Ancho Chicken Tacos

When I was in school, I used to have these great fantasies about all the extra time I was going to have once I was in the real world.  There would be no more homework, no more study groups, no more intermural flag football practices and games.  Instead of managing a schedule of two different and distinct tutoring jobs with a full class load, I would only have work.  Oh, the things I would get done!  Cooking every night, delicious paper bag lunches every day.  I'd buy a sewing machine and I would use it.  Maybe I would actually get serious about learning German and take a class or two.  And, oh yeah, start a little thing called a blog and blog at least once a week!  Sigh... life was going to be some much more blissful once I was in the real world.

We all know where this is going.  Somehow, even with having only 1 job to be responsible to I still end up feeling as if there will never be enough time for accomplishing both enough sleep and my ever growing pile of laundry.  Yes, maybe intermural flag football was replaced with co-rec work softball.  And study groups replaced with volunteering for SWE.  And, having a larger living space does in fact mean that cleaning it takes exponentially longer to clean than previous living quarters.  And the blog thing, well, that actually happened, and who would have thought, it actually takes some time.  All those fantasies of me having nothing but buckets of free time have vaporized.  It is shocking, although I probably really shouldn't say surprising.  And let's face it, it's also probably a good thing.  I've never really been good with free time, I usually just use it to get caught up on Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.  

This has nothing to do with ancho chicken tacos, which by the way, were delicious.  Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that I have a public forum in which I am allowed to lightly complain occasionally... even if my mother and college roommate are the only people that ever read it.

Ancho Chicken Tacos
Adapted from BA's June 2012 Issue

The fact of the matter is, you can't go wrong with cumin + ancho + tacos.  I would imagine this would taste equally amazing whether chicken thighs, chicken breasts, shrimp or tilapia were used as the taco filling vehicle.  This one is a keeper, a BGCB-er.  A you-should-make-this-for-dinner-tomorrow-er.  Ok, that was a stretch.  But still completely true.

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chx. thighs (~6)
3 Tbsp. ancho chile powder
3 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. kosher salt
Canola oil, for frying
Corn tortillas, for tacos

Place chicken thighs in large bowl with lid.  In small bowl, mix together ancho chile powder, cumin and salt.  Sprinkle over chicken thighs, toss to thoroughly coat and pat in.  Cover bowl and refrigerate, letting marinade for at least 2 hours.

Pour enough oil into large cast iron skillet to completely cover bottom by at least a quarter inch.  Begin to heat over medium high heat.  Once oil is hot, lay chicken thighs in skillet in a single layer, being careful not to overcrowd.  If necessary, cook chicken in batches.  Let chicken cook 6-7 minutes undisturbed so crust forms.  Flip chicken and let cook an additional 5 or so minutes, until chicken thighs are cooked through.  Remove from pan and let rest on paper towels, to drain oil, about 5-10 minutes.  Shred chicken.

Load shredded chicken up in corn tortillas.  Top with any combination of the following, or your favorite taco topping: queso fresco, onions, cilantro, radishes, etc.  Enjoy!

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos & Mango Avocado Salsa

Happy Memorial Day!  Happy Unofficial, but every knows real deal, start of Summer!  (The technical first day of summer, for all you PC-lovers out there is June 20th).  But let's be honest here.  Summer and everything that embodies it - BBQ's, outside drinking games, picnics, lakes, tans - Summer.  Officially.  Starts.  Today.  I am quite literally humming with excitement.

Actually, singing.  Cause that is what I do.  In the summertime, I sing oldies.  Because summer belongs to the golden oldies.  Trust me on this one.  Just this morning, it was a verse of In the Summertime, which went into the whistling from Dock of the Bay, and ended in a little ditty about Jack and Diane.  It was wonderful.  I am so ready for some sunshine, some water, a lazy round of beersbee, and, oh yeah, fish tacos.  Ready or not, Summer, here we come.

In the summertime, when the weather is hot

you can reach right up and touch the sky

When the weather's fine, you got women

you got women on your mind. 

Have a drink, have a drive,

Go out and see what you can find.

P.S. - This was so me on Friday.  And quite literally I checked it at 3:12 PM Friday afternoon.  It feels nice to feel so connected to someone feeling the Exact. Same. Way.  Camaraderie.  I love the internet.  Well, sometimes.  I love three day start of summer weekends all the time though.  Hope yours was fantastic!

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos & Mango Avocado Salsa

Adapted, hardly, from Cooking Light's.... 

YUM!  These guys right here is how you want to start your summer.  They take less than 30 minutes to throw together, they are cool and spicy,  and you can eat them with your hands.  Plus, they taste especially great washed down with a cold beer.  And the mango salsa?!?  FANTASTIC.  Make extra.  And then eat like you would any salsa, on tortilla chips.  And it will totally disappear before nightfall.  The tart mango with the smooth avocado?  I don't even like avocado that much and I'm telling you.  YES.  Make these.  Tonight.  Have a cerveza.  Toast Summer.

(These guys, in case you were wondering, are totally 100% BGCB material)

Mango Avocado Salsa:
1 medium mango, peeled and cubed
1 medium mango, pitted and cubed
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno, diced
5-10 sprigs of cilantro, chopped, no stems
1 1/2 limes (for juice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Juice limes over avocado (this will help with keeping the avocado green and not brown).  Toss all ingredients together.  Let sit 10 minutes so flavors marry.

