Don't Worry. No Poblano!

Despite the fact that yours truly is of Guatemalan descent, there aren't many Latin American recipes on my blog. Truth is, my training is classical and the places where I've worked prepares mostly traditional cuisine.

Growing up, fresh tortillas and refried beans was certainly a staple for weekend mornings. My mother takes pride in the simplicity of this style of cooking. On top of that, it is comfort food for myself and my brothers since it transports us to our childhood.

Yet, my mother never really showed me all the unique flavours and techniques Latin cuisine has to offer. We did do some staples like fried plantains, tamales, frijoles, fresh tortillas, fajitas and burritos. We even did pupusas with spiced coleslaw from time to time. For the most part, my mother cooks very simple North American foods like anybody else. And so even though I have a base knowedge of Latin foods, much of what I know of this type of cuisine is either self taught or through expirementation.

Mole Poblano is a classic sauce that hasn't really become too known outside Mexico. Yet, Mole Poblano sauce is nothing new. In fact, it has roots in Aztec culture. The thought of adding chocolate to savoury dishes seems unsavoury to many people but whenever I offer my chili to guests with the secret ingredient of chocolate, I get nothing but raves.

It can be a little off putting for some palates, but in time I'm sure you will appreciate the unique flavour and density of this sauce. If the sauce tastes a little bitter to you, a little sugar can offset that unwanted flavour.

For the adventurous, there many more Mole sauces: Amarillo, Negro, Rojo, Verde and Cacahuate. I'm sure there are more but this gives you an idea how many types there are.

Pecan Crusted Chicken with Mole Poblano Sauce

1 Cooking Onion, chopped
3 Cloves of Garlic, whole
Small Handful of Sesame Seeds
Small Handful of Almonds
1 Ancho Chile (if available)
Small Blend of Spices: cumin, cinammon, nutmeg, coriander, chili powder
2 Roma Tomatoes, chunked
100 g Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
Dab of Butter
6 Chicken Breasts
100 g Pecans
Salt, Sugar and Pepper to Taste
Preheat oven to 325.

In a sauce pan, heat butter until a little brown. Add onion and garlic and cook until golden. About 7 - 10 minutes. Add spices and continue top cook for another minute. Add seeds, almonds, chocolate, tomatoes and ancho chile and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Let simmer and puree. Adjust to seasonings.

Using a frying pan, heat oil until very hot. Sear skin side of chicken until golden. Remove from pan and using a pastry brush, spread a layer of sauce on top of chiken. Roll in pecans and place on cookie sheet with a rack. Cook in oven for 15 minutes or until internal temperature of 160 degrees. Let rest five minutes and serve with sauce.

Serves 6.

A Humble Chef's tip: if the onion caramelizes enough, you may not need to add sugar. Taste the sauce at the end and add what your instincts tell you.

Variation: there are many interpretions and variations to this sauce but before you change it, I would stick to one classic recipe and make changes when you're more comfortable. This works well with pork chops and really well with turkey.

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Stir It Up

So far the winter is going well. I've recently discovered that I enjoy getting attention and teaching culinary skills is a great way to fill my void. Having said that, I truly relish the days where I get to go in front of a group of people I may or may not know and freely offer my knowledge (as little as it is for a humble chef) on cooking and entertaining.

Perhaps now I can let myself to lob my humility aside and finally admit that I do have a few useful things to offer: an essential skill (cooking), entertainment (my sense of humour) and the ability to create enthusiasm in people to try new things. On top of that, recipes. I do hope the readers of this blog try some the recipes I have offered (actually, a friend told me on Saturday that he has made some of the soup recipes and they were great for simplicity and effieciency, thanks!) and I reach out to people to offer comments, criticisms or praise.

Moving on, today's recipe is too easy. A classic variation of a dish I use to make everyday at a club I used to work at. Chicken Stir-Fry with Basic Rice Pilaf is so easy and quick, it may become a staple for you. The stir-fry sauce is a simple Teriyaki style sauce that I like because it uses common ingredients in peoples kitchens.

