Just the tips. Just to see how it feels.

It's been a long hiatus but I'm back to posting. But enough about me, on to the food. After the superbowl I was confronted with a problem. Like most folks we made wings for the big game. While I was preparing the wings I would separate the wing tip from the wing, and then the drumette from from the little wing. After I finished prep, I realized that I had a whole mess of chicken wing tips. Normally, I wouldn't think twice about throwing them away or just freezing them for the stock pot. But what kind of cook would that make me? After all a cook isn't worth his weight in salt unless he can take the tough, ugly and unappealing and turn it into something that tastes good.

Coupled with that, I had been reading about the influx of Sichuan cuisine into New York City. So I was inspired.

I marinated the wing tips overnight in soy, sugar, and rice wine vinegar. I broiled them until brown and then stir fried the tips in sesame oil with jalapeño, ginger, garlic, scallions and dried red chilies.



The wing tips aren't for everybody. There is not much meat and bit of cartilage. But the skin to flesh ratio gives them a deep chicken flavor. If you feel so inclined you could always substitute the tips with chicken thigh meat. Now, I wont include a recipe here because the chances that somebody will actually make this are slim. It's mostly to urge that we think before we throw food out because what we think of as garbage is food in 95% of the world.

My Big Fat Greek Preplanned Week Long Supply of Dinner

There's no point in cooking unless you're going to cook a lot. Sure I'm only one person, but recipes for one are (a) not worth the effort and (b) make you feel lonely... That's why I like to cook in big batches because I can have a lot of food prepped for the week. If a day comes along and I'm too tired to cook at least I have a delicious pre-prepared meal that saves me money as opposed to eating out.

Over the weeks I've put up a lot of heavy dishes and stews, like meatloaf and chili but as the weather turns warmer people want to eat lighter and suddenly that big old slab of bacon wrapped meatloaf is less appealing. The following recipe for Greek roasted chicken and potatoes doesn't have to be a preplanned dinner for the week, that's just how I use it. It's perfectly fine for any light supper. Here we go:

Greek Chicken and Potatoes

2 lbs assorted chicken parts bone in and skin on (legs, breasts, thighs, whatever you like but you need to buy bone in skin on pieces or the chicken will be dry and tasteless)
1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sprig of rosemary, leaves chopped roughly
2 tsps salt
2 tsps pepper
2 tsps garlic powder
2 tsps dried oregano
2 lbs red potatoes, quartered

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the chicken pieces and pat them dry with a paper towel. Wash, dry and quarter the potatoes. On a baking sheet arrange the chicken and potatoes so they fit. Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze all the lemon juice out over the top. Sprinkle the rosemary and remaining seasonings over the top and toss the chicken and potatoes until coated. Place in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes at 400 degrees, place the baking sheet with the chicken and potatoes under the broiler for 5 more minutes. Done.

Before:



After:



Musical Pairing:

Jack says, "Steely Dan, "Aja," for no other reason than I like to listen to Steely Dan when I cook, especially one-dish or one-pot wonders."

Reconstructing from memory.

When I was working in Colorado I used to eat lunch at this burrito place called Illegal Pete's. They had this thing called a smothered burrito, which was a burrito of your own creation smothered in green chili. The burritos were pretty standard but once covered in green chili, they were fantastic. I recently had a craving for green chili but had never made it before so I did some research and tried to recreate the same taste at home. Unlike southern chili, which is red in color from either tomatoes or dried peppers, green chili forgoes the tomatoes and dried peppers for fresh green peppers. Green chili is typically a western American dish. This was not one of those dishes I could just whip up with things from the home I really had to go out and specially shop for certain ingredients. Through much tinkering, combining of different recipes and remembering the chili at Illegal Pete's, this is what I came up with:

Note: Chili with an "i" refers to the dish, Chile with an "e" refers to the peppers

Green Chili

6 poblano peppers
8 tomatillos diced (check here if you're unfamiliar with tomatillos)
1 medium onion diced
2 jalapenos diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into small cubes
1 cup of chicken broth
1 tbsp. of cumin
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup cilantro
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 handful of tortilla chips, crushed
sour cream or yogurt for serving

First, roast and skin the poblano peppers. In order to do this place the peppers directly over the stove flame and rotate them until they are completely blackened.



If you have an electric stove top place the peppers under the broiler in your oven and rotate accordingly. Once the peppers are mostly blackened place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 10 minutes. This will allow the peppers to steam and release their skins. After 10 minutes remove the peppers and peel off their skins with your hands. They should look like this:



Pull out the seeds and remove the tops of the peppers. Dice the peppers and set them aside. Set a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil. Once it begins to smoke add the chicken and saute until browned, 10 minutes. Add the jalapeno, onion and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the peppers, tomatillos, chicken broth, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for 1 hour. Add the crushed tortilla chips and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve with rice, by itself, or on top of a burrito. This recipe was a shot in the dark; I have never made this before. But, it came out really well. It tasted awesome.

