We don't eat a lot of pasta, but lately I've been craving a lighter pasta dish. Generally, I love marinara and bolognese sauces, but don't really dig putting them on pasta - I'd rather put them over some spaghetti squash. This time, I felt like pasta, but didn't want one of those heavy sauces, so I did my own version of Puttanesca. It's mostly traditional, but a little of my own preferences thrown in there. Came out really delicious. When I minced together the garlic, anchovies, sun dried tomatoes and olives, it looked like a tapenade of the Gods! I just wanted to spread it on some garlic toast! Admittedly, I was spooning some of it onto the tomato halves, sprinkling some basil on top, and munching them that way as I was cutting them in half, heheh. The dish was really quick and easy to make!
I was reminded the other day that I hadn't used anything from Rancid's new album with one of our recipes. So here is another Rancid Recipe - the title track, "Honor Is All We Know". -jen
PASTA PUTTANESCA Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10-15 mimuntes Difficulty: Very easy Serves: 4-6, depending on serving size
6 large garlic cloves
6 anchovy filets (I'm inclined to use the whole 2oz can)
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives (or green, or black, or D-all of the above)
12oz dried pasta (your choice: spaghetti, bow tie, rotini)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 large scallions, diced (about 1/2 a cup)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1/4 cup pasta water
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup basil, chopped or julienned
4oz Romano cheese, crumbled
Bring large stock pot of salted water to a boil while preparing the following steps.
Mince together garlic, anchovies, and sun dried tomatoes. Roughtly chop the kalamata olives right into the minced mix. Set aside.
Add pasta to boiling water, bring back to a boil, and then turn down to a low boil, cooking 6-8 minutes until al dente (still slightly under-cooked. Pasta will cook more in skillet.) Drain and reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep skillet. Saute scallions and red pepper flakes for 1 minute. Add white wine and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until wine has cooked down by half. Add grape tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic, anchovies, sun dried tomatoes, olives and the rinsed capers. Cook for 2 more minutes or until sauce is reduced and thickened.
Add pasta to skillet mixture with 1/4 cup pasta water. Cook another 1-2 minutes (sauce will mostly absorb into pasta). Remove from heat and toss with lemon juice and zest, basil, (a dash more of wine, if you like,) and crumbled Romano. Add salt and pepper to taste (careful with the salt since the olives, capers and cheese will add a lot of salt). Serve immediately while hot, however, it is quite tasty left over cold, straight out of the fridge.
It's been a little while since I've posted a Rancid Recipe (such a delicious sounding title, to be sure). Today's music selection was inspired by a dream I recently had that Tim Armstrong and I were taking a class on identifying Hollywood celebrities. We both failed miserably, told the instructor that it was a bullshit class, and left to watch the movie "High Fidelity" with my brother. I don't know what the dream means, but it put me into a Tim Armstrong music kick: Op Ivy, Transplants, Tim Timebomb & Friends, his solo stuff, and of course, Rancid. Apparently, they knew from the very first show what it was all about.
The idea for this recipe popped into my head about a month ago, transformed a lot during late
nights of intoxication, Food Network, and conversation, and finally came into existence splendidly last night. Do you have any idea how tickled I am when a recipe from scratch turns out perfectly with no need for alterations?! Of course you don't, because you're not dining in my house (but perhaps you SHOULD be, Rancid members?) The stranger in my head does a little dance when this happens and there was dancing last night, by glob! It's a little time consuming (the recipe, not the dancing in my head), but well worth the time! The combination of mushrooms, onions and apples was killer!
I think some of the ingredients in this recipe need a little explanation, though. It does contain wild rice, as the title states, and I learned something - there is no correct way to cook wild rice. I got mine out of the bulk bin at my local co-op and followed the instructions on the dispenser: 2 cups liquid to 1 cup wild rice. I did exactly that, and the rice came out a little crunchy. I loved it. Justin didn't care for the consistency at all. So researching wild rice, I found that different suppliers process it differently and you can't always cook two different brands the same way. Basically, it's preference. Do you like it crunchy or do you want to cook it until the rice bursts open and is softer. Your call. You have to just follow the instructions on the one you purchase and adjust according to your preference.