The key to stir-fry is allowing the oil to get hot. Very hot. Smoking hot. Piping hot. About to catch on fire hot. My wife hot. The heat speeds up the process and evaporates much of the water from the vegetables leaving a thick flavorful sauce.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chicken Stir Fry

1red pepper, julienne
1 green pepper, julienne
1 small red onion, julienne
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
Dried Ginger
Drizzle Sesame Oil
Drizzle Canola Oil
Pinch of Cumin
Pinch of Cajun spice
Stir Fry Sauce (see below)
Salt & pepper, to taste

In a hot stir fry pan, heat oils. Add chicken and let cook for 2 minute.

Add vegetables and spices and cook for 4 minutes. Add stir fry sauce. And bring to a boil.

Serve over rice pilaf.

Serves 6.

Stir Fry Sauce

250 g Brown Sugar
200 ml Water
200 ml Soy Sauce
200 ml Rice Wine Vinegar
Pinch of Ginger Powder
50 g Cornstarch

In a sauce pan, combine water, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger and bring to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in some water and whisk into sauce pan. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Keep refrigerated until needed. Will keep for several months.

Variation: instead of chicken, try shrimp or beef or lamb or pork or mussels or . . . . you get the idea I think. One suggestion I heard today was pineapple which would be wonderful, or oranges, or passion fruit, or whatever.

A Humble Chef's Tip: if you make the rice ahead of time, you can nuke your rice in bowls, place the bowls into your serving dish upside down, let the rice set and remove the bowl. Nice presentation and easy to do.

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I Rest My Quesadillas

So, I recently went to the Real Canadian Superstore in Wasaga Beach and gave my first cooking class. It's what they call a What's For Dinner class where people can walk in watch me give a demonstration for an hour and try whatever it is I make. It is free and open to anyone interested in ideas for dinner. It was fun once I got past my nervousness. I will be giving more all summer both in Wasaga as well as Midland.

I decided on a fairly easy menu since it was my first time and something I felt that anybody can do in the same amount of time. It is an easy recipe and hopefully a little different than what people make themselves on a Friday night in August.

I've noticed in the past that a good portion of people dislike cilantro. Fair enough. If you want something different in your salsa, use fresh oregano or savory.

Quick Quesadillas

1red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 medium tortillas
500 g Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Drizzle olive oil
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of Cajun spice
Salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 325°F

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a hot frying pan sear seasoned chicken, 2 minutes on each side. Place in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove and let cool. Once cooled, cut into medium-sized cubes.

In a hot frying, drizzle olive oil. Add cumin and Cajun spice. After 15 seconds, add onions, peppers and chicken. Sauté for 2 minutes.

In a cast iron frying pan on medium-low heat, lay tortilla flat. On one half, sprinkle small handful of Monterey Jack. Spoon chicken-vegetable mixture evenly over cheese. Sprinkle same amount of cheese on top. Fold other half over. Toast each side for approximately 1 minute, or until tortilla is crispy. Cut into three triangles. Serve with sour cream and salsa. Repeat.

Serves 3.

Homemade Salsa

3 mid-sized tomatoes, chunked
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 small jalapeno pepper (seeds removed), finely diced
1 small bunch cilantro (coriander), roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
Splash red wine vinegar
Drizzle olive oil
Salt & pepper, to taste
Tabasco sauce, to taste

In a large bowl, combine ingredients.

Serves 4.

A Humble Chef's tip: try this with the Cilantro Lemonade and Vodka. Party time.

Variation: use some chopped shrimp or maybe if you have some leftover lobster or king crab, throw them in with a splash of lime juice. Mmm.

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What Are Ya? Chicken?

Here we go again. Another soup. Well, my restaurant partner (known as my wife) and I really enjoy this thai inspired recipe that we used to get at a local place by our old home. I have taken it and pretty much adapted the flavours to a method that I find to be very easy.

I was at my cousin's apartment making some of this soup and he and his fiancé loved the stuff. It's so easy that I figured that I'll give my take on this basic of basic of soups.

One last note: Please try this recipe. It is so easy it should be illegal.

Did I mention it was easy?

