Pollo Asado Filiberto's Style!

Another quick and easy (and delicious) chicken recipe!

POLLO ASADO FILIBERTO'S STYLE:

1 lb.  raw chicken, cut into 1-inch chunks
a couple tablespoons of oil
spices and seasonings: salt, pepper, red chile, red pepper flakes, chile con limon (I'm pretty sure I added that since I put it in everything), cumin, granulated garlic, oregano

Heat up the pan or a flat top grill.  Season the chicken chunks with salt and pepper.  Put the oil in the pan and add the chicken to start pan frying it.  As the chicken starts cooking, add the other seasonings, including more salt and pepper if needed.  Don't overdo the seasonings except for the red chile, you can be generous with that one.  Continue to pan fry the chicken so it gets nice and brown, stirring occasionally.  Let the chicken cook for about 10-15 minutes until it's really done.

Now you can make tacos, burritos, or even a salad with chicken on top!  As pictured above, pico de gallo will be delicious with the grilled chicken in a taco or burrito.  Just warm up the tortilla on a comal, large frying pan, or flat top grill so they get warm and soft.

PICO DE GALLO:

This is the salsa cruda (raw salsa), not the fruit with chile and lemon, which is also delicious, but maybe not so delicious wrapped in a tortilla with grilled chicken....  You can also serve pico de gallo with chips and guacamole.

2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 raw jalapenos, depending on desired heat level, chopped small
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lemon or 3-4 key limes
1 teaspoon of salt

Chop the veggies and add the lemon juice and salt.  Mix everything up together.  Enjoy!

Prize-Winning Deliciousness!!!

 CHICXULUB SURVIVORS CLUB VICTORIOUS!!!!!!!

So, this week in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, our Spring League director decided to host a contest for the best St. Patrick's themed desserts and drinks, to be held at halftime during league nights.  Each team would submit a drink and a dessert, and the winning entry from each category would win a prize.

Somehow I got it in my head that I wanted to make a drink out of mint chocolate chip ice cream, so it would be both green and yummy, so I volunteered to make our team's drink.  I found a recipe on the internet that sounded like it might be good, then went on a mission to find the ingredients.  Later, I made a test batch to make sure the drink would win the prize, and ended up tweaking the recipe just a little for maximum yumminess.  Of course, I also ended up intoxicated from tasting about 4 tiny sips of the drink while testing the recipe... yeah, it's pretty strong!

On game day, I came home early to make the drinks, and I was on the phone with my mom, telling her what I was doing, and that there was going to be a prize for the best drink.  She said "The prize is probably stuff to help you drink some more."  HOW DID SHE KNOW????  She's so wise.

My mom was right.  The prize pack included party hats, big and small, shot glasses, party shades, party ducks (?), party antennas, and party bracelets.  That was some incentive, but the bigger prize was a victory for our team and bragging rights for the next year.

What can I say?  The drink was delicious, the judges cast their votes, and the Chicxulub Survivors Club came away victorious in the drink division!

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM SHOTS (or Prize-Winning Deliciousness!):

1 shot Green Creme de Menthe
1 shot Goldschlager
1 shot Irish Cream
1 shot Golden Rum
1 cup of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (the green kind)
Dark Chocolate Candy - shaved into little shavings (optional)

Put the liquor and the ice cream into the blender and blend it up for a few seconds until it's smooth.  Add the chocolate shavings and briefly mix them in.  Serve ice cold!

For the contest, I made 8x the recipe so that everyone who wanted some could partake.  My blender could hold 4x the recipe at a time (4 shots of each liquor, 4 cups of ice cream, and 1 candy bar), so that was 2 batches.  I packed it on ice and it held up pretty well.  Make sure you shake it before pouring so you get some chocolate in each shot!  Enjoy!  But don't overdo it!  That's a lot of liquor!

