Tacos of Tomatillo Chicken with Wilted Greens and Fresh Cheese

This is from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen which has some of the easiest authentic Mexican recipes ever. And the most delicious. We found this made a good one dish supper.

This looks much more difficult than it is. Just forge ahead and don't worry.

Tacos of Tomatillo Chicken with Wilted Greens and Fresh Cheese

For 1-1/4 cups Essential Simmered Tomatillo-Serrano Sauce

• 8 ounces (5 to 6 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed.
• Fresh serrano chiles to taste. (roughly 2), stemmed
• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped 
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
• Salt, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, depending on the saltiness of the broth

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Other Ingredients

• 12 corn tortillas (plus a few extra, in case some break)
• 2 cups firmly packed sliced chard leaves, lamb's quarters (quelites), sliced amaranth greens (quintoniles), purslane (verdolagas) or spinach (all pieces should be about 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches long. I used kale
• 1-1/3 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (you'll need, for instance, 1 very large chicken breast for this amount; it's a good way to use up leftover chicken ... and if you don't have any see Poached Chicken recipe)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or pressed, salted farmer's cheese

To make sauce
Roast the tomatillos and peppers on a baking sheet (I lined mine with foil) 4 inches below a very hot broiler until blackened and soft on one side, 5-6 minutes, then turn them over and roast the other side. Transfer (including all juices) to a food processor or blender.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium, add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until deep golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cook 1 more minute, then scrape into the food processor or blender. Process to a medium-coarse puree.

Heat the remaining 1/2 T of oil in the skillet and set over medium-high. Add the puree all at once and stir for about 5 minutes, until noticeably darker and thick. Stir in the broth, partially cover and simmer over medium-low for 10 minutes. (The sauce will be a little soupy.) Stir in the cilantro and generously season with salt.

(You can make this a few days ahead and refrigerate until needed.)

Finishing the dish
Heat the tortillas. Bayless recommends steaming in a vegetable steamer, wrapped in a kitchen towel. Boil for 1 minute, then turn off and let stand without opening for 15 minutes. I just heat mine on the griddle, though to be fair they are made with a little flour in them to facilitate things like folding without breaking.

Bring the sauce to a boil and add the greens. When the mixture returns to a boil, stir in the cooked chicken, and simmer until the greens are done (chard 3-4 minutes; spinach about 2 minutes). I cooked the kale for about 8 minutes. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.

When you are ready to serve, make the tacos one at a time, spooning a portion of the filling into a warm tortilla, sprinkling the cheese, and folding it over.

Poached Chicken

From Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen. This turned out some of the tenderest, juiciest chicken I've ever had. It's a great technique for a lightly flavored broth as well as chicken to use in various recipes.

Poached Chicken
Makes about 1-1/2 pounds poached chicken, about 3 cups shredded. 

1 medium white onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 good size (3 pound) chicken, cut into quarters (I used a 5 pound chicken, came out great with same timing)
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram (didn't have it, didn't miss it)

In a large (6-quart) pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. (I used 10 cups because of the larger chicken.) Add onion, garlic, carrot, salt and chicken back (if you're lucky enough to have a separated one - I did because I cut up a whole chicken myself), neck, heart and giblets.

Skim off any foam that rises after a minute or two, partially cover and simmer over medium-low for 20 minutes.

Add dark meat quarters, skim again after a couple of minutes, then add bay and marjoram; partially cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add breast quarters, skim when the liquid returns to the simmer; partially cover and cook 13 minutes. Remove pot form heat and let chicken cool for a few minutes in the broth.

Remove breast and leg quarters from broth and set aside Strain broth, discarding solids and spoon off any fat that rises to the top. (Refrigerate broth covered, for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. Wait until then to remove fat which will have solidified.)

When the chicken quarters are cool, pull meat off bones in coarse shreds. Meat will keep covered and refrigerated for several days or frozen for a few weeks.

Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Mustard Sauce

Basically all of the articles I save on Facebook now are recipe posts from Food and Wine, which is where I found this amazing recipe. It's fast, delicious, and pretty cheap.

1 cup pecans

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried paprika

1 1/2 tsp salt

Cayenne

1 egg

2 tbsp water

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs)

3 tbsp cooking oil

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp grainy or dijon mustard

1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

In a food processor, pulse the pecans with the cornstarch, thyme, paprika, 1 1/4 tsp of the salt, 1/8 tsp cayenne until the nuts are chopped fine. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.

Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl. Dip each chicken breast into the egg mixture and then into the nut mixture.

In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Turn and continue cooking until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 5-6 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar, parsley, a pinch of cayenne, and the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt. Serve the chicken with the mustard dipping sauce.

I think Mark put 2x-3x more mustard in than the recipe called for, but use your judgement.

Update: As a result of being very low on mayonnaise, I learned that I prefer this dipping sauce with 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 4-6 tablespoons mustard (a mix of grainy mustard and horseradish mustard), and some lemon juice.

All Under Heaven by Carolyn Phillips

I was 12% into this book when I knew I wanted a copy for myself. I was 20% into it when I realized I needed to preorder multiple copies for everyone I know who cooks Chinese food.

I've got several Chinese cookbooks and had sworn off ever buying any more. My favorite, The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo, never lets me down and has a lot of variety packed into it.

However, All Under Heaven was written with the same sort of clear instructions and approachable style. Additionally, it looked at the usual Chinese regional cuisine divisions (Sichuan, Hunan, Cantonese, etc.) more closely than I'd ever seen.

This means than you don't just read about Cantonese or Southern Chinese cooking, but also get to try typical Hakka dishes or try that of Taiwan's military families who came from different provinces and then gave everything a big stir to create their own distinctive cuisine. Some of the dishes sound like a familiar twist on our favorites like Silk Road Fajitas, until you realize that this is a traditional Northwestern Chinese dish. Some have a technique that I can't wait to try, like Shaved Noodles with Meat Sauce where you use an ultra-sharp knife to shave noodles off a block of pasta dough.

I loved Carolyn Phillips' writing, especially the accessible headnotes to each recipe. Her explanation of the different regions was always personalized at the end so that we got to share a little of her life in China too.

This book was provided in a terrible Kindle version by NetGalley. I assume the garbling of the recipes is because of NetGalley's conversion. My review is my own.

Green Onion Pancakes

These are one of my favorite things to make, because they can be appetizers or a main course, they take very few ingredients, and they're very easy to make. It can be a little tedious to roll them out, but even that doesn't take very long. And as a bonus, people are usually very impressed both with the execution and the result.

The first time I made green onion pancakes was with a different recipe than the one I'm giving here. It didn't specify that the water for the dough should be boiling, and it didn't have the multiple roll-outs of the dough. These things make a huuuge difference! As did an old gas range and a powerful, newer one, but that was just a benefit of moving.

Now, this recipe is from Serious Eats by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Pancakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
Up to 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil (I actually like regular sesame oil better)
2 cups thinly sliced scallion greens

Dipping sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinkiang or rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp finely sliced scallion greens
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp sugar

To cook:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Kosher salt

Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside at room temperature. (The original recipe has this step much later, but I feel it's important to do this early on or the sugar won't have time to dissolve)

Place flour in bowl of food processor. With processor running, slowly drizzle in about 3/4 of boiling water. Process for 15 seconds. If dough does not come together and ride around the blade, drizzle in more water a tablespoon at a time until it just comes together. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to overnight in the fridge.

Divide dough into four even pieces and roll each into a smooth ball. Working one ball at a time, roll out into a disk roughly 8-inches in diameter on a lightly floured surface. Using a pastry brush, paint a very thin layer of sesame oil over the top of the disk. Roll disk up like a jelly roll, then twist roll into a tight spiral, tucking the end underneath. Flatten gently with your hand, then re-roll into an 8-inch disk.