Easy Mushroom and Chicken in a Coconut Broth

Dab of Butter
1 Medium White Onion, finely diced
1 Clove of Garlic, minced
200 g Mixed Mushrooms (Shitake, Button, Oyster, Cremini), sliced
2 Chicken Breasts, sliced
1 Can of Coconut Milk
600 ml Chicken Stock (or veg)
5ml Honey
1 Small Bunch of Cilantro, roughly chopped
A Few Leaves of Basil, chiffonade (chopped)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

In a mid sized soup pot on medium heat, melt up some butter until frothy. Add onion and garlic. Cook but not browning. Add mushrooms. Cook for one minute. Add chicken and lightly brown.

Add coconut milk. Add stock. Add honey. Add something else . . . . you got it! The cilantro and basil. Bring to a boil. Simmer and season to taste. That's it. No really! Walk away from the soup and let it sink in how simple that was.

Serves 4. Not including my cousin. For him, it serves 2.

A Humble Chef's tip: Use a whisk if the coconut milk is still a little lumpy. The greater amount of surface area of the coconut milk, the faster it dissolves into the soup.

Variation: I almost made this with mussels. Take out the 600ml of chicken stock and add half wine, half fish stock and you've got a real winner.

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Made With Real Cocoa

So, you've tried my "Hunter-Style" braised chicken and you're ready for the next stage. Right? Yeah. So I like to think. Should I bother posting a Coq au Vin recipe that nobody will ever make? Well of course I should.

What's funny to me is how easy this dish is to make and the reluctance to make it. First you need to ask yourself one question? No, not "Do I feel lucky?" How about "Do I feel nervous about searing some chicken, adding some basic vegetables, adding wine and stock and slowly braising it"? If the answer is a "I dunno" or "What's braising?", well, then perhaps trying that french restaurant downtown might be next on your to-do list. Or maybe just getting the 14 pc. bucket of chicken instead.

It is a tasty little dish that can be made in advance and kept warm until you serve. The alcohol evaporates leaving you with the flavour of the wine so you can serve it to your kids or your pregnant sister-in-law.

There are no tricks. No secrets. No nifty techniques. You won't even need your crock pot that you never use. Just trust me.

Coq au Vin
2 Chicken Thighs
2 Chicken Drumsticks
2 Chicken Breasts, cut in half
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 White Onion, finely diced
250 g Mushrooms, sliced
200 ml Chicken Stock
50 g All Purpose Flour
400 ml Red Wine (not white! unless that's all you got)
2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme, chopped
A Few Whole Black Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaves
50g Butter

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

In a wide pot, on medium high heat, brown chicken in a bit of oil. Remove chicken and set aside. Add a little butter and add mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add flour and cook for one minute. Add chicken stock, bay leaves, peppercorns and wine and bring to a boil. Add chicken and cover.

Place pot into oven and cook for 30 - 40 minutes. Remove from oven, add thyme and remainder of the butter.

Reduce sauce for 10 minutes on stove top and serve.

Serves 4.


Variations: Classically, this dish might have been made with bacon (my God, bacon again) and pearl onions. Well, if you feel decadent this weekend then be my guest.

Chef's Common Sense Tip: Make sure the handle of your pot is not plastic and make sure it can withstand the heat of the oven. Sounds silly but I've had people ask me.

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Why Did The Chicken Cross the Road? To Catch A Tory

By popular demand, I have been asked to post a recipe that requires little time to prep and can be cooked in a slow cooker (or crock pot or whatever you call it). When I say "popular demand", I mean my sister-in-law who is a mother and likes to cook simple meals that has no dairy and can be enjoyed by her kids.

This is a "Hunter Style" recipe for the people who love their hearty comfort food. There are numerous ways to cook Chicken Chasseur (or Cacciatore) and it frequently involves what's left in the fridge or whatever herbs are grown in the backyard.

There are a few things that are required of course, and the technique is usually the same, but if you prefer shallots over red onion, yellow peppers over red, or cremini mushrooms over button, go ahead and use up whatever you have in the fridge.

You can use chicken legs or breasts, whatever you prefer. Personally, I prefer both so I typically purchase whole chickens and portion it myself and make a stock with the carcass and the trimmings from the vegetables. If you are like my wife and abhor the idea of touching dead, lifeless poultry, purchase just breasts and legs and you will ready to go.

