Cilantro lime chicken with queso fresco and jalapeno, kicked up succotash, and mashed yucky.

My husband has gotten into the habit of cooking basically on the fly. No recipes, just creating these amazing wonderful dishes. Me? I’ve always needed a recipe so I am totally jealous of this ability. The other night I got to thinking about chicken. It started out that I was going to cook the chicken with chiles in the oil, then add a slice of pepper jack cheese. Mike pushed me a little bit to think about it more. I remembered a salad dressing/marinade recipe on the box that came with our Good Seasonings salad dressing kit. Cilantro lime. Hmmm. I suggested using the cilantro lime marinade, then topping with the cheese and maybe some strips of chiles. My husband suggested queso fresco. Yes. Definitely. But what to have with it? I love succotash. Maybe add some red pepper. But it needs something more….Chorizo! Yes! My husband suggested a little onion as well, just for flavor. But what else? We need a starch. Why not mash up some yucca root? Use our standard mashed potato recipe but substitute yucca for the potatoes. Boom. A dinner plan without a recipe.

I started the marinade according to the recipe on the box. 1/4 cup water, 3 Tablespoons lime juice, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro. It was a little oily and the lime was kind of lost. So I added the zest of one lime then juiced that lime and another. So. About 3 limes of juice. I marinated the chicken breasts for 2 hours in the fridge. Every once in a while I got the bag out of the fridge and moved things around a bit to make sure everything stayed covered.

The yucca was easy to prepare. I treated it like potatoes. It’s kind of obnoxious to peel, the exterior is almost woody and the inside is a little sticky. I took a small taste. It was like eating wood, but I could taste some potentially good flavors hiding in there. I diced it up and put it in some salty water and waited for the water to boil. Once the water started boiling I started on the kicked up succotash.

The first thing I did was remove the casing from a Chorizo link. I ended up with 3.5 ounces of Chorizo. I added some olive oil to the pan (maybe a Tablespoon) and began browning the sausage over medium heat. When it was brown I added one small yellow onion (diced) and one medium red bell pepper (diced). When the onion was cooked through I added a bag of succotash I got from the freezer section and had allowed to thaw. I also added a half teaspoon of ground cumin. I sauteed this concoction until everything else was done. I admit, I underseasoned the succotash. I should have added some salt and pepper with the cumin. You live, you learn.

The chicken was simple. Cook it in a hot pan until it’s almost done. You don’t even have to add oil to the pan, the oil is in the marinade. Our chicken was about a half an inch thick and took about 5 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. Once you have it mostly cooked and golden brown on both sides, move it off the heat….and onto a foil-lined broiler pan. If you have to do the chicken in batches, finish it all before moving on. Once the chicken is cooked, in comes the cheese. Crumbles of queso fresco. Nom. Cover the chicken with it, you won’t regret it. Then add some thinly sliced rings of chiles (your choice, we did jalapeno). Put the chicken under the broiler until the cheese is melty and starting to brown.

The yucca. We mashed it with a Tablespoon of butter and a little bit of half and half. Don’t bother. Yucca is gross. lol

The dish plated nicely. Ignoring the yucca, the rest of it was pretty good. The succotash was my favorite part. The chicken was okay. I think I probably should have given it a sprinkle of salt before putting it in the pan. All in all, for my first recipe on the fly, it wasn’t horrible. But it also wasn’t nearly as good as what my husband has been making me. It wasn’t a complete failure, I think it just needs some work. Oh well. Recipes follow.

The Marinade

• 1/4 cup water
• Zest of one lime
• Juice of 3 limes
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Thoroughly mix all ingredients. Put them in an airtight container and shake the heck out of them so the oil doesn’t start to separate out.

The chicken

• About 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Queso Fresco
• 1-2 jalapenos, sliced into thin rings

Marinate the chicken in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Cook on a hot pan over medium-high heat until both sides are browned and the inside of the chicken is almost done. Move the chicken to a foil-lined broiler pan. Cover the top of the chicken with crumbles of the Queso Fresco. Then add a few jalapeno rings on top of the cheese. Put the pan under the broiler until the cheese starts to melt and turn brown. Serve ASAP.

Kicked up succotash

• 1 bag frozen succotash, thawed
• 3.5 ounces Chorizo (remove the casing if you have a link)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Add the olive oil to the pan and heat it on medium. Brown the Chorizo, breaking it into crumbles. Once the Chorizo is browned, add the red pepper and the onion. Saute until the onion is cooked through. Add the succotash and cumin, plus salt and pepper to taste, and saute until warmed through.

