Poblano Rice

This rice is a version of Mexican rice but instead of using tomato, it uses poblano. It doesn't end up with a heavy poblano flavor but does give the rice a nice shade of green. I like to serve it with grilled chicken or fish and with the Creamy Verde Sauce. 

Ingredients: 

1 2/3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, low-sodium 
2 fresh poblano chiles, stems and seeds removed and roughly chopped 
12 sprigs cilantro, plus extra for garnish 
Kosher salt 
1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil 
1 cup medium-grain rice 
1 medium yellow onion 
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped 

Directions: 

1. To a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, add broth and chiles, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium heat, 10 minutes. 

2. To a blender pitcher, add stock, chile mixture, and cilantro; puree until smooth. 

3. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a liquid measuring cup and strain, removing poblano solids. Add additional chicken stock to bring volume to 1 2/3 cups. Taste and season with salt. 

4. To a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add oil. Once shimmering, add the rice and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is coated in the oil and the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. 

5. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. 

6. Add chile stock to rice and stir once, bring to a boil. Using a silicone spatula, scrape down any rice on the side of the pan. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the liquid is absorbed into the rice, about 15 minutes. 

7. Once the rice is ready, turn off the heat. Fluff with a fork. Re-cover and allow to stand for 5 to 10 minutes. 

8. To serve, sprinkle with additional cilantro and serve immediately

Creamy Verde Sauce

This works great as a sauce or as a dip for tortilla chips. While it uses jalapenos, it's not a very spicy dish. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of the sauce. I like to serve it with Mexican food as a crema or with roasted chicken and rice. 

Ingredients:

1 large jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped 
1 cup cilantro leaves, lightly packed 
1 medium garlic clove, peeled and chopped 
1/2 cup mayonnaise 
1/2 cup sour cream 
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus more as needed 
1 tsp. toasted and ground cumin seeds 
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, more to taste 
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, more to taste 
2 Tbsp. olive oil 

Directions:

1. To a blender, add all ingredients except the olive oil and puree until smooth. With the blender on medium speed, open lid and drizzle in oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and additional lime juice. Transfer sauce to a small bowl, cover and chill until needed.

Corn Salad Side Dish

 

You can make this recipe all in the same day but since it’s for a party you can get a few of the steps done the day before like cooking and cutting the corn and cutting the bell pepper and red onion. You can also premake the dressing and store it in a jar in the fridge. Just keep all the ingredients separate and store covered in the fridge. I like to add 1 tsp. of lime juice to the red onion so it’s not so sharp. You can add bacon to this side dish but I like to leave it out, it’s nice to have a vegetarian option at a party.

 

Ingredients:
8 ears of corn, shucked
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ red onion, finely chopped
2 avocado
¼ cup feta cheese
6 basil leaves
4 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled (optional)

Dressing:
1 tsp lime zest
1 clove garlic, grated
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. dijon mustard
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

 

Directions:

1. Heat a pan of salted water until boiling.  Add in the shucked corn on the cobb 4 at a time and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from hot water and set aside to cool. Boil other 4 cobbs and cool.

2. Once the corn is cool enough to handle, cut off the kernels and place into a large bowl.

3. Cut up the bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and red onion.

4. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in a small mason jar and shaking well. Taste dressing to make sure it’s not too acidic or too sweet, adjust as needed.

5. When you’re 3 hours before serving your salad, combine all of the corn and half of the bell pepper, red onion, and cherry tomatoes. I add about half of them to start to make sure the vegetable combination is balanced; you want the corn to be the star with the other vegetables as add-ons. Add half of the vinaigrette and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning. If salad is dry, add more dressing. Just be careful not to overdress it. Allow this to sit covered in the fridge to marinade.

6. When you’re ready to serve, dice up the avocado and finely dice the basil. Add avocado, basil, feta (and bacon if using). Stir gently so the avocado doesn’t get mashed. Taste the salad again for seasoning. To serve I like to add a little extra feta, basil, and bacon to the top for presentation.

Mediterranean Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

I forgot to take a picture of this one so I'll have to update this post next time I make it. This was quick and can be prepared ahead of time. I served this chicken with some quinoa stuffed tomatoes but it would also be good with a Greek salad and pita. 

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 clove grated garlic

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp italian seasoning

1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp honey

1 tsp red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb chicken breast

Yogurt Sauce

3 Tbsp. Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp espelette

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 clove grated garlic

1/2 tsp italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Make marinade by combining all ingredients except chicken into a bowl. Reserve half of the marinade to use as a sauce for the quinoa. Put rest of the marinade on the chicken and let sit in fridge at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours. 

2. While chicken marinates, make the yogurt sauce. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and whisk until combined. Taste for salt and pepper. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve. 

3. Grill chicken. You can do this on the stove in a pan or outside on the grill. It should take about 4-5 minutes per side until the chicken reaches 155. 

4. Allow chicken to rest and then serve with yogurt sauce and any side you decide to make. 

For my Quinoa Salad - sauté finely diced shallots and 1 clove garlic finely diced. Add chicken broth, bring to boil, add quinoa and cover for 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, fluff with a fork. Add reserved marinade. Add feta and halved cherry tomatoes. 

Asian Chicken Meatballs with Rice Noodles in Peanut Sauce

I was planning to make my Asian Chicken Lettuce Cups but there is a worry about lettuce at the moment so I made this new dish into a version of spaghetti and meatballs with all of the same ingredients. 

