Crusty Chicken Thighs with huitlacoche sauce

My wife doesn't doesn't like chicken too much, but if she has it she desires to have it crusty. An easy way to have crusty skin is do it on a rotisserie. That's a lot of work, sticking it on the spit etc, for a weekday dinner.

This recipe will have you super crunchy crispy skin and great taste since it uses the more moist thighs. It only takes about 20 minutes and is pretty easy, not too many items so it's something I do once every month or so.

The neat thing is that you cook this in a skillet, skin side down so the end result is a crisp, dry and nicely browned skin.

You can make any sauce or gravy for it if you like, this one is using the special fungus that grows on ears of corn. It has a mild taste and has some similarities to truffles, kind of an earthy hint.

Preparing the chicken

Take the chicken thighs and with a sharp paring knife trip any excess skin that is not directly under the meat. The take and cut meat off each side of the bone, so what you have left is the meat on one side with bone in the middle without any meat on the top or sides of the bone. So when finished you will have the thigh opened, skin side down, and the meat separated from the bone all around the bone except for the side that is on the bottom. This method leaves the bone for flavor and flattens out the meat for more even cooking. Otherwise the thigh would be too thick and not cook in 15 minutes.
You can watch a video of the chicken trimming away from the bone here.
(Hey it is my first attempt at video)

Dust the thighs with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper . ( both sides)
Preheat a non stick skillet to medium high.
Place the thighs on the skillet skin side down. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium.
Check the thighs after about 8 or 9 minutes , you should see signs of browning on the skin side. Do not turn the thighs. Leave them on the skin side, cover and cook for another 8 or 9 minutes.
If the browning is getting too dark after 8 or 9 minutes reduce the heat some more to low, cover and continue to cook for another 8 minutes or so.
At about 18 minutes remove the chicken and put in a warm oven, place the skin side up on a plate, do not cover, otherwise the chicken skin will soften.
(You don't want soften chicken skin)
Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan, toss in the onion, garlic and huitlacoche , and sauté over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add salt and pepper, about 1/4 teaspoon each, and the wine. If there are any juices on the plate in the oven from the resting chicken, add them to the juice, stir once more, on high heat to reduce to sauce consistency.

Plate the thighs and top the thighs wtih the sauce and serve.

Stuff you will need:

4 to 6 chicken thighs with skin on
salt
pepper
1 cup diced white onion
1.5 tbs finely chopped garlic
2 cups huitlacoche (can find in Mexican mercado and also available in a can in Mexican stores
1/3 dry white wine
1/2 cup cream* optional for the sauce.

Easy Cucumber Salad, 3 ingredients

One of my favorite salads and easy to make is the cucumber salad. You have to use the English hothouse cucs, or the Armenian ones, or any cucumber that is not used for making little pickles.
The cuc needs to be about 5 to 8 inches long.

Wash and peel the cucumber, you can test it and determine if the skin makes it bitter or just peel it, using one of those peeling gadgets, takes about 15 seconds each

I use a mandolin for speed but you can use a plain old kitchen knife. The idea is to have uniform slices. The whole thing takes less than 5 minutes

Once peeled slice the cuc into equal rounds, I cut them into about 1/8 inch or thinner pieces.
Remove the outer skin of a red onion, slice as thin as possible.

Toss in a bowl or fixture that you will store them in with a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of seasoned vinegar.
Let stand at room temp for about 30 minutes, toss again.
Serve as a side salad or top some shredded lettuce.
That's it.

Stuff you will need:

• One large Red Onion
• 2 to 3 Long cucumbers
• 6 oz seasoned rice vinegar

Summertime and the living is overwhelming

With garden squash like zucchini and great tomatoes. This recipe is a tad more time consuming, but worth the difference since you don't get an overly gloppy result at the end.

The recipe works because you remove about 3/4 to 1 cup of moisture from the veggies, which makes and concentrates a lot of the flavor in the end result. This is a vegetarians dream, except from maybe the Parmesan cheese.

