A Brush With Fame or How I Learned to Relax Like a Queen

I first met Queen Amy when I was going to college.  There was a basement food court in an office tower where my friends and I could go and get a cup of coffee, talk, and study without the usual interruptions at school.  We could also get a cheap meal at a couple of the kiosks and Chicken for Lunch was one of those places.  The food was amazing and cheap but it was also like ordering from the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld.  Amy Quon has a rather dynamic personality, to say the least.

A couple of years ago, the Quons, who also own a rather popular Chinese food restaurant, had a reality TV show The Quon Dynasty which, should you get the chance, you should watch.  It is hilarious.

Yesterday I went to get my toenails cut because I always give myself ingrown toenails a pedicure and have my brows ripped off my head when who should I see but the Queen herself.  Of course, she was meditating while she enjoyed some pampering.

I would have done the same but my feet are ticklish and its important to not kick the nail tech in the head when she is using a straight blade to remove calluses.

This One Is Dedicated to the Ones I Love

Recently, I turned 35.

Again.

One of the things I really wanted for my birthday was to be surrounded by my family.  The family I have created for myself, not necessarily the family I share DNA with.

Simply put, most of the family that I have that I share a gene pool with are people I really do not like.  Addiction, psychosis, insecurity, and general nastiness keep me away.  If you are reading this, if we are related, if you have not seen or heard from me in the past year or so... you are, or possess at least one of the four things that started the last sentence.  And no, I will not be apologizing for saying that out loud on the internet.  Grow up and own your shit.

My birthday dinner party was exactly what I wanted.  We had great food I spent all day cooking...

.... pulled chicken sandwiches and potato salad...

... nachos with salsa, sour creme, and pico de gallo guacamole...

... edemame beans and wings...

We also had blue cake with an Alice in Wonderland topper (thank you Pinterest and my sassy Mum who can't stand fondant but still wanted me to have Alice and company atop my blue cake)...

We had sunshine after a day of rain, we had badminton and pink Mohawks.  Most importantly, we all had each other; three families that have chose each other, together as one.

And flowers.  Do not forget the flowers...

Chicken With Vegetables And Pasta, Or How Michael Gave Me The Shove I Needed

It has been a while.

I have been working on different projects which have been a major distraction.

Then there is the swimming.  Yes, you heard right, my big butt in a swim suit in a public pool, not drowning.  At first the plan was to go back to the gym but I decided to face a few fears and swim instead.  Now, its probably being incredibly gracious calling it swimming.  What I do for an hour at a time is probably not much more than an advanced form of the doggie paddle with a touch of the breast stroke, but for two months I have managed to keep myself from drowning at least three times a week.

Writing and cooking have taken a back seat for some time now but after talking to my friend Michael (code for he talked, I listened), the desire to write and cook is back.

Here's your chicken with vegetables and pasta, darling.  Bad news is, I was out of quinoa.  Good news is, its belly rubbing nap time.

CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES AND PASTA

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, each cut in quarters
3 c. flour, seasoned
3 tbsp. grapeseed or EVOO
½ medium red onion
2 c. mushrooms, sliced
3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 stalks asparagus, heads cut off, stalks cut in half and then into bite sized pieces
1 large can stewed tomatoes, drained, juice reserved
6 c. pasta, cooked

Method:

-cut chicken breast in half; turn each piece on its side and cut in half again

-place flour in a container with sides and season the flour with paprika, oregano, and thyme (1/2 tsp. each)

-heat oil in a large pan on medium high heat

-dredge chicken in flour and then place in pan, cooking about 4 minutes on each side depending on thickness of chicken

-once cooked, remove from pan and set aside

-immediately add vegetables and stir fry until al dente

-add reserved tomato juice, reduce heat to medium, and reduce juice to desired consistency

-cook pasta

-when pasta is finished cooking, drain

-warm chicken in a pan

-plate chicken on pasta and vegetable mixture on chicken

 Makes 4 - 6 servings.

Club 40 At The Cactus Club Cafe

A few weeks ago I reached a major milestone.  Club 40.  Believe me, no on is more surprised about it than me.

