Spinach Tacos

Okay, so they aren't really just spinach tacos. But that's the only thing I could think to call it. I had leftover chicken thighs from the White Chicken Chili in the fridge, so Juiceboy cooked four of them up as I braved Bay Area Traffic.

When I arrived home it turned out that neither of us was super hungry and The Bug was happy playing on the computer. The Baby had just spit up all over himself, so I grabbed the opportunity to give him a bath (which is something I rarely do). As I dried him I tried to think of things to go with the chicken, and realized I don't really like thigh meat, unless it's all cut up and part of something else, and I was completely not interested in dinner.

"Hey, how about if I cook up some spinach and we just have a little light meal of tacos? No beans or cheese or anything...."

Sounded good to Juiceboy. I pulled out the sad little bowl of caramelized onions, and we had a great, simple dinner of onions, chicken and spinach tacos. I had corn tortillas and the guys chose flour. I think I made the better choice.

White Chicken Chili

America's Test Chicken recently aired a show on White Chicken Chili. As you can tell from previous posts, my family loves a good chile verde. And this looked like a recipe that would be quick and easy--and easy on my wallet, too. It took longer than I had planned--directions such as "while the chicken browns, seed and slice the peppers" were deceptive. The chicken browned for a total of 8 minutes, while it would have taken much longer to seed and slice 8 or 9 peppers. We ended up having dinner at 8:30pm (Juiceboy HATES my 9:00 dinners), but everyone agreed that the chili and cornbread was really, very good. Below is my version of the recipe.

White Chicken Chili
Adjusted from America's Test Kitchen

Serves 6 to 8

3	pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
	Table salt and ground black pepper
1	tablespoon vegetable oil
2	medium jalapeño chiles
3	poblano chiles (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
3	Anaheim chile peppers (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
2	medium onions , cut into large pieces (2 cups)
6	medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1	tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2	teaspoons ground coriander
2	(14.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans , drained
3	cups low-sodium chicken broth
3	tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
1/2	cup minced fresh cilantro leaves 2-3 chipotles in adobo, minced

1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and lightly brown on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; remove and discard skin.

2. While chicken is browning, remove and discard ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños; mince flesh. In food processor, process half of poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions until consistency of chunky salsa, ten to twelve 1-second pulses, scraping down sides of workbowl halfway through. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions; combine with first batch (do not wash food processor blade or workbowl).

3. Pour off all but 1.5 tablespoons fat from Dutch oven (adding additional vegetable oil if necessary) and reduce heat to medium. Add minced jalapeños, chile-onion mixture, garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.

4. Transfer 1 cup cooked vegetable mixture to now-empty food processor workbowl. Add 1 cup beans and 1 cup broth and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vegetable-bean mixture, remaining 2 cups broth, and chicken breasts to Dutch oven and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers 175 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 40 minutes.

5. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Stir in remaining beans and continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are heated through and chili has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

6. Mince remaining jalapeño, reserving and mincing ribs and seeds (see note above), and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones. Stir shredded chicken, lime juice, cilantro, scallions, chipotle and remaining minced jalapeño (with seeds if desired) into chili and return to simmer. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.

High Heat Chicken

I made a high-heat chicken last weekend, inspired by a recipe in the new Cook's Illustrated. It was for a chicken with super crispy skin--my absolute favorite--but I wasn't about to rub it with baking powder and air dry it in the fridge over night since it was 5pm and dinner needed to be on the table no later than 7pm. School night and all that jazz....

So I took ideas here and there, and ended up completely filling the house with smoke and super-heated chicken fat scent. The chicken itself was really good--moist and lemony. The skin? Not so crispy, but still pretty darn good.

There's no real recipe, but if you want the tips, email me at flea-girl@hotmail.com.

Grilled Chicken Marinade

I'm getting closer and closer to having this kid. The due date is July 19th, so I'm almost "within the zone." Of course, the Bug was two weeks late. Though I don't think this one will do that to us, considering I've been having some serious Braxton Hicks (painless contractions) the past two days.

Anyway, with the mother of all barbeque holidays coming up, I thought I'd post my marinade for grilled chicken. This is good all year round and is quick and easy. It's MUCH better to make your own marinade than to open a bottle. Why? You control what goes into it. No monosodium diglutamate or polyunsacharide disorbatine.

