Smoky and Garlicky Marinated Roasted Chicken with Cabbage Apple Slaw

Hi everyone

So, I already posted about my newly-found love for Nicaraguan food. Well, for the little time left in Miami, I will mostly be trying new Nicaraguan recipes and taking advantage of the easy access to the ingredients as well as taste-testing other people's versions of a given dish. Well, there are a number of Nicaraguan meats that come in this deliciously flavorful red, adobo-based marinade--chancho con yuca (pork rind (with the meat still attached, not just fat)with cassava), costillas asadas (grilled ribs), and pollo asado (grilled chicken). I have loved every dish I've had with this marinade, but I couldn't figure out what on earth was in it or how it was made. The problem was, I had no idea if the marinade had a set name, so I couldn't Google a recipe as I usually would.

Well, today I just searched "pollo asado." I was thinking I wouldn't really get anything because Nicaraguans don't seem too crazy about chicken unless it's in soups. They prefer to make braised and grilled meats with pork and beef, and at the fritangas, everyone wants carne asada (grilled steak, flank, I think) or cerdo asado (roast pork). In fact, he quintessential fritanga meal is carne asada with gallo pinto (mixed rice and beans),  plantains and a side of ensalada (pickled cabbage slaw). So anywho, I did find a recipe and a dang good one. The lady included a recipe for a good stock of that magic marinade I'd been trying to figure out for so long.  For those who have never had this marinade, it is smoky, garlicky, and that nice tang that all Nicaraguan food has.  It really is delicious!  This marinade is called achiote, which is also the name of the red powder that is part of its ingredients.  So, confusion resolved--there is a homemade achiote seasoning blend and an achiote powder from annatto seed.  Some of those times I saw achiote in a Nicaraguan recipe, they were talking about this marinade, not the regular spice in powder or seed form.  Traditionally, meats with this marinade are char-grilled, but I used a Foreman.  It was yummy and juicy, but, man, it would've been super delish with the flavor from a charcoal grill.  Mmmm, mmm!

I was just trying for something simple and fast today since I've been super busy and I really wasn't expecting much. As simple as it was, my dinner was delicious! I would even say it was "wow!". What made it wow was that instead of accompanying my dish with the traditional ensalada that I had, I had been itching to try my own recipe using apples, so I had that instead. As incredibly simple as it is, my pickled cabbage and apple slaw was divine! When the flavors of the cabbage, apple, and lime juice mixed, the result was a totally different flavor. It had a slightly sweet tang that was just what I wanted. The radish gave a little zip to it all and, oh my, deliciousness!

Here's the recipe! Enjoy!

Hugs,
DF


*This recipe was adapted from Cocina del Mundo http://cocinadelmundo.com/receta-Pollo-asado-a-la-Matagalpa

Marinade
1 head of garlic
4 oz achiote (annatto powder)
1 oz cumin
1/2 oz black pepper
white vinegar (add until you get a smooth paste)

Smash the garlic in a mortar and pestle until you achieve a homogeneous paste.  Once you have a paste, smash in the cumin achiote, and black pepper and blend.  Once  you have a homogeneous mixture again, add in white vinegar and smash in, blending and adding enough vinegar to achieve a uniform, creamy paste.

*Just as a fair warning, be very careful with achiote.  It does stain--countertops, clothing, floors, whatever.  If it gets on something, try cleaning it immediately with baking soda and vinegar.

Chicken Preparation:
Rinse the chicken well.  Wash it with bitter orange juice (rub the meat with bitter orange) and let it sit.  After maybe 10 minutes, pour off the excess bitter orange, but do not rinse it.

Salt the meat and rub with the seasoning paste you made.  Let the meat marinade for at least an hour, but I would recommend 4 hours - overnight.  The flavor is much more intense if you marinate longer.  Go ahead and prepare this in the morning before work or school.  It takes no time to salt some meat and coat it with a pre-made marinade.

Cabbage Apple Slaw
1/4 large cabbage (finely shredded ?? (cut into shreds with a knife)
1 radish (very thinly sliced)
1/2 fuji apple
juice of one lime
a splash of some sort of vegetable oil (preferably one that has a little  flavor, such as corn or olive oil)
Splash of vinegar (you don't want a ton of liquid, just the minimum to soften the vegetables)
a very small pinch of oregano (optional)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Chop the veggies and put them into a container with a top.  Mix tall of he liquids together with the spices and season to taste.  Pour over the veggies and let sit for at an hour before serving.  This salad is best the same day, but it's still preserved and tastes fine afterwards, too; it just loses a bit of its zip.

**Tip: Be sure to squeeze the lime juice first and set it aside so that you can pour it over the shredded apple immediately or while in the process so that it does not oxidize and turn a yucky brown.