Paint with another layer of sesame oil, sprinkle 1/2 cup scallions, and roll up like a jelly roll again. Twist into a spiral, flatten gently, and re-roll into a 7-inch disk. Repeat steps two and three with remaining pancakes.

Heat oil in an 8-inch nonstick or cast-iron (I use a wok) over medium-high heat until shimmering and carefully slip pancake into the hot oil. cook, shaking the pan gently until first side is an even golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip with a spatula or tongs, and continue to cook, shaking pan gently, until second side is even golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Season with salt, cut into 6 wedges. Serve immediately with sauce for dipping. Repeat with remaining 3 pancakes.

NOTE: If you don't have a food processor, just stir the flour with a wooden spoon or chopsticks in a large bowl as you add the boiling water. After it comes together, turn it out onto a floured work surface and knead for five minutes until satiny and smooth. Proceed as instructed

This chef has great insights into why these techniques are the best ones and how they improve the recipe. If you like this recipe, I would check out his other stuff. Enjoy!

Crab Mac and Cheese

One of the most consistently good cookbooks I've ever gotten was from Julie when I got married. It's Nigel Slater's Eat. All of the recipes are simple, not too many ingredients, and written in paragraph form, which I found off-putting at first but quickly learned to love. So here is one of the first things I ever made out of it: crab mac and cheese.

Crab Mac and Cheese

8 oz medium-sized pasta (penne, serpentelli, macaroni)
10 oz lump crab meat
1+2/3 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp whole-grain mustard
1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Boil pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water for about 9 minutes, til tender. Drain and return to the saucepan, then add milk, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and whole-grain mustard and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, stir in crab meat, and simmer gently, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.

Check the seasoning, then transfer to a deep baking dish. Mix the bread crumbs with the Parmesan, scatter on top, and bake for 20 minutes, til bubbling around edges.

And I recommend everyone get Eat, because it really is great for fast, easy meals!

Best Mapo Tofu

Hi!

I'm Hannah, Julie's daughter, who now has access to this blog to post all my favorite recipes!

So to start off, here is a recipe for Mapo tofu from Serve the People: A Stir-fried Journey Through China by Jen Lin-Liu. Now, I will say that one ingredient we used is probably not what the recipe actually intends. The recipe calls for broadbean paste (doubanjiang), which exists in plain and spicy versions. The way the author calls for chili sauce in equal part to broadbean paste in other recipes in the book makes me think it's meant to be the plain version. I couldn't find a kind that didn't have chili in it at the Vietnamese or Thai grocery stores I go to, so I just used Lee Kum Kee's chili bean sauce, which has broadbean paste in it but also a hefty dose of chili. So my husband was a big fan, partly because he takes very spicy food as a challenge, but I like it with a little bit less chili bean sauce. I could have tried a Chinese market, but I'm not made of trips to the store. And I like this version anyway.

"The Best" Mapo Tofu

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons minced leek or scallion

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1/4 cup broadbean paste

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup water

1 package firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns

1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine

Add the oil to a wok and place over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef, breaking it into small pieces and stirring until it begins to brown. Add the following ingredients, stirring for a minute between each addition: leek and ginger, broadbean paste, soy sauce, rice wine, salt, and sugar. Add the water, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tofu, raise the heat to high, and stir for another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the ground Sichuan peppercorns and remove from the heat. Serve immediately.

It's easy, fast, and delicious!

Texas Hash

Anyone who didn't grow up in Texas is going to think of something like Corned Beef Hash and say, "What? Hash has chopped potatoes." But in Texas, it has rice instead. And ground beef. And a Mexican flair, if you are lucky.

After being introduced to the Davis family Texas Hash, I tried began adapting it for our family's preferences.

Delicious!

Texas Hash
1 pound good store bought Chorizo
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (or use 1 cup pico de gallo instead of garlic and the tomatoes below)
2 small tomatoes, preferably Roma, chopped (or canned, diced tomatoes)
1-3/4 cup uncooked rice
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

In a large oven-proof skillet, preferably cast iron, brown chorizo over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces. Pour off the accumulated fat as necessary to leave no more than about 1 tablespoon.

