Cowgirlchef » Chicken & Poultry

Chicken Tinga Chili

epierce — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:54:36 +0000

What do you get when you mix chicken with chipotles?

Chicken Tinga, a smoky, fiery Mexican classic that’s just as fabulous heaped onto a crisp tostada, and eaten as a chalupa, or spooned between two flour tortillas and grilled as a quesadilla.

Which is where the whole idea for this chili came from. Last week, I had dinner with some friends at the new downtown Dallas Mexico City-style restaurant, Wild Salsa (which with more than 150 tequilas on the menu, might be better named “Hangover Grande”), and for an appetizer, we ordered the chicken tinga quesadillas, which none of us had tried before. The menu described chicken tinga as simply shredded (the word “tinga” means shredded) chicken with chipotles; and that, my friends, was good enough for me. Indeed it was so simple – just tender chicken that had been cooked with smoked jalapeño chiles and sandwiched between a couple of flour tortillas with some cheese and corn. Nothing much more than that.

I haven’t stopped thinking about it since then, so I decided to come up with a version that would be just as good served in bowl, like chili, and happily scooped with fat tortilla chips, or used as a filling for a soft taco or enchilada. Plus, I just wanted to do something different for the Twitter #LetsLunch chili throwdown…something that would be totally Texas, but with an unexpected twist.

I had our state’s reputation to uphold. A lot was riding on this.

Plus, I only had an afternoon to pull this together, since I was heading out of town the next day.

I decided to take my chances and just march myself into the kitchen and give it a go. I poached the chicken tenders – a mistake, actually; I meant to buy chicken breasts, but these cooked up much more quickly – and chopped up my onion and garlic. It took just fifteen minutes to poach the chicken; another fifteen or so to sauté the onions and garlic, add the rest of the ingredients (chipotles, sweet corn, and black beans), and fold in the chicken and the fire-roasted tomatoes after that. Seriously, 30 minutes, from start to finish – I didn’t intend to make such a quick and dirty chili, but that’s what happened. I love it when things come together effortlessly like that.

Easy, quick as a wink, and totally delicious, with the sweetness of the corn offsetting the fire of the chiles, served up with a squeeze of lime, some cilantro, avocado, and goat cheese. I scooped this out of the skillet with tortilla chips (testing, of course), then heaped it onto tortillas for soft tacos (this is one of my favorite ways to eat any kind of chili). Then I ran out of tortillas and had to stop.

For now.

Not a traditional bowl of chili, for sure, but it’s a new year, and I’m hopeful that it’ll be even more exciting than the last. So I figured, Chicken Tinga Chili, why the hell not? Let’s get this 2012 business off to a rousing start — let’s break some rules!

Plus, as my friend Lucy likes to say, “This is no time for caution.” I’m thinking of making t-shirts with this printed on the front.

Here’s what the other chiliheads came up with:

Karen’s Hawaiian Chili at Geofooding
Linda’s Smokin’ Hot Vegan Vaquero Chili at Spicebox Travels
Grace’s Chinese New Year Chili at Hapamama
Cheryl‘s Keema Chili at A Tiger in the Kitchen
Cathy‘s Chunky-Style Cowboy Chili at Showfood Chef
Charissa‘s Clean Out Refrigerator Night Cassoulet, A “Frenchified” Chili at Zest Bakery
Emma‘s Dave’s Chili at Dreaming of Pots and Pans
Felicia‘s Low-Concept Vegetarian Chili at Burnt-Out Baker
Lucy‘s “Full of Beans” Chili at A Cook And Her Books
Pat’s Miso Chili con Carne at The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook

Chicken Tinga Chili

Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 pound/500 grams of chicken tenders
1 celery stalk, halved
1 carrot, halved
a couple of sprigs of parsley
about 10 peppercorns
olive oil
½ of an onion, diced
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped
⅔ cup/170 grams of canned corn, rinsed and drained
1 cup/172 of canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 ounce/411 gram can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes
6 to 8 tortillas (corn or flour), for serving
1 avocado, chopped, for serving
a handful of chopped cilantro, for serving
3 to 4 tablespoons of goat cheese, crumbled, for serving
2 to 3 limes, cut into wedges, for serving

1. Poach your chicken tenders: Put the chicken, celery, carrot, parsley, and peppercorns in a saucepan. Cover with plenty of water and put on the stove over medium-high heat, and cover. When it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and set the timer for ten minutes. Let the chicken cool in the pot if you have time; if you don’t (and I often don’t), proceed to the next step.

2. Drizzle a little olive oil in a large skillet, add your onions and garlic and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook just until the onion is translucent; about 5 to 10 minutes. Now add the chipotle, corn, and black beans and give it a stir.