Allegedly, there was a surprise party planned.  I call bullshit.  I hate surprise parties.  Hate them.  Like the kind of hate reserved for your most loathed enemy hate.  If you know anything about me, if you have any shred of compassion for me, you will NEVER throw me a surprise ANYTHING.  They never work out.  Never.  Inevitably, you have to pretend you are happy to be there and happy you were surprised.  You end up shaking hands and hugging people you cannot stand the sight of but they are there because the organizers thought their attendance was a good idea.  There will be activities that make you want to stab your eyes out or that make full grown men kick the shit out of each other because someone does not know the rules or cannot keep score/count while drinking warm beer.  Food that passes for a dog's lunch will be served.  The music will be provided by someone who has a hard on for 90's boy bands and American Idol and you will eventually want to give your ears the ol' Van Gogh just to make the noise stop.

Those are just some of the issues you face at one of these things.  And if you don't squeeeeee and give it some jumpy claps, you will be labeled an ungrateful bitch by the organizers.  No thanks, not ever.

Thanks, but I'll take my pain in other places.  Do not organize a surprise anything for me and I will not dropkick you in the crotch after a good old fashioned curb stomping.  Deal?  I am not usually prone to violence, but this surprise party business could potentially cause me to lose what is left of my sense of rational and cut a bitch wide open.  Failing that, remember, I like to be creative when plotting vengeance.  Oh, I can bring the wrath, bitches.

One ought to be able to do their favorite things on their birthday.  And this year, I did exactly that...eating, geeking, and humping.

In an effort to be low key and still have a bit of fun, Mr. I.T. took me to the Cactus Club Cafe at West Edmonton Mall.

Oh yum.  Oh my effing yummy yum.  If you have not yet been, you have to go.  Rob Feenie, Canada's only Iron Chef, has created a menu that is splentastic.

I had the blackened creole chicken with mashed potatoes and asparagus.  Seriously, this has to be some of the best chicken I have ever eaten...

The portion of chicken was HUGE.  I gave Mr. I.T. about a quarter of it because I could not finish it.  Neither of us could finish the mashed potatoes because I am sure the kitchen was mistaken and sent out an order for five on my one plate.  The asparagus was done to perfection and if you are going to eat chicken at the Cactus Club, throw yourself at this!

Mr. I.T. had the garden burger with a side seasonal greens salad.  When he ordered it, I had my reservations.  Mostly because when you order a vegetarian burger, you are usually served an oat-laden piece of cardboard with red pepper accents, but also because Mr. I.T. is an impossibly fussy eater.  IMPOSSIBLY fussy.  When this came...

... I had a wee taste.  If you had not told me the burger was vegetarian, I would have swore it was beef.  The patty had substance, it was juicy and well seasoned.  The entire burger looked like a real burger...

... not one of those alfalfa sprout laden, tofurky wearing veggie burgers you are used to seeing.  And can we just have a moment to celebrate the salad?  Spinach, romaine, that stuff that looks like dandelions, a vinaigrette to die for, and shaved carrots and beets being chased around by slivers of almonds.  It was the first but not the last orgasm of the night.

When you go, make sure you make a reservation.  We went on a Wednesday night at 5.00 and were out of there by 6.10.  When we left, there was a line up out the door and half down the block.

Much later, in an effort to remind me how important creativity is, how important it is to expand one's mind, how I need to be doing the things I love to do, Mr. I.T. parked me here and here.  Thank you for reminding me about me and how I am my best natural resource.  He is, admittedly, not the most romantic man on the face of the planet, but that had to be the best gift a person could give me.

I would tell you about the humping but Mr. I.T. and I have an public embargo on that.  If I had not been strictly forbidden, I would tell you that, when later discussing some of the judgey bitches at The Office, he reminded me that interracial couples are sexy and people would be searching for us on porn before them.  Allegedly.

*Note*  All photos used in this post are not even a little bit mine.  Totally hijacked from the Internet.  Because I forgot my camera.  Which is uber not cool when one wants to blog about what they ate.  Am.  Blonde.

One More Try

Every once in a while I find a place, or a man, that I cannot seem to walk away from.  Giving these places (and men) another try has been, in some cases beneficial.  In other cases it has simply left a bad taste in my mouth.

Careit in Crestwood is one of those places.  I want to fall in love with Careit.  I love their story, their philosophy, and their menu.  I really really want to love this place.  I have visited Careit several times and I have to be honest when I say that while I do not want to walk away from it, Careit is only getting one more try.

Careit, we need to talk about seasoning and customer service.  Both are really hit and miss at your place and it is unfortunate that you have such great ingredients at your disposal but do not respect them or your customers enough to turn out the high quality food you have the potential to deliver.  The lack of consistency makes me skeptical.  So does the inability to get about 30% of your advertised menu items, regardless of what time of day I have been there.  At this point, all that is keeping me in the game is a great price point, a clean shop, and a few items from the menu I have not yet tried.

