Wednesday, February 3, 2010

BBQ Chicken and Rice

Not wanting to go to the market on my way home from work (I got mired in the science stock room) I worked with what I had.  I had a breast and a half left over from my jambalaya experiment as well as some chorizo sausage.  I spied a bottle of BBQ sauce that The Mrs. and I had bought in Tennessee
the last time we were down there to visit her folks and an idea formed. 

I julianned up the chorizo, cubed the chicken (about 1 inch chunks) and diced some garlic and tossed it all in a bowl with oil, rice wine vinnegar, salt, pepper, some pizza seasoning and the aforementioned BBQ sauce.  It smelled wonderful, and only smelled better as the time wore on. 

I put some rice in, and when it came out for its rest I tossed an onion (rough dice) into some warmed oil and let it soften.  (I used a pan that The Mrs. brought to the marriage that I particularly like.  It is a large flat bottomed wok type pan in a nice heavy stainless steel) When the onions were nice and almost translucent I tossed the entire bowl, chicken, marinade and all, into the pan.

I tossed and stirred until the chicken was cooked through but not over done and served it over rice.  My plate tasted delicious for a grand total of 20 minutes of work, we can only hope that The Mrs. feels the same way. 

Pictures to follow.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Practice Practice Practice

The culinary countdown has begun.

I realized that I have to cook jambalya for a crowd this weekend, so the poor Mrs. will be my test subject.  I stopped by the grocery today and picked up chorizo, chicken, shrimp, rice and tomato soup base.

When I got home I dusted off my mothers "Harvest Gold" enameled cast iron casserole and set it over low heat with some olive oil.
Harvest Gold, a timeless color
I diced up one onion and two cloves of garlic, tossed them into the warm oil and let them soften.

After 7 minutes or so I cubed up some of the chorizo and introduced the spicy sausage into the "flavor pool" (Thanks Guy).  The sausage gave the onions a lovely dark color, as well as really heady aroma in the kitchen.  After a few more minutes I put some chicken breast (cubed into about one inch cubes) and let it brown on all sides. 

I seasoned with a hint of cumin, some freshly ground pepper, kosher salt and cajun seasoning.

A can of condensed tomato soup went on top of the assorted meats as well as two cans of water to make a thin tomato broth.  I seasoned the broth with two shakes of hot sauce, a dollop of A1 for beef base flavor and a shake or two of worchester sauce because it goes well with tomato.
The base ready for the oven (pre rice)

I cranked the heat up to high, induced a boil and tossed the entire pan in a 350 degree oven for half an hour.  I will toss in about a cup of rice and put back into the oven for another 20 minutes.  When it comes out I will stir in the shrimp and let the residual heat cook them as the rice sets up.  We can only hope it a good starting point for a delish dish to honor the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Shrimp ready to be stirred in

Pictures at dinner time Gentle Readers; fingers crossed.
 
Dinner is Served