Latin Baked Chicken

Here is a simple recipe for chicken that only has five ingredients: Latin Baked Chicken.  A short marinade of lime juice, honey, soy sauce, and chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, a quick trip to the oven and you’ve got dinner.  If you’ve never had chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, they are nothing more than smoked jalapeno peppers.  These little firecrackers are deliciously smoky in flavor and very spicy.  The lime juice and honey in this marinade cuts the heat of the peppers slightly but if you don’t like spicy food, you probably won’t like this.  I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts instead of bone-in-chicken thighs and used a meat thermometer to tell me when they were done (165°F!).  I served this with a side of spanish rice (Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice Spanish Style to be exact!) as per Cooking Light’s suggestion and had a smokin’ hot dinner!

The ingredients:

Combine lime juice, soy sauce, honey, and chiles in a large bowl. 

Add chicken to the marinade, coating well, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Place chicken on a baking sheet and bake in a 400°F oven.  Reserve marinade.

Meanwhile, place reserved marinade in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Base chicken with marinade half-way through the baking process.  Pull chicken out once it reaches 165°F, approximately 15 minutes.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • Chicken breasts for chicken thighs

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

Manchego, Herb, and Sun-Dried Tomato Scones

When I was 24, I lived in Denver, Colorado, worked two jobs and lived paycheck to paycheck. Since I couldn’t afford to eat out at restaurants, I cooked at home a lot and ended up often making scones. I’m not really sure why but I think this was the beginning of my curiosity on how to make food I’d never made before. Now, whenever I make scones, I think of that tiny kitchen in that tiny studio apartment on Poet’s Row that I called home. I thought of that time again when I made these Manchego, Herb, and Sun-Dried Tomato Scones. Scones are a quick bread and since they don’t have yeast, they are easy to make. These are baked with sun-dried tomatoes, manchego cheese, and basil. The sun-dried tomatoes are little bursts of flavor in these scones, the basil adds an herby freshness and the cheese provides a slightly nutty undertone. Eat these plain, toasted, or with a little butter for breakfast, as a snack or a nice side to any dish.

The ingredients:

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients and cut in the butter.

Mix in chopped sun-dried tomatoes, shredded cheese, and basil.

Stir in buttermilk and egg whites until just combined. Don’t overmix.

Roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 times.

Pat the dough into a round disk and cut into 8 wedges.

Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms and Mascarpone

Last week, I was in San Diego for a work conference and had dinner one evening with a group of people at a restaurant called Searsucker.  Because this restaurant has a lot of meat dishes and I’m incredibly picky when it comes to meat, I settled on a very delicious dish of barley risotto with mushrooms and manchego.  This dish reminded me that I had a recipe for Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms and Mascarpone tucked away in my recipe book that I needed to make soon.  Of course, food made at home is generally never as good as in a restaurant but this one comes pretty darn close.  Arborio rice is cooked with garlic, shallot, and white wine (I used chardonnay) before being simmered in a mushroom broth and topped with mascarpone cheese.  I have to admit, I’m not the biggest mushroom lover (it’s a texture thing) but I like the flavor of mushrooms.  Dried porcini mushrooms look downright nasty but they provide a ton of flavor for the broth.  This recipe calls for beef broth but I used chicken broth instead and it worked out fine.  I’m sure beef broth provides an added depth to the dish so I’d say stick with it if you like it.  As I’ve mentioned before, risotto can’t be rushed and is a slow process so take your time.  This comforting dish is worth it.

If you like this, check out Risotto Primavera.

The ingredients:

Reconstitute the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes.  Drain the mushrooms, reserving the mushroom water.  Combine 1 1/2 cups of the liquid with chicken (or beef) broth and simmer in a small saucepan.  Chop mushrooms and set aside.

In a large saucepan, sauté rice, garlic, and shallot for 5 minutes.  Add in the white wine and cook until it evaporates.

Slowly add in the warm broth mixture in small portions, letting each portion absorb completely before adding the next portion.  Stir frequently to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Once all broth has been completely absorbed, add in chopped mushrooms, parmesan cheese, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine until cheese melts.

Top with mascarpone cheese and serve.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • Chicken broth for beef broth

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

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