Simple Southwestern Chicken Guacamole
The other day I found myself craving guacamole, but with a little more oomph to it. I didn't want to just eat some chips and call it an appetizer -- I was looking for a more substantive dish that could serve as its own light dinner. So I took to the internet to see if I could come up with a recipe that uses leftover guacamole as one of the ingredients.
I now acknowledge my foolish mistake; no one has ever, in the history of the world, had leftover guacamole. So instead I freestyled a simple twist for a heartier version of the dip we know and love.
Simple Southwestern Chicken Guacamole
3 avocados
1 small tomato
1/2 C yellow onion, chopped
1 small jalapeño pepper
1/4 C cilantro, chopped
1 chicken breast
southwestern spice blend
1 lime
salt & pepper to taste
Start by pitting your avocados and tossing the delicious, delicious avocado meat into a bowl. Using a fork -- or a potato masher, if you have one hand -- work the avocado until it is nice and mushy, the way you like your guacamole. It's really tough to over-mash the avocado, so really get into it. When it's nice and mashed, chop up a small tomato, yellow onion, and jalapeño pepper, and toss them into the bowl as well. Chop your cilantro, and mix all the ingredients together until the onion, pepper, tomato, and cilantro are evenly distributed.
Next, the ingredient that really makes this dish stand out -- the chicken. Cook up a chicken breast and sprinkle it with a healthy dose of spice. I personally like Slap Ya Mama or Tony Cachere, but I'm sure you can find your favorite through a little experimentation. Make sure the chicken is fairly spicy, so it pops nicely against the cool avocado.
Cut up the chicken breast and toss it in with the guacamole. Mix in a little lime juice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a boatload of chips. BOOM -- a classic reimagined. If you want to get crazy, add in some corn, red peppers, or black beans. Serve on its own, or with something like shrimp tacos or breakfast nachos. And don't worry about having any leftovers.
Andre 3000′s Sautéed Kale
As the poet Big Boi once said, “Shake it like some Texas Pete, dropping on your collard greens.” While he may like his greens collard and spicy, the other half of Outkast recently copped to preferring a different veggie. “Kale is also nutritious,” Andre 3000 told Bon Apetite. “By not boiling it to death like classic southern greens, most of that nutrition stays intact.”
I’ve always struggled to find good recipes for robust greens like collards and kale – especially healthy ones. And though in the past I’ve cooked them down to make a nice kale sautée with garden vegetables and collard greens two-cheese quesadillas, I’m always happy to expand my repertoire. I adapted Andre Benjamin’s recipe, and the result is so fresh and so clean clean.
Andre 3000’s Kale
1 head kale
3-4 garlic cloves
1 C water
2 tsp coconut oil
dab of butter or margarine
pinch cayenne
pinch black pepper
2 tsp herb salt
Herb Salt
1 cup sea salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dill
1 tsp sage
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp dried garlic
Andre’s recipe calls for a couple shakes of Herbamare – a seasoning mix made by Vogel. I didn’t have any on hand, so I whipped up some herb salt using some spice-rack mainstays and a mortar and pestle. After that, it’s all gravy, baby.
Start by stripping the kale leaves from their stems to be left with nice greens and no spines. Then, boil a cup of water and flash steam the kale leaves for three or four minutes. Drain, and then toss the kale into a pan and sautée it up with the coconut oil, butter, and garlic. The greens will wilt nicely without losing their flavor or substance. Sprinkle with some herb salt and dig in. Spottieottiedopdelicious.
Seared Diver Scallops With Green Caper Sauce
Let's talk about scallops for a moment, shall we. By all accounts, the things should be unpalatable; they're the weird, rubbery nuggets of the sea. But the accounts are wrong. Scallops are delicious. Cooked right, they are unbelievably tasty. And this recipe only ups the ante, with a tasty green sauce that balances the bite of parsley with pickled capers.
Seared Diver Scallops With Green Caper Sauce
1/4 C parsley, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon capers, coarsely chopped
salt & white pepper (or searing powder)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
8 large scallops
Buffalo Chicken Wontons
The elusive buffalo chicken. Long ago a larger, tastier cousin of today's domestic chickens roamed the plains of the American midwest, foraging in massive flocks. Early American settlers, greedy for the buffalo chicken's spicy meat, hunted the species to extinction within mere decades of arriving on the prairies the majestic bird called home. It remains one of the greatest tragedies in American history.
You and I, dear reader, are left attempting to recreate the subtle flavor balance of the buffalo chicken. Luckily, years of working have nearly perfected the taste of yore. And the buffalo chicken flavor has begun to be combined with other cuisines, to great effect.
I first saw a variation of this recipe after my friend Emma wrote about it on MarcusSamuelsson.com. I decided that I absolutely needed to make these two-bite treats, and I needed to make them now. I made a couple tweaks -- switched pot stickers for wontons and pre-cooked the chicken -- and jumped in feet first.
Black Truffle and Gruyere Grilled Cheese
I've written about grilled cheese before on this here page -- the scrumptious and off-the-beaten-path Blackberry Preserve Grilled Cheese. For a long time I thought it was a two dog race between that sandwich and it's original style brother. Then, one fateful night last year, I wandered into a bar in Brooklyn and had the Best Grilled Cheese Of My Life. That grilled cheese, ladies and gents, is the recipe you find here.
The bar is a little place called Dram, known for its cocktails as much as for its eats. My ladyfriend and I ordered the truffle grilled cheese to split. I wish I could have eaten 10. But I foolishly did not. Instead, I bided my time, waiting to get my hands on some black truffles to give it a shot at home.
Brunch Bloody Mary
I never used to like Bloody Marys. Please don't judge me for that. I just didn't understand its right place -- to the upper right of your brunch plate. Now, though, I'm a true believer. And when weekend brunch rolls around, a Bloody Mary takes a seat at the table.
Beef, Onion, and Porter Stew
Baby, it’s cold outside, and it’s time to turn to heartier dishes. Gone is the grill fare of summer time, replaced by soul-warming stews and mulled beverages. One of my favorites is this beef, onion, and porter stew – a hearty stew that will keep you cozy for at least a couple of meals.
Bacon Infused Bourbon
You’d really expect something that sounds as incredible as Bacon Infused Bourbon to entail a lot of hard work. In reality, it’s as easy as cooking up some delicious bacon and hanging out for a little while. Much easier than Chocolate Infused Vodka. And while the final product in this case might be a little too salty to drink on its own, it’s an awesome addition to a bunch of tasty cocktails.
Twice-Baked Potatoes
Growing up, I ate a lot of baked potatoes. Not in a weird, “that guy eats a lot of baked potatoes” kind of way, but just in a “baked potatoes were a pretty normal thing to find on my plate once every couple of weeks” kind or way. But until recently I had never had a twice-baked potato. Check that box on the bucket list, though, because these things are amazing.
Twice-baked potatoes basically multiply everything good about baked potatoes (instead of baking once, bake twice!). They are easy, pretty, and delicious. A good starch option to have in your repertoire.
Muddy Buddies
Some people call this delicious snack "Puppy Chow," and I can't say that I blame them. The finished product looks a bit like the kibbles you'd pour into your dogs bowl. But these, unlike those dog biscuits, are delicious for real live, human people. That's right. You should feed these little buddies to your Homo sapiens friends. They're easy, tasty, and a perfect snack for long trips.