CEIMB: Chicken Pepian

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly was another one of my picks! That's one cool thing about being in a blogging group that is a bit on the smaller side; you get to pick the recipe a whole lot more often! I chose to make Chicken Pepian, which I have seen Ellie make at least twice or three times now on her cooking show. I have drooled over this one for far too long; it was time to finally prepare it myself!

These beautiful green gems above are fresh tomatillos, which I absolutely love working with. They are a descendant of the gooseberry (or so I am told by Rachael Ray!), and they kinda sorta taste like a cross between a tomato and a citrus fruit. It's hard to explain, so if you've never tried them and are intrigued, I definitely suggest that you give them a try. We really love them! The tomatillos are used as the base for a yummy green sauce that is first prepared and then used to top boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this dish.

I do have to apologize to my fellow CEIMB-istas for this one, because I didn't realize just how many steps were involved with this recipe until I read through it just before prepping my grocery list. Though the steps are all pretty simple, there are a lot of them and they do take a bit of time. I am happy to say that I think it was worth it, though!

For the actual preparation, I decided to deviate from Ellie's method a bit. Call it laziness, or call it creativity; it was really a little bit of both! I broiled my onions and garlic along with my tomatillos and poblano pepper; it saved me a step in which you sauteed the onion and garlic in a pan. Then, instead of pounding out chicken breasts, I used chicken tenderloins, which of course are much smaller cuts. I put my tenderloins in a Dutch oven, poured all the pepian sauce over top of them, and then baked the whole dish in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees. I thought the low and slow method would keep the meat moist, and would also ensure that the sauce was bubbly and simmered enough (especially since I had prepared the sauce one day ahead and it was cold from the fridge).

Then, in one final burst of ingenuity, I decided to serve them up two different ways. The first night we ate this, I placed a pile of stone ground tortilla chips beside the chicken and let everyone choose whether they wanted to just eat the chicken straight up, or use the chips to scoop it all up. Either way, you couldn't lose, because this was very, very scrumptious! The second night, I used the chicken and the sauce as a filling for some wraps, and that was super delicious as well.

This sauce was reminiscent of a pesto, since it utilized leafy green herbs, roasted veggies, and pumpkin seeds. However, the flavor was decidedly Southwestern, and there was the barest hint of heat from the poblano and jalapeno. It was nice and zesty, but not overpowering. I'd love to see how this would taste tossed with some pasta, though!

I've provided the full recipe, the way Ellie intended it. You can try it her way or mine; I can only vouch for my method. I'm glad I chose this; it got some very enthusiastic thumbs-up at my house! If you'd like to check out the CEIMB blogroll, click here. Thanks to everybody who cooked with me this week!

Chicken Pepian
adapted from Food Network
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 lb. fresh tomatillos
1 large poblano pepper (2.5-3 oz.), seeded and chopped into four pieces
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds
5 whole peppercorns
2 whole allspice
1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped, fresh cilantro leaves (plus 1/4 cup more for garnish)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium (2-inch) jalapeno pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
Lime wedges

Directions
1. Preheat the broiler. Remove papery outer skins from tomatillos, then rinse with warm water to remove some of their natural stickiness. Pat dry, then cut into quarters. Toss tomatillos and the poblano with 2 tsp. of the oil, place on a baking sheet, and broil until charred, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

2. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add pumpkin seeds, peppercorns, allspice, and cumin, and toast until pumpkin seeds are fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

3. In the same saute pan, heat 2 tsp. of the oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

4. Place the tomatillos, the poblano, the onions, garlic, 1 cup cilantro, chicken broth, jalapeno pepper, pumpkin seeds, spices, and the salt in a food processor (or blender) and process on high until totally smooth, about 30 seconds.

5. Heat the remaining 2 tsp. oil in a skillet and cook the chicken until browned on both sides and nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Add pepian sauce to the skillet, covering the chicken pieces. Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve chicken topped with the sauce and garnished with cilantro and lime wedges.

Chicken in Pumpkin-Ancho Mole Sauce

I try to post and talk about a lot of main dishes that are easy, quick, and flavorful. I'm all about things being simple; after all, the time I get to spend in the kitchen without a child clinging to my leg is precious little! But, I have to say that every now and again, I really, really enjoy being able to prepare a meal that took a long time to make. There's just something about all that time invested in the dish that makes it taste so much better. The flavors get to develop so much more fully, and the meat (if you're using meat, that is) just becomes so much more tender and tasty.