Cut the squash into 1/4 inch thick rings. Cut the ends off since they will not cook evenly, remove the stem portion of the tomatoes and also slice into 1/4 rounds.

Salting the product, allows it to draw out excess moisture, in a large bowl, toss about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, use both hands to toss to be sure the squash pieces are all coated. You will see that after about 30 seconds of tossing, water will start beading out of the slices. Transfer into a large colander and put into a larger bowl to drain for at least 45 minutes. Half way through toss the cut pieces to allow more moisture to escape.

Take the tomatoes slices and places them on a paper towel ( at least 2 layers) on a cookie sheet and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt on the top side of the tomatoes, leave for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, the towel will be all wet, place two layers of paper towel on the top and with your flat part of your hand push down firmly but not with enough pressure to destroy the integrity of the slices.
Take a 12 in skillet add 1 Tbs of olive oil and caramelize the onions, this will take about 30 minutes on medium to low heat. Salt and pepper the slices onions as you toss them into the pan. You want them brown and full of carmelization, that will bring some nice sweetness to the dish. Once caramelized remove from heat for assembly later.

After 45 minutes to an hour, go ahead and also remove the squash and do the same on top of several layers of paper towels, you can use a little more pressure. Go ahead and throw away the drained liquid.

Take a 9 by 11 Pyrex dish, coat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and toss all the squash onto the pan. Arrange the cut pieces so they are somewhat even, and distributed at a even level. The take the onions and place them on top of the squash pieces. Level out a little, now take the drained tomatoes and those arrange evenly with a little overlapping of each piece. The idea is to cover the dish with the tomatoes.

Stick it in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Make the topping.

Take couple of slices of bread or a bun so that you can pulse it in a food processor to make some rough bread crumbs. Add the garlic, cheese and herbs, and oil, blend to make it even.

Remove the dish from the oven and evenly and carefully distribute the bread cheese mixture to cover the tomatoes , crank up the heat to 450 and return the dish to the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until the bread topping starts to darken and the cheese melts.

Remove, let cool for about 5 minutes , put some chopped parsley or basil on the top and enjoy

Stuff you will need;

1 lb summer squash cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 lb zucchini cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1.5 lbs ripe tomatoes ( 3 or 4 large) sliced 1/4 inch rounds.
2 yellow onions sliced, about 3 cups
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tea salt
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 shallots minced 1/4 cup
basil leaves
1 large slice of bread or bun
1/4 cup
6 tbs olive oil

I'm sorry.... a few will be OK.

While the wife's away, I get to eat food that otherwise I would not eat.

One of the ways I lost my weight was to stop eating all fast food.

I now try and eat healthy stuff, but as Julia Child said everything in moderation is ok........

I think she was saying that when she was putting in about a pound of butter into some recipe.

The Sonoma County Fair started this week and one of the items I have always enjoyed has been the Hot Dog on Stick.

Being in Mexico I haven't been able to fetch one of those puppies in a few years, so this was a perfect opportunity to check out the fair and to grab a dog or two.

The first thing I wondered is how much were they going to cost. The last time I had been at the fair, they were $1.75 and $2.00 dollars.

You paid a premium of a quarter if you bought one on the main walkway. If you went to one of the other walkways you would have the same item but a tad less.

Anyway, I read that senior day was Tuesday so that would save me 10 dollars, so with the parking and a few bites, I could get away for less than 20 bucks.

The cord dogs are now $ 5 dollars and 4 dollars respectively.
So in less than 10 years the prices have doubled.

I had one of the dogs, and about half way through I peeled off the corn coating and just ate the hot dog. The coating was actually thicker than the size of the meat.....
I guess that's one way to keep the profit margin up.

I came home disappointed and decided to make my own.

Here is an easy recipe and they taste good. I wish that Mexico would have decent sausages, but their idea of good hot dogs is pretty sad.

