture of the webpage with the announcement:

I can’t help but think that if I had paid more attention to the presentation of the dish (i.e. used a clean, white plate and been careful about how I laid out the sides), I could’ve won the competition.  I watch enough cooking shows on TV to know that presentation often carries a lot of weight; after all, you don’t want to eat something that doesn’t look inviting and appetizing, right?  Now I know (and knowing is half the battle).

Update: I received an email from Ted’s Montana Grill just a few moments ago.  They informed me that I would be receiving something from them “once they finalize my prize package.”  I don’t know what I won, but I guess it was a bit more than just an honorable mention.  I will post another update (and a picture of me with the prize package) once it arrives.

Update 2: My winnings were a Ted’s Montana Grill apron and a $50 gift certificate.  Here is a pic of me with both of them:

So, here is the recipe for my Anaheim Jack Chicken.

Ingredients:

3 Anaheim Peppers
1 Chicken Breast (butterflied into two equal pieces)
1 cups bread crumbs
1 egg
2 Tablespoons of Buttermilk
1 12-14oz Canned Diced Tomatoes
1/2 Medium White Onion (diced fine)
1 clove of Garlic (minced)
2 teaspoons of honey
2 teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
Olive oil
1 cup of Vegetable Oil
Monterey Jack cheese

Procedure:

Roasting the Peppers: Toss the Anaheim peppers in olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place on a sheetpan and into a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.  After they are roasted, remove them to a plastic zip top bag and let sit 15 minutes.  Remove the peppers and peel them.  Discard the skin and seeds, then dice two of the peppers finely (reserve one pepper split in half, but seeded).

Making the Tomato Sauce: Heat a straight-sided skillet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.  Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and wait 1 minute.  Add the diced yellow onion and one pinch of salt and sauté for 5 minutes.  Stir in the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute.  Stir in the diced Anaheim peppers and sauté for 1 minute.  Add the can of diced tomatoes and allow to come to a simmer.  Once it’s bubbling, add ½ teaspoon of salt, the 2 teaspoons each of honey and red wine vinegar, and ½ teaspoon each of cumin and dried oregano stir to combine.  Allow to simmer for 1 hour and then blend smooth with a stick blender (a regular blender or a food processor would work, too).

Preparing the Chicken: Heat the vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet to 350 degrees.  Take the split chicken breast and pound it out to 1/8” thick.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Beat the eggs in a dish along with the buttermilk.  Place the breadcrumbs in another dish.  Dip the chicken in the egg wash and then thoroughly coat with bread crumbs (if you want it extra crunchy, repeat the process once more and double-bread the chicken).  Set aside for 5 minutes (this is important as it allows the breading to stick to the chicken and not come off in the pan).  Pan fry the breaded chicken for 2:30 a side, then remove to a cooling rack for 5 minutes and allow to rest.

Cover each half of the chicken breast with half of a roasted Anaheim pepper, 3-4 tablespoons of the smooth tomato sauce, and Monterey Jack cheese.  Place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes (until cheese is melty and bubbly).  Serve with your choice of sides.

Here is what the finished product looks like:

Buen Provecho!