What do you do with a full bag of chicken and not a lot of time? Laura & I bought a large bag of chicken last weekend, thinking we’d BBQ it up come Monday or Tuesday. Well, come Wednesday the bag was still in the frig and it was time to do something with it. So I concocted a spicier version of this recipe. The recipe is very simple as is the cooking - you could do this in a regular oven, just bake in your oven at 400 degrees for about 1.5 hours.

Ingredients:
Chicken (Wings & Thighs - skin on)
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chile powder

Combine all the ingredients and pour over chicken. Seal in freezer bags or other container and put in refrigerator. Let marinate overnight.

I took the chicken out around 3pm and got it ready for the BGE. Since there was so much chicken, I had to use the grill extension, which just barely fit - but it worked just fine.

I cooked the chicken at 300 degrees for about 2 hours - a little longer then needed, but I was working in the garage and forgot about it. But even so, the chicken was just fine and super moist thanks to the BGE and the marinade.

When all was said and done, this was an amazingly simple recipe with surprising results. The chicken has a pleasant sweetness to it that is enhanced by the chile powder. The hint of spice opens up your tastebuds and allows the maple flavor to shine. The chicken was so moist that it was almost falling off the bone. Definitely try this recipe at home - I know I’ll be doing a variation of it again in the near future!

I’ve finally started to unpack my books & hot sauces, which have been in boxes and stored in the spare bedroom since we moved in. Out of sight really is out of mind, but when the cooking bug got into Laura, I started digging for cookbooks and in one of those boxes I found Food Network Favorites: Recipes from Our All-Star Chefs. The recipe below is not credited to any of the famous food network chefs - all of the credit for this one goes to the folks that work behind the scenes in the Food Network kitchens (whomever they are). Laura made this recipe before I got home - hence the lack of process pictures.

Directions:
Buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and turn it into tasty soup with this recipe from the Food Network Kitchens chapter. There’s minimal prep and the end result is very tasty.

The original recipe says to defrost the corn if you’re using frozen kernels, but this isn’t really necessary. If you remember to take the corn out of the freezer before you chop the onion and chile, it will be defrosted by the time you add it to the soup. If you don’t remember, it doesn’t matter. You can add the frozen corn right to the hot broth — it will defrost almost instantly.

A few small changes I have made: I have added the instruction to seed the tomato, since I prefer not to have the seeds floating around in the soup. This is optional; if you don’t care about the seeds, don’t worry about it. I have directed the cook to add the chicken, tomato, cilantro, and lime juice, and then heat through, since the original recipe says merely to take the broth off the heat, add those ingredients, then serve, and the chicken wasn’t hot enough that way. I’ve also added a couple of additional garnish ideas to the end of the ingredients list.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp kosher salt
6 cups chicken broth, low-sodium canned
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 ripe tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
About a dozen corn tortilla chips, broken a bit
Lime wedges, queso fresco, fresh salsa, avocado slices, optional

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, chipotle, chili powder, and salt and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the corn and cook for 5 minutes more.

Stir in the tomato, chicken, cilantro, and lime juice. Heat through, about 5 minutes. Divide the tortilla chips among 4 warmed bowls, ladle the soup on top, and serve with lime wedges and other garnishes, if desired.

All told, this recipe was much easier then our old chicken tortilla soup recipe and tasted just as good, if not better. The corn kernels provide a nice bit of sweetness that’s an great contrast to the hearty broth. I will be adding more heat next time - and don’t forget to try out some grated Parmesan as a garnish. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay
Show: Boy Meets Grill
Episode: Burgers Cuban Style

3 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
2 pounds fresh tuna steaks, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chipotle pepper puree
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 rolls

Combine the pineapple juice, vinegar, ginger, soy sauce and brown sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the volume is reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Whisk in 2 tablespoons mustard, remove from the heat, and add the lime juice and white pepper. Let cool.

Combine the tuna, 2 tablespoons Dijon, chipotle pepper puree, honey, oil, and green onions in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Shape the ground tuna firmly into 8 round uniform patties about 1 1/2-inches thick.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes; the burgers must be very cold to hold their shape when cooking. Grill burgers for 3 minutes on each side for medium doneness, basting often with the glaze. Serve.

This recipe comes from the mother in-law who happens to be a gourmet cook in her own right. Last year for the Chirstmas holiday, she prepared this delicious short rib recipe and this year Laura decided to give it a whirl. Now please bear in mind that the recipe that we used has been tried and adjusted as needed and is not quite the same as the original.