Serve everything with either gallo pinto or the Nicaraguan white rice recipe from my original Nicaraguan food post.

Breadmaking and Baking with Yeast 101--Tips, Tricks, and Explanations

Although I haven't been using yeast for long, only about a month, I have played with it enough, watched enough videos, and read enough recipes to learn a few things here and there.  I am still by no means an expert, but I've learned how to avoid some commonly-made mistakes as well as some tricks for manipulating the texture of breads and other yeasted doughs.  I'll share with you the ones I've found to be most critical.  Please feel free to share with me any tips that you may have.  If you have any questions, go for it and I'll try my best to answer them.

#1 Dry yeast is inactive.
Activating dry yeast requires mixing it with warm water.  If you make your water a little warmer, it expedites the rising process.  However, never make your water hot hot.  It should just be warm to the touch, never hot enough to burn or cook anything.  Hot water kills yeast, which is a living organism, much like the active cultures in yogurt.

Because yeast is inactive, yeast should be allowed to proof, which essentially means to activate.  This is done by mixing the yeast in 1 cup of warm water until it is dissolved then placing this mixture in a warm place (no need to cover at this stage) until it forms a froth.  Typically, if you leave the mixture for 10 minutes, you are good to go.  Depending on the environment, less time may get the job done but, when in doubt, stick to 10 minutes as a rule-of-thumb.  Some yeast proofing is done prior to adding flour and some is done once the dough is formed.

#2 Salt Counteracts Yeast
Almost all recipes with yeast also contain at least a minimal amount of salt.  How do these recipes work if salt counteracts yeast?  Salt does counteract yeast, however, this issue is resolved fairly easily.  The key is to never let salt come into direct contact with yeast.  What that means is that when you are allowing your yeast to proof, although it is perfectly fine to add in things like oil and sugar into your yeast liquid, do not add the salt at this point.  Any salt should be added once you have moistened the dough with any liquid until there is no more loose liquid present.  At this point, the salt-yeast contact is no longer direct, so the yeast is able to do its thing with no problem.

#3 Sugar Helps Yeast Grow
In most cases, when using yeast in baking, your recipe for call for you to add a teaspoon or so of sugar to the yeast and water liquid.  The sugar aids the yeast in proofing.  You will taste the sugar's sweetness in the final product even though it is part of a chemical reaction.  The sweetness does not go away once the reaction is completed and your dough is cooked.  So what that means is, don't call yourself being a super genius by trying to double the sugar in hopes of doubling the proofing time.

#4 The Key to Crunchy Bread is Water
If you want a nice, crusty bread, such as a ciabatta, a traditional focaccia or a similar rustic/artisan bread, water is essential.  I don't mean that you need to make the dough really runny.  What I mean here is that the strategic use of water during the cooking process after the dough has been formed is what creates the perfect crunch.  The steam delays the formation of crust so that once the crust forms it is thinner and crispier.

There are a variety of ways to achieve this.  You can put a pan full of water on the rack beneath the baking bread or you can spray the top of the bread with water before baking.  I have even seen someone spray the sides of the oven.  I haven't used this method yet, but I can tell you that my preferred method would be to just spray the top of the dough with water.  By the way, if you opt for the pan of water, don't be a silly little mess maker!  Put the empty pan in the oven first, then add the water to it using a bowl that you have filled with water.  Such a small step can avoid a huge mess.  Just a few drops of spilled water is all it takes to make a total mess of your floor.

#5 Chewy, Pliable  Baked Goods Start with Soft, Sticky Dough
So, remember when I told you that baking with yeast was easy?  Well, it is, but but the worst of it comes when you are making what you want to be an especially chewy, pliable final product.  What I am talking about here are things like hodduk (Korean sweet filled pancake), really soft and fluffy naan, and the like.  Basically, anything that is either marked by a distinct chewiness or pliability is likely to require a sticky dough. The reason for this is that the chewiness comes from a high liquid-dry ingredient ratio.  When you think about it, it is similar to cakes.  When you make really moist cakes that are also really dense yet springy, your batter tends to be thicker and stronger, if you will.

You don't have to be afraid of making anything chewy now.  Just adjust your technique for handling the dough.  Keep your hands well-oiled at all times following the dough's first proofing (rising).  You may even need to drizzle a little oil or sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough prior to handling it.  I would suggest maybe even drizzling a TB of oil in a small boil to dip your hands into throughout the process. The key here is to resist the urge to add extra flour.  Kneading develops gluten which strengthens the dough and reduces the wet stickiness that you initially experience. 10-15 minutes of intensive kneading should do the trick for super sticky doughs.