Be warned, Careit.  We may just have to break up, even if you have the world's best carrot cookies.  And we do not want that, do we?

Ratings:
Appearance: Clean but poorly lit.
Service: Hit and miss.  Some staff cannot help you enough, some cannot be bothered to acknowledge your presence.
Food: Home cooked and health conscious but just OK, 5.5/10
Overall rating: Will be back but only because there are other items on the menu I want to try

Chicken Pot Pie:
(A little note... again, I used my ghetto phone camera so be warned!)

The portion size on this pie is perfect for lunch.  The puff pastry topping wasn't all that flaky and to be honest, I suspect it may have been frozen; the taste and texture were a bit off.  I do love me some chicken pot pie but this one was a bit train wrecky.  The potatoes were undercooked, the chicken was scarce, and it was desperately underseasoned to the point where it screamed for sage and I will not even tell you how much salt and pepper I had to add.  Overall, 4/10.

Crab and Roasted Pepper Quiche:

Again, the portion size is great for lunch.  While the quiche was dense, it still had a light sensibility to it.  The amount of crab and pepper was perfect for the size of the quiche.  The pastry was perfect but the quiche itself could have used a bit of salt and pepper at the very least.  Overall, 7/10.

While I will give Careit one more try, I will not be having the chicken pot pie.  I may go back to the mac and cheese as it was pretty good the last time I had it.  If you do chose to go, go early as the fresh items go fast and you will be left with really old rusting salads and beet hummus as your lunch options.  Bring a knife too because every time I have been to Careit, knives have not been available for take out food.

I Should Have Packed A Lunch

The Lunchbox Diner.

(picture totally ripped off from Google Maps, street view)

I really really really wanted to love this place.  It is within walking distance to The Office (14413 115 Avenue) and I imagined myself power walking down there, grabbing my order to go and power walking back to the office.  I am pretty sure this is not ever going to happen.

Outside, this place has all the appeal a quirky diner should have.  Inside, it has all the disappointment a foodie's heart can hold.  Seriously, this place could use a Gordon Ramsey Kitchen Nightmare makeover... so much potential being wasted.

This diner is in a very unique spot (there is zero competition for blocks and blocks and blocks), but is wasting that potential by being caught in a time warp.  Or maybe time just stood still there.  Its hard to take a place seriously when the booths are in an eggplant vinyl.

Now, before you think I have thrown this place under the #121 bus that goes by it, relax.  I can say that the place is clean and the service is fast.  This, however, may be due to the fact that there were only four other people in the place and they had already been served.

Ratings:
Appearance: Clean but timeworn.
Service: Fast and friendly.
Food: Dated. Disappointed, 4/10
Overall rating: Will not be back.

Daily Special: Chicken fingers with fries and salad (9.50 + tax):
To be honest, the chicken fingers were the same chicken fingers that you get in every restaurant, even the specialty Mexican restaurants that get pissed off that you will not eat a taco but still want your business so they have them on the menu.  I have seen them served at Thai places too.  For really.  And to me, that is ten degrees of wrong but we can talk about that another time.  You cannot polish a turd and you cannot do anything sexy with chicken fingers.  That is legal.  Or morally acceptable.

The surprising highlight were the fries that had been seasoned perfectly with Lawry's seasoning salt, which I like but my partner in crime that day behaved as though someone had shit on her plate.

The most disappointing thing of all was the salad.  I opened the container up and was uber excited because, at first glance, it looked all fresh and full of yummy goodness.  Sadly, it was dying.  The meal was a take away and the cook had drowned the salad in dressing and only the parts that weren't drenched in ranch dressing survived.  Also, when one makes and/or serves a salad, the pieces should be bite sized, not a third of the romaine leaf.  Home Economics, eighth grade, just sayin'.

To be honest, it was a whole lot of meh and that makes me sad because this place has the potential to have lineups out the door and down the parking lot.  Which, perhaps, in its day, it did.

Ironically, a co-worker commented, "The Lunchbox?  Oh I haven't been there in fifteen years."  Do not worry your heart out.  Not a thing about the place has changed.

She Ain't Pretty, She Just Looks That Way

I am on a quest.

I am chasing food in Edmonton.

I am looking for local restaurants that are the best kept secrets Edmonton has to offer.  You can keep your Olive Garden's and your Keg's.  After the lobster I had while cruising a lagoon in Cancun, Red Lobster can bite me.

I am looking for that little hole in the wall that everyone in the neighbourhood raves about.  Your suggestions are not only welcome, they will be tried and tested.