With this one you won't get deep color on the grill (no sugar) and if you use more lemon juice your chicken will be whiter than normal. But it will taste sooooo good and juicy!

Grilled Chicken Marinade

1/3 C olive oil
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/4 C good white wine
1/3 C warm water
2 to 4 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Put in a blender or food processor and blend until well mixed. If you don't have one, just mince your garlic well and gently julienne your basil.

Pour over four to six chicken breasts. I use skinless chicken breasts, and seal it all up tightly in a freezer bag. Marinate for at least 30 minutes--but an hour in the fridge is better.

Save some of the marinade for using on the chicken after it's cooked--don't use raw chicken marinade.

Pasta e Fagioli

Fast, cheap and satisfying...Pasta e Fagioli is a perfect soup/stew for those dreary days of January. This dish was a hit with the whole family--The Bug had thirds!

It's a rustic dish, so don't worry about perfect sizes on the vegetables. Also, while it seems like a lot of ingrediants, it's really a "what's in the fridge that needs to be used" dish. Add and subtract items as you wish. I like to make this when I have some leftover crusty bread to throw in. Total cooking time should take no more than an hour. This is a fresh, fast dinner. (To make it vegetarian, skip the chicken and make with your favorite veggie stock.)

Pasta e Fagioli

2 Tablespoons olive oil
Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use the flash-frozen kind, so they're fairly big)
1/2 large yellow or white onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 head of celery, including center stalks, diced
1 large carrot, sliced or diced
1 head cauliflower, broken into bite-sized pieces
1 large can chicken broth
1 large can skinned, diced tomatoes
1 can white or black beans, with some liquid drained
1/2 cup small pasta, like tubetini or alphabets (if you do a mixture like me, watch cooking times)
8 oz frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup romano cheese, shredded
crushed red pepper, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
day old sourdough bread, torn into bite-sized pieces (optional)
fresh herbs (basil, thyme, or parsley work well)

Heat olive oil in large stock pot on medium high; add whole chicken breasts. After they have browned on both sides, add onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Lower heat immediately to medium/medium low, saute until fragrant. Add chicken broth, turn to high heat and bring to a boil, then turn down to med/med-low again. Add cauliflower and tomatoes. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add pasta. Stir occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking to the pot.

Halfway in the pasta cooking time, add beans; stir well. Remove chicken breasts and slice into bite-sized pieces, return to pot with any juices that have collected in the cutting process.

When pasta is cooked, add frozen spinach. After about 3 minutes, add the bread, red and black pepper, and cheese. Check for seasonings.

Ladle into bowls and top with chopped fresh herbs.

Roast Chicken, Traditional and Good

After trying a bunch of "butterflied" roast chicken recipes I've gone back to my simple roots. And I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of this pretty bird, but Juiceboy took the camera camping and I have no clue where it is in all his gear. But trust me, this was one good-looking, juicy chicken!

Roast Chicken
A 4-pound bird
Four carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1.5" wedges.
Two stalks of celery, cleaned and cut on a bias into 1" chunks
One yellow onion, chopped
One lemon
Kosher salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Cumin, chile powder, thyme
Pre-heat the oven to 425. Clean and pat the chicken dry.

In a bowl, mix carrots, celery, onion, the juice from half the lemon, about one tablespoon cumin, one teaspoon chile powder, one teaspoon thyme, and fresh ground pepper. Toss to coat.

Generously rub the chicken with salt. Stuff the bird loosely with veggies and the
unused lemon half. Brush with olive oil.

Mound the remaining veggies in the center of the roasting pan, seating the chicken on top of the vegetables. Add approximately two cups of water to the pan to keep
veggies from burning.

Put in upper part of your oven at 425 for about 12 minutes. Then lower heat to 375. Cook, basting and turning at least every thirty minutes for approximately one hour and twenty minutes. Since ovens and beginning chicken temps vary (mine had just defrosted, so I cooked it for the full 80 minutes and it was PERFECT), check for your preferred doneness at 60 minutes.

Let it sit for at least ten minutes. I reserve the vegetables and serve with the chicken--they are roasted but not spent. I also make a lovely light pan gravy with the juices left in the pan (add water to the pan when cooking as needed).

I served this tonight with a two-bean salad, which I'll write up tomorrow.