Buffalo Chicken Bake

Buffalo Chicken Bake

     I was first inspired to try this based on a Pinterest post.  Buffalo Wings have become ubiquitous bar food in the U.S.  The term "Buffalo" refers to chicken wings fried and then tossed in a vinegar, cayenne, and butter sauce.  The origins of it are unclear but it's generally assumed to have originated in Buffalo New York.  I love the flavors and crave it often - but the nutrition balance is out of whack for my personal goals.  While overall this recipe would hardly be considered "low-fat" or "low calorie" by a nutritionist, I feel it's marked improvement from what I saw in my research.  Fat and calories tallies often get kicked to the curb by many chefs in deference to flavor. I'm trying to be more sensitive.  I use real butter and real full-fat cheese, but make adjustments in volumes where I feel flavor and texture won't be compromised.

     I broke from my usual insistence on making my own sauces and pulled a bottle of Franks Wing Sauce from the pantry.  It's a product I like.  On the contrary, I find most commercial Ranch dressings to be revolting and drab.  In one place I worked I used to make ranch dressing 8 gallons at a time - all of it mayo and sour-cream based.  Opening and dispensing these bladders of pre-made mayo are to this day one of the most revolting things I've ever done in a kitchen.  Don't get me wrong, I LIKE a good mayonnaise... just not THAT brand of mayo. I thought I'd take a stab at making one from scratch and lighten it up as I went.  The result I think turned out well.

Ingredients:
~pasta:
8 oz penne rigate (dry weight)
+Water, Salt, and olive oil
~protein:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cubed 1")
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil
~ranch dressing:
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup no-fat greek yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup "franks wing sauce" (or more to taste)
~assembly:
1 tblp unsalted butter (+ a smidge extra to grease the dish)
1/2  yellow onion (med dice)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
6 oz blue cheese (crumbled: 4 oz for filling, 2 oz for top)
~garnish:
1/4 cup green onion (bias cut)

Method:

1. Prepare pasta per package directions.  Drain well.
2. Dry rub:  Pat chicken dry with a towel and then add to a bowl with seasonings and oil.  Stir to combine and thoroughly coat chicken.  Refrigerate while dressing is made (or at least 20min.)
3. Make dressing and start filling: In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, yogurt, and dry seasonings.  Stir in wing sauce and 2/3 of the blue cheese.  Taste check and add adjust seasonings as needed (some brands of cheese come off saltier than others).  Now is also the time to adjust amount of heat from wing sauce.
4. Complete filling:  In skillet over med-high heat.  Add chicken and brown on all sides until golden.  Remove chicken from pan (keep warm) and add to dressing mixture.  In the same hot skillet add butter.  Swirl butter to coat pan and add onion.  Sauté onion until just starting to brown.  Add garlic, mix into onion and continue to cook till garlic "blooms".  Add onion/garlic mixture to dressing/chicken mixture.  Add pasta to chicken mixture.  Stir to combine.  Add cooked pasta.  Stir to combine.
5. Bake: Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish and add chicken/pasta mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining 2oz blue cheese.  Cover with foil and bake at 375F for 20min.  Remove foil and return to oven for another 10-15 min. to get a little crisp on the pasta and melt the cheese.  Garnish with green onions and serve.

Yield:  6 servings

Boston Baked Beans

I get cravings.  This weekend it is for Boston Baked Beans!  Also, I've been trying to up my folate and fiber intakes so beans give me both of those things.  Not only that, if properly prepared they are soulfully satisfying.  I've been following what I understand to be a British custom of eating beans on toast lately and have been using canned beans done up in a sodium-laden corn syrup based sludge of goo.  I'm of the opinion that everything that comes out of a can tastes like cat-food (and YES, I know what cat-food tastes like... don't ask).  Flavor and Texture - wise, I know I can do better.  My quest this weekend was for a recipe that satisfied my craving for the homey sweet/savory richness of baked beans without the can flavor.

