Pan-Seared Chicken Breast with Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

Tonight I tried doing something a little different.  We’ve had a whole lot of beef the past week, so I was thinking that chicken would be a nice change of pace.  They also had some nice button mushrooms at the grocery store.  I also had quite a bit of parmesan cheese I needed to use that I had picked up at the store last week.  So I tried a pan-seared chicken breast with a mushroom Alfredo sauce and pasta.   

Alfredo Sauce has always held a special place in the heart.  The first time I made it, I made it for my parents’ anniversary.  I used shrimp, crawfish tails, and imitation crab meat, I created a dish that bore a resemblance to Seafood Alfredo that didn’t use a pre-made mix or a jar of sauce, and I was quite proud of myself.  Anytime I needed a make a “fancy” quick dinner I would turn to Seafood Alfredo.

When Reada and I started dating, on our 4^th date she invited me to her house to cook for her.  I left early and went to HEB’s Central Market to shop for ingredients.  After wandering the store for the better part of an hour I decided on shrimp Alfredo and salad.  I went to her condo and begin preparing diner in her tiny kitchen.  The air conditioner wasn’t working very well and the heat from 2 burners and the oven being on was a bit much to take.  My forehead looked like a televangelist in the middle of a particularly powerful fire and brimstone style sermon.  I was dripping with sweat, I actually think I had soaked through my shirt in a couple of spots, but the sauce turned out to be quite tasty.  It also turned into the first of many meals that I would make for her. 

Pan-Seared Chicken Breast

2 Chicken breasts butterflied and cut in half

Olive oil

½ cup flour

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Process:

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Heat olive oil in pan heavy frying pan over medium-high heat.

Blend flour and Italian Spices.

Dredge the chicken breast in flour place in hot pan and pan fry until golden brown.  Approx.  4 minutes per side.  

When finished, take it out of the oil, place it on a rack on top of a baking sheet and place in the oven to finish cooking (20 minutes),

Mushroom Alfredo Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium yellow onion – minced

4 cloves of garlic – minced

½ kilo mushrooms (Baby Bellas or Button)- sliced

½ cup white wine

¼ cup heavy cream

¾ cup whole milk

1 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

Heat olive oil and butter in sauce pan over medium heat.

Add the mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes.

Add the onions and garlic, sauté for 2 more minute

Add the white wine and simmer for 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by ½

Add cream and milk and allow to simmer, then blend thoroughly and simmer for 5 additional minutes.

While the mixture is simmering blend the remaining butter and flour until it makes a nice paste.

Slowly add the parmesan cheese to the cream, wine and mushroom mixture.  Constantly whisk the sauce until most of it is incorporated into the sauce.  (There will still be a little cheese clumped to the whisk, this is normal and is nothing to worry about.)

Once the cheese is 75% incorporated add the butter and flour paste while continuing to whisk the sauce until it is smooth creamy mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a pan seared chicken breast, pasta, garlic bread and a simple green salad. 

Enjoy!

Spicy Cream of Tomato Soup

I actually never ate tomato soup until I was 15.  While volunteering at a summer camp we had tomato soup and grilled cheese.  I was concerned but for the most part old Patsy, the cook, had never let us down.   I quickly realized that this was a match made in heaven.  Then I soon realized that if I was warming up a can Campbell’s Tomato soup, that if I added milk it tasted much better.  Then I was exposed to La Madeline’s Tomato Basil Soup and realized just how good tomato soup could be.

A few years ago while preparing a batch of chili for a chili cook off, I came to an interesting realization.  The base I made for my chili was simply a thick and hearty tomato soup made with alpaca stock.  With a few substitutions I could make this into a very good tomato soup.  Then I forgot about it until this past Lent.

Reada still follows the fish on Fridays during Lent.  In Lima, this was easily achieved by going to get sushi every Friday night at Edo (which was within walking distance of our home).  Here there is one sushi bar that is about buffet quality at gourmet prices, so needless to say that wasn’t going to work.  This lent I had to get creative for non-meat dishes before we stocked up on the frozen corvina filets. Reada had some instant tomato soup packets and suggested that I make those for our dinner with grilled cheese.  Being a  little bit of a food snob, I decided that I needed to make some myself.

Spicy Tomato Soup

2 – 12 oz cans whole roma tomatos or 10 roma tomatoes peeled and seeded and quartered

1whole head of garlic (peeled a separated into individual cloves)

Olive oil

2 carrots (peeled and chopped)

1 bell pepper (seeded and chopped)

2 jalapeno peppers (you can deseed the pepper for a less spicy soup)

1 large yellow onion (chopped)

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 – 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

2 teaspoons Adobe seasoning

¼  cup heavy cream

¾ cup milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

Process:

Preheat oven to 400°

Toss tomatoes and garlic in olive oil and place in roasting pan.  Roast for about 20 minutes in the oven until the tomatoes begin to caramelize.