The lion's mane mushrooms are my next ingredient to discuss. These obviously are not sold in your local supermarket (as Food Network often likes to tell its watchers about exotic foods). We can sometimes find them in our co-op or local organic stores, but we mostly buy them in the summer at our local farmers markets. And while you could use regular button mushrooms, crimini or portabello mushrooms for this recipe, there's no way you're going to get the same flavour out of them. Lion's mane was first described to us as having a lobster flavour. If you look them up on Wiki, it says when cooked, they have the consistency of seafood. Well, I sort of agree and disagree with both. Once that's in your head, that's what you think of (and now I put it in your head), but really, I'd just say they have a very rich, earthy flavour. They're awesome. If you like mushrooms and have never tried these, seek them out. It'll be worth it.
And so we move on to the musical stylings of my favourite band, Rancid, bringing us their song, "Last One To Die". As they wrap up their tour (which we very sadly don't get to see, again, because we're poor and live behind the Redwood Curtain) and prepare for a new album to come out, I think to myself - maybe they will be the last ones to die. -jen
3/4 cup oyster mushrooms (you can use all lion's mane if you like)
1 cup yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 of a large onion)
2 cups apple, peeled and diced (about 2 medium apples of your preference - sour or sweet, either would be tasty)
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
Rinse wild rice to remove loose hulls and strain the water out. In a medium sauce pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add rice and brown, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes. Add water and stir in chicken base, sage, tarragon, celery salt and black pepper. Bring just to a boil, then put a lid on the pan and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook without removing the lid or stirring for 50 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. (If you don't like crunchy wild rice, you may want to use 1 more cup of water, 1 more teaspoon chicken base, and a little more of each herb) and cook until the rice grains burst, about 60 minutes, then drain any remaining water from rice.)
While rice cooks, in a large saute pan or skillet, heat 3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and apples. Saute for about 7 minutes, or until the onion becomes slightly translucent. Add sage, tarragon and salt and pepper (I used about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 a teaspoon black pepper), and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and add mixture to wild rice.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, F. Carefully cut a pocket into the pork chops with a sharp knife,
making sure not to open the ends or the back side. Place each chop into a gallon-sized Ziplock bag and pound flat.
Season the outside of the pork chop (both sides) with salt and pepper. Drizzle a little olive oil on a sheet pan (we always cover ours with foil for easy clean up.) Stuff each pork chop with as much of the wild rice stuffing as it will hold and carefully lay the stuffed chop on the baking sheet. Place in the oven and cook at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chop. Best to use a meat thermometer and cook until pork reaches 140 degrees F, then let rest. The carry-over will bring it to a safe 145 degrees.
Song Title: Memphis Album: Indestructible (2003) Lyrics: "By the time we made it to New Orleans, it must have been half past three. By the time we made it to Memphis, we were crazy."
The song "Memphis" might be my favourite song off of the "Indestructible" album... though I suppose it depends on my mood. This song gets me going! This is the song that I play in the car as loud as my pathetic speakers will allow when I'm in a happy mood... but I will do the same thing with this song if I'm in a really pissed mood! Right from the start you're assaulted with a great, driving beat backed by what I can only describe as electric bagpipes?! When I get it loud enough... it kind of takes my breath away (awww). And then it inspires me to make some southern barbecue! Which I did... but for some reason, I was feeling like Asian food too, so it turned into Southern-Asian fusion! This came out so tasty! I'd never cooked meat in vinegar before and the flavour was so tangy, the meat was perfect and juicy, falling apart! I was almost sad to put the sauce on the meat because it was so good plain! We'll be making this again... and again! -jen
ASIAN BARBECUE PORK SANDWICHES
4-5 pound pork shoulder
4 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
Asian barbecue sauce
fresh sandwich rolls
shredded carrots
fresh cilantro
Cut pork shoulder into 2" steaks. In a bowl, combine garlic, ginger, sesame oil, fish sauce, and chili paste. Place pork steaks into slowcooker. Pour vinegar and soy sauce over steaks. Spread the garlic and ginger mix over the steaks. Cover and cook on high for 7 hours. Remove pork from slowcooker and shred. Drain liquid from slowcooker and put shredded pork back in. Begin mixing Asian barbecue sauce into the pulled pork. I suggest starting with about 1/2 a cup and adding more to your taste. I ended up adding about 3/4 cup sauce all together, as I don't like my barbecue real saucy; I like to be able to taste the meat's flavours. (And now I have a lot of leftover sauce to use for other barbecuing.) Rewarm pork and serve on a roll with spicy mayonnaise, shredded carrots and fresh cilantro.
Spicy Mayo = mayonnaise with sriracha hot sauce to taste.