I pulled several recipes from the net... all of which rely heavily on pre-made mixtures.  Finally, I found one that uses ketchup as a base albiet pre-made... until I get a ketchup recipe I'm happy with, I'm happy to use what's out there... a few mods to the base recipe... I'm off and running.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups kidney beans
• Sachet:
• 4-6 sprigs thyme
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 whole clove
• 1 whole bay leaf

• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1 onion, finely diced
• Sauce:
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper - toasted
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard - toasted
• 2 tsp Adobo sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Soak beans overnight in cold water. Simmer the beans in the same water and add sachet.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer approximately 1 to 2 hours. Drain and reserve the liquid.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (165 degrees C).
3. Arrange the beans in a 2 quart bean pot or casserole dish by placing a portion of the beans in the bottom of dish, and layering them with raw bacon and onion.  Repeat layers of beans, onions, bacon, ...ending with beans.
4. In a saucepan, combine molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Adobo, and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and pour over beans. Pour in just enough of the reserved bean water to cover the beans. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
5. Bake for 3 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until beans are tender. Remove the lid about halfway through cooking, and add more liquid if necessary to prevent the beans from getting too dry.

Red Chicken and Bean Enchiladas

served with Spanish Rice

I've tried many kinds of enchiladas in my life but my favorites are usually done in what I call the "Red" style.  Hot red chili sauce bathing filled corn tortillas and topped off with gooey cheese, shredded cabbage, sour cream, and a homemade guacamole.  Trader Joe's brand Enchilada sauce has quickly become a pantry staple. Making my own enchilada sauce is going to be a project for another day.

This is easy to make ahead and can please a crowd for dinner or keep you in lunches for a good part of the week. Since it is rather labor intensive, if you have extra casserole dishes, I'd recommend making up a double batch and freezing half.  While the texture suffers a bit on reheat it makes a good lunch.

Ingredients:
~Marinade: ~~~~~~~~~~
1 large chicken breast (pounded flat, cut into 1/4"-1/2" cubes)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon round black pepper
~~Fillings:~~~~~~~~~~
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow sweet onion (peeled, concasse)
2 cloves garlic (peeled, hacher)
1 orange bell pepper (seeded, des)
1 large jalapeno pepper (seeded, brunoisette)
1 cup tomato juice
1 (15oz) can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
4 ounces cheddar cheese (shredded, divided)
~~~Assemble:~~~~~~~~~~~
8-10 6-inch corn tortillas (thawed)
cooking oil
~~~~Garnish:~~~~~~~~~~~
cabbage (shredded)
sour cream (creamed)
guacamole (fresh is best)
finely chopped tomato (brunoisette)
green onions (sifflet)
black olives (rouelle)
~~~~~Yield Info:~~~~~~~~~~
Makes 8-10 enchiladas
Serving size 2 enchiladas

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Marinade: Dry off chicken chunks with paper towel and add to clean mixing bowl.  Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, and black pepper.  Sprinkle salt mixture evenly over chicken.  Stir to combine well and evenly coat chicken with spice mixture.  Marinate refrigerated in zip-loc minimum 1 hour (best 4 to overnight)
3. Fillings: Heat a large skillet to med high.  Add 1/2 oil and heat to shimmy.  Add chicken and marinade juices, sear all sides, and cook to med rare.  Remove cooked chicken from pan, set aside and keep warm.  Add remaining olive oil to pan, heat to shimmy.  When hot add onions, saute in oil to coat, suer til golden, saute garlic, reduce til liquid is nearly gone.  Saute in bell peppers and jalapeno.  Add tomato juice and seared chicken to pan and deglaze suc and stirring to evenly cook chicken.  Reduce til liquids are nearly gone. Remove from heat.  Stir in beans and cool mixture before adding 2.5 ounces of shredded cheese.  Stir to mix evenly,
4. Prepare corn tortillas.  Heat small amount of cooking oil in a skillet to shimmy.  Add corn tortillas one at a time and cook briefly (count to 15 or 20 each side) to make them pliable.  Drain them on paper towels and keep warm.
5. Assemble enchiladas.  In the center of each tortilla smear in a circle one ounce of the enchilada sauce.  Add a small portion of the mixture (use a portion scoop to make them consistent).  Even out the mixture to a consistent height and roll up jelly-roll fashion.  Place in a casserole dish seam side down.  Repeat step 4 for each tortilla.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce evenly over rolls to cover all tortilla surfaces lightly with sauce.  Cover with foil.
6. Bake in oven at 350F for about 30min. or until things are bubbly.  Remove foil, add remaining cheese on top and return to oven for 10 more min. or until cheese is melted
7. Plate hot over a bed of shredded cabbage and garnish as desired.

Tips:

• Don't add frozen tortillas to hot oil - it can ignite!
• The filling makes a good topping for salads.