Chicken Chili Tamale Pie

As much as I would love to take credit for this recipe, I stole it from Food and Wine but I tweaked it a little.  It was amazingly good and really easy.  There are a couple of steps, but you basically cook the chicken, make the chili, make the cornbread and bake.  You can also use pre-cooked chicken if you have it on hand.

Chicken Chili Tamale Pie (serves 4-5):
Chicken:
4 chicken thighs, or 2 breasts
Mexican Spice Mix - equal portions of chili powder, coriander, cumin, oregano brown sugar, salt,  and pepper (should be about 2-3 tbsp)
canola oil

Heat oven to 400 F.  Sprinkle the spice mix on both sides of the chicken (if you have some left over, save it for the chili), drizzle a couple drops of oil over each thigh and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.  Let cool slightly and shred with two forks.

Chili:
1 tbsp canola oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
salt and pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
few dashes of red chili flakes
2-3 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup (or a little more) of chicken broth
shredded chicken from above
chopped cilantro

In a large skillet, heat the oil and saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the frozen corn and stir for a minute or two.  Add the spices (and any left over spices from the spice mix above), let toast for a minute.  Add the tomato paste and chicken broth.  Let cook on low for 5 minutes or so, add the chicken and the cilantro.  Taste for seasoning.  Keep on low while you make the cornbread.

Cornbread:
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1-2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
few dashes of red chili flakes
couple pinches of pepper
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp milk
1 tsp half and half
3 tbsp canola oil
1 large, or 2 small eggs, beaten
2 hand-fulls of shredded cheddar cheese plus more for sprinkling on top

In a bowl mix the dry ingredients with a whisk.  Combine the wet ingredients and pour those into the dry, whisk to incorporate.  Add the cheddar cheese, stir to combine.

Turn oven down to 350 F.  Coat a ceramic baking dish with non stick spray.  Transfer the Chili to the dish and top with the Cornbread.  Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and bake for 40 minutes, until the cornbread is done and has a nice color to it.  Let rest for 5-10 minutes to set and garnish with some more cilantro.

Esquites

Esquites is like Elote but off the cob, much easier to eat but has the same yummy creamy, tangy, spicy flavor that I love.  While the Boy won't touch this with a 10 foot pole (he's mayo-phobic), I love it and it's a super easy side dish to go with tacos, enchiladas, or even huevos rancheros.  You can either use corn on the cob, or for an easier version, I used sweet white frozen corn.

Esquites (serves two):

2 cups of frozen corn
1-2 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 scallion, thinly sliced
5 cilantro sprigs
1 lime, zested and juiced
queso fresco or Parmesan, freshly grated

Heat up a frying pan super hot, add the frozen corn and be careful, they will pop.  Cover and "saute" for a few minutes, until the corn has a little char on it.

Add to a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients and taste for seasoning.  Serve warm immediately.

Fish Tacos

I am and will forever be a California girl.  Not the Katy Perry version, but the version that I know; consisting of Rainbow sandals year round, "California Stops," spending the summers at the pool or beach, running the Dish, family Sunday BBQ's, April Showers, and avocados.  Along with all of that comes Fish Tacos.  I grew up eating them, they were at every taquerilla I knew in San Diego, and I learned how to make them fairly quickly from my mother.  I choose the healthier option of grilling or broiling them rather than deep frying, and sometimes (most every time) I add unconventional toppings, like my Black Bean and Corn Salsa.

The boy and I were having a quick dinner one night and decided to opt for Fish Tacos.  They're extremely quick and easy, I think the total time took me to make dinner was 20 minutes for everything.  You marinate the fish for a few minutes (don't marinate the fish longer than 30 minutes or the acid will start cooking the fish and you have ceviche, while it is a very tasty dish, it's not so much the point of this recipe), cook it up in grill pan or broiler, add some toppings and enjoy.  It is really that simple.

Fish Tacos:

4 fish fillets, use any white fish such as Mahi Mahi or Tilapia

shredded cabbage

chopped scallions

chopped cilantro

slices of avocado

corn tortillas

Lemon Chipotle Crema - recipe see below

Marinade:

1/2 cup champagne or white wine (I used prosecco because I had it in my fridge)

juice of 1-2 lemons, I like Meyer Lemons

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 jalapeno or Serrano Chile, chopped AND/OR red pepper flakes

few cilantro leaves
chopped scallions

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Let everything marinate in a shallow dish for 10-15 minutes while you chop the toppings you want on the tacos and make the Lemon Crema.

Lemon Crema:

2 tbsp light mayonnaise

juice of 1/2 a lemon

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

few dashes of garlic powder

1/4 tsp chipotle sauce or paste (optional)

Mix everything in a small bowl and set aside to drizzle on top of the tacos.

Heat a grill pan to high heat, spray with non stick cooking spray.  Sear the fish fillets 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the fish.  Take off the heat when the fish flakes with a fork.

Look at that flakey fish with those grill marks

Assemble your tacos:  Corn tortilla, top with fish, add avocado, cabbage, salsa, scallions, drizzle with the crema, garnish with chopped cilantro.  You're done!  Dinner in 20 minutes at the most.

Carne Asada Fajitas

This past weekend the boy and I went down to my parents house to help decorate their Christmas Tree.  Needless to say, we were both tired when we returned to San Francisco.  The boy was craving Mexican food and instead of him getting a burrito at a questionable Taquerilla, I convinced him that I would cook Fajitas and we could relax and recover together in the comfort of our own home.  That settled, we dropped in on our local Trader Joes and picked up some ingredients.  I was set on making Carne Asada and was looking for the right cut of meat at TJ's.  They didn't have anything I wanted (Filet Mignon is not ideal here) so (Mom - don't hate me) I grabbed the TJ's marinated Carne Asada steak.  I came home and started to make another marinade for the meat because I wanted to add a bit more flavor to it.  Once the meat marinated for about 20-30 minutes, I grilled it on an indoor grill pan, served it with sauteed vegetables and some cheese and voila, Fajitas!

Carne Asada Fajitas:



1 package of pre-marinated Carne Asada steak from Trader Joes (make sure you slice the pieces into more manageable sizes, roughly the size of your hand)

1 small shallot, chopped roughly

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ancho chili powder (optional, if not add a bit more chili powder)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1 tbsp honey

2 limes, zest and juice

1 orange, zest and juice

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp peanut oil - or any neutral flavor oil





Indoor Grilling



Mix all the marinade ingredients and add the Carne Asada and let sit for at least 20 minutes room temperature.  Heat a grill or your grill pan to high.  Sear the meat for 3-5 minutes on both sides until medium rare and tender.  The time will depend on the size of your meat and the hotness of your grill/grill pan.  Serve with a whole wheat flour tortilla, shredded cheese, sauteed peppers and onions and some salsa and you have yourself a rocking fajita.



Peppers and Onions