ASIAN BARBECUE SAUCE
34 oz tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
1 jar (8oz) Hoisen sauce
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons dark molasses
2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
zest and juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried cilantro or oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice
1 teaspoon Pasilla chili powder
1 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder
2 chipotle peppers (from a can of Chipotle peppers in Adobo Sauce)
Whisk all ingredients in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
BAKED BEANS WITH BACON (Gotta give credit to my mom, Loretta, for these! I might have zipped them up a little, but she's been making kick ass baked beans my whole life and I got my base recipe from her!)
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 can (1 pound 12oz) pork and beans in tomato sauce
1 can (15oz) kidney beans, drained
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dark molasses
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon whiskey
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
black pepper to taste
Cook diced bacon over a medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain. In an oven safe dish, combine all ingredients (including crumbled bacon). Cook at 325 F for 1 hour if you like your beans saucy, or for 1.5 hours if you like thick beans (which is how I like 'em!)
Song Title: Arrested In Shanghai Album: Indestructible (2003) Lyrics: "In my cell there is no sky, when I was arrested in Shanghai"
Good mellow song. Cursed with an overactive imagination, I end up thinking of horrifying images of what prison in Shanghai might be like. Makes me think of the movie "Midnight Express". Chilling. But back to the food! I haven't had a lot of experience with making Chinese food, only a few different dishes over the last few years. I came up with a few recipes tonight and wasn't feeling so confident about how it was turning out. However, I'm glad to say that the dinner was a delicious success - fantastic Chinese food without a delivery fee! -jen
SHANGHAI FRIED NOODLES WITH CHICKEN STIR-FRY
2-3 medium sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup soy sauce, divided (1/4 cup, 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup green onions, chopped + 1 cup green onion, sliced in 1" strips
Cut raw chicken breasts into thin slices. In a Ziplock bag, combine sliced chicken, 1/4 cup soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, 1/4 cup chopped green onions, cilantro, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, and chili paste. Refrigerate and let marinade for at least an hour.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or wok on high heat. Stir-fry chicken in two or three batches, adding oil for each batch as needed (remember to give the oil a minute to get hot in between batches.) Set chicken aside. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and in small batches, stir-fry broccoli, carrot, cabbage, mushrooms, and bean sprouts, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, and 1/4 cup of the remaining soy sauce, setting cooked veggies aside in a bowl after each batch. When final batch is finished, toss with the chopped basil.
In the hot skillet, add 1 tablespoon minced garlic and 1-1/2 cups of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup broth and corn starch in a small dish. Mix until smooth. When the broth comes to a boil, add the corn starch mix, and whisk until the liquid returns to a boil. Broth should begin to thicken into a gravy. Once gravy has begun boiling again, quickly add chicken and vegetables. Cook for a couple more minutes until chicken is rewarmed and remove from heat.
Serve over pan-fried noodles.
PAN-FRIED NOODLES
1/2 pound Shanghai noodles or Chinese egg noodles
1 tablespoon sesame oil
olive oil
Cook noodles until al dente. Drain. Rinse with cold water and let drain again. Toss with sesame oil. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet or wok. Add 1/4 of the noodles to the pan, spreading out to the edge of the pan. Cook on high for 5-8 minutes - do not stir! When noodle-patty is golden brown, carefully flip the patty and cook the other side until golden brown. Repeat three more times to make a total of 4 patties.
This was my first attempt at flipping a noodle patty without using a spatula... I wouldn't recommend it unless you know what you're doing... and I didn't. But I've flipped a lot of crepes this way. I didn't do too bad for my first noodle flip.
PORK AND SHRIMP EGG ROLLS
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup shredded carrot
2 cups shredded Napa cabbage
1 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon chili paste
3-4 cranks of fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup bay shrimp (tiny shrimp)
2-3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
egg roll wrappers
1 egg white, beaten
In a large bowl, mix pork, carrot, cabbage, bean sprouts, green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili paste, and black pepper. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture and cook until pork is cooked through. Add shrimp and cilantro, toss, and remove from heat. Let cool. Lay egg roll wrapper out with a corner pointed at you. Add 3 tablespoons of meat mixture about 1/3 of the way up from the corner pointed at you. Brush a little egg white on the top two edges of the wrapper. Roll the lower corner over the filling and roll tightly until the halfway point. Tuck the left and right sides in and continue wrapping until the top egg-washed sides seal the wrapper.