"Hunter-Style" Braised Chicken

1 Whole Chicken, 1 kg, portioned into 8 or 2 Chicken Breats and 2 Chicken Thighs and 2 Drumsticks
1 Large Red Onion, finely diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
100 g Mushrooms, thinly sliced
150 ml Wine, red or white
125 g tomatoes, canned and crushed
200 ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 Red Pepper, medium diced
1 Green Zucchini, medium diced
2 Sprigs of Fresh Basil, thinly chiffonade
1 Sprig of Oregano, finely chopped
1 Sprig of Parsley, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Season chickens with salt and pepper.

On medium high heat, brown all sides of the chicken portions. Remove from heat. Add a little oil and saute onion, pepper, mushroom for 1 minute. Add zucchini and garlic and cook for one minute. Deglaze with wine and reduce by half. Add crushed tomatoes and stock. Add salt and pepper.

Add chickens to pot and cover. If you are using a crock pot, use same method and cook for 45 minutes on low heat. If you are cooking in a stock pot, place into a preheated oven at 300 degrees and cook for half an hour.

Add fresh herbs and stir well. Adjust to seasonings. If the sauce is too thin, remove chicken and keep hot. Reduce the sauce on high heat until desired thickness.

Serves 4.

Variation: You can go nuts on this one. Serve this with pasta and it Chicken Cacciatore, serve it with rice, add some cream and it's Chicken Hongroise, omit the herbs and use paprika and sour cream and you have Chicken Paprika. Or go nuts and add some bacon, use red wine only and use up the pearl onions you've in your cupboard for the past year and wow your friends and family with Coq au Vin. Pretty easy and impressive stuff.

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What Kind Of A Guy Are You?

I couldn't help but notice I'm lacking a serious amount of entrees on my blog. Hell, I only have 15 recipes so far but only two true entrees (salmon on a plank and lamb shanks).

One of the most common cuts in the kitchen is the chicken breast. It is not particularly expensive but it isn't necessarily cheap either. And people seem to enjoy it even though it lacks flavour. Dark meat (thighs and legs) actually has more flavour but it isn't as appetizing as the breast. The trick is to make the breast flavourful and do something creative with it.

I always marinate my chicken breasts. It may be as simple as throwing some dried herbs on it s(h)meared with some olive oil, or perhaps you feel exotic and for once you want to use that tandoori sauce that's in the back of your fridge. Whatever it is, it'll make more flavour than just salt and pepper.

Butterflying is a technique where you slice the breast from the bottom (presentation side is the skin side up) to make the chicken look like a butterfly. It is easier shown than told but the best way for me to describe is cut into the chicken on a 15 degree angle to open side then turn the breast around and repeat. Open up the breast and if necessary use a mallet and pound out the chicken tenderly to make the breast flat and ready to be stuffed with your heart's desire.

Try using a Supreme: a chicken breast with skin and with wing bone. For classic presentation, you can "french" the wing bone: remove the meat to expose the bone. As it roasts, the bone darkens and acts as a garnish.

Prosciutto Wrapped Breast of Chicken Stuffed With Trio Of Roasted Peppers

4 Chicken Breasts, butterflied
8 Slices of Prosciutto
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Orange Bell Pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste (black, in case you're wondering)

Preheat oven at 375 degrees Celsius.

Coat peppers with a drizzle of oil and season. Over open flame or on your Barbecue, blacken each side of the peppers. Place each pepper into a seal able plastic bag and allow peppers to steam through. After ten minutes, open bag and allow to cool slightly. Remove charred skin and clean off as much as possible. (It is optional to rinse under running cold water however some chefs will argue that some flavour is rinse off.) Cut peppers into 10 cm strips and place one of each colour inside chicken. Carefully wrap up chicken with peppers.

Lay out prosciutto and place breast face down in the middle of the slice. Wrap the breast having the prosciutto meet on the bottom.

Place breasts on a baking sheet and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Slice in half on a bias to present the trio of peppers.

Serve with risotto of choice and sauted yellow and green zucchini.

Serves 4.

Variation: if you would like to make a sauce, use the pan juices from the roasting process. Simply roughly up some vegetables (onion, carrot and celery) and cook breasts on top of the mirepoix (veg). Pour the jus into a sauce pan and bring it to a boil, drizzle a little maple syrup, season with salt and pepper and coat the breasts.

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