One trick I love when making meatballs is tasting the mix first to make sure the seasoning is right. You obviously can't taste raw chicken so what I do is make a 1 tsp small flat patty of the meatball mix into a skillet over medium low heat. Cook about 2 minutes per side and remove. Allow to cool and then taste. You can then adjust the seasoning of the meatball mix as needed. 

Ingredients:

Meatballs

1/2 egg, scrambled (put a full egg into a small container, whisk to combine, and then remove half of it to get 1/2 egg)
3 Tbsp. panko
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
3 Tbsp. grated carrot
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. grated garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp. siracha (depends on your spice tolerance)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 lb ground chicken  
Olive oil spray

Peanut Sauce

⅓ cup natural peanut butter
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. grated garlic
1 tsp. maple syrup
3 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
½ tsp. siracha
1/4 cup hot water

1/2 lb vermicelli rice noodles
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp. roasted peanuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Make the meatballs by combining all ingredients into a bowl except the ground chicken. Stir all of the "filling" first to combine so you don't over mix your meatballs. 

2. Add ground chicken and stir just enough to combine. To taste you have the seasoning right, make a 1 tsp small flat patty of the meatball mix into a skillet over medium low heat. Cook about 2 minutes per side and remove. Allow to cool and then taste. You can then adjust the seasoning of the meatball mix as needed. 

3. Once you're happy with the flavor of your chicken mix, make golf ball size meatballs. This step can be done a few hours in advance by storing your meatballs covered in plastic wrap in the fridge. 

4. When you're ready to eat, preheat the air fryer to 425. Spray each meatball with a little olive oil and cook meatballs for about 8 minutes or until they reach 155 degrees internally. 

5. While the meatballs cook, make your peanut sauce for dressing the rice noodles. Combine all ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside. 

6. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook vermicelli rice noodles according the the package directions. Drain and rinse noodles and add back to pot. Toss in some of the peanut sauce and stir to coat noodles, add a little dressing at a time so they don't get soggy. 

7. Once the pasta and meatballs are ready, place on a plate and garnish with chopped cilantro and chopped roasted peanuts (options). 

Shrimp Ceviche

It was hot today and shrimp ceviche sounded cool and refreshing. It's super quick to make and great for parties, just make sure to find a way to keep it cool while serving like putting it in a bowl with ice. 

Ingredients: 

1 lbs raw shrimp (frozen or fresh) - peeled and deveined, cut each shrimp into 4 even pieces 
Lime Juice – about 5 limes or more as needed
1 cucumbers, small diced
¼ red onion, small diced
2 small tomatoes, small diced
2 serrano or jalapeño peppers (or one of each) - finely chopped – seeds optional
⅓ cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup of clamato juice
Salt & Pepper to taste
Avocado – small diced
2 Tbsp. Ketchup – optional but recommended

Directions:

1. Combine shrimp and lime juice in a large bowl. Add enough lime juice to just submerge the shrimp. Allow this to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will "cook" the shrimp and start turning it pink. 

2. Dice all of the vegetables. After 30 minutes add everything except the avocado into the bowl with the shrimp. Stir to combine. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper but wait to taste and add more until the shrimp is cooked. 

3. Allow the shrimp to sit for about 2-3 hours until shrimp are pink. Add the avocado and stir gently to keep avocado chunks whole. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. 

4. Serve with tortilla chips and a cool beer and enjoy. 

French Onion Focaccia

This recipe is based off of my go to focaccia bread but since I made it for New Year's Eve I wanted to add some more flavor to it to bring it as an appetizer. It's great because you can make it the day before, cover well in plastic wrap and refrigerate, and then reheat for a few minutes before serving. 

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. instant yeast
1 cups lukewarm water
butter for greasing and caramelized onions
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced

 
Directions:
1. Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. In a small measuring cup add the lukewarm water and instant yeast. Allow the yeast to bloom for 5 minutes. Add the water and yeast to the flour. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the liquid is absorbed, and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball.
 
2. Rub the surface of the dough lightly with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, cloth bowl cover, or plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temp for 1.5 to 2 hours until doubled in size.
 
3. While the dough is rising you will caramelize your onions. Add 2 Tbsp. of butter and 1 Tbsp. of olive oil to a saute pan over medium low heat. Add in your sliced onions and a pinch of salt and pepper. Continue cookiing onions over low heat about 20-30 minutes until they are softened and lightly browned. Make sure to stir every few minutes so they do not burn. Set aside to cool. 

4. Grease a 6x9 casserole or baking dish with butter. Make sure to get all of the corners and sides so the bread doesn’t stick later. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into the center of the pan. Gently deflate the dough using the back of your knuckles. Place the dough ball into the prepared pan and spread about halfway across the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise another 30 minutes on the counter.
 
5. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 425°F. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil over the dough. Rub your hands lightly in the oil to coat, then, using all of your fingers, press straight down to create deep dimples. If necessary, gently stretch the dough as you dimple to allow the dough to fill the pan. Top the dough all over with an even layer of the gruyere and the caramelized onions, making sure to press the toppings down so they stick to the bread later. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt all over.
 
5. Bake dough for 25 to 30 minutes, until the underside is golden and crisp. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the focaccia to a cooling rack. Let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving; let it cool completely if you are halving it with the intention of making a sandwich.