Heat oil in deep fryer or large pan to 350 degrees. Deep fry 3-4 egg rolls at a time for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown. Turn egg rolls half-way through to cook evenly.
EGG DROP SOUP
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
1 quart chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 eggs
1/4 cup corn starch
salt and pepper
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
In a 3 quart pan, heat sesame oil on medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and let them sweat for 2-3 minutes. Set 1 cup of the chicken broth aside and add the remainder of the chicken broth, as well as the soy sauce, to the ginger and garlic. Bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, mix the corn starch and 1 cup of chicken broth until smooth. In a different bowl, whisk two eggs (like you were making scrambled eggs) and set aside. When the broth has come to a boil, whisk in corn starch mixture and continue whisking until it comes back to a boil. When it has begun boiling again, slowly drizzle in the eggs, breaking them up in the soup with a fork as you drizzle. Remove from heat and serve topped with a few green onions as garnish.
The last month or so, I've been listening to a lot of music by Rancid - a great punk rock band that bridged the dirty ditches between different genres/styles of music and brought them all together with an incredible, original sound. We were lucky enough to catch bassist Matt Freeman's other band, Devil's Brigade, in San Francisco recently - it was a complete fluke that we were in town the weekend they were playing, so we jumped on that! Lars Frederiksen (guitarst) even showed up and sang a song with 'em. Needless to say, I've just been in a Rancid mood, and they've been on a lot of the play lists I've been listening to while cooking... and working, and driving, and reading, and sleeping. Sometimes I gotta wear a band out, set 'em aside for a while, and then bring them back out for a comeback.
So I got this idea in my head... what if I took a Rancid album, and made a recipe for each track of the album that somehow related to the song? I started with their self-titled 1993 album... but found it a little difficult, as it's hard to come up with any ideas other than Ramen noodles when listening to a song called "Rats In the Hallway". :\ Instead, I decided to switch to the 2003 album, "Indestructible", thinking there was a lot of mentioning of worldly places in that album; surely it'd be easier to come up with some recipes. Track 1 proved to be very inspiring and I had all these amazing ideas for Greek food and NY Deli style food... but once I got to Track 2, I had absolutely nothing.
Naturally, I came to this conclusion: Fuck it. ("Fuck it! Yes! That's your answer. That's your answer for everything! Tattoo it on your forehead!") I decided to just find kick ass songs that inspired kick ass recipes, from any Rancid album, in no particular order.
You might ask what the point of this project is, to which I would reply... "I dunno." I love punk rock, and I love cooking. Why shouldn't the two come together... in a dirty, sticky, angry, buttery mess?! Just like that porn movie you watched last night.
Of course, I expect soon after I begin the project, this blog will go global. I'll be offered my own Food Network show, which I will snidely turn down, though I may be inclined to accept a cookbook offer. The talented men of Rancid will no doubt start begging to come over for dinner on a regular basis and hang with us, because that's just how I roll. Soon enough, my food will inspire punk bands everywhere, I'll have to start my own band, Tim Armstrong will have to produce it...
Or... I'll just be satisfied if I can get five people to read the damn blog, let alone find someone who will actually try cooking one of the Rancid Recipes (which is probably not the most appetizing title to use in relation to food, but it gets the point across, and there's even alliteration.)
Well... without further unnecessary rambling... here is the first installment of my Rancid Recipes. -jen
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Song Title: Indestructible
Album: Indestructible (2003)
Lyrics: "the great Athenians, they're not even from Athens"
I love this album! It got a lot of criticism when it came out, but it's still my favourite Rancid album - I liked listening to the way the band evolved on this one. Thinking of recipes for this song was a no brainer! Greek food is awesome, and I even went so far as to do a little research on Athenian dishes (which is where I got the couscous idea from). Being that the internet is full of incorrect information, I don't know if couscous is really a staple in Athens or not. But I knew from the start I wanted olives involved... a butt load of olives. I'm not claiming it's totally Greek - I used mozzarella cheese, definitely not Greek. So really, my Great Athenian Stuffed Chicken's not even from Athens. But it's Greek and Punk Rock inspired! So you know it's going to be killer!
GREAT ATHENIAN STUFFED CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 head roasted garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 tesaspoon minced garlic
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Chop the stem-end off of a garlic head and place on large square of aluminum foil, cut side up. Drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top, and fold the foil into a little pouch. Roast at 500 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Let cool. Gently squeeze the whole head to squish the roasted garlic out.