While tomatoes and garlic are roasting, heat a little olive oil to a deep pot.  Once the pot is hot sauté the onions until they begin to caramelize.  Then add the rest of the vegetables and sauté for a few minutes  

Add the fresh roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, the broth, tomato sauce, and the Adobo seasoning.  Bring the pot to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the carrots are soft.

Remove the pot from the heat.   Using an immersion blender*, puree the soup until it is nice and smooth.

*you can use a regular blender, but be careful with hot soup in a covered blender.  You could end up with scalding hot soup all over yourself and your kitchen

Add the cream and milk, this will lighten the color of the soup and will provide a bit of richness.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with French bread, a good ‘ol grilled cheese sandwich and your favorite hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Taco* Night!

Now you would think that living in South America that we would be able to find some good simple Mexican food.  In Lima, we had Si, Senior which was decent, but very overpriced.  They did have to-go margaritas though which could cause some trouble.   

Here in Venezuela we've heard rumors of a decent Mexican restaurant an hour and a half away from us in Maracaibo.  But have yet to try and find it.

This week the stars aligned and it just so happens that we were able to find all the things we need to have a very nice little taco night.

*we only have flour tortillas available here, so technically this is burrito night

Now three things we always bring back from the states are taco seasoning, Velveeta, and canned Ro-tel Tomatoes.  The Velveeta and Ro-tel are always saved for special occasions to make Chile con Queso, a Tex-Mex staple.  We usually save the queso for parties and special occasions.  We found plain Doritos at the store the other day, so that is enough of a special occasion for us!

White Trash Queso

1 pound Velveeta

1 can Ro-Tell (chopped tomatoes with green chilies)

Process:

Chop the velveeta into cubes and place in a microwave safe dish, add the rotel tomatoes and place in the microwave.   Heat on high for 2 minutes, take it out stir.  Repeat this process until the queso is completely melted and smooth.

  

Now what would a Tex-Mex meal be without an ice cold margarita on the rocks.  As luck would have it Reada spotted some tequila at the local liquor store while on a quest for juice the other day.  While cheap rum, vodka, and beer are plentiful here, tequila seems to be one of the most elusive of spirits.  We’ve had a Tequila flavored liqueur made here in Venezuela but that made some of the worst margarita’s we’ve ever had.  Tonight we have the real deal a brand I’ve never heard of, but it is 100% agave, distilled in Jalisco and imported from Mexico. 

Orange Margaritas

2 Cups tequila

1 cup orange liquor (Cointreu, Triple Sec, Curacao)

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 cup orange juice

½ cup simple syrup (recipe follows)

Process:

Mix all ingredients in a pitcher, cover and put back in the refrigerator. 

Serve over ice.

Simple Syrup

½ cup water

1 cup sugar

Process:

Boil water on the stove, whisk in the sugar until it is completely dissolved.

Now I know that most people ignore the rice and beans on their plate when they go to a Tex-Mex restaurant.  You have already filled up on chips, salsa, and maybe even some chile con queso.  But in all reality you don’t really have a true Tex-Mex meal without a beans and rice.  Of course when we think of Tex-Mex we think of refried beans and and Spanish Rice.  

Sometimes refried beans are available here, but they often run about $8 a can.  After playing around with some recipes, I’ve found that these will do the trick.  Also your favorite bean can be used in place of the black beans.  Traditional refried beans at Ninfa's or Chuy’s are usually made from pinto beans, but once again, that is something that just isn’t that common here.

Frijoles Negras Refritos (Refried Black Beans)

1 kg dried black beans

4 slices of bacon cut into ½ inch pieces

1 medium yellow onion chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

Salt to taste

Process:

Rinse and clean the beans, then cover in water soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Discard the water and place the beans in a pot, completely cover in water. 

Bring beans to a boil bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 ½ hours or until the beans are tender.  Drain the beans but reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Place the bacon in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Cook thoroughly but not until crisp.  Once the bacon is about ½ way cooked add the onion and garlic.  This will help prevent the bacon from becoming too crisp.  Sauté for 2 minutes or until the onions become translucent.

Add all but 1 cup of the beans to the frying pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes.   

Using an immersion blender or potato masher begin to mash the beans until they make a thick paste.  Add some of the cooking liquid as needed until you have a creamy mixture of beans.  Add the cumin and salt.  Stir in the remaining whole beans.

