Recipe: Chilaquiles

Holy crap, these were good!

A few years ago, on a trip to Mexico, my wife and I surveyed the breakfast buffet: "Chilaquiles?" What are these things? O MY GOD! They are basically broken day-old tortillas in sauce. In Mexico, they are served for breakfast or brunch with eggs and are a way to use-up the leftover tortillas from the night before.

I WANTED TO RECREATE MY MEXICO MEMORIES, but at dinner time!

Chilaquiles: Wow. Mexican comfort food.

Chilaquiles
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 12 corn tortillas, cut into fourths or sixths (ideally they have been left on the counter overnight and are stale, otherwise we'll fry them)
• 1 28 oz can of enchilada sauce (or you can make your own - good luck!)
• 1 whole chicken (or equivalent parts), shredded
• 8 oz quesadilla cheese, grated
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and set aside
• Cilantro, chopped fine
• Vegetable oil (I use canola oil - aka rapeseed oil - weird)
• Salt
• Various garnishes:
• Sliced avocado
• Sliced black olives
• Limes
• Sour cream
• Green onion
• Radishes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Roast the chicken. I cooked a whole chicken in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes. Liberally salt the inside of the bird and just bake it. You're not going for an artistic presentation - you just want the meat. Allow the chicken to cool and then remove and shred the meat from that chicken. Set aside for later.
2. In a large saucepan (or pot), add 2 Tbs of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until tender (about 5 minutes) stirring occasionally. Add the beans and continue cooking for another 5 minutes
3. Stir in the enchilada sauce and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and simmer for ~15 minutes. The goal is to infuse the chicken with that saucy flavor - BOOM!
4. Meanwhile, if your tortillas are not stale, pour a large amount* of vegetable oil into a large stock pot and heat to ~375 degrees (that's medium high heat for a few minutes - test with a small piece of tortilla: if it sizzles like you think it should, the oil is ready).
5. Drop-in a few pieces* of tortilla and fry-up some chips. Be sure to flip them halfway and cook them until they are dark golden (note: I did not say dark brown). Evacuate the chips to a paper towel lined sheet pan. Salt the chips while they are still hot and wet with oil - Oooo, damn, that's good! Try a chip to see how you like 'em fresh. In your face, Tostitos!
6. Continue cooking the chips while the chicken and beans are cooking in the sauce. If you do it right, they will all be done at the same time.
7. When the chips and chicken are done, dump the chips into the chicken mixture and stir to combine. Add ~2 Tbs of cilantro for flavor. Don't worry that you are breaking some of your beautiful chips, you're making something that is greater than the sum of its parts.
8. Pour half the chicken/chip/bean/onion mixture into a 9x13" baking dish, layer-on 2/3 of the cheese, pour the remaining chicken mix, and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese. Sprinkle on some black olives and green onions and maybe some more cilantro if you like. You can also garnish with sour cream, limes, and radish, but I added those at the table.

FAQs

• Making my own tortilla chips is hard, can I use store-bought? >> No. Next you'll be asking if you can use Fritos or Pringles.
• How much is a "large amount" of oil? >> Good question. It really depends on the size of your pot. I cooked my chips in ~1" of oil, which was about 2 cups. That was not really enough, but I managed ok. I recommend you use a little more oil, but you don't need to fill a vat with a gallon of oil, and have an oil disposal project after dinner.
• How many chips should I fry at once? >> Again, this will depend on the size of your pot. I recommend that you only put as much as will fit in one layer on top of the oil. For me that was 8 chips.
• What is quesadilla cheese? >> It says so on the label, but you want a mild easy-melting cheese. I guess you can use Monterey Jack if you need to

Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie

Hi friends,

When you want some pot pie, you're telling everyone:

GIVE ME MEAT AND PIE CRUST TOGETHER!

Let's talk about how to make your wishes come true.