Ingredients:

• Pork tenderloins, 2, about 1.5 pounds total weight
• Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Ancho chili powder
• Fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels, 1 cup (save some time, buy a cheap bag of frozen)
• Ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon
• Yellow onion, 1 small, chopped
• Tomato, 1 large, seeded and chopped (pain in the ass but worth the trouble)
• Lime juice, from 1 lime
• Fresh cilantro (fresh coriander), 3 tablespoons chopped

Preheat the oven to 425. Rub the pork with 1 tablespoon of the oil, then season generaously with salt, pepper, and the chili powder (get some good coverage, it’s not spicy). In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the pork and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer the tenderloins to a shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold them. Reserve the frying pan and drippings. Roast the pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 145-150 degrees (do not go over 150 or it will dry out) and the meat is barely pink in the center., 15-20 minutes. Transfer the port to a carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let stand for 10 minutes (the pork will finish cooking here).

While the pork rests, add the corn and cumin to the drippings in the frying pan and place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the corn is lightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the onion, tomato, lime juice, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut the pork into thin slices and serve with the warm salsa.

Recommend side:
Roasted sweet potato wedges
Peel and halve 4 sweet potatoes and cut into wedges. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper, and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast the sweet potato wedges alongside the pork, turning them once, until crispy and browed, about 20 minutes.

Okay. We roasted the potatoes for 30 minutes and they were delicious, but they did not get crispy. So don’t worry if they are soft.

Recipe courtesy of Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast: Weeknight

Ingredients:

• White or yellow miso, 1/2 cup (5 oz/155g)
• Mirin or dry sherry, 1/3 cup (3 fl oz/60 ml)
• Sake or dry white wine, (2 fl oz/60 ml)
• Light brown sugar, 3 tablespoons firmly packed
• Soy sauce, 2 tablespoons
• Salmon fillets, 4, about 1-1/2 pounds (750 g) total weight, skin removed
• Baby bok choy, 2 or 3 heads, cut in half lengthwise (we think 4 might work better, if they fit)

1. Marinate the fish
In a shallow glass or ceramic dish just large enough to hold the salmon fillets in a single layer, stir the miso, mirin, sake, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Add the salmon to the marinade and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes, turning the fillets occasionally. Alternatively, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

2. Cook the fish
Preheat the broiler (grill). Remove the fillets from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Place the fillets on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Add the bok choy to the marinade and turn to coat. Remove the bok choy, reserving the marinade, and arrange around the salmon. Place under the broiler and broil (grill) until the fillets and bok choy are caramelized and lightly charred on the edges, 3-4 minutes. Carefully turn the fillets and bok choy, and brush with the reserved marinade. Broil until the the salmon is slightly charred on the outside and just cooked throughout and the bok choy is tender-crisp, 3-4 minutes longer. Divide the salmon and bok choy among 4 plates and serve.

1. Thou shalt not ride the Metro reeking of body odor and death breath.

2. Thou shalt not sit on thy neighbor’s lap.

3. Thou shalt not sit in priority seating if thine only handicaps are too few brain cells and too much ego.

4. Thou shalt gtfo of doorways and let people get on and off of trains.

5. Thou shalt make thy screaming/crying/whining child stfu.

6. Thou shalt not stand just outside train doors or at the top of escalators trying to figure out where to go.

7. Thou shalt not suffer the elderly/infirm/pregnant to stand.

8. Thou shalt sit down and stfu. This is commuting, not a pep rally.

9. Thou shalt pick up thy trash. This is Metro,  not thy house.

10. Thou shalt turn down thy music. And get off my lawn while you’re at it.

I had my nephews over for the long weekend because I miss the heck out of them and thought my sister and brother-in-law might want some time together. Everyone wins in this situation. Anyway. Today my sister and brother-in-law came over to pick them up and they wanted to have lunch. My sister wanted to eat local. Some place she wouldn’t get to go when she’s at home. I immediately thought of Cacique. Perfect portion sizes, great prices, yummy food. And I know they all love Mexican food.

So we went downtown on a perfectly amazingly beautiful warm sunny day. We decided to eat outside on the patio, which is a little small. But that’s understandable and it was a nice setting for a family lunch.

The boys (12 and 7) ordered French Toast off of the Brunch menu. It came with a LOT of fruit and some really gorgeous potatoes. The 12-year-old couldn’t get enough of the potatoes and they both raved about the French Toast… the 7-year-old was quite vocal about it, actually. LOL

My sister ordered a crab omelet off of the Brunch menu. Holy crap. It looked amazing. STUFFED with crab meat and oozing with cheese. Also served with the really gorgeous potatoes, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I should have gotten details from her about her experience with the food, but I didn’t know until a little while ago that I was going to write this post. My sister only ate half of her meal, but that is because she and my brother-in-law both couldn’t choose between the crab omelet and…

The Seafood Enchiladas. My brother-in-law ordered this. He ate half, then he and my sister switched plates. First of all, that is incredibly cute and sweet and slightly romantic and it warmed my heart to see their partnership at work.

