Sunday, June 20, 2010

A Father's Day Post

Happy Father's Day to all of you Fathers out there.

Nicholas Kristof wrote a moving tribute to his father who passed away a couple of days ago.

I've got a late lunch, early dinner cooking right now - a one pot meal by Cook's Illustrated's reckoning. Granted you only cook in one pot, but I'm one of those mise in place [miz ɑ̃ plas] kind of guys: yeah, me and Tony Bourdain - it's our religion. So while it only messes up one pot, I've got a sink full of dishes, ramekins, utensils and other implements of destruction waiting to be washed.

I can rationalize my procrastination about doing the dishes by using the excuse that I'm only addressing the issue of the much lengthier procrastination of writing on a blog post. Hmmmm... a very awkward sentence and I haven't even partaken of intoxicants at 11:45. Noon will be here soon!

My god I need a drink - I've got World Cup Soccer on the tube. The Beautiful Game! A game played by players whose names I can't pronounce, from countries I've never heard of, playing a game I've never understood - and the crowd is blating on the vuvusula; a dime store noisemaker thusly and accurately described; "But when thousands of people toot them simultaneously, you get a loud, incessant hum that makes the entire stadium sound like it's being attacked by angry bees. It's a staple at any South African soccer match and ... surprise! Everyone hates it!". So far the only good reason I can think of that I'm still watching is that it gives me something to whine about.

The best thing about the soccer match so far is that the Brazilian's have a player named Kaka -I'd heard a couple of shouts of caa caa, before I figured out it was a players name.
 
By the time I get done writing this post I'll probably have eaten and partaken and will be able to critique the effort. So far it's smelling pretty good.

Southwestern One-Post Chicken Rice - via a blog posted to Saveur
One-Pot Southwestern Chicken and Rice  (Cook's Illustrated)

Serves 4 hungry people - this could easily serve 6, especially if you added a few more pieces of chicken

You can substitute any semi-soft shredded cheese, such as fontina, Gouda, or Colby, for the cheddar.

4 split bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or 4 thighs
2 tablespoons salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped medium - I used a large one - there's no such thing as too much onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic , minced
1-1/2 cups long grain white rice - I used brown jasmine rice
3-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth - I used homemade
1/2  cup dry white wine - I used white vermouth
4 ounces cheddar cheese , shredded (1 cup)
1 15.5 ounce can of black beans, drained, and rinsed with water
1 10 ounce package of frozen corn, thawed and patted dry - I used a can of corn
1 4 ounce can of green chiles - this wasn't called for in the recipe - but, hey it was a SW recipe!
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salsa for serving

I also added a tablespoon or two of chili powder and a couple of teaspoons of ground cumin

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, leaving the fat in the pot.

Add the onion, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the fat in the pot and place over medium heat. Cook, scraping up any browned bits, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the rice and cook until the edges turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and wine and bring to a simmer.

Return the chicken to the pot, skin-side up. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the chicken is fully cooked through and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 25 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Stir in the black beans, corn, cheese, and cilantro. Let the cheddar melt for 1 minute. Season the rice mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with salsa.

I served it with the cheese strewn on top, not stirred in.

This made a slightly loose rice dish - not quite risotto. I think you could make a big batch of this and serve it buffet style for a real football game. I'd accompany it with a couple of salsas, a bit of sour cream, some lime slices and some tortilla chips.

I had brunch with some friends at the Country Cat recently. We all had a cocktail called "El Gato Verde". Basically it's a margarita made by muddling some celery and cilantro in the mix. We all liked it, but thought it might be made a bit better with a bit less celery, a bit more cilantro and spiced up a bit with a dash of hot sauce.

El Gato Verde - the Green Cat

2 oz Sauza Hornito's Tequila - I used Lunazul Reposado
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz Cointreau - I used housemade orange liqueur
an orange slice - 1/2 of a quarter inch thick slice of lime
a couple of drops of Damiana tinture - recipe below
a 3 inch stick of celery cut in 3 or 4 pieces
a couple of sprigs of cilantro
a dash of Tabasco or a chipotle hot sauce for a smoky hit.

Muddle the orange slice, cilantro, celery, hot sauce and damiana tincture together.

Add the rest of the ingredients and shake vigorously with ice.

Strain into a highball glass on the rocks - a salted rim if you so choose.

Housemade Damiana Tincture

2 Tbl damiana
1/3 cup silver tequila

Mix it in a jar and let it steep for a week.

Strain through a coffee filter and store in an amber dropper bottle

BTW - Brazil beat Ivory Coast 3 to 1. Kaka got flushed...er red carded.