The way I see it, there are two ways to make a pot pie:

1. Spend all day cooking something that will impress even the toughest judges from Next Iron Chef
2. Make something quick and good that will leave you fully satisfied

Today, we'll focus on #2

Chicken, sauce, veg, and crust. Boom.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pie crust (recipe below)
• 2-3 bone-in chicken breasts
• 1 lb bag of frozen mixed vegetables
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 Tbs butter
• Poultry seasoning (preferred) OR thyme
• 1/4 cup half & half (optional)
• Salt & pepper (yadda yadda yadda)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Clean and rinse your chicken breasts, pat dry with paper towels, and place into a shallow baking dish (I use a pie plate). Sprinkle-on some salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven for ~25 minutes. When the chicken has finished cooking, remove the skin and shred the chicken meat into small pieces - the size of piece you want to eat in a pot pie. Set the shredded meat aside.
2. Cook the frozen vegetables in the microwave according to the instructions on the bag (usually 5 minutes on high). When cooked, put into a fine mesh strainer and set aside to drain. You want to remove as much of the water from the veggies as possible.
3. In a medium/large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and spices (poultry seasoning or thyme), and whisk together (sound familiar? it's roux-makin' time) for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture darkens to a light golden color. Add half the broth, and continue to whisk (it thickens quickly at first). Continue adding broth while whisking. If the mixture is too "tight," add a little more broth. You're trying to achieve a stiff gravy texture: this will be the sauce for the pot pie. Check the seasoning and add salt & pepper if needed.
4. In a separate bowl, add the veggies, the meat, and just enough sauce to cover. Stir to combine. I do this because sometimes there's waaay too much sauce for the other ingredients. If you just add meat and veg into a lake of sauce, your pot pie will be weird.
5. Add the mix to a casserole dish. Top with a pie crust (you can paint the crust with an egg wash for the most beautiful presentation, or leave it out - it won't affect the taste). Cut some slits in that crust. Bake in your 400 degree oven for ~30 minutes, or until the crust turns brown.
6. Remove and eat.

FAQs

• Egg wash sounds intriguing - how do I do that? >> Mix-up one egg in a bowl and "paint" it on the crust. This ain't rocket surgery...
• How come ~70% of your recipes involve making a roux? >> Good question.
• What is "poultry seasoning?" >> It's a spice mixture at the store, which contains: sage, thyme, celery salt, and savory. Apparently, it's good for poultry - who knew?

Pie Crust

Some people freak-out when it comes to pie crust making. Relax, yo, it's simple: flour + fat + water = crust.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup shortening (Crisco)
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• cold water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and salt
2. Dump-in the shortening and cut-in the butter. That means to cut the butter into thin slices, and drop into the flour

Recipe: Oven Fried Chicken

Hey chicken eater! Deep fried chicken is such a pain in the ass! Is there a way to make crispy delicious chicken without turning your kitchen into a greasy cesspool? There is now.

Chicken, noodle dish, and corn. It's dinner time!

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken parts with skin and bones (may I recommend some breasts?)
• Flour
• Oil
• Butter
• Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Rinse your chicken parts in the sink. Be sure to pull-off any stringy parts of skin and fat - eew. Shake-off the excess moisture
3. Fill a gallon-sized zip top bag with ~1 cup of flour and ~1 tsp salt
4. Put your damp chicken parts in the bag with the flour, close the top of the bag* and shake (this will cover your chicken with flour - like, no duh)
5. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet to medium high, add ~1 Tbs of butter and ~1 Tbs of oil, and allow butter to melt
6. Remove the chicken from the bag and place, meaty side down, in the skillet
7. Cook until golden* (about 5 minutes depending on the heat of the pan)

8. Flip and cook the other side for a few more minutes until golden
9. Evacuate the chicken to a half-sheet pan fitted with a rack

10. Bake the chicken in the oven for 60 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and put in your mouth - it's ok, you've earned it.
12. Smile - chicken tastes good.

FAQs

• How should I close this zip top bag, zip it? >> Heavens no, that's too hard. Twist the top of the bag into a makeshift closure and shake. You're not trying to seal this against the elements, you're just trying to keep flour from flying all over your kitchen.
• Is this a messy preparation of chicken? >> Well, it can be. A friend of the blog pointed-out that, even through we're not deep frying that bird, you're still likely to have an oily mess all-over your stove. To minimize this, I recommend (and use) a screen to contain the mess. The screen is like a lid made of mesh - it allows the steam to escape, but catches the oily spatters and mess. When complete, just throw it in the dishwasher or have your kitchen staff take care of it. You bring problems; I bring solutions.

Protect your precious kitchen with this $5 piece of wire and mesh