3. Add the shredded chicken, combine with the rest of the ingredients, and let this cook for 10 to 15 minutes; then add your tomatoes and let it go for 5 minutes more. Taste and add seasonings if necessary — I didn’t add any additional salt when I made this because it didn’t need it. Serve either in a bowl, or heaped onto warm tortillas with chopped avocado, cilantro, goat cheese, and limes.

Turkey Gumbo

epierce — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:55:45 +0000

I told you I was going to make gumbo…and now that I have, I can’t believe it took me so long. Thing is, I had an old recipe for a gumbo very much like this, but somewhere along the way, I lost it, or misplaced it, or something. And I didn’t think that I could make a gumbo that would taste as good as the one I made back in the (gasp) late 1980s, when I was living in a very small apartment with an even smaller kitchen.

Which just goes to show you. Kitchen size really doesn’t matter. Magic can happen wherever you are.

As I melted the stick of butter and stirred the flour in bit by bit with one of Mom’s long-handled wooden spoons, I felt a little out of practice, a bit unsure about how far to let the roux go. I kept on stirring, as its color deepened and intensified. I’d done this before, I told myself, and when it was as it should be, I’d just know.

And I did. When the roux went from a dark brown to a reddish brown, and I began to smell a nuttiness, I knew that I’d just made a perfect roux. I added the rest of the ingredients, let it all cook for awhile, and soon had a gumbo that may just be my best ever. Better than all of my gumbos past, even.

Turkey Gumbo

Makes 8 to 10 servings

1 stick/125 grams of butter
½ cup/62 grams of flour
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 green bell pepper, diced
½ of a red bell pepper, diced
32 ounces/1 liter of chicken stock
28-ounce/792 gram can of diced tomatoes
a big pinch of Cayenne
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
½ teaspoon of thyme
2 Bay leaves
2 cups/450 grams of leftover turkey, shredded
4 links of spicy sausage (about 1 pound), sliced
1 cup/113 grams of frozen okra
4 cups/632 grams of cooked white rice (for serving)
gumbo filé (for serving)

1. Make your roux: Melt the butter in a deep soup pot over medium-low heat and little by little incorporate the flour, stirring constantly until the mixture turns a deep, reddish brown. Be patient – this is the most important part, and it’ll take about 15 minutes.

2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and bell peppers to the roux and keep stirring until the onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.

3. Hard part’s over. Pour in the chicken stock and tomatoes, and add the Cayenne, paprika, thyme, and Bay leaves, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer, add the turkey and sausage, and cook for an hour. Add the okra towards the very end. It doesn’t need much time to cook at all. Let your gumbo cool, then refrigerate — it’ll taste better the next day. When you’re ready to serve it, just warm it up, and serve with a spoonful of rice, a pinch of gumbo filé…and you’re there.

Asian Chicken Salad with Lime-Chile Vinaigrette

epierce — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:46:00 +0000

You never know where you’re going to find inspiration, or in what direction it’s going to take you.

Four or five years ago, when I was still living in Lakewood in Dallas, I ordered a salad at a nearby Pei Wei, and I really liked the crunch of cabbage with the chicken, and the dressing, too, which was light and gingery.

So, with those ideas — crunch, chicken, and ginger — in mind, I came up with a chicken salad of my own, which, it turns out, is nothing at all like the Pei Wei one, but I like to give credit where it’s due.

I added avocado and peppery arugula, two of my favorite things on earth, and cilantro, too, because it makes everything better, I think. The vinaigrette is the slam-dunk that makes this salad sing — be sure to taste as you go along, because some limes can be juicier than others, and you’ll want to balance out any overly acidic flavors with the rest of the ingredients. It’s a lovely vinaigrette, I think you’ll agree, and one that you can turn the ginger and/or heat up or down with, depending on your taste and mood.

This salad is one of my favorite ways to use leftover chicken, rotisserie or otherwise, and it’s perfect for spring and summer — if that is, you’re fortunate enough to live in a place that doesn’t require the wearing of wool scarves in May, as it often does here.

Today, it’s rainy and 45 degrees. I may just turn up the heat in the apartment and make one anyway.

Asian Chicken Salad with Lime-Chile Vinaigrette

Two servings

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces (340 grams) shredded chicken

9 ounces (250 grams) shredded cabbage

3 ounces (80 grams) arugula

1 medium avocado, cut in 2-inch chunks

3 tablespoons cilantro, rough chopped

Lime-Chile Vinaigrette, recipe follows

sesame seeds (for garnish)

WHAT YOU DO

Put cabbage, arugula, cilantro, shredded chicken, and avocado in a bowl. Toss carefully with Lime-Chile Vinaigrette, and serve.