Nobby's Table

Noble Jonathan David was one of six brothers and sisters, the American-born children of Syrian immigrants who settled in Jacksonville, Florida.  Nobby raised his family in Miami, Florida, and eventually became my sister's father-in-law when my sister married his son.  Soon after that, he became the grandfather of my neices and nephew.

Nobby was a brilliant neuro-ophthalmologist, but I knew him as a devoted family member, a gifted cook, and a passionate cello player.  Every Tuesday evening for years, Nobby had his kids and grandkids over (plus extended family such as me, my brothers and sisters and my mom), to have dinner together and play music.  Nobby always cooked, and every Tuesday, his table was stacked with plenty of food for everyone.

Every summer, Nobby returned to Jacksonville Beach and rented a beach house for 2 weeks, where all his brothers and sisters, their children, grandchildren, and ALL the cousins could come from far and wide, relax and enjoy the beach, the food, and the music.  Such a musical family too!  Guitar players, singers, recorders, french horns, violinists, piano players -- somebody was always playing music somewhere around the house or the yard.  One summer, I was blessed to be able to join the family in Jacksonville Beach, and even I joined in on the piano for duets, trios, quartets, whatever sheet music people brought to play.  We weren't quite ready for Carnegie Hall, but it was fun, and music is definitely a strong bond within this family.

That summer, I also tag-teamed with Nobby in the kitchen.  He was actually intrigued by some of my diner-style recipes such as patty melts, reubens, corn beef hash.  Of course, Nobby's specialties were the Syrian dishes: hummous, baba ganouj, tabouli, falafels, kibby, baklava, etc.  He shared his recipes with me, although the 3 dishes I make the most often are hummus, baba ganouj, and occasionally tabouli.  I would make falafels, but you actually have to start the day before, soaking the fava and garbanzo beans in water.  I never think about it in time..

I'll do my best on the measurements, since Nobby and I both had the habit of cooking without measuring our ingredients.  As always, you may adjust the amounts to your own taste.  Also, it's always nice to have other goodies on the side, such as cheeses, olives, roasted red peppers, wine, beer...  :-)

HUMMOUS:

1 15-ounce can of garbanzo beans (also called chick peas)
3 Tablespoons tahini
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons of olive oil (2+2)

Put the garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the blender or food processer.  Blend until it is smooth.  Put it in a serving bowl and flatten out the top.  Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top in a circle.  Serve with warm pita bread.

BABA GHANOUJ:

1 large eggplant, grilled and peeled
3 Tablespoons tahini
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil

Grill the eggplant over a low flame, turning it so that all sides are charred and the eggplant gets shriveled.  You can do this on your stove, even over electric coils by placing a metal rack over the elements.  Grilling the eggplant is critical because this step gives the baba ghanouj its signature smoky flavor.  Let the eggplant cool a little and then peel it.

Next you have a choice whether you want your baba ghanouj to be smooth or a little bit chunky.  If you want it to be chunky, place all the ingredients into a bowl and mash them together.  You'll have to chop the garlic first for this method.  I use 2 knives to chop the eggplant up into little bits, then add everything else.

If you want your baba ghanouj to be smooth, place all the ingredients into a blender or food processer.  Blend it up for a few seconds until it's smooth.  Enjoy your baba ghanouj with warm pita bread!

Thank you Nobby for everything.  You were a good guy and I'm blessed to have known you.

Update on Sweet Potato Soup

One thing about being obsessed with making the same dish over and over, there's a chance you'll get better at it!  About 3 weeks ago, I made sweet potato soup again, and this time I asked myself, "What makes sweet potatoes yummy?"  The answer was clear: "Of course, brown sugar and butter!!!"

So I added brown sugar and butter to the pan while the sweet potatoes were cooking, then I added some more when they were done cooking.  The soup was SOOO GOOD!!!  Then, as I was ladling the soup into the bowls, I had the inspiration that I bet this soup would be really yummy with chopped candy pecans sprinkled over the top!  So that's what I did when I cooked this soup again for Christmas dinner.  It was very festive!  It was like eating candy yam soup!