I saw Sunny Anderson making this Chicken in Pumpkin-Ancho Mole Sauce on TV one afternoon, and right away I knew that this meal was going to be the very next lazy-day meal that I was going to make. It just seemed so perfect for us: chicken brined in warm spices, then bathed in a thick, hearty sauce made from pumpkin seeds, reconstituted dried peppers, roasted veggies, and fresh herbs. The whole shebang is then baked in a Dutch oven for about an hour, and when it's all said and done the meat just falls right off the bone. The meat is then shredded and placed back in the sauce for another little bath. The mixture is folded into a corn tortilla, along with some fresh veggies, and then it's ready to be devoured. Oh, bliss.

This was the first time I had ever brined anything. I have always wanted to try it, so I was excited about the whole experience. It's definitely easy; it just takes some planning ahead. I had to boil the brining liquid and then allow it to completely cool (so as not to cook the chicken prematurely) before putting the chicken in there for a swim. I actually did all this the day before I was going to cook it, since Sunny says you can do this up to 24 hours ahead of time. I'm not quite sure what it would have tasted like had I not done this, but I can tell you that the meat was unbelievably moist and delicious this way. I highly, highly recommend brining for the whole 24 hours. The spices are present in the final product; you can taste the cinnamon and the cloves there along with the flavors in the sauce. They are a perfect marriage.

The sauce, dubbed a "mole" by Sunny even though one traditionally associates the word mole with the inclusion of chocolate in a sauce, is completely free of the ingredient. Sunny points out in the episode that mole simply means "sauce," so that doesn't necessarily mean you have to add chocolate. She prefers it this way. The sauce is plenty rich without the chocolate, but I would like to know what this would taste like if I were to add just a bit next time..



As is, the sauce is thick and full-bodied, thanks to the heft of the pumpkin seeds and the meaty reconstituted peppers. Sunny only used ancho chilies; I used a combination of ancho and guajillo. Guajillo is twice as spicy as ancho, but is still considered to be more smoky then hot. I also used 2 jalapenos in there, as directed, and found the sauce to be pretty darn spicy. I loved it, don't get me wrong, but I just thought I'd throw that disclaimer on there! It's not for the faint of heart. The cilantro adds brightness, and the roasted veggies make the sauce taste fresh. I was absolutely in love with the sauce. It was so complex, and it just worked so well as a condiment on this twist on a taco. I am quickly becoming obsessed with this idea of a seed- or nut-based sauce (pesto, anyone?) that you can slow-roast your meat in and then shred it back into. The possibilities....oh, they boggle my mind. But for now, I have this exquisite mole.

Chicken in Pumpkin-Ancho Mole Sauce
adapted from Sunny Anderson
serves 6-8

Ingredients
8 cups water, divided
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 tsp. whole cloves
6 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs (Sunny used breasts)
3 ancho chiles (dried poblano peppers)
2 guajillo chiles
2 large jalapenos, halved
1 large onion, quartered
3 Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
4 whole garlic cloves
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds (Sunny used 1 cup)
1 large bunch cilantro leaves
16 corn tortillas, kept warm
2 limes, cut into 8 wedges
2-3 cups fresh spinach leaves, shredded
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine 6 cups water with kosher salt, sugar, bay leaf, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently. Once the sugar and salt have dissolved, remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Transfer to a large bowl, add the chicken, and refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. Bring the remaining 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. In a medium heatproof bowl, add the ancho and guajillo chiles and cover with the boiling water. Weigh down with a plate so the peppers remain underwater and let them soak for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the stems when the peppers have softened.

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. On a sheet tray toss the jalapenos, onion, Roma tomatoes, cloves of garlic, and cumin seeds with 2 Tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roast until nicely caramelized with good color, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the pumpkin seeds to a dry, hot skillet on high heat. Stir often, until the pumpkin seeds are golden and begin to pop. Transfer to a food processor along with the roasted vegetables. Add the soaked chiles, about 2 Tbsp. of chili soaking liquid, the cilantro leaves, and the remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil to the processor. Puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if necessary.

4. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, blot dry with paper towels, and place in a large Dutch oven. Pour the mole sauce over top of the chicken, cover Dutch oven with a lid, and place in the 400 degree oven until the chicken is cooked through, 55 to 60 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and transfer chicken to a cutting board to cool. When it is cool to the touch, shred the chicken and add it back to the sauce. Spoon the mole into corn tortillas and serve with lime wedges, shredded spinach, red onion, and radishes.