Cowgirl Tip: I often add mango and toasted almonds for added color and crunch.

Lime-Chile Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

3 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon roasted garlic rice vinegar

juice of one lime

pinch ginger powder

pinch red pepper flakes

¼ cup canola oil, grapeseed oil or another light, flavorless oil

WHAT YOU DO

1. In a bowl or old jam jar (my favorite way to make my dressings), put everything but the oil. Then, screw on the cap, and shake a bit so everything’s combined.

2. Now, add the oil and shake, shake, shake!

Steffie’s Gumbo

epierce — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:45:36 +0000

Two lifetimes ago, when I was married, I used to make a killer gumbo for my husband, who, on one of our very first dates, flew the two of us to New Orleans for the weekend. From the beginning, he tapped into my passion for food and travel, and while we were together, my appetite for adventure was fueled by twice-yearly month-long road trips through Europe, so he could visit his family in England and Ireland, and so we could meander through the French countryside, grazing on local cheeses and wines until we nearly popped.

Then, suddenly, in one Katrina-like event, it was over. Our breakup was as intense as our courtship, and as a result, I’ve not been able to enjoy New Orleans – or gumbo – since then. When we split up, I tossed my cherished gumbo recipe in the trash, vowing never to make it again.

I know it’s silly, but there you are.

All of that changed recently, when my dear friends Steve and Stephanie Chambers invited me over to their house in Dallas for an evening of gumbo and laughter – Lafayette-born Stephanie and I have been swapping stories and recipes for more than two decades, but I’ve purposely not asked for her gumbo recipe because I didn’t think that I was ready yet.

One spoonful, and I was hooked. Again. Completely smitten -– whooeeee! –with what I’d been missing all of these years. How could I have denied myself all of this warm, spicy goodness – topped, no less, with a heap of sliced jalapeños?

Was gumbo always this delicious?

Or was it what I found at the table that night – the kind of love and comfort that comes from being with old friends, who know you better than you know yourself – to be so irresistible?

As I settle back into my life in Paris and unpack my Texas staples — cans of jalapenos and chipotles, dark chocolate M&Ms, Crisco, Reese’s, Ziplocs, and Reynolds Wrap heavy-duty foil – this time, I’ve got something else, too.

A recipe for happiness, and one for mending a broken heart, too – something we could all use from time to time.

Steffie’s Gumbo

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large white onion, 1/4-inch dice
1 large green bell pepper, 1/4-inch dice
8 green onions, chopped — or leeks, chopped
1 cup prepared roux*
120 ounces (15 cups) chicken broth
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 ½ teaspoons Tony Chachere’s seasoning
¾ teaspoon dry mustard
¾ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cumin
4 bay leaves
2-3 pounds roasted chicken, smoked turkey, shredded
2 links smoked sausage (beef or turkey)
2 14.5 oz cans Trappey’s Creole Okra Gumbo**
cooked white rice (for serving)
gumbo file (for serving)
pickled jalepenos (for serving)

WHAT YOU DO

1. Put 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large, heavy stockpot, along with white onion and garlic. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the onions become soft. Add green onions, green pepper, and cook for another 10 minutes.

2. Add another 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and prepared roux (or make your own – see below). Stir until combined.

3. When warmed through, add broth, seasonings, canned okra, sausage and chicken. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours, or until visibly thickened. Cool in the fridge overnight, and adjust seasoning, if needed, the next day.

Reheat and serve with rice, a sprinkle of gumbo file, and sliced pickled jalepenos, and around a table of people who make you laugh.

*If you prefer to make your own roux, here’s all you do: get out a heavy skillet, such as a cast-iron skillet, and over medium-low heat, melt 1 cup of butter, and slowly add 1 cup of all-purpose flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk, until the mixture darkens to a chestnut brown. This will take 20-30 minutes.

**No Trappey’s Creole Okra Gumbo in your ‘hood? No worries. Simply substitute 4 cups chopped okra, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika and 2 tablespoons tomato paste.

After I wrote this, I sent the post to Stephanie, who had just written about her gumbo for the Dallas blog, Good News Girlz. Check out all of her Cajun-inspired recipes on her blogsite, Jitterbug Juice.

Chilaquiles

epierce — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:15:29 +0000

The first time I had chilaquiles was seven or eight years ago, and appropriately enough, it was the morning after the Day of the Dead celebration in Patzcuaro, Mexico, in a little cantina filled with locals, who, like me, looked like they’d sipped one too many Banderas (the Mexican flag, and the name given to the trio of tequila, spicy tomato juice, and limes) the night before.