Also, keep any surfaces the dough touches in the prep process very well-floured--that means the space you are working the dough on, the rolling pin, etc.  With all of these surfaces, flour and re-flour after each time you lift the dough and go to work with another portion of the dough in the same spot.  Once you fully develop the gluten, the stickiness will go away and the dough will form a ball, pulling away from the counter, rather than sticking, during kneading.

*Use a plastic dough cutter to scrape doughs off of the counter when they are still sticky.

#6 Tricks for Accelerating Proof Time
The part that most people fear with yeast baking is the proofing time...well, that and the kneading, of course.  For the proofing, I can tell you that I have seen some ridiculous time estimates reaching as high as six hours.  Let me tell you, six hours is just outrageous and definitely not necessary.  I have never spent more than an hour to allow dough to proof and with a few simple tricks, I generally get it done in 30 minutes.

The first trick is one that I have mentioned before.  This particular trick comes courtesy of my grandma.  Preheat your oven to 200 degrees for literally about a minute.  When you open the oven after turning it off, you shouldn't feel a burst of heat, rather just a mild warmth.  You should be able to touch the grills without being even slightly burnt.  The grills should just feel warm to touch, not hot enough to cook anything.  Once you get the oven to this point, you have achieved the oh-so-important warm place in which you can allow your dough to rise.

The second trick I have shared before as well.  Just cover the bowl with oiled plastic before placing it in the warmed oven that, remember, is turned off.  This traps the gases of the yeast, intensifying its action on the dough.  You remember chemistry class--it's like when you shake up soda and it explodes because the gas has so little room to work in.  A similar principle is at work here.

The third trick is one that you can use lieu of the oven trick.  You just take your bowl of yeast that you've covered with oiled plastic wrap and put it into a bowl of very warm, but not hot water. Again, we don't want to cook the dough and kill the yeast.  We just want to coax it into working a bit faster.  We have lives and things to do, so we need this thing to happen yesterday, lol.  This trick works like a charm just like the oven trick.  Be sure that the water does not go more than halfway up the side of the bowl with the yeast in it.  You don't want to risk any water seeping into your dough.

#7 Cleanup
If you're an at-home baker like me, you are probably rolling out your dough on your counters.  If so, you just  might have a brief freak-out moment when you see the sticky mess on your counters.  Never fear!  Just wipe off the excess flour and pour some little puddles here and there and then pour some baking soda into the puddles.  The baking soda and vinegar mix will bubble up and the effervescence will help remove the sticky crud.  No worries.  It always works like a charm!

Useful Vocabulary:
- proof - allow the yeast and water liquid to activate and froth or allow the dough to double in size

- strong flour - bread flour (there is a difference and it is very noticeable, so if your recipe calls for it, I
          recommend against substitutes.  I will discuss this in further detail in a later post).  Bread flour is higher
          in proteins and gluten and helps create the chewiness that you associate with things like bagels and
          other breads but not, say, cakes and cookies.  This type of flour absorbs more water, so you cannot substitute without making significant adjustments in the amount of liquid.

- knead - knock the air bubbles out of the dough by folding and rolling it with your hands until you feel the
          dough becomes stronger and denser.  Kneading is key for achieving the right texture in the final
          product.

My First Homemade Bread

So I told you that I finally got over my fears and picked up some yeast at the grocery store.  Well, I made hodduk (Korean sweet filled pancake) so many times that I decided it no longer made sense to buy the yeast in the packet.  I went ahead and got a whole jar of yeast.  Whew!  Talk about moving fast!  I opted for the RapidRise bread machine yeast by Fleischman's because, well, it's fast, and it says it's perfect for regular oven use, too.  Thus far, it has worked like a charm.  A full doubling of the dough usually takes 20-30 minutes, when covered in plastic and placed in a warm oven as mentioned in my "Conquering Kitchen Fears" post.

Well, having bought all that yeast, I convinced myself that I would have to play with it every weekend.  My first venture was a basic poppy seed loaf bread.  It is a spin on your basic sandwich loaf.  It has a touch of sweetness, a nice crunch and slight nuttiness from the poppy seeds, and a really nice, delicate background flavor of almond and vanilla.  I know you are thinking what I was, but, no, this is not a dessert bread.  It is still perfect for any sandwich and it tastes nothing like cake or cookies; it's just a more flavorful loaf that what you find in stores.

In terms of process, I am telling you this is beyond easy!  You will be so shocked that you've never done it before because it's so easy.  Baking this bread from start to finish is much easier than baking a cake.  I know, I know, it takes time to let it rise and blah blah blah.  Well guess what, when it's rising, you can get on with your life--exercise, go pick up groceries, do your homework, wash clothes, clean the house.  The point is, life need not stop because your bread is rising.  This bread required two risings and, as mentioned above, generally 30 minutes was sufficient for me, but bear in mind that I live in a hot and humid climate, so rather than going by time, just visually check that your dough has doubled in size.

