Arroz con Pollo

Several years ago I travelled to San Juan, PR and had an Arroz con Pollo that I’ve told many a friend “changed my life”. Alright, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but it was remarkably tasty and I came back determined to figure out how to do it at home. I think I’ve come up with a version that’s pretty faithful to the original that inspired it.
Remember that no matter what this is a truly homespun dish and you should feel free to adjust, add or subtract where ever you see fit.

In a Dutch oven brown off 4 chicken thighs and 4 chicken legs (you can use other parts but these stay moist and are more flavorful) in a little olive oil over high heat and set aside. Remember to season (salt and pepper) everything as you go along. If there is an excessive amount of oil left pour some off and then in that same pot lightly brown some chorizo, sliced about 1/4 inch thick(about two handfuls). Put that aside with the chicken. Dice up one medium yellow onion and crush three cloves of garlic and cook in the oils left in the pot (again, pour off some if it’s too much) with a generous pinch of saffron until the onions are soft but not brown. Add in some chopped up red pimentos (roasted red pepper), again, about a handful, and another handful each of green olives and capers. Put in one bay leaf. Chop coarsely a handful of cilantro and dump that in too. Now add three cups of water or chicken stock and two cups of medium grain white rice (this is the one item that I think it’s important to follow exactly. Medium grain rice has a very particular quality to it that works amazing for this dish. Usually the Latino brands will be the one that have this grain (Goya, etc)) Let this come to a boil, stir once, add back in the chorizo and then sink the chicken pieces into the boiling liquid so just the top surface is sticking out being careful not to push rice out of the liquid. Now cover the pot and stick the whole thing in an oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. When you take it out do not open the lid right away. Let in sit for 15-20 minutes or so. Then serve! It’s a one pot meal but adding a fresh green salad to the menu is a nice side.

Man, this stuff is gooooooood!!!

http://www.bonesuckin.com/

I just want to take a moment to make a shout out to this BBQ sauce company. I bought a jar on a whim at Fairway in Brooklyn many months ago and it got shoved to the back of the cabinet. Brought it out the other night when we got ahold of some beautiful spare ribs (small farm, organic, and deelicious!). This is hands down the best jarred BBQ sauce I've ever tasted. It took me right back to some of the real deal BBQ joints I've been to. The kind that make it from scratch, which, having read the ingredient list, is exactly what this stuff is.

Chickpea Salad

This is super easy. There is no cooking involved. This salad makes a great side dish for pork chops or with chicken. It would also be ideal with a hanger or skirt steak.

Open two cans of chickpeas and drain them and then give them a little rinse. Combine the chickpeas in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of finely chopped red onion, one diced tomato, a couple tablespoons of chopped cilantro, one clove of garlic really finely minced or put through a garlic press and somewhere around a cup of frozen corn, defrosted. Make a dressing of one tablespoon of mayonnaise, the juice of one juicy lime and a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil (or canola, etc). Mix the dressing together and pour over the salad and toss together. Salt and pepper to taste.

If you don’t like mayonnaise you can skip it and up the oil a little. This salad works fine without the corn too, if you don’t have any on hand.

Pork Roast with Apples and Onions

This meal turned out amazing, if I do say so myself. The pork roast I used was one from a small organic farm so that makes a big difference in the richness of the meat and especially the fat. Try to find something like that because it really is worth it and better for everyone. Berkshire pigs are always delicious. I’m not really sure the exact cut because it just said roast but I would bet, judging by the meat, that it was part of the shoulder.

Peel and cut up two apples into about inch thick slices. Slice up half of an onion. Season the roast well with salt and pepper. You can use some sage or do what I did and just use a little Bell’s seasoning. I love Bell’s not only for the versatility of it but also it's quaint old fashioned packaging. Sear the roast well. I used the cast iron skillet for this dish, another kitchen item I absolutely adore. After you have a good sear on the meat take it out and put aside. Drain off most of the fat and pour in half a bottle of beer, preferably a lager or ale, something with a little body to it, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a large spoon or a spatula to release the tasty brown bits in the pan. Throw the apples and onions in with some salt and pepper, toss around a little and then place the roast on top. Put in an oven at 375. It’ll probably take around an hour. Check the internal temperature and take out when it reaches between 150 and 160. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting in. Resting meat is an important part of keeping it moist.

I served it with collard greens and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes I just put in the oven directly on the rack alongside the roast. I used to cover sweet potatoes with foil but recently I was out of it and did it without and found them to be even tastier.

For the collard greens I just chopped them up coarsely and diced an onion finely. I cooked the onion in a little olive oil in a large pot at a low temperature until they were soft and then added the collards to the pot with salt and pepper. Then I added a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a little water and cooked the collards until they were good and soft.

Seared Sea Scallop with Braised Endive and Buerre Blanc

Note:
"Whoops! I meant to post this earlier, obviously. Sorry, I was internet free for a week, but here it is anyway. Heck, when is it not a good time for a romantic meal?"-

With Valentine's Day approaching I thought this would make a lovely and romantic start to a meal.

Quarter 3 endives. Place them cut side down in a sauté pan with a good size lump of butter (1 tbsp?) salt and pepper (preferably white pepper) pour in a little chicken broth or water, just enough to make it about ¼ inch deep. Bring to a boil reduce heat to simmer and cover pan. Cook like this for around 5 minutes then uncover and turn up heat to let all the water evaporate and the side facing down on the pan to brown. Set aside on stove. This will keep it somewhat warm.

Make buerre blanc.
You can follow these instructions- http://video.about.com/frenchfood/Beurre-Blanc.htm
Set this aside on a back burner to keep warm.

Sear scallops. To do this use a non stick pan. Scallops are close to %100 protein which makes them very sticky. Add a little oil and a little butter to the pan. Get the pan very hot, almost smoking. Salt and pepper the scallops and then gently place in the pan and let them be( you can turn the heat down to med-high if it’s going too fast). Do not move them for several minutes. Once they have a nice brown crust on them turn them over and turn off the heat. They will cook through nicely with just the heat left in the pan.
On a plate fan out three pieces of endive. Arrange scallops. Gently with a spoon pour in buerre blanc around the scallops. Garnish with chives. (You can also place a small spoonful of caviar on the scallops)

Rum Punch

Winter got cha down? Yeah, no kidding. Me too. Here's a little ray of sunshine for you in a glass. Pour yourself one of these, turn the heat up and pretend you're in the tropics. Put one part rum, preferably a dark one like Mt. Gay or our personal favorite Ron del Barralito and two parts tropical juice over ice. Obviously you can adjust this to taste but you should be able to taste the rum. The Dole Paradise Blend works great as the juice for this. Another good one is the Ceres juice I used in the Sparkling Passion drink. Squeeze a wedge of fresh lime in the drink. The lime is key. You can try this with a few drops of bitters too.

Marscapone and Berries

Here an incredibly simple to make dessert that tastes and looks great. The flavor is similar to cheese cake but a little lighter like a mousse. Simply mix together marscapone cheese with a drop of vanilla and some powdered sugar. I leave the amount to you depending on how sweet you like it. When everything is mixed together and the texture is smooth either pipe it or spoon it into a cocktail or wine glass. Top it off with a mix of fresh berries and sift a little bit of powdered sugar over the top. Garnish with a mint leaf.