The Seafood Enchiladas was my first dish ever at Cacique. Freaking phenomenal. It’s two enchiladas filled with shrimp, scallops, and crab meat. They have a lovely white seafood sauce they top it with and serve them with really good refried beans and a lovely rice. Based on the color of the rice, I assume it is flavored with saffron. Let me say this. They are not skimpy with the seafood in these enchiladas. They stuff the heck out of these things. And the sauce could make you cry. I should have gotten more input from my brother-in-law, but again, I didn’t know I was going to post this. Anyway. Seafood enchiladas? Yes. A thousand times yes.

I got a beef chimichanga. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a deep fried burrito. Just sayin’. But. This chimichanga doesn’t taste deep fried. The outer shell is still nice and light. And they use beef, beef. Not ground beef. More like steak. There is no sauce on the chimichanga, it doesn’t need it. All of the flavor comes from the inside. Delicious. Served with the refried beans and rice, plus guacamole and salsa. I don’t normally eat guac and salsa, so I can’t speak to how they taste. But I will say that the salsa looks nice and fresh and the guac looks like it has a very creamy consistency that seems desirable. The refried beans? Gorgeous. Lovely texture, not at all dry. They put a little cheese on top of it that gets nice and melty. Yummy. I like a bite of the chimichanga with the rice and beans, all together.

Today’s lunch sounds heavenly, right? Okay. Here comes the downside. Cacique can be kind of hit or miss. I’ve been to Cacique on a very busy night and the food has suffered. The salsa runny, the chips not crispy. A chicken breast dish served with a thigh (white meat versus dark meat? Really noticeable). The food being…just okay.

Today? REALLY slow service. Lunch should never take more than an hour. Ours lasted at least 2. Initial service, the chips and salsa plus drinks, was fine. The chips (made onsite) perfectly crispy and the salsa was perfect. The drinks came one time. After that? It took a long time to get our order taken and a really long time for our food to get to us. It took over a half an hour to get our check even though we were obviously done. I am really, really glad the food was worth the wait today. I would have felt terrible if my family’s first downtown Frederick dining experience had been a total bust.

Will I go back to Cacique? Maybe. When it’s on, it’s really on! But I might start seeking other Mexican options due to the service issues I seem to encounter too frequently at Cacique. I admit, they’ve always seemed a little slow, but I am disappointed with HOW slow they were during a non-busy lunch today.

Done? Good!

I have a very sweet and very generous 97-year-old friend who got it into her head that she wanted to treat me and my husband to a meal at Volt, rumored to be the bees knees. I kept putting it off, hoping she would forget, because it really was too generous of an offer. I had it in my mind that a restaurant run by an actual celebrity couldn’t possibly be affordable. This lady doesn’t forget a thing. Ever. So we finally scheduled our lunch date and went today.

Let’s start with the restaurant. GORGEOUS. Stunning tile work, gorgeous decor, clean lines, warm and inviting layout. The kitchen is in an open area so you can actually see the food being made. It’s fascinating to watch the kitchen staff work. Their dedication to creating beautiful works of edible art really shows. The level of concentration I saw was nothing short of amazing because the restaurant had a decent lunch crowd. Nobody looked rushed, they focused on the dish they were putting together and put it together quickly.

The service was impeccable. The staff members taking care of our table were great. Friendly, professional, very knowledgeable about the menu, and not at all overbearing. We had very little wait time between courses and our drinks got quietly refilled when needed…before the glasses were empty. Speaking of. I had an iced tea. How awesome is it that the ice in my tea was made of frozen iced tea? And how awesome is it that Volt gets its ingredients from local farms and such? Pretty freaking awesome.

We decided to have the 3-course Prix Fixe lunch, which consists of an appetizer, and entree, and a dessert.

My first course was the Cherry Glen Farm Goat Cheese Ravioli. I love pasta, I love goat cheese, seemed like a pretty safe bet that I was going to love this. I was so right. The ravioli were perfectly cooked and filled with exactly the right amount of goat cheese. They were topped with a thin slice of Bartlett pear and accompanied by an incredible sauce and some braised cippolini onions and sage. Not usually a fan of onions, but cippolinis are very, very sweet. The sweetness of the onions with the tanginess of the goat cheese…A perfect marriage of flavors. And the sauce. Oh, that sauce. I wanted to lick my plate clean. Yep. I’m a classy girl.