*for vegetarian beans leave out the bacon and replace with 1 tsp shortening and 1 tsp corn oil

Spanish Rice

1 Onion finely chopped

4 Cloves Garlic minced

1 tsp corn oil

1 cup white rice

1 cup chicken stock (vegetable stock can be used if vegetarian)

1 cup water

8 ounce can of tomato sauce

1 teaspoon cumin

½  teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup chopped cilantro

Process:

Using a food processor, finely mince the onion, garlic.  Set to the side.

Heat oil in a sauce pan; add rice and sauté until puffed.

Add onion and garlic, sauté until most of the liquid is gone.  

Add the chicken stock, water, tomato sauce, and spices, bring to boil, cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes.  

Take off the heat, add the chopped cilantro.  Mix thoroughly and serve.

I’m not going to go into detail about the taco/burrito filling, just get some Old El Paso Taco Seasoning and follow the directions on the pack.  I usually add a chopped onion and garlic to the meat as it is browning just to give it a little extra happiness.

Put everything in separate bowls and there you have a nice little build your own taco/burrito dinner. 

Enjoy!

An Ode to Pappadeux's

In Houston the Pappas restaurants are a way of life.  I can remember for almost every birthday dinner I would want to go to Pappadeux’s for their Blackened Opelousas or Crawfish Trio.  As a child, it was my once a year brush with culinary heaven.  I even worked there for a summer, using my employee discount as often as I could.  Living on the Texas Gulf Coast we had ample opportunity to get fresh seafood, and it makes you a little regionally biased.

Then after moving to Peru I was exposed to how good Pacific Seafood could be.  Ceviche, mussels,  tiraditos, scallops, and the best calamari and octopus that I have ever eaten.  We experienced four years of some of the best seafood in the world, it was so accessible and inexpensive there was little that I needed to make at home.

Then we moved to rural Venezuela on the shores of Lake Maracaibo where there is little seafood available.  We would occasionally see frozen fish sticks and frozen precooked shrimp at the local grocery store.  Our seafood intake was essentially nothing but canned tuna and salmon.  Then lo and behold they had frozen corvina (sea bass) fillets at one of the local grocery stores.  This opened the doors, and now tonight I am going to blacken the fillets and serve them with a spicy creole white wine sauce with shrimp and cilantro-garlic rice.

Blackening Seasoning

1 tablespoon Paparika

1 tablespoon Black Pepper

1 tablespoon Garlic Powder

1 tablespoon ground oregano

1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1 teaspoon Gumbo File

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Process:

Mix all the spices thoroughly and place in an airtight container.

Spicy Creole White Wine Sauce;

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup White Wine

¼ cup heavy cream

¾ cup milk

1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning (Tony Chachere’s or similar)

1 teaspoon Blackening Seasoning

1 cup peeled and cleaned shrimp

(If you have crab meat, oysters or scallops, they may be used in addition to or instead of the shrimp)

Process:

Heat the butter over medium heat, whisk in the flour to create a roux.

Cook the roux over medium heat, constantly whisking it until it is the color of peanut butter.  This will give the sauce a richer more complex flavor.

Slowly whisk in the white wine, this should make a thick paste that will look just like peanut butter. 

Now slowly add the milk and the heavy cream and continue whisking until smooth and creamy.  Add the spices and let simmer on low for 20 minutes.

Add seafood and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until shrimp and oysters are completely cooked through.

Serve on top of your Blackened Fish

Blackened Corvina

4 fillets corvina (seabass, catfish, redfish or snapper will work)

Olive oil

Blackening seasoning

Process:

Thoroughly season both side of the fillets with blackening seasoning.

Heat heavy skillet and a liberal amount of olive oil until it begins to smoke, then add the fillets. Cook on high heat for 4 minutes, add more olive oil if needed and flip fillets and cook for another 4 minutes. 

Fillets will have a nice char on both sides and should still be moist on the inside.  Plate the fish and serve immediately.

 Cilantro Garlic Rice

1 Onion finely chopped

4 Cloves Garlic minced

1 teaspoon corn oil

1 cup white rice

1 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Process:

Using a food processor, finely mince the onion, garlic and ¼ cup of cilantro.  Set to the side.

Heat oil in a sauce pan, add rice and sauté until puffed.  Add onion and garlic and ¼ cup of cilantro, sauté until most of the liquid is gone.  

Add the stock and water, bring to boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Take off the heat, add remaining chopped ¼ cup of cilantro and the juice of the lime.  Mix thoroughly and serve.

 
Put it all together and this is the lovely dish you get!  Enjoy!