El Tapitio

El Tapitio is one of the many great dishes served at Los Mariachis in Springfield, Ohio. If you are ever in Springfield or Xenia, you should visit "Los." Be sure to try their Margaritas too.

This recipe is not quite at the level of the version served at the restaurant, but it does come close. If you are not able to visit the restaurant, give it a try along with Cuban Black Beans and Margaritas.

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast
1/2 pound Chorizo
iceberg lettuce, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
tortillas
mozzarella cheese
sour cream

marinade
1/4 cup beer
juice of 1 fresh lime
5 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tspn ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the marinade.
2. Cut the chicken breast into 1 to 2 inch pieces and add to the bowl of marinade.
3. Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pieces of chicken along with the ground Chorizo to the skillet and cook until browned.
5. Heat the tortillas.
6. Add the chicken and Chorizo mixture to the tortilla and top with lettuce, tomato, mozzarella cheese and sour cream.

Looking for a wine to go with El Tapitio? Try one of these:
Forest Glen Pinot Noir
Motos Liberty Pinot Grigio

Mexico

Cast Iron Salmon – Searing Pleasure

There are many things I miss about the professional kitchen; the gambling, the inappropriate humor, the feats of strength – but none as much as the giant commercial exhaust fans. One reason is the salmon recipe you see here. Actually, I shouldn't really call it a recipe, it's salt and salmon, but to do it correctly you have to sear the fish over very high heat to get a nice thin, crispy crust encasing a moist custardy center.

At home this is next to impossible – besides the huge, smoky, splattering mess, you really don't want to be "that neighbor." You know, the one who's place always smells like fried fish and steamed broccoli. This heavy metal backyard solution is as minimalist as it is effective. I love how a couple dozen hot coals under a thick cast iron pan turns simply salted salmon into something a little more remarkable.

Even if you don't get that perfect crust and moist center, at the very least your home won't smell like fish for a week. This is great to use for a seafood course after another protein has already been done on the grill. Just rake up the coals into a pile and get to searing. I served this with a dollop of tarragon aioli, which was fantastic. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Peach Muffins with Almond Flour

Gluten-free peach muffins baked with almond flour.

Today is Labor Day. And here I am working. Editing photographs of peach muffins and writing up a new gluten-free recipe. No rest for the wicked. Or the self-employed. We bloggers toil at our living daily, working through holidays and oftentimes, dinner. We tend and tweak and pretty much live a nerdy geek life. The opposite of glamorous.

Or maybe it's just me.

There are plenty of extroverted bloggers who travel and attend blogging conferences and hob nob. They dine together and smile brilliantly in group pictures, tweeting breathlessly their mutual squee. And I envy them. Sometimes. Just a little.

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Random Kitchen Scenes: How to Slice a Ripe Peach

I've been playing around with the idea of posting short, random kitchen tips and techniques, and this "how to slice a ripe peach" is a little experiment along those lines. Inspired by a classic sushi cut, this two-part slice is great for precise cuts on soft juicy fruit. Just make sure your blade is sharp, and try not to shave off your fingertips. Enjoy!

Nominate Chef John for a 2011 Tasty Award!

The Annual Tasty Awards are the premier awards show to celebrate the best in food and fashion programs on TV, in film, and online. Last year, Food Wishes wasn't nominated for an award, but that was my own fault. I was so busy at the time the awards were announced, I never asked for a help getting nominated!

If you'd like to help nominate me, please follow this link and cast your vote. Nominations are only open until September 5th! I believe you can nominate the website in several categories, but "Best Food Program - Web" and Best "Home Chef in a Series" are the ones I'm hoping to get. Thanks!

Grilled Five Spice Chicken – Four Wouldn't Have Been Enough, and Six Would Have Been Too Many

Chinese Five Spice has a proven track record of awesomeness when combined with smoky, caramelized meats, and this grilled five spice chicken recipe is a great example.

I'm not a huge fan of premixed spices. I don't buy rubs and seasoning blends, although thanks to my swag-baggy lifestyle I do have a decent collection. The problem with these aesthetically pleasing packages is you're getting someone else's idea of the perfect formula.

I have a pantry full of spices, and half the fun of cooking is tossing them together until deliciousness is achieved, but, once in a while it's nice to reach over and grab the 5-spice.

This blend, usually consisting of cinnamon, anise seed, cloves, ginger, and fennel, has been used for centuries to turn the flavor dial up more than a few aromatic notches.

Grilling season will be coming to a damp end soon, so don't wait too long to give this a go. I think you'll also enjoy the super simple, sharply flavored rice vinegar condiment that I serve along side. I didn't, but this would be absolutely perfect served with a cold rice salad. What kind? Surprise me. Enjoy!




Chinese Five Spice Chicken Recipe Ingredients:
For the marinade:
1/2 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 teaspoons sambal, or other red chili sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon 5-spice powder
For the sauce:
1/2 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sambal, or other red chili sauce
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
all these can and should be adjusted to taste

Dirty Rice Recipe

Dirty Rice is a Cajun classic made with white rice and chicken liver. When cooked with the liver, the dirty rice develops its distinctive, dark color. This version of dirty rice uses chorizo instead of liver to give the rice its color.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of chorizo
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
1 tspn salt
1/2 tspn red pepper flakes
2 cups of cooked medium grain rice
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
3 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Preparation:

1. Cook chorizo in a skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, cayenne pepper, salt, red pepper flakes and Worchestershire sauce to the skillet. Cook for an additional 10 minutes over medium heat.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rice, cilantro, and green onions and mix well.
4. Add the chorizo mixture to the bowl of rice and mix until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
5. Serve hot. Optional: serve with a dollop of sour cream.
   

United States Louisiana