Yesterday, it was lunch at Bucas and Pastas in the West End.  If you can find the West Division police detachment, you will be directly across the street from Bucas.

You can find their site, complete with menu, here.

The restaurant itself is located in a strip mall and it has about 10 tables, if you are interested in staying for your meal. I would suggest getting there early as the seating looks a bit cramped; we were there around 12:30, which in Edmonton is prime lunch time, and all the tables were full and there was a long line at the counter.

Do yourself a favour and study the menu.  Pour over it before you get there.  Make sure you know EXACTLY what you want when you get to the counter. There's a bit of a Soup Nazi vibe from the staff, especially Mumma working the line; she wants to keep things moving and the sooner you pay, the sooner she can make money off someone else. I can respect that, but it is best if you know what sauce you want or she will decide for you.

The daily lunch special (which comes in at a very reasonable $8.95) was chicken and prosciutto cannelloni with your choice of salad; I went with the creamy dill:

Forgive the pictures.  The cam on my phone sucks a bag of you know whats.  And lunch was a take away, so the food had been slapped in containers and tossed about on the way back to the office.

Believe me, it tasted miles better than it looks.

Ratings:
Appearance:  Clean and quaint.
Service:  Be ready or be roughed up a little.  Things go fast so be prepared.
Food:  Home cooked Italian. Very good, 7.5/10
Overall rating: Will be back.

Chicken and prosciutto cannelloni:
I'm not entirely sure my cannelloni had prosciutto in it.  I was definitely missing the saltiness that comes from that kind of ham and I found the filling lacking somewhat in seasoning but it was hearty and combined well with the pomodoro sauce.  The pasta was done perfectly and just the right amount of cheese was baked on.  It was a bit messy to eat, mostly because it was in a take away container, but the small sized portion was the perfect amount of pasta for a lunch.  Overall, 7/10.

Creamy dill salad:
I could very easily become friends with this salad.  I would have preferred more dill and less carrots but that is a personal preference and not a knock against the salad itself.  If you are a fan of salads that do not contain lettuce, this is a safe and yummy choice; it was simply cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers, carrots, and creamy dill dressing.  Overall, 8/10.

I did not have dessert as it was lunch and I do not usually have dessert with lunch.  That being said, next time, I will have death by chocolate!

Huuuuurrrryyyyyy Haaaaaarrrrrrdddd

(Originally posted on my old blog "The Domestication of a Punk Rock Foodie" on February 27, 2010.)

No, I'm not talking all sexy and stuff. I'm talking curling. I'm talking about Kevin Martin and the boys going undefeated to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Now that's hardcore.

MAKE
Menu (these recipes each serve four):
Herbed Bread Sticks
Chicken Tikka Masala With Jasmine Rice
Cosmopolitan Ice Cups

HERBED BREAD STICKS
I used a prepared pizza crust here because I suck at making pizza crusts… they always look like crackers or soufflés when I’m done. Also, this can be served as a roll instead of a stick.

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. dried basil
½ tsp. fennel seeds
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ tsp. rock salt
1 tin prepared pizza crust

-preheat oven to temperature listed on pizza crust tin
-lightly oil a baking sheet
-combine oregano, basil, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and salt in a bowl and then divide in half
-sprinkle half of the spice mixture evenly on the lightly oiled baking sheet
-roll out the pizza crust and then transfer to the baking sheet; press the crust down in order to have the crust pick up the herbs on the baking sheet
-roll up the pizza crust and cut in halves until you have 16 pieces (8 pieces if you are making rolls)
-roll these pieces out into bread stick shape with a ½ diameter (if you are making rolls, form the dough into pieces about the size of erasers); do not overwork the dough or it will be tough when finished cooking
-arrange on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart
-cook on one side for about 5 and then turn and continue to cook for another 3 – 5 minutes, depending on how brown you want them to be coloured

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA WITH JASMINE RICE
While I don’t generally use bottled sauces, using a bottle sauce for this recipe reduces the preparation time and uses fewer ingredients.