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins

I am a big fan of the first Baked cookbook, the one that spawned such hits as the Sweet and Salty Cake, the Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks, the Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl, and the Millionaire's Shortbread. Whenever I want to create a fabulous dessert that will more than likely get people talking, this book is normally the first place I start to look for recipes. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out they were publishing a second cookbook!

Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented is the next offering in the Baked series, and it is a doozy. Thumbing through it when it first arrived at my house, I was amazed that the book's authors (and the bakery the books are named after's owners) managed to think even more outside the box than last time. There are so many amazing recipes that I am already dying to try. There's the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies, the Monkey Bubble Bread, and the Grasshopper Bars, just to name a select few. But, since I was going to be baking for a pumpkin-loving houseguest, I decided to make the Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins first out of the book.

It seems like it would be an odd pairing, pumpkin with cheddar cheese. However, I can assure you that this works amazingly well. These muffins are more the savory variety than the sweet; there's only a half cup of brown sugar in the whole recipe. The spices are cayenne and black pepper, rather than the more pie-ish cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. The result is a slightly spicy, complex flavor that really surprises and pleases the palate. They're wonderful straight from the oven, but they keep pretty well, too. I'm glad I broke through my doubt about these muffins, because everybody loved them. I'm excited to see what else the Baked book has in store for me!

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins
from Baked Explorations
makes 12 muffins

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup solid-pack pumpkin puree
3 Tbsp. sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne peppers
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups (4 oz.) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds (mine were shelled, roasted, and salted)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray each cup of a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and the sour cream. Add eggs and butter, and whisk until combined.

2. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and dark brown sugar. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well, and with a large rubber spatula, fold until just combined. Fold in three-quarters of the cheese.

3. Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle remaining cheese and the pumpkin seeds evenly over each muffin.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffin pan cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before gently removing muffins from pan. These should be served warm, but they can be made ahead of time and reheated in a 200 degree oven.

Almond and Pumpkin Seed Brittle

Happy Halloween! We're getting ready for a big night of trick-or-treating with the kids tonight. We've got our 5 year-old dressing up as Shaggy and our 23 month-old dressing as Scooby-Doo. Since both boys are huge fans of Scooby-Doo, this year's theme was a no-brainer. I hope to be able to get some picture of the boys in their costumes posted here in the next week or so. In the meantime, though, I offer you some lovely brittle!

Nothing screams Halloween more than candy and pumpkins. This Almond and Pumpkin Seed Brittle is a very tasty little treat that would make a great snack for the trick-or-treaters, or their parents. We served it at a Halloween party that we helped out with yesterday at my in-laws'. It's great finger food, and the guests seemed to enjoy it.

Now, I have to confess something. This is actually my second attempt at making this brittle. The first time I made it, I burned the candy and ended up with a very, very dark brittle. It was almost the color of a milk chocolate, but it sure didn't taste like chocolate! It had a salty, bitter taste (yes, I tried it, and yes, I actually ate way more of it than was rational, considering it was a flub!) and nobody else in my household would even touch the stuff.

I did use a candy thermometer, even though the recipe did not indicate that I had to. I read other brittle recipes online and was trying to go by what they were telling me to do, temperature-wise. I thought I needed to take the temp all the way up to 320-ish, although other recipes say to remove the candy from the heat at about 300. Plus, I think the thermometer was off, and I took the candy too far because I was relying on the temperature I was reading from it. Making this stuff is trickier than I thought it would be, mainly because there's such a fine line between perfect and burnt. Maybe in the future I should rely strictly on the recipe's instructions, and shouldn't depend on a thermometer to tell me what's right!

Though this second batch turned out much, much better, it's still pretty dark. Maybe I need to be removing the candy from the heat even sooner than the recipe says to? I dunno, but it really doesn't matter this time because this brittle is dee-licious! The pumpkin seeds I used were lightly salted, and then you add more salt to the candy before adding your nuts. This results in a delightfully sweet/salty combo, enhanced by a dash of cinnamon for extra spice. The cinnamon was something I threw in on a whim; it wasn't part of the original recipe. I'm glad I added it; I can never have enough cinnamon! I really think it works in the brittle.