Well, here goes the recipe.  It's not a DF original.  Remember, I told you I am still a novice.  Just the same, it turned out perfectly, despite my oven, which has a mind of its own.  My oven is probably from 1960 and I usually end up setting it at 200-250 to get 375 : /.  That's not even the end of it...  For fast-cooking foods, sometimes I have to let it brown at 350 then drop the temperature by about 150 degrees or so.  If my weirdo oven can make this bread come out perfectly, you have no excuse but to try and see for yourself how wonderful your own homemade bread will be!

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Poppy-Seed-Yeast-Bread-TasteOfHome?columns=4&position=1/36

Fresh and Tasty Chickpea Salad

Hi guys:

I love to put my creativity to use in the kitchen and I also try to make a habit of developing recipes based on my body's specific nutritional needs. With these goals in mind, last year I decided to put myself through a two month veggie challenge.

I was thinking and I realized that most traditional American cooking doesn't really lend itself to learning what vegetables actually taste like.  Think about Southern cooking--just about all vegetables are cooked in such a way that their natural flavor is overpowered by some form of meat or fat.  We cook cabbage and collard greens with ham hock or some other form of smoked meat.  We slather delicious, sweet corn with butter.  With sweeter vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and butternut squash, we douse them in sugar, butter, cinnamon, and sometimes even marshmallows.  If this is how we eat, that means many of us don't really know how vegetables actually taste on their own.  I can speak for myself and say that I could definitely stand a lesson in How to Eat Your Veggies and Love Them 101.

 After I thought about all of this, I set out on a mission to learn how veggies really taste and to capitalize upon their natural deliciousness in my kitchen.  For two months, all of my meals had veggies as their primary focus.  This does not mean that I became a complete vegetarian.  No offense to those who are vegetarians for moral reasons, but that is not what motivated me to start my challenge.  Animals eat animals, I eat animals, and I'm completely alright with that.  What motivated me was learning how to take better care of myself and, most of all, learning how to make veggies as delectable as everything else in my kitchen so that, in the future, my children and husband would enjoy eating well and understand the science behind our diet and its impact on our overall well-being.

Let me tell you, guys, during my challenge I came up with some seriously delicious recipes!  My fridge was always overflowing with yummy veggies of all kinds and I even learned how to play with some things I didn't normally buy.  As I mentioned, I didn't go fully vegetarian.  My philosophy for this challenge was to use meats as minimally as possible and primarily as flavoring agents, not as my principal source of food.  I often used beef bones to make stalk as a source of both flavor and calcium.  I even used other bony meats such as chicken necks, which I had never used before, as well.

Within the next month or so, I will share some of the deliciously healthy recipes that I came up with during my challenge.  Go ahead and put my recipes to the test.  Even the biggest carnivores are sure to love them!  The first recipe in my veggie series is a simple, fresh, and delicious garlic herb chickpea salad.  This recipe is light, fresh, and bursting with flavor, not to mention being incredibly easy to make.  I learned many different ways to play with chickpeas because they are very versatile and are a good source of protein at about 11 or 12 grams per cup.  Chickpeas are also a great source of fiber as well as minerals such as folate, B6, vitamin C and zinc.

For those who are interested in learning more about the properties of different veggies, here are some great places to start:
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Ency/Index.cfm/Id/1707008
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4326/2
http://health.learninginfo.org/chickpeas.htm

Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

Handful of fresh cilantro (leaves only)

Few sprigs of parley (leaves only)

Handful of black peppercorns  (abt 15)

Juice of two limes (choose the ones that feel heaviest since they have the most juice--persian recommended)

1 fresh garlic clove, sliced

1 tsp salt

1 TB olive oil (cold pressed extra virgin--the better the quality, the better the flavor)

1 mortar and pestle

Procedure:

Mash garlic, peppercorns, and salt in a mortar and pestle.  If you do not have one, use a food processor or smash the garlic and salt with the back of a knife before mincing it.  Add in freshly-ground or coarse-ground black pepper for a similar effect in terms of spiciness. 

Once you've created a smooth paste, add herbs and mash until they reach a chopped-like state.  You want to be sure that you still have some identifiable pieces, not all mush.

Mix lime juice and olive oil into occlusion.  Add mixture to herb mixture.   Blend. 

Pour the herb-garlic oil blend over two cans chickpeas or the equivalent of freshly-cooked chickpeas and combine. 

Cover and let marinate in fridge at least ½ hr so that the flavors have a chance to meld.

*This salad would also be good with cooked, chilled long grain rice mixed in as well