 4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. ginger, finely chopped
1tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
2 lbs. chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch pieces
¼ tsp. salt
1 can tomato paste
1 tsp. red curry paste
1 can tomatoes, crushed, with juice
1 c. Tikka Masala cooking sauce
½ c. plain yogurt
½ c. water
4 c. cooked jasmine rice (cook according to manufacturer’s directions)

-in a large saucepan, heat olive oil
-add onion, ginger, and garlic and cook on medium heat, stirring for about 3 minutes; sprinkle the salt over the mixture so it will sweat rather than brown and burn
-add chicken to the pan and cook on medium high heat, stirring constantly for about 5-7 minutes -stir in tomato paste, red curry paste, crushed tomatoes, and tikka masala sauce and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally
-add yogurt and water reduce heat to low, and simmer until the chicken is done, about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally
-serve hot over rice

COSMOPOLITAN ICE CUPS
1 pkg. strawberry jelly powder
1c. boiling water
1 c. orange sorbet or sherbet
4 strawberries
Whipping cream (optional)

-stir in the sorbet until it is completely melted
-pour 4 martini or wine glasses (about 10 oz. per glass)
-refrigerate for about 2 hours or until firm
-top each with sliced strawberry and a dollop of whipping cream, if desired

THINK
Don't yield to the temptation of believing that the world can be fixed. Above all, don't yield to the hubris that you can fix it. Realize that your actions can, at best, make some conditions in the world a little more bearable, make suffering a little less painful. But just because this is all you can do, does not mean that you should not do it... do it in the face of all hopelessness. And why? Because to help, to be compassionate, is your highest calling... if you can't do this, if you won't do this, then you are hopeless. -- Dr. Stephan Hoeller

LISTEN
Jay Z Featuring Swizz Beatz - On To The Next One
Pink - Glitter In The Air
Sham 69 - If The Kids Are United

READ
So I haven't been able to keep up with my scheduled book a week pace. Mostly because Cosmic Jackpot required a lot of re-reading and going back to review (I'm not a physics geek but I'm a geek for the cosmos). I've put that aside and started Don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements: A Practical Guide To Personal Freedom

WATCH
In June 2008, J. K. Rowling gave the speech "The Fringe Benefits Of Failure And The Importance Of Imagination". You can find it here.  Even if you aren't a Harry Potter fan, its worth a listen. The speech is transcribed below the video.

VISIT
Architecture and photography are two of my favorite things.  Check out the The Kings Of Architectural Photography page here.

GO GREEN
To remove coffee and mineral stains from the pot on your coffee maker, add 3 cups ice cubes or crushed ice 1/3 cup water, and 1/2 cup salt to the pot. Swirl the pot for about 2 minutes, rinse, and then wash. To remove coffee or tea stains from a coffee mug, rub the stained areas with salt and then rinse with water. Repeat until stains are gone. Wash mug before using again.

Spicy Chicken And Rice

It is winter and cold.  When I get cold on the inside, I like to spice it up.  OK, I always like to spice it up but let's keep it PG rated, 'kay?

Use a pan with high sides or a pot for this recipe.

Serves four.

Ingredients:
4 oz. boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 can (14 oz.) whole tomatoes, cut in quarters
1/4 c. hot sauce
1 1/2 c. green peppers, diced
1/2 c. celery, diced
1/4 c. scallion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. Cajun spice
1/4 tsp. salt

Method:
-heat oil in pan over high heat
-when oil is hot, add chicken and stir constantly for 3 to 5 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink; reduce heat to medium
-add the tomatoes (and their juice), as well as the rest of the ingredients to the pan and simmer while covered for about 20 minutes
-serve over rice

Yes, It Is Still A Greek Salad If It Doesn't Have Feta On It

Ever had one of those situations where you think you have everything together, you are pretty sure that you have everything you need and then you get just about as away far away from the market as you can get, and realize, feck, I forgot the feta?

Welcome to my world!  I tried to remind myself, that when approaching this situation from a place of "yes" that the fat and sodium content of the recipe would be reduced, serving my heart well.  My heart said I better not forget the feta next time!

GREEK SALAD

Makes two meal sized salads or four side salads.

Ingredients:
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. pepper, freshly ground
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 English cucumber, cut into half moons
1 green pepper, jul1enned
1 red pepper, julienned
21 Kalamata olives
1/4 c. feta cheese, crumbled

Method:
-place the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, thyme, sea salt, and pepper into a container with a lid that has a tight seal

-shake to combine

-place the tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, green pepper, red pepper, and olives in a large bowl
-toss to combine
-just before serving, shake dressing again and pour over the vegetable mixture
-gently toss to combine
-sprinkle with cheese and serve

Nutritional information (click to enlarge):

There are many version of the Greek salad, some including romaine lettuce.  You can use the above recipe and serve it on about one cup of thoroughly washed and dried romaine that has been torn into bite sized pieces.