One of the country’s classic hangover cures, chilaquiles are yummy even without a night of mucho blancos – and, as I found out on my most recent trip to Mexico City, they’re super-easy to make at home. Simply homemade salsa (roja or verde), freshly fried tortilla triangles, and shredded chicken, chilaquiles are traditionally eaten for lunch (aka, comida, the midday meal, which can last until until the sun goes down), but I make them whenever I’m in mood for a big bowl of warm, crunchy, spicy goodness.

The folks at La Casona, where I stayed for a few nights, were nice enough to share their chilaquiles recipe with me and show me how to put it all together, too. Muchas gracias, again, to Alejandro Cruz and Marta Guiroz, for starring in the little video, and for their patience with my pitiful Spanish language skills (besides my impressive ability to count to two).

Enjoy the show.

Chilaquiles with Salsa Roja

INGREDIENTS

6 corn tortillas, cut into triangles (”totopos”)

3 large Roma tomatoes*

2 serrano chiles

1 clove garlic

¼ small white onion

salt

4-5 cups corn oil (for frying)

WHAT YOU DO

1. Put Roma tomatoes, serrano chiles, garlic, and 1/4 onion in a medium saucepan and cover with water by two inches. Turn on medium high heat, and let come to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil to 350 degrees in a large, deep stockpot (helps minimize splatter). When the oil is ready, fry the tortilla triangles in small batches just until they begin to brown. Be careful: these will burn in an instant. Remove from oil and put on paper towels.

3. Blend softened tomatoes, serranos, garlic, and onion in a blender and return to the saucepan, turn the heat on high, and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Add salt.

*To make salsa verde instead of salsa roja, simply substitute 6 medium tomatillos for tomatoes.

Turkey-Tomatillo Soup

epierce — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:02:49 +0000

My mom thinks that I’m a little bit crazy, and maybe she’s right. Usually the day after I arrive from Paris, I borrow her truck and drive 25 miles into town, to the Sack ‘n Save in Denton — and load up the basket with fresh tomatillos, jalapenos, serranos, guajillos and other dried chiles, and start dreaming up new things to make with these familiar, yet impossible-to-find-in-Paris ingredients.

After a week or two of salsas, stuffed chiles, and fiery pepians, Mom looked at me, as I was roasting poblanos in the cast iron skillet that she uses only for cornbread, it turns out, and said with a sigh, “Is everything you make spicy?”

Well, no — but when I can get my hands on fresh chiles, baby, I’m gonna use them.

Ditto on tomatillos, which look like, but aren’t, green tomatoes, and to add to the confusion, are actually called jitomates verdes (green tomatoes) in Spanish. Call them what you will, but don’t substitute green tomatoes for tomatillos, because it’s not the same at all. Tomatillos have a viscous center, and, especially after being boiled or roasted in a comal (or Mom’s cast iron skillet) a slightly sweet, tart flavor that’s a perfect counterbalance to jalapenos, or serranos, and a bit of cilantro. I adore them, and perhaps love them even more because I only get to enjoy them when I’m in Texas.

Naturally, when it came to thinking about what I could post for the Thanksgiving leftovers-themed #letslunch bunch on Twitter, I thought of tomatillos and – sorry, Mom – serrano chiles for a little heat.

So with the idea of a beautiful green soup as my background, I thought about what colors I’d like to most see along with that, so I added orange (carrots) and yellow (squash – which I couldn’t believe I could find in the Sack ‘n Save, but apparently, they’re available year-round, according to Mom). The result: a soup that’s both pretty and delish, and with just a bit of heat. Would be just as easy to make with chicken, too, and you can use leftovers — or not.

For the rest of the Let’s Lunch posts, simply go to Twitter and type in the hashtag #letslunch.

Turkey-Tomatillo Soup

INGREDIENTS

4 cups turkey meat (white and dark)*, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, 1/4-inch dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
8-10 medium to large tomatillos, quartered
1 serrano chile, minced, with seeds
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 small yellow squash (green zucchini will work, too), sliced and quartered
28 ounces chicken broth
4 cups water
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
sea salt
olive oil

WHAT YOU DO

1. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a heavy stockpot. Add onions and garlic and turn heat on medium-high. Cook until onions become translucent, about 5-10 minutes.

2. Add carrots, turn heat down to medium-low, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

3. Now, add tomatillos, yellow squash, cilantro, serrano, chicken stock, and water.

4. Add oregano and cumin.

5. Let soup come to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Now, add cooked turkey, and let cook for 10 minutes or so, just until turkey is warmed through.

Serve with a squeeze of lime and chopped cilantro.

*If not using cooked turkey meat, simply add the uncooked turkey (or chicken works well, too) when you add the veggies, at Step #3. Just be sure to cook the soup a bit longer than I’ve noted here — an hour on low heat should do.