MKD Foodstravaganza: Recipes

Of course MKD's visit is marked by incessant consumption of foodstuffs and beerstuffs. Recipes follow, and beer reviews below.

Mexican (?) Chicken a la MKD

Ingredients:

• 2 split chicken breasts
• juice of 1-2 limes
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 of 1 medium white onion (sliced)
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• chili powder
• cayenne or other spicy pepper powder
• (all spices to taste, don't over-do it)

Procedure:

1. Place chicken in an oven-safe pan, cover with liquid and dry ingredients, toss to coat
2. Dust top of chicken with a touch more pepper and/or salt
3. Cover pan tightly with foil
4. Place in oven preheated to 375F for about 25 minutes
5. Remove foil, toss chicken in remaining liquid, and continue to cook uncovered until thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast reads 165-170 (another ~20 minutes)
6. Let the chicken cool for at least 10 minutes, then using a fork, pull it into shreds.

Verdict:

Delicious, tender, tasty.


Mushrooms with Roasted Poblano Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
• 4 poblano peppers, roasted, skinned
• olive oil
• kosher salt

Procedure:

1. Roast poblano peppers. Place in paper bag to cool and sweat, remove skins and slice in 1/2" strips
2. Wash and, if mushrooms are not already sliced, slice them
3. Heat olive oil over medium heat in sauteé pan
4. Add mushrooms, sprinkle salt over them, and continue adding olive oil until mushrooms are well coated
5. Cook mushrooms until they begin to soften, and add peppers
6. Mix peppers and mushrooms and cook for several more minutes until thoroughly combined
7. Serve and enjoy!

Verdict:

Super-good and, obviously, very very easy.


Ancho-Roasted Jalapeño-Roasted Red Fresno Salsa

• 4 dried ancho chili peppers
• 4 large jalapeño peppers, roasted
• 2 red fresno peppers, roasted
• white vinegar

Procedure:

1. Rehydrate anchos by setting in a bowl and pouring near-boiling water over them; let sit until they swell, and then chop roughly
2. Roast jalapeño and red fresno peppers. Place in paper bag to cool and sweat, remove skins and chop finely
3. Combine all peppers in a small blender and blend on low, adding small amounts of white vinegar to desired consistency (should be a usable paste)

Verdict:

A real winner – smoky, spicy-but-not-too, and compliments a wide range of other foods. Very highly recommended.


Refried Pinto Beans

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pinto beans (either from a can, or rehydrated)
• 1 head garlic
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1/2 white onion
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  
• salt
• water
• vegetable oil
  

Procedure:

1. Skin garlic, and either chop very finely or combine in blender with jalapeño and onion
2. Heat oil to medium in large cast-iron skillet with high sides
3. Add garlic, pepper and onion and fry in oil for 1-2 minutes
4. Add pinto beans, salt and cumin. Mix all thoroughly.
5. Add water covering beans thoroughly; raise heat to medium-high
6. Allow beans to cook down, adding water periodically, for 30-45 minutes
7. When beans soften, begin mashing (potato masher works well), adding more water and some more oil as necessary
8. Beans will begin to stick to the pan – this is good, just make sure they don't burn too much
9. When it looks like refried beans, you're done

Verdict:

An old stand-by, this never does me wrong. Also works quite well with black beans, subbing in a section of fresh ginger root for the cumin powder.


Roast Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. tomatillos, de-husked and washed
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1/2 large white onion
• 2 roast poblano peppers
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 limes, juiced
• white vinegar
• salt

Procedure:

1. Roast tomatillos and poblano peppers in separate pans (make sure the tomatillos are in a deep baking pan)
2. Place poblanos in paper bag to cool and sweat, remove skins and set aside
3. When tomatillos are blackened on top and beginning to fall apart, remove from oven and set aside to cool
4. Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, poblano and lime juice to blender and blend until fine
5. Add tomatillos and their juices to blender; blend until all is combined
6. Add several liberal dashes salt, and liberal pour of vinegar; blend all again, adding vinegar until reaching desired consistency (anywhere from very viscous to more liquidy)
7. Enjoy!

Verdict:

Been making this one a while and there was a little too much lime juice in this iteration, but adding the poblanos (which I did late) saved it. Very much a favorite, there's always some of this in the fridge.

MKD's (Spicy) All-Purpose Red Sauce

from MKD:

Roast (over flame preferably, but a broiler works fine):

• 1 large bell pepper (anything except green)
• 1 hot pepper (I used 2/3 of a habenero this time, a whole serrano last time, both good)
• 2 (or 3, if you want more of a tomato base) med-large ripe tomatoes
• 1 small head of garlic, 1 small-med red onion (halved).

This time around I didn't have any tomatoes handy, so just used a can of organic fire-roasted crushed tomatoes. Still good, but fresh tomatoes are definitely better.

So, do the roast-until-kinda-charred thing, paper bag, etc. The garlic and onions will probably take a bit longer. Take off most of the skins, stems, and other undesirable parts (I like to leave the seeds, except maybe the bell peppers) and throw it all into a food processor with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. If you're going the salsa route, a bit of fresh cilantro is nice, too. And maybe fresh parsley and/or basil for sauce. Without herbs is great, too, whatever.

This puppy's got some real kick, but not too much, and the flavor is unbeatable. Keeps in the freezer indefinitely and for a long while in the fridge. Served warm/hot as a salsa w/ some good chips it's not unlike our old standby, Rio Grande (but, ya know, better).

Splendid as a salsa, pasta or pizza sauce (and other applications, I'm sure - be creative).

Simple, delicious, versatile.

Olé!