So here you go,

Stuff you will need.

• 1 cup Flour
• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp bacon drippings
  
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 lbs hot dogs ( buy the best you can get, usually I get either Nathans or Hebrew National
  
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• wooden sticks ( you can use chop sticks, or thick bbq wooden skewers
  

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour , cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in melted bacon drippings. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg, buttermilk and baking soda,mix until everything is smooth and well blended. ( kind of like making pasta)
   
3. To make things much easier pour the batter into a tall drinking glass. This will make it easier to dip the hot dogs.
4. Pat the room temperature hot dogs dry. Insert wooden sticks into the ends. Roll in cornstarch, tap off excess (helps the batter stick to the hot dog). Dip the hot dogs in the batter one at a time, shaking off the excess. Deep fry a few at a time in the hot oil until they as are brown as you like them (2-3 minutes) Drain on paper towel & serve. You can hold these in a 200 degree oven until you finish the whole batch.

If you have any batter left over, cut up some zucchini or carrots, so you will at least feel someone healthy eating fried food......

A big party means

Having lots of fun items to feed people with.

We use to have lot of parties years ago. As the time went on , people seemed to get less time to stop and enjoy the better things in life.

Family, Friends and Food.

We run into people and it's "we need to get together"
Well we did just that this week.

My wife birthday was last week and I was able to put together a surprise birthday party for her, which many of our friends from Northern California and her family could attend.

La Senora ( Marlin ) loves piggies.
So I ordered a 25 lb suckling pig, a full prime rib roast, Two bags of Washington Oysters, a box of white corn and her birthday cake, her favorite, Tiramisu cake.

Having cooked about a dozen pigs in my life time, this one was special. This one was small in relationship to the others.

There are a few ways to cook a whole pig, one is on a spit, the other is in a ground oven like a Imu, like the Hawaiians do, or like I did this time is simply slide it in the oven. m( The Imu is a pain to do...trust me, unless you want the show aspect of it....)

I have cooked a few in the ground and quite frankly there is not much difference in the taste or the texture of the meat as it falls off the bones.

Here is what you need:

One small piggy.
1/2 cup granulated garlic
1/2 cup granulated onion
1/2 cup Lawrys seasoning salt
1/4 cup course ground pepper
1/4 cup ground cumin
1/4 ground sage
1 cup olive oil


Mix the items together and with your hand rub the mix first on the inside cavity and then on the outside.
Place a small piece of wood or a lemon, into the mouth to keep it open.
take some aluminum foil and cover the ears and tail
Slide into a 300 degree oven
Place a large piece of foil on top of the pig and remove the last 30 minutes to crisp up the skin.

After about 2.5 hours check the temperature with an instant read thermometer in to the thigh.
It should read about 150-155.
Remove the foil covering the top and roast for another 25 -30 minutes, remove let sit covered for about 10 minutes
The let the guests devour the beast.

The difference between .......

Many friends that I enjoy cooking for, sometimes ask why the food tastes so good. Is it the meat?
Or where do you get your ingredients?

Well let me share a little secret.

It's spicing the food, folks?

There are other things that will effect food other than salt and pepper.
Why is it that people are so afraid to toss some spices on their food?

Oh.....tooo spicy?

What's too spicy?

Spice it to your liking......figure out what you like and enjoy something besides unseasoned bland food.

Here is a little very simple seasoning that I use about 50% of the time. You can add or subtract to the basic mix depending on your liking. But at least try......eh? Will ya?

Dry Adobo rub

In a heavy 12 inch skillet toss in 3 Tablespoons of Cumin Seeds and on medium flame, heat until they start releasing their aroma. Keep the skillet moving so that they do not burn......Burn Bad!
As soon as you start smelling the aroma, about another 30 seconds more and that is about done. Take off the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
In a container, ( I use a zip lock bag for this) toss in the following:

4TBS of garlic powder
4 TBs of onion powder
1 TBS salt
1 TBS fresh ground pepper
1 TBS red chili pepper flakes.