Empty ricotta cheese into a large bowl. Add roasted garlic, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, basil, lemon zest, minced garlic, egg, and salt. Stir to combine. Mix in mozzarella and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken breasts dry. Place single breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound out until about 1/2" thick. Repeat for the next 3 breasts. Scoop about 1/4" of the ricotta filling into the middle of the breast and roll. Place chicken seam-side down on a lightly greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-40 minutes, until juices run clear. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
Punk Rock Tip #1: Don't spill food on your boots!
VEGETABLE COUSCOUS SALAD
1 cup plain couscous
1-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Caldo de Pollo (or chicken bouillon)
1 cucumber
1 cup broccoli florets
1 roma or plum tomato, diced
3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon's worth)
oregano
fresh ground black pepper
1/3-1/2 cup Feta cheese
In a medium sized sauce pan, bring water, Caldo de Pollo, and olive oil to boil. Stir in couscous and turn off the heat. Cover and let sit for five minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until cool. Once cooled, add cucumber, broccoli, tomato, and lemon juice. Sprinkle oregano and black pepper to taste and toss. Mix in Feta cheese and serve at room temperature.
OLIVE TAPENADE CROSTINI
1 loaf of French bread
1/2 cup of muffuletta**
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 heaping teaspoon capers
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Provolone cheese
**I used Granzella's Muffuletta. If you can't find a good Muffuletta, you can always use equal amounts of kalamata olives, green olives, and giardiniera mix to make your own quick muffuletta.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice french bread into 3/4"-1" slices. Place on a cookie sheet and brush the tops with olive oil. Toast for 10-13 minutes at 350 degrees, until tops are just beginning to turn golden and crisp. Remove from oven and set aside. Turn the oven up to broil.
In a food processor, combine muffuletta, kalamata olives, capers, garlic, and anchovy paste. Pulse until it's large chunks. Add lemon juice and olive oil and pulse several more times until the tapenade is in small, spreadable chunks (but don't process too much or it will turn into a paste!) Spread tapenade thinly over toasted bread. Top each crostini with a slice of provolone cheese. Broil for 1-1.5 minutes until cheese is melted.
I'm not sure what my inspiration was for this recipe. Justin had chicken thighs thawed and we had most of the items on hand. It sounded like a delicious mix of Mexican, Greek, and American influences. I imagine most food critics or trained chefs would be appalled by this combination, but it came out to be a delicious, soul-warming homemade Hot Pocket! I was a little leery about making and using the gravy in this, but after tasting it, I have no regrets! Imagine crossing a chicken pot pie with chicken enchiladas and wrapping it all up in some crispy, Greek phyllo dough! Play list while cooking consisted of the Operation Ivy Pandora station - Some Op Ivy, Rancid, Goldfinger, Descendents, The Slackers. -Jen
MEXICAN CHICKEN PHYLLO ROLLS (HOMEMADE HOT POCKETS) Makes about 6 phyllo rolls
3 teaspoons seasoning mix, divided (see recipe below)
1 can (4oz) chopped green chiles
2 green onions, chopped
2-3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon, plus extra green Tabasco hot sauce
1-1/2 to 1-3/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth, as needed
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg (and 1 tablespoon water)
Seasoning Mix
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground pasilla chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground New Mexico chile powder
1/4 teaspoon ground California chile powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
Mix spices together.
Place a small strainer over a bowl and empty can of tomatoes into strainer. Toss with 1 teaspoon of salt and set aside to drain.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil. Place chicken thighs in baking dish and sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons of seasoning mix. Bake at 450 for 25-30 minutes, until juices run clear. Remove from oven and using tongs, place chicken thighs on a plate to cool and set aside. Carefully pour the remaining chicken juice and fat from the baking pan into a bowl and refrigerate.
When chicken is cooled, remove skin and discard. Pull the meat from the bone and place into a bowl. Using two forks, shred chicken meat. Add green chiles, green onions, cilantro, garlic, oregano, cheese, and 2 dashes of Tabasco. Mix together and set aside.