I've also seen Greek salads with a sliced chicken breast, shrimp, and shredded beef on them.  For the purists, this is a huge no no but I say its a lovely way to get some added protein and you should eat it that way if you want.  In my kitchen, you won't be graded if you swear it was done souvlaki style;)

Pollo Chilindron Or The Thing About Having Webbed Feet

The weather has been rainy and meh lately.

My back yard now has water feature cleverly disguised as a rain collection barrel.

Should you feel the need for a rice paddy, the entrance to my deck is currently accepting applications.  The side walk and lawn were conveniently located between the deck and back door.  Now currently submerged, they are looking to diversify and monetize.

It has been so rainy and meh that I'm thinking about having a grey officially removed from the colour palate but Mother Nature has me on ignore and I don't know who to complain to.  My feet are webbing and its making footwear choices increasingly difficult.  This morning I suggested to co-workers that we get all Noah about this shit and start building an ark.  That became the joke of the day at the office.  And while I don't necessarily believe in You Know Who That Allegedly Reigns The Heavens And Has A Personal Valet Named St. Peter anymore, that confederacy of simpletons I work with should give my brilliant idea some thought.

Just in case You Know Who is trying to send us a message.

I need sun.  I miss that fiery ball in the sky.

I need heat.

And not the kind of heat that douchetard men give off.  You know, those ones you had a brief "thing" with (not a hook-up, not a fling, more of a connection of sorts... super intense but without the chicka chicka bow wow), who completely forgot you but then suddenly remember you (you see the light bulb go off over their head, even if it is only 25 watts) and decide you should be flattered by their invitation to sleep in the second bed in their two bed hotel room.  Ya, not that heat.  And what the hell happened to the coffee date?  Did it go extinct and only my spam filter got the email?  I mean, really, was I supposed to be flattered by "You should stay in my hotel room with me.  I have a spare bed and you'll be closer to work in the morning"???? 

Yes, for really.  I'm not creative enough to make that shit up.  Absolutely not that kind of heat.

I need heat.  The Spanish just won the World Cup in soccer.  That's hot.  Ohhhhhlllllaaaaaa Iker. 

The Spanish are passionate, spicy people. Robust. Full of life.  Hot.

Once upon a time when I used to work in long term care with a group of loco ladies, they would bring Pollo Chilindron to work when the weather was shite.  Pollo Chilindron seemed like a perfect recipe to try since I had chicken and tomatoes, and peppers that were an hour away from being compost. However, the recipe I had was less than perfect. I did not realize this until I was in the final simmering stage. It was boring and not at all Spanish. The chicken had no fire, no passion. It was like Salma Hayak, but without the heaving, voluptuous breasts and her ability to climb humans when there are snakes nearby. It was like Charo sans “cuchi cuchi”. It was Enrique Iglesias without the, well, everything.


Everything added after the two hour mark is all me, but with much respect to the loco ladies and Enrique.  Mmmmm I do likes me some Enrique!


POLLO CHILINDRON

Makes seven one cup portions.

Ingredients:

Usually this recipe is made with chicken legs, thighs, and drumsticks but I was too lazy to walk to the store on a tight schedule and had chicken breasts available at home.


4 chicken breasts (about 300 - 400 g)
2 - 3 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
8 kalamata olives, pitted and diced
2 slices prosciutto, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 c. white wine
1 tbsp. fresh tarragon
1 - 28 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
4 bay whole leaves
salt and pepper, to season
1 can tomato paste
1 baguette

Method:
-season the chicken with salt and pepper
-heat the oil in a large pot (preferably a dutch oven) over medium heat
-add the pieces carefully and cook until both sides are browned
-remove the chicken from the pot and set aside
-add the onions and peppers to the pot
-lightly salt the vegetables to draw the moisture out of the vegetables and to prevent them from scorching
-saute the vegetables until the peppers are wilted and the onions are translucent
-add the ham, garlic, and olives and saute for another 2 minutes
-pour in the wine and simmer to reduce the liquid by at least half
-while the mixture is reducing, cut the chicken into bit sized pieces
-stir in the tomatoes and tarragon
-return the chicken pieces to the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally (about every 15 minutes)
-add water if the mixture becomes too dry
 
 

 
 
-after two hours add the chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper
-gently stir in 4 bay leaves
-simmer for another 30 minutes and then add tomato paste
-simmer for an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour
-remove bay leaves serve with crusty bread (can also be served over rice or pasta)

Nutritional information (click to view full size):

Inspired by a recipe found on whats4eats.com and those loco latinas I used to work with.