Add the onion, garlic, and tomatoes to the chorizo and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are limp and somewhat tender.

Add the rice, chili powder, and cumin, and cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook 20-30 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Stir in the cilantro. Serve immediately.

Favorite Meat Loaf

I've never been a meat loaf fan but for some obscure reason I tried recipe after recipe looking for one I could love. When I came across this in James Beard's American Cookery, I knew I'd found my meat loaf at last. For one thing, it is covered in bacon. For another, it has strong seasoning anchored by sausage. For the third thing ... did I mention the bacon?

Another advantage is that you shape the loaf without putting it in a loaf pan. That means it isn't soggy because the fat has somewhere else to go than soaking into the loaf. That makes the texture nice and firm.

It is the meat loaf I cooked for my family winter after winter and I really love it.


Favorite Meat Loaf

2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork (sausage meat will do)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 fairly large onion, finely chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon summer savory (I never have this on hand and it works fine without it)
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Bacon or salt pork cut in strips

Thoroughly blend the meats, garlic, onion, seasonings, and crumbs.

Add the eggs and blend again.

Arrange the bacon or salt pork slices on the bottom of a shallow baking pan or dish 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep. (I use a jelly roll pan.)

Form the meat into a loaf of rather even proportions and lay it upon the strips. Lay a few additional strips of bacon or pork across the top of the loaf. Bake at 350 degrees 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Test with a meat thermometer, and when its center has reached 150 degrees it is done.

The recipe says to baste, but that's what the bacon on top is for. Am I right? Of course I am!

Supremes

This recipe is from Maida Heatter's Cookies. She says: These are rich walnut-oatmeal bars with a baked-in sweet chocolate filling. The recipe gives a large yield and the cookies are generally best stored in the refrigerator and served cold.

They're all that and more. Everyone just loves these, they make a ton, and they freeze well. What's kind of funny is that I've never cared for them that much. But I'm the only one, believe me.

Supremes

Makes 32 to 48 large or 64 small bars

2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) butter
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
3 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oatmeal
7 ounces (2 cups) walnuts, cut or broken into medium pieces

Chocolate Filling:

1 15-oz can sweetened condensed milk
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons butter
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla


Adjust a rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350°. Butter a 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Beat well. Add the eggs and beat well. On low speed gradually beat in the sifted dry ingredients and then the oatmeal, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Finally mix in 1 cup of the walnuts (reserve the remainder for the topping).

Remove and reserve 2 cups of the dough. Place the remainder by large spoonfuls over the bottom of the buttered pan. With well-floured finger-tips press all over to make a smooth, even layer. Set aside and prepare the following filling.

Chocolate Filling:

Place the condensed milk, chocolate, butter, and salt in the top of a large double-boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted and the mixture is smooth. (I live on the wild side by just using a regular pan and stirring continually over low heat.)

Remove the top of the double-boiler from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the warm chocolate mixture over the bottom oatmeal layer and spread evenly. Place the reserved oatmeal mixture by small spoonfuls over the chocolate, letting the chocolate show through between the spoonfuls. Do not spread smooth. Sprinkle the reserved cup of walnuts evenly over the top.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Reverse the pan front to back once toward the end of baking to insure even browning. (I also don't reverse the pan. A daredevil, that's me.) The top mounds will flatten slightly but they will not run together to cover the chocolate.

Cool completely in pan at room temperature (not in the refrigerator) for several hours. Cut into bars. If cookies are too soft to cut, place in the refrigerator for a few minutes before cutting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

From The Cake Mix Doctor which has some really terrific frosting recipes. Never, ever use frosting from a can.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

8 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoons salt

Beat the butter and cocoa powder until well combined. Add remaining ingredients and beat until frosting lightens and is fluffy. Add additional milk or sugar if necessary to achieve desired consistency.