Remove chicken drippings from refrigerator. The fat should have solidified on top. Scoop all the fat solids off the top of the chicken broth, saving 2 tablespoons of fat. Measure out the chicken broth saved from baking and use canned chicken broth to make a total of 1 cup of liquid. Place the 2 tablespoons of chicken fat in a small sauce pan (use olive oil to make up the difference if you didn't have 2 tablespoons worth of fat). Heat on medium and add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Stir constantly until a paste is formed, making a roux. Quickly add the 1 cup of broth to the roux, turn heat to high, and begin whisking constantly. While whisking, add 1 teaspoon of the seasoning mix. Once the liquid begins to boil, the gravy will begin to thicken. Continue whisking until it's a gravy consistency and remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Since phyllo dough can be a pain to work with because it dries out quickly, it's best to arrange your work station like an assembly line. You'll need your chicken filling and gravy near by, enough room for two working areas for phyllo dough, and a well greased cookie sheet. Make sure your butter is melted and egg wash prepared (by whisking egg and 1 tablespoon of water together) before opening your phyllo dough. Remove one sheet of phyllo dough and keep the rest covered with a clean, damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Brush melted butter over the first sheet of phyllo and cover buttered dough with a second sheet of phyllo dough. Brush second sheet with melted butter. Gently place about 1/2 a cup of filling near the bottom of your phyllo sheets. Top with 2 tablespoons of the gravy. Carefully begin to roll the filled phyllo like a burrito, tucking the sides in as you roll.
Place rolled pouches seam-side down on well greased cookie sheet. Brush tops with egg wash. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes before serving.
Fish is a food that I didn't like until I was about 27 years old and Justin made me my first fish hash tacos. This sealed the deal for me and fish and I have had a love affair ever since. Since it's surely due to California that I love fish (it's much less "fishy" here than it is in Chicago), it was only natural that our play list consist of some of our favourite California bands - Rancid, NOFX, and Sublime. Sublime's "Bad Fish" came on, and seemed incredibly appropriate in its juxtaposition to our excellent fish recipe below. -jen
BLACK BEAN & OLIVE SPANISH RICE
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped green or Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1.5 cups of long-grain white rice
2.5-3 cups water **see instructions
15oz can diced tomatoes, drained (keep juice and set aside)
15 oz can black beans, drained
2 tablespoons Caldo de Pollo (or chicken boullon)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Heat olive oil in large skillet or sauce pan. Sautee onions and carrots until tender and onions are transparent. Add chopped olives and minced garlic and sautee another 3 minutes.
Add rice to vegetables and mix in. Measure the drained tomato juice into a measuring cup, and use water to make up 3 cups of liquid total. (If you have 1/2 a cup juice, you'll use 2.5 cups of water). Carefully add liquid to hot pan. Stir in tomatoes, beans, Caldo de Pollo, cumin, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika and cilantro. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Don't lift the lid during cooking!
FISH TACOS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion (yellow, white, spring, or combination)
1 pound of boneless, light fish (sole, snapper, catfish, cod, etc), patted dry and cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon rubbed or ground sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if desired)
1 lime (1 tsp of zest, and then juice the entire lime)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
corn tortillas
Avocado Sauce (see recipe below)
cilantro and chopped green onions for garnish
Queso Fresco (if desired)
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until onion is tender and translucent, 1-2 minutes. Add fish, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, lime zest, and cayenne. Cook for 2-3 minutes; fish will begin to turn an opaque white. Add lime juice, garlic, and cilantro. Continue cooking another 3 minutes, using the spatula to break up the fish into a hash. Remove from heat.
Heat tortillas over the open flame of a gas burner until lightly browned (or use a dry skillet if you have electric burners). Serve fish in warmed tortilla, top with Avocado Sauce, green onions, and cilantro. We like to add a little crumbled Queso Fresco to ours.
AVOCADO SAUCE
This is a light, avocado and citrus sauce that goes well with fish, chicken, or as a vegetable dip.
1 avocado, cubed
1 green onion, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons cilantro
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon green Tabasco sauce
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
In a small food processor, combine all ingredients, blend well.
We don't eat a lot of pasta, but lately I've been craving a lighter pasta dish. Generally, I love marinara and bolognese sauces, but don't really dig putting them on pasta - I'd rather put them over some spaghetti squash. This time, I felt like pasta, but didn't want one of those heavy sauces, so I did my own version of Puttanesca. It's mostly traditional, but a little of my own preferences thrown in there. Came out really delicious. When I minced together the garlic, anchovies, sun dried tomatoes and olives, it looked like a tapenade of the Gods! I just wanted to spread it on some garlic toast! Admittedly, I was spooning some of it onto the tomato halves, sprinkling some basil on top, and munching them that way as I was cutting them in half, heheh. The dish was really quick and easy to make! 