Almond and Pumpkin Seed Brittle
adapted from The Craft of Baking
makes 1 1/2 pounds

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups sugar
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. kosher salt (the recipe called for 1 1/2 Tbsp., but my pumpkin seeds were salted so I cut down on that)
4 oz. (about 1 cup) pumpkin seeds, salted and toasted
4 oz. (about 1 cup) raw almonds, left whole or halved, toasted

Directions
1. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set it aside (Nonstick aluminum foil worked great, too!). Mix together the salt and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Combine the sugar, butter, water, and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Stir together so that all of the sugar is wet. Cook the mixture over high heat without stirring until it turns a dark amber color, about 10 minutes. (I used my candy thermometer to bring the mixture up to about 320 degrees. In the future I would probably aim for between 300 and 320, just so that the brittle is a little bit lighter in color.) Remove from the heat.

3. Carefully whisk in the baking soda, followed by the salt and cinnamon; the caramel will rise and bubble. Using a wooden or metal spoon, fold in the pumpkin seeds and almonds. Pour the brittle onto the prepared baking sheet, and using the back of the spoon, spread it out into a layer about 1/2-inch thick. Let it cool completely.

4. Break the brittle into bite-sized pieces, using a mallet or the back of a heavy knife. The brittle can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Bucatini with Jalapeno Pesto

I know I just posted about another pesto recipe last week, but this is one is so completely different that I thought it'd be okay to post about it today. This one is not made with basil, pine nuts, or even any cheese like the last one was. It isn't like any other pesto I've ever had. No, sir, this one uses green bell, jalapeno, and serrano peppers as its base!

As soon as I read over the ingredients list for this one, I thought it just sounded too crazy to work. However, that usually just makes me want to make something even more, because I just have to see for myself if it's going to be successful. So I decided to go for it.

You start out by toasting some pumpkin seeds in the oven. When they come out, in go some bell peppers and jalapeno peppers to roast. I used a combination of jalapeno and serrano as well as the bell, because that's what I needed to use up. Once the peppers are cool, and the skin is removed, you throw them in the food processor with the cooled pumpkin seeds, some cilantro, and some garlic, and coarsely chop. Stream in some olive oil and some lime juice, add salt and pepper to taste, and that's all it takes to produce a wildly flavorful, tangy, nutty, and very spicy concoction that tastes unbelievable on pasta.

The recipe I used (which I found on the site which used to be Recipezaar, but they've now switched it over to Food.com) added some halved cherry tomatoes in with the pasta and the pesto. Since I've discovered that I really love roasted, burst tomatoes, I went with that method for mine, and it was delicious. I'm sure any number of other veggies would be great in this, all tossed together with the pasta. I can see zucchini being delicious in there, asparagus, even peas. The possibilities are many for things to pair with this pesto!

Be prepared for the heat, though. This pesto is kinda killer! Granted, you can easily adjust the heat level to your liking by altering the combination of peppers you use. I love having that versatility with a recipe. I'm sure this would even work with just red and green bell peppers, and no hot peppers. However, for my tastes, I loved this just the way it was!

Pasta with Jalapeno Pesto

adapted from Recipezaar (now Food.com), recipe #13141

makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

5 Tbsp. shelled pumpkin seeds

2 green bell peppers

1 jalapeno pepper

2 serrano peppers

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus the zest of half a lime

1/2 tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. bucatini pasta (the thick spaghetti with a tiny hole down the center)

1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (roasted or not, it's up to you)

1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet for 6-8 minutes, until fragrant and crunchy. Crank up the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

2. Place all the peppers on a baking sheet, and roast them for 20 minutes or so, turning frequently. The smaller hot peppers take only about 10-15 minutes.

3. When the skin of the peppers has blistered, remove them from the oven. Let them cool a bit (I placed mine in a glass bowl covered in saran wrap to let them sweat a bit), then pull the skin away from the flesh. Discard the skin.

4. Place the peppers in a food processor, along with 4 Tbsp. of the reserved pumpkin seeds, the cilantro, and the garlic. Blend until the contents are coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly stream in the oil and lime juice. Blend in salt and pepper to taste.

5. While the peppers are roasting, you can start the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, then return it to the pot. Add the tomatoes and the pesto, and stir well to combine everything. (If you decide to go with burst cherry tomatoes, you can throw them in the oven on a separate baking sheet while the peppers roast. Simply coat them with a bit of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and let them cook for 10-15 minutes, until shriveled and bursting.)

6. Divide the pasta among shallow bowls, then sprinkle the reserved 1 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds and half the zest of a lime over each serving. Serve with lime wedges on the side.