Redeeming the Breast.

Recently, I railed against the use of chicken breasts for their lack of flavor and versatility. That got me thinking, could you cook a chicken breast and make it taste good? I'm always up for a challenge so making a tasty chicken breast became my mission. The problem is when dealing with chicken breast you're not left with many options. Sure, I could come up with some wild marinade for the chicken and grill it but that sounded as interesting as a this season of "Lost." What I realized is that the good thing about a chicken breast is that it is a blank canvass. You can do whatever you want to it. Instead of thinking of the chicken breast as the central item of the meal, it could instead be a vessel to serve something else. What would that something else be? Stuffing.

Stuffing is not just for thanksgiving. You can stuff anything really; mushrooms, crabs, pasta shells, potatoes, whole birds, fish, peppers and so on. Why not a chicken breast then? Here's what I came up with:

Stuffed and Rolled Chicken Breasts

2 chicken breasts
2 cups multigrain bread or rolls cut into 1/2'' cubes
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced bell pepper (red or green)
1/3 cup diced carrot
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
1/2 cup good melting cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, brie) grated or cubed small
4 tsp of olive oil
2 tsp fresh sage chopped (or poultry seasoning)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Start by butterflying the chicken breasts. If you are unfamiliar with that term. Watch this instructional video:

How to Butterfly Chicken Breast -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

After you have butterflied the breasts use a meat tenderized (big wooden or metal hammer) to flatten the breast so it is about 1/4'' thick all the way around. It should look like this:



Set the chicken breasts aside. Place a skillet over medium heat and add 2 tsp. of the olive oil. Add the bell peppers, onions, carrots and garlic and saute until tender and translucent, 4-5 mins. In a bowl mix together the bread cubes, both kinds of cheese, the vegetable mixture, the sage and the chicken broth. Once it comes together add salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be moist but not overly wet. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of the stuffing on each chicken breast so it looks like this:



It is important not to overfill the chicken breasts because the chicken will contract as it cooks. If there is too much stuffing it will push out of the sides of the roll during cooking. Roll the chicken breasts up much like you would a rug. You want the roll to be snug but not overly tight. Before the chicken rolls can be cooked they need to be tied. You will need 3 pieces of string or twine for each roll. Set each roll up like so:



Tie a double knot around the the breasts tight but not tight enough to force stuffing out. Just enough to keep the roll together. Cut off any excess string.



In a large skillet add the rest of the olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Add the rolls and brown on all sides, 15 minutes.



After the rolls have browned place them in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and the pan and place on a plate to rest for 10 minutes. Slice the rolls in half inch slices and serve as you like.

Breasts are dry.

No, seriously. Chicken breasts are generally a dry flavorless piece of meat. They are popular because they provide an easy fat free protein source. From a flavor standpoint they bring about the same things to the table as caulk, that is to say, not much. I find the most flavorful and underused piece of chicken to be the thigh. While it’s true the thigh has a slightly higher fat content than a breast, we all know that fat = flavor. Not only that, but the thigh is easy to cook, stays moist and has a deeper chicken flavor. Thighs are great for grilling or roasting because they don’t dry out. In this recipe I’ve braised them, mostly because it’s a tasty way to prepare chicken, but also because I’m on a braising kick. To braise is to cook something in a small amount of liquid for a long time. The following is my recipe for spicy braised chicken thighs.

4 bone in chicken thighs with skin on

1 12oz can chopped tomatoes

1 large onion sliced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup of chicken broth

1-2 jalapenos minced

1-2 chipotle peppers from a can, minced

Parsley for garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs. olive oil

*Chipotle peppers are just smoked jalapenos, they can be found canned in the international foods section of the supermarket

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Dry the chicken thighs and season them on both sides with salt and pepper. Turn on a burner to medium-high heat and place on it a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven. Add the oil to the pot. Once it begins to smoke add the thighs skin side down. Once they brown flip them over and brown the other side, 10-12 mins. Remove the thighs to a plate. Drain any extra grease, reserving enough to sauté the remaining vegetables. Place the pot back on the heat, reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, garlic and jalapenos. Once they soften and become translucent, 5 mins, add the chicken broth, tomatoes and chipotle peppers. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. When the mixture comes to boil, add the chicken thighs and cover. Place the pot in the oven and cook for one hour. To serve pull the thighs out of the braising liquid and spoon some of the tomatoes and onions over the top. Serve with rice. Garnish with chopped parsley.