What is my flavor preference? It's simple, I like spicy and fully flavored foods of any background. My spin on a comfort food like corn chowder meets and exceeds that criteria with a savory dish of complex flavor. Complex, when compared to basic corn chowder.
My style of cooking will exclude type "A" people immediately. I will be giving you "cooking guidelines" only, and the lack of concise instruction may limit my followers. I do this because "your corn chowder" should taste better to you than mine does. You know what you like and how you like it. I'm here to inspire "your" Mexican Corn Chowder, or whatever dish my chowder inspires in you. I encourage you to take everything I say "with a grain of salt," it's the way I do it or I make it, that hardly makes it the best. Though I know it is!
I enjoy food, family and friends. As a side note- I love to drink and my wife of 28 years, Barbara, keeps me out of trouble as best she can. I like to think that our guests always feel welcome with a full glass and a plate of great food. Nothing raises my spirits more than watching someone truly enjoying a dish that I have made. So on with the recipe!
Note: there are 3 beers in above picture (next to them is a bottle of white cooking wine)
Ingredients-
3 Chicken Breast
6 Red Potatoes
2 Medium Red Onions
1 Bag Sweet Corn
2 Small Cans Chopped Chiles
1/2 Stick Salted Butter
3/4 Quart Heavy Cream
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
Fresh Garlic
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Hot Red Pepper Flakes
Parsley
Deep Fry Pan
Slow Cooker
3 Mexican Beers (for your cooking pleasure and to help in timing)
White wine for cooking
Scallions to garnish
Enjoy more beer if you like!
How to-
Chop chicken breast into cubes about 3/4" x 3/4". Toss with kosher salt, black pepper and parsley. Sauté in 1/2 stick of butter over medium heat while covered - stirring as needed. Don't over cook as the chicken will get tough.
As the dish sautes, peel and chop the potatoes into 1/2" x 1/2" cubes. Toss the potatoes with kosher salt, black pepper, and parsley. Microwave the potatoes, covered, for about 6 minutes or until soft.
Remove the cooked chicken with a slotted spoon and leave the remaining juices in the fry pan to continue cooking with. Chop 2 red onions, 1/2 red bell, and 1/2 green bell into fine pieces. Mince garlic and set aside.
By this point, you should have your first beer under your belt. If not, that's ok too.
Add the onions and peppers to the liquids in the fry pan. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, parsley and hot red pepper flakes. Sauté over medium heat, without a cover, until onions are soft. Add garlic and fold into mixture. Take care not to burn the garlic as it will get bitter.
While this is going on, toss the corn with kosher salt, black pepper and parsley. Microwave covered for about 4 minutes.
Add the 2 small cans of chiles to the pan, the cooked sweet corn, and a good splash of white wine. Simmer this for several swigs of beer, stirring constantly to reduce and sweeten the wine. You should be finishing up that second beer by now - drinking at a casual pace, not a guzzle.
Just a note- you should be constantly tasting each stage of cooking for seasoning. For example-you should taste a potatoe after microwaving, if you need more salt add more while cooking the peppers and onions. If your potatoes are too salty back off on the peppers and onions as the potatoes will add salt later on when we assemble the dish.
To finish this dish we add the contents of our fry pan to the slow cooker. To that we add the potatoes and about 3/4 a quart of heavy cream. Toss well and turn slow cooker to medium.
Serve anytime - as the dish is ready once the ingredients are mixed in the slow cooker. They do get better as the starch from the potatoes thicken the dish and the flavors blend. To me, it tastes the best after an hour or so. Serve with a garnish of fresh scallions, bread with butter, and a fine beer. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment