Southwestern Braised Chicken Thighs

When it comes to chicken, I've always grilled, fried or roasted it. Braising was something I hadn't done that often. With bone-in thighs on sale recently, I decided that it was time to get my braise-on and throw together a platter of Southwestern-style chicken.

The main reason I don't opt for cooking chicken in braises or steam, is the skin. I love it crispy! There is so much flavor there. I've been guilty of picking the skin off entire pieces of chicken and leaving what's rest for someone else to finish. A habit that would give me a great shot at employee of the month if I worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken!

What I found after preparing this dish was searing the chicken in a hot pan to start with was the secret. The brown crust provided texture on the skin and the fond on the bottom of the pan added yummy-goodness to the tomato-poblano sauce the chicken was braised in.

The braising liquid featured poblano pepper, tomatoes and cumin. This complimented the chicken, gave the rice plenty of flavor to absorb and was the real binder to the recipe's overall flavor.

In the end, I was really surprised by the absolute decadence of this dish. I would make it again for just about any occasion. And here is the best part: The cost of the entire dish – less than $7! (That's with the thighs on sale for 98¢ a pound.)

BEHIND THIS BITE
I haven't been posting as much since I moved last fall, but I have been cooking more than any other time in my life. Now that I'm starting to settle into my new location, I'm finding more time not only to cook but also prepare posts. In an effort to share more, I'm going to be doing a lot more posts that feature just a nice artsy picture or two of the dish. I'm still going to be doing my signature-style recipe graphics, but I want to share more of what I'm doing in the kitchen and I can do a post like this in less than an hour, a recipe graphic takes between 6 and 10!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 4, 1 hour
3 lbs Chicken Thighs
2 Poblano peppers, diced
1 Red Onion, diced
4 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs Cumin
2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Red Pepper flakes
1 Can Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 C Chicken broth
1 1/2 Rice
3 C water

Brown Chicken
Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a little oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, brown chicken on both sides. 4 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to paper-towel lined plate.

Make sauce
In hot drippings, saute onion and poblano pepper until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes and garlic. Stir and cook until fragrant. 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and chicken broth, scrape browned bits from bottom of pan and bring to a simmer.

Braise chicken, cook rice
Add chicken to pan, once mixture returns to simmer, cover, reduce heat to medium and let cook 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stir occasionally. Add rice and water to sauce pan or pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Turn off heat, keep covered for 10 minutes more. Remove lid and fluff

Serve
Make a bed of rice on a large platter, spoon half of sauce on rice. Arrange chicken thighs on top. Spoon other half of sauce onto chicken, then serve.

Bacon Chipotle Chicken Salad

Printable version

I used to eat chicken salad from a number delis when I lived in New York City. It was a reasonably inexpensive lunch item in a city were everything was expensive. The chicken was always fresh, never canned, which made for a much tastier salad and there was always a gourmet twist depending on which place you got it.

Chicken salad is really basic and it only takes an element or two to turn it into a unique delicious bite.

For this recipe, I used grilled chicken with chipotle and bacon to make a southwestern chicken salad pita. The basic elements of mayonnaise, celery, lemon juice and chicken make for a refreshing sandwich on their own. I enhance the flavors with the edition of bacon, chipotle and fresh tarragon. Any number of ingredients could have taken their place. The key is finding complimentary flavors that work together and adding them to the basic recipe. It’s a great way to enhance a classic, and for me, chicken salad always reminds me of lunches in Central Park.

BEHIND THIS BITE
Years ago, my Mom was visiting me in New York and made a batch of chicken salad from leftover chicken that I had grilled the night before. It tasted so good that I have preferred to make it with grilled chicken ever since. I won’t wait for left over chicken anymore though, I grill up a batch specifically for chicken salads.

I made this as part of a spread for a gathering of 15. It was served with mini bagels for sandwiches. As snack time was winding down I noticed a couple of guys eating it on tortilla chips, I decided to give it a try and I was amazed. I thought it would be good in a soft taco, but after trying the tortilla chips I think this would be great in a crunchy taco with a little lettuce and cheese.

Which ever way it’s eaten it doesn’t matter though, this is a tasty chicken salad that will make for a delicious lunch with or without bread, tortillas or bagels.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 6; 10 minutes active,
30 minutes resting
3 C Grilled chicken, diced
1 C Mayonnaise
1/2 C Celery diced
8 strips Bacon, cooked, crumbled
1/4 C Chipotle chiles in adobo, seeded, minced
1 Tbs Tarragon, minced
Juice of 1 Lemon
6 to 8 Pitas
Lettuce for garnish

Make chicken salad
In a large bowl mix together, chicken, mayonnaise, celery, bacon, chipotle, tarragon and lemon juice. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

Assemble sandwiches
Place a spoonful of chicken salad in a pita, garnish with lettuce, then serve.

Southwest Cream of Chicken Soup

Printable version

If I’m going to use chicken in a soup I always use thighs. The dark meat seems to be richer and more flavorful, making it perfect for a hardy soup or stew. I love the white meat on the grill or when the chicken stands alone, but for a soup I think the dark meat works best. I picked up a package of chicken thighs the other day and decided it was time to make a yummy soup.

I wanted to step outside the box a little and decided to make a cream of chicken. I love homemade cream soups, when it is done right it ads a rich and silky texture that store bought cream soups just can’t match. I added some poblano peppers and took this recipe to the southwest. I included corn, chili powder and cumin for extra wow factor as well.

The end result was a rich and creamy dish with hardiness and spice. It had all the elements of a good chicken chili but with the depth of a delicious soup. This was the perfect late winter recipe containing the flavor of comfort food combined with the warmth of the southwest and coming spring weather.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I really loved this dish. I ate the first bowl in record time. As I just mentioned in the intro, it contained the depth of a good comfort dish but also the warm flavors of spring and summer. I really thought this soup was perfect for March. (But it’s good enough to be eaten anytime of the year)

My mom got a sample and it reminded her of a white chili, which is true, because it contains most of the same elements. What makes it different is the creamy liquid that binds it all together.

This is the second time I have made a cream soup for the column/blog. The first time was a cream of mushroom I made back in 2011. It, like this soup, I devoured like a starving lunatic.

There is nothing like a homemade cream soup, it puts the store-bought canned versions to shame. If you like them canned, you should make a version from scratch at least once. Be careful if you try it though, you may never eat the canned version again.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 4; 40 minutes
1/4 C Unsalted butter
1/2 C Onion diced
1/2 C Celery diced
1/2 C Carrot diced
1 C Poblano pepper seeded, diced
1 Tbs Garlic minced
1/4 C Flour sifted
2 C Milk
2 C Chicken broth
2 Tbs Chili powder
1 Tbs Cumin
2 lb Cooked chicken shredded
1 can Sweet corn drained
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Create base
In a soup pot over medium heat melt butter then sauté onion, celery, carrot and poblano pepper until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Season to taste. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Make Roux; add liquids
Stir in flour until well incorporated, let mixture cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add milk and broth, stir together well so roux dissolves in liquid.

Finish soup
Add spices, chicken and corn to pot. Bring to a simmer and let cook 12 to 15 minutes and soup has thickened.

Serve
Spoon soup into bowls for serving, garnish with fresh cilantro.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Printable version

This is the second version of black bean salsa I have made since starting my visual food column. The first time was in June of 2010. It was the first recipe that I documented with a tripod and professional lighting. I went to Sunny Schick Camera Shop and ask for advise on how to improve my photography. I got some good advise and made some equipment purchases.

Soon after publishing the recipe, I left a part time job at the Texas Road House. I went full time into food writing. I immediately found that if I wanted to have a large publisher back a book I would need a great food blog. For the last year and a half this site has been the focus of my work. It has required me to learn to be a professional-level food photographer and immerse myself in a new art. I have a long way to go, but at the same time, I have come along way with the camera.

Learning how to properly style food and light it for the lens is a fascinating art, as fascinating to me as creating information graphics. I’m proud of how I have incorporated better quality photography into my work. It helps it to rise to another level in quality.

BEHIND THIS BITE
This recipe is different from the original ingredient-wise and it features a new technique I have been incorporating into my work. When appropriate, I have been trying to place a styled photo as the main art in the infographic, rather than a bird-eye view of the finished dish. It requires some serious art direction before the recipe is created and is made possible by creating a “virtual sketch” of the dish. I then build the final photograph into the layout. My favorite example of this technique can be found with my Homemade Thin Mint Cookies.

I’m really inspired by this new craft. It is satisfying on many different levels - from creating and eating the food, to designing and presenting, to photographing.

I hope 2013 is a great year for food writing and step by step documenting of recipes.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 4; 15 minutes
1 can Black beans, drained
1 can Corn, drained
1 C Tomato, diced
1/2 C Onion, diced
1 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
Juice of 1 Lime

Combine and serve
In a bowl, mix together black beans, corn, tomato, onion, chili powder, cumin and lime juice. Salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.