Ingredients:
Seasonings:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander

Meat:
8 - 3 inch long meaty beef short ribs

Sauce:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cup chopped white onion
6 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 14oz. can low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbs canned chipotle chiles, seeded & diced

Directions:
Add/mix seasonings. Generously season all the sides of the ribs (roll ribs in seasoning). Put ribs in an air tight tupperware container and refrigerate overnight.**Seasoning recipe can be doubled as needed.

Throw oil into LeCreuset pan (large dutch oven). Fry the seasoned ribs in olive oil until browned on all sides. Transfer ribs to plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onions & garlic to pot. Cook until transparent. The add broth and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, lime juice & chipotles. Let simmer until sauce becomes slightly gooey. Return ribs to pot, cover with sauce and put entire dutch oven into the oven for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

Not very pretty straight out of the oven, but the smell is delicious!

Serving:
To serve, remove bones from the ribs - they will most likely have become separated from the meat while in the oven. Serve the ribs over a serving of garlic mashed potatoes and cover with some of the sauce from the pan.

The final dish won’t be so spicy that you can’t serve to your holiday guests, but it will be spicy enough to make your tastebuds notice. The ribs come out of the oven so tender that you can cut them with a fork and the chunky sauce makes the best topping. The original recipe can be found here - it calls for a ton of cilantro and a green chile sauce to finish instead of the red sauce from the pot. Try it out and let me know what you think!

It’s that time a year and if your like me, both your email and your mail box is getting flooded with catalogs & random offers. I generally throw most of this junk away, but this one I felt the need to share. I don’t know if it was intelligent marketing or just pure luck, but Cuisinart just sent out an email promoting their recipe contest winner - who won for the recipe listed below. What makes it interesting to me is that it’s a chile based recipe, sent to me, a guy that love chile peppers and also someone that has been wanting one of those mixers for quite sometime (though I have no need for it).

Servings
8

Ingredients
One chile ancho
One chile mulato
Two chiles de Arbol, Japanese chiles or similar fiery chiles
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 Egg yolks
6 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 ½ cups low fat milk
8 to 10 oz bittersweet chocolate cut in small pieces*
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

*Get the best chocolate available such as Valrhona or Callebaut bittersweet. If not available use Lindt 72% or a similar high quality chocolate.
Prep

Using rubber gloves, cut chiles open; remove seeds, stems, and veins. Place chiles in a small pan and pour enough boiling water to cover. Set aside.

Place chopped chocolate in a double boiler and heat gently until just melted. Set aside.

In a Cuisinart Stand Mixer using the Chef’s Whisk attachment whip the egg yolks, sugar, and starch until very thick and foamy

Put milk in a sauce pan and bring to the scalding point

With the mixer at low speed add the hot milk to the egg mixture pouring it near the side of the bowl

Once completely mixed place mixture back in the saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Remove pan from heat and mix in the melted chocolate. Set aside to cool. For faster results place pan in an ice bath and cool rapidly while stirring.

While custard cools, put the chiles and brown sugar in a Cuisinart Blender. Blend to a smooth paste. Run the paste through a fine sieve. Discard solids. Taste for flavor. The paste should be pungent and slightly sweet. There should be about ½ cup paste. Set aside.

In a Cuisinart Stand Mixer whisk the cream until very thick but not to the point where it forms peaks. At low speed mix the custard with the cream. Place the custard into a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and begin churning. When custard is slightly thickened add chile mixture two or three tablespoons at a time. Taste after each addition, allowing enough time for the chile paste to mix with the custard. The custard should taste of rich chocolate with a smoky, slightly pungent finish. Continue adding chile paste until desired taste is achieved. Finish churning. Place in container and freeze for two hours.

Low Glycemic index alternatives for diabetic users: Replace sugar in custard with Stevia Extract. Add it to the custard after it has cooked and it is slightly cool. Add it 10 drops at a time until desired sweetness is achieved. Replace the starch in recipe with ¾ teaspoon gelatin. Bloom the gelatin in a bit of water for five minutes and then heat gently to dissolve. Add the bloomed gelatin to the custard immediately after removing from the fire. Replace the brown sugar in the chile paste with Stevia Extract. Add it ten drops at a time until the chile paste tastes slightly sweet but still a bit pungent

Recipe & Instructions available below the fold (more…)

Recipe & Instructions available below the fold (more…)

Recipe & Instructions available below the fold (more…)

Recipe & Instructions below the fold (more…)