SWEET POTATO SOUP:

1 medium onion - chopped
2 large sweet potatoes - peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 can of chicken stock
salt, pepper, and cinnamon
boiling water

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a soup pan, and add the onions to saute.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  When the onions begin to caramelize and the edges are turning brown, add the sliced sweet potatoes and the chicken stock.  You'll also have to add boiling water to cover the sweet potatoes.  You can add some cinnamon to the pan too, maybe 1/2 teaspoon or a teaspoon (I forgot to measure it).  Now add the brown sugar, bring it up to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are very soft.

Using a stick blender (also called an immersion blender), blend the soup completely untl it is very smooth.  You may have to add more boiling water as you blend it because it could get very thick, thicker than soup should be.  When it's blended, add 2 more tablespoons of butter and stir it in to melt.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with chopped candy pecans.

CHOPPED CANDY PECANS:

1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 or 2 teaspoons brown sugar
A couple sprinkles of cinnamon

Put the ingredients into a small non-stick saute pan over low heat.  Stir them as they heat up.  When the sugar is melted, turn the heat off and stir the ingredients together to get them coated.  Let them cool and break them apart before garnishing the soup.

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmmmmm!!!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

The best thing I ever ate was a bowl of sweet potato soup at Red Fish on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.  It was so good I wanted to lick the bowl... but I decided not to, being out in public and all.  I still attempted to scrape every drop out with my spoon.  This soup was so good, I can't even describe it, I can only describe how I felt when I was eating it: I never wanted to stop!  I have tried a few times to make sweet potato soup, but mine may never be as good as the soup at Red Fish.  I'm ok with that, it sounds to me like a good reason to go back to New Orleans some day!

So I've kind of been addicted to making soup lately; carrot soup (not bad), cauliflower soup (nuff said), sweet potato soup (mmmmm).  Last night I made some vegetable soup that actually turned out to be very delicious.  When I sat down to eat it, I added a little bit of chicken, which I guess made it no longer vegetable soup, but it was still good.  Chunky soup is all about the broth.  The broth has to be delicious.  Having been absorbed by the Mexican culture, of course I squeezed some lime juice over the top before eating it, and added some condiments, this time queso fresco.

VEGETABLE SOUP

1 medium onion
4 cloves of garlc
10 baby carrots
1 zucchini
1/2 of a large sweet potato (about 1 cup diced)
2 roma tomatoes
1 can of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of butter
Boiling water
Seasonings: salt, pepper, chile powder, granulated garlic, cumin, curry powder, chile con limon
Queso Fresco (crumbled or chopped) and lime for garnish

Chop all the veggies to a similar size: about 1/2 inch cubes.  Then melt the butter in a pan and add the onions and garlic.  Sprinkle the seasonings and saute for a few minutes until the onions almost start to brown.  You can tell by the way it smells, since the chile powder makes everything red.  Before it burns, add some water to the pan, about an inch.  Then you can add the chicken broth and the rest of the veggies.  Add more water so the veggies are covered, and add more of the seasonings.

Now let the veggies cook until they are soft, stir it once in a while.  You might have to add water sometimes so the veggies stay in the water.  When the veggies are soft, taste the soup, and add more seasonings!  You want this soup to have a lot of flavor!  The curry powder added a really special flavor!

Now it's ready to eat.  Garnish the soup with queso fresco and squeeze a little bit of lime juice into the soup.  Yummy!!!!  You'll be very pleased with yourself for making such a delicious soup!

Texas BBQ at Houston International

Back in the day, the airlines used to include a meal when you flew from one city to another.  If it was a really long flight, you might get a meal and a snack.  Those days are long gone!*  Now you have to pack your own lunch if you don't want to go hungry.  I usually bring a large ziplock bag filled with snacks like gummy bears, apples, mixed nuts or pistachios, energy bars, maybe some fried chicken, and a bottle of water.  You can usually buy a snack box on board, but those don't look too appetizing to me, and they're pretty over priced.