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos:
1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 lb. tilapia fillets
1 Tbsp. canola oil

In large skillet over medium heat, toast cumin seeds for 2 minutes until fragrant.  Shake pan often to keep from burning.  In spice grinder, grind cumin with salt and peppers until finely ground.  (Leave a comment if you want a tip on how to clean out the spice/coffee grinder afterwards!)  Add cumin mixture to garlic and use as dry rub on tilapia fillets. Let sit 5-10 minutes.

Return skillet to burner and heat oil over a medium high flame.  Add tilapia and pan fry for 2 minutes.  Flip and cook for 2 minutes more, or until fish is cooked throuogh.  Remove and flake into large bite sized pieces.

Warm corn tortillas.  Lay a few chunks of fish and cover with mango avocado salsa.  Eat, drink, repeat!

Chickpea Stew

Me and cumin get along well.  I love the way it smells, I love the way it tastes.  If you could really form an opinion on the way a spice feels, I would probably love that as well.  Cumin is, with very little question, my favorite spice.  And my spice cabinet has seen it's fair share of spices.  I love how smokey and deep it is.  It is, in my humble opinion, the spice of mystery.  Yes, that is right, if mystery had a spice essence, it would be cumin.  Now go sniff you own bottle of cumin and tell me that I'm not on the nose with this one.  A bottle of cumin is essentially extract of mystery.

Ok, maybe that's a little bit of a stretch.  The takeaway there is that I love cumin.  So, when I saw a recipe in this month's Bon Appetit that used 2 tablespoons of this extract of mystery, I got a little excited.  As someone who usually doubles the amount of cumin called for in a recipe, even I thought 2 tablespoons might be just a little much, just a tad overpowering.  I had to try it immediately.  Even if it did call for 2 cans of chickpeas and to my knowledge, I have never eaten a chickpea in my life.  You can't turn your back on a recipe that calls for 2 tablespoons of cumin.

So on Wednesday (also now known forevermore as the glorious day that my silverware drawer return to me, hallelujah!), I got out my island spice red Dutch oven and whipped this up.  Well, not whipped, it took me a little longer than the 25 active minutes that BA suggests.  But I really didn't mind; I had knives, a glass of wine and my entire kitchen smelled of toasted cumin.  I was quite the happy camper.  And then I sat down to dinner.

It. Was. Amazing.  Ha, did you think things were suddenly going to turn for the worst?  Not so, my friend, not so.  Chickpeas, in case you are in my old camp of never having tried them, are quite tasty.  Granted, I am quite the fan of all beans, pinto, cannellini, and my all time, dark red kidney beans.  I can now knowledgeably add to that list chickpeas, as well as a few cans to my pantry.  The roasted red peppers were chopped small enough that they simply complimented the stew, and didn't try to become the star.  There was a small amount of chicken, (only two thighs for the whole pot, and we know how much I love my chicken thighs) enough that you know it's there but not enough that it's the main component of the dish, something that those of us that indulged a bit while training for a week in Houston definitely need to be conscience about.  The bread crumbs soak up the delicious broth that is more spicy than I anticipated, delicious beyond anything you may imagine and chock full of mystery.  That's right, we're back to the cumin (full circle people!)  Smoky, toasted, deep, glorious cumin.  It's the foundation of the flavor and just oh, so, wonderful.  If you are a cumin junkie like me, you have got to try this.  Tomorrow, today, or if you are lucky enough to work from home, immediately, at this very moment, make it for lunch.  I promise, it will not disappoint.

Obviously, this one is getting pasted into the big old green cookbook, unlike our more recent cheesy potato soup.  If I were more blog-literate, I would figure out a cool way to document which ones have and have not made the cut.  But I'm not.  So for now, you'll just have to settle for a BGCB label.  Guten Appetit!

Chickpea (and Cumin) Stew

Adapted hardly from Bon Appetit's Feb. 2011

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. cumin

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

2 15-oz. cans chickpeas, drained

1/2 c. roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

2-3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (I only had Meyer's on hand)

Country style bread, cubed

In dutch oven pan set over medium high heat, heat oil.  Season chicken well on both sides with kosher salt.  Add chicken to pot and cook for 8-10 minutes turning once until browned.  Transfer to plate.  

Reduce heat to low and let oil cool for a few minutes.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about one minute. Add cumin, tomato paste and pepper flakes and stir well with a wooden in spoon, until mixture is a smooth paste.  Add 4 cups of water, chicken with any juice collected on the plate and bay leaves.  Mix well, scraping up brown bits that have accumulated on the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer mixture, uncovered about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and tender.  Stir occasionally.

Drain and thoroughly rinse chickpeas.  Remove chicken from pot and transfer to plate again.  Add chickpeas to stew and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, shred the chicken into bit sized chunks.  Add chicken and red peppers to stew.  Season stew by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to start with.  Simmer a minute, then adjust salt, lemon juice and/or olive oil to your tastes.

In serving bowls, place a handful of bread cubs.  Spoon stew over top and serve with a slice of bread to soak up any stray juices.  Enjoy!!