\Now that the seeds have cooled, either grind them in your spice grinder, You do have a spice grinder don't you? or toss them in a molcajete and grind down to a fine power.

Toss into the bag and shake or mix well until thoroughly mixed.

This dry rub works great on pork, chicken, beef steaks, fish and almost anything you can thing of.....


Here is an easy beef steak recipe.
You can use pretty much any cut of steak that you like.

Take two steaks, run about 1 Tbs of the rub thoroughly on each steak, put into a shallow glass dish.
Squeeze the juice of a few limes on the steaks, then add about 1 cup of cider vinegar to the dish, after about 15 minutes turn the steaks so that the other side is in the liquid.

After 30 minutes remove, dry and toss on the grill and cook to your liking. After you remove from the grill remember to let the meat rest for at least 4 minutes otherwise the juice will flow out of the meat as soon as you cut into it.

Enjoy!

Capirotada , well almost, Bread Pudding

Ah, Bread Pudding. Some people say that it's origins are from British Cuisine. Maybe so, what a better way not to toss out your old bread. You could make Kvass, which is a old Russian alcoholic beverage that uses old bread, some yeast and sugar..... that's another post.

Capirotada is the Mexican version that uses cheese combined with the bread and sometimes nuts, etc. My friend Mexico Bob has the complete history and a recipe for an more authentic Capirotada on his blog site. Go to : Capirotada to check it out and get a great history lesson to boot!

I made this for a dinner last night and failed to take the picture before we served it, so my apologies for not showing the play by play of making it, but after you read this you will see it is so easy that the remaining shot of the pudding in the bowl will still convey the story.

My bread pudding uses everything. Old bread, but it is best when using old sweet bread. Take anything you can find, old donuts, bear claws, snails, crullers, conchas, orejas, any danish pastry and even old regular baguettes etc and chop them up into about 1 inch cubes.

Take a bowl and place all of it and coat with about a half a cup of milk mixed with about 1/4 cup of your favorite booze.

I use rum or brandy.

In another bowl combine 4 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, cinnamon and combine until totally Incorporated. You can use a hand mixer if you like, sometimes it is just as easy to just whisk it, than finding the mixer and the after use cleanup.
Once you have the custard ( yep that is what it is at this point) pour it on to the bread and place it into your dish that you are going to bake it in.

I will sometimes add about a 1/2 cup of raisins soaked in rum ( overnight ) into the stuff at this point.

Place into a 350 degree oven for about an hour. Check it after about 45 minutes and see if the center is jiggly. It should just be leaving the jiggly stage, pull it out and let it cool. ( I love the word jiggly)

That's it!

Oh, there is one thing you can add that makes it really good. Actually two things. Before you slide it in the oven cut about half a cube of butter into 1/2 inch cubes and put them in between a few of the bread pieces in the dish, before putting it in the oven. The added butter will richen up the dish ( Like it needs more richness )

The second is..........
Whiskey or Booze sauce which you drip on generously on the pudding as you serve it.
To make the sauce, melt 1 cube of butter, in a sauce pan, add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and whisk it to incorporate it into the butter, and carefully ( as not to spill it and cause a fire) add about 1/2 cup of rum, or whiskey or brandy, and whisk it in,
that's it, spoon over the pudding and tell everyone what a low calorie dessert this is.



Stuff you will need:
Old bread , donuts etc, to fill a 8 cup measuring cup.
1 cup of milk,
1 cube of butter* optional
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins.

Whiskey sauce
1 cube of butter* not optional
1 cup of confectioners sugar
1/2 whiskey or booze of your choice.

I have made this for large crowds, 200 people or more and it is an easy make ahead, pretty inexpensive and with the addition of the Whiskey sauce a killer dessert. You just need to be carefull about the quantity of butter.... well you can try......