So imagine my delight when I saw a Texas BBQ stand during a layover in Houston last week on my way back from Miami!  It wasn't much of a layover, I had about 20 minutes to get from one gate to the other before they started boarding my next flight.  I was determined to find my gate, so I didn't stop at the BBQ stand when I first saw it, I just kept looking for the gate I needed to be at.  When I got there, I saw that I still had 7 minutes before they started boarding.  So, I quickly made my way back to the Texas BBQ so I could get some food to eat on the plane.  They were fast, I got some ribs and made it back to the gate just as they started boarding my flight!

I waited until we were in the air before I broke out the ribs.  Wow, what flavor!  They tasted like they had been coated in a dry rub before being cooked, and they were drenched in yummy BBQ sauce... truly finger-licking good!  The rest of the passengers just melted away as I enjoyed one rib after another, licking my fingers, sucking the bones, and everything!  Mmmm, mmmm, mmmmm!!!  I would have offered my neighbors some, but they were asleep.  That's more for me!!

So don't worry!  You don't have to go hungry while you're traveling!  Pack your snacks, grab a bottle of water after going through security, and if you're passing through Houston, by all means get some BBQ ribs; you'll be more than satisfied with your lunch!


* I believe they still include a couple meals on the 12-hour overseas flights, like to Japan.  :-)

ULTIMATE!!!!!!! (and carne asada tacos...)

So, yesterday my Phoenix Spitfire ladies and I descended to The Old Pueblo (a.k.a. Tucson) to play in the Desert Sectionals Tournament, which is the first step on the road to Nationals.  Since the ladies' tournament didn't start until 4:00 p.m., Ranger and I decided to go down early and watch some of the men's tournament, since they had an earlier start time.  After watching the Phoenix men steamroll Tucson, Ranger and I made our way over to the Mexican American neighborhood of Menlo Park, where the ladies were scheduled to play.

Menlo Park itself is located adjacent to Menlo Park Elementary School and surrounded by apartments.  Our team arrived to the park and staked out a shady spot under some big trees so we could get ready to warm up for the tournament.  The Spitfire ladies were VERY excited to play!!!  Our roster was filled from top to bottom with athleticism and experience, and included a returning Joanne A., a savvy veteran with quick footspeed and solid, solid throws.

As always, our regular warmup routine was to run a lap together, and then proceed through a series of 25-yard plyometric exercises.  Only this day, we were joined by 3 neighborhood girls: 7-year-old Princess and her 9-year-old sister Jasmine, and their cousin Yesenia who turns 8 today.  They were there in the park with their family, and decided to join us for some high knees, butt kicks, lunges, skips, shuffles, and sprints.  These girls were muy adorable.  Little did we know that they would stay on our sideline for the entire tournament, cheering us on, keeping score, high-fiving the other team after each game, and playing frisbee with the Phoenix boys, who came to watch us play after their games were done.  The girls even ran home to get Erin some band-aids after she made a spectacular diving catch in the endzone for a touchdown, and scraped her knees (actually her entire front side) in the process.

When the tournament was over and it was time to go home, they hugged us and hugged us, and told us they didn't want us to leave.  Yesenia told me she was so sad she was about to cry.  I was sad to leave them too, they were really special and sweet.  I'll never forget Jasmine, Yesenia, and Princess.  They really added something special to our tournament experience!  Oh yeah, we almost won the tournament... so close!!!

Before heading back to Phoenix, we decided to have dinner at Viva Burrito around the corner at 1372 W. St. Mary's Road (http://www.vivaburritoco.net/).  This place was awesome, and very affordable.  They have a full menu of burritos, tacos, tortas, etc.  I ate 3 carne asada tacos and they were delicious!  My teammates enjoyed a variety of burritos, fish tacos, horchata, and everything was muy delicioso!  I highly recommend Viva Burrito the next time you visit The Old Pueblo.

Yesterday was a great day.

(Thank you for the pic, Lisa!)