For my second course, I opted for the Mahi Mahi. Another work of art! The plate starts with a layer of “Black forbidden rice” (I must find out what was in this. It was so good. I can’t even describe the flavors). On top of the rice was a gorgeous piece of perfectly cooked Mahi Mahi that had a lovely crust from the seasonings getting cooked. On top of the fish were some lovely snow peas and spiced carrots. And foam. There was foam. This dish looked gorgeous. I should have taken a picture. It tasted twice as good as it looked. The fish was perfectly flaky and the veggies were seasoned so beautifully and the rice was incredible. I hated finishing this course because I just wanted to keep eating!

Third course: Apple Tart Tatin. A gorgeous slice of perfectly delectable baked apple on the flakiest pastry dough I have ever had the pleasure of devouring. The pastry was so light you barely noticed it was there. Served on the side was a spiced vanilla ice cream. I say ice cream, but I swear it was so creamy and smooth it reminded me of a mousse. Heavenly. The perfect ending to a perfectly fantastic meal.

Every dish put on the table was gorgeous and there were a lot of satisfied smiles and sighs going around between the three of us. I’d succumb to the food coma, but I have things I need to get done.

As we were finishing up and my friend was taking care of the check we were presented with a lovely parting gift. Homemade granola packed and ready to go home with us. Can’t wait to try it, but I’m stuffed!

As for my fears about the cost? Volt is dangerously reasonable with the prices. It’s not someplace I would eat every day (my waistline would not appreciate that but my taste buds would), but for special occasions or just showing off that we have a celebrity chef in the neighborhood? Hell yes. A million times hell yes.

Thank you, Chef Voltaggio. Thank you for an incredible eating experience I will never forget.

1-1.5 pounds of ground beef (the more the merrier, I like a good beefy chili)
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 whole jalapenos minced, with the seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 15-ounce can of dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 packet McCormick chili seasoning (mild or hot, your choice)
1 teaspoon dried basil
Fresh ground pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan begin browning the ground beef until it begins to get crumbled and a little browned. Drain the fat from the pan. Add the onion, green pepper, jalapenos, and garlic. Cook until the meat is browned and the onions are soft. Turn off the heat. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, drained and rinsed kidney beans, chili seasoning, basil, and pepper. I tend to add a little extra chili powder, a few sprinkles of cayenne pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Once you have everything stirred together, add the chili to your crock pot (needs a minumum of a 3.5 quart crock pot). Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. It’s fun to serve the chili over Frito’s and top with yummy stuff. I like a 4-blend Mexican cheese mix and fresh diced tomatoes. My husband also likes to add diced raw onion and sour cream.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 11-oz. can whole kernel corn, drained (get Del Monte. Very crisp for canned)
2 or 3 fresh jalpeno peppers, minced (remove the seeds and white membrane if you want to make it less spicy)
1 can tomatoes with green chiles (like Rotel)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 of those packs of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes, squeezed)
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients. Cover and chill for at least two hours. I tend to let it sit overnight and it gets really good. Serve with chips.

Note the lack of onions. I effing HATE onions. The recipe doesn’t suffer for the lack of onions. If you must have onions, add 1/4 cup of something sweet, like Spanish or Vidalia. And for the love of all that is good in this world do not use dried cilantro. Totally different flavor.

Tonight something happened. I never, ever thought I would say this, but I found a burger I don’t like at Red Robin. The A-1 Peppercorn Burger. Described on the menu as “Applewood smoked bacon, melted Pepper-Jack cheese, A.1.® Peppercorn Spread, crispy onion straws and fresh tomatoes on an onion bun. It’s a taste explosion!”

Sounds awesome! Not so much. Well, almost. My problem was the spread. Not sure what they mixed the A-1 with (I suspect mayonnaise), but it was sort of gross. Ruined the burger, in my opinion. Not to say nobody should ever eat this drek. Hardly. My husband counts this as one of his favorite burgers. I’m just not a fan.

So let’s talk about something I do love. The Banzai Burger. The greatest culinary invention ever. Well, except for maybe the Bang Bang Shrimp at Bonefish Grill. The chefs (Chefs? Cooks?) at Red Robin marinate the burger in teriyaki sauce and top it with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and grilled pineapple. The first couple of times I got the burger I skipped the pineapple. Don’t love pineapple and seemed kind of weird to have it on a burger. Don’t make this mistake. The tartness of the pineapple with the sweetness of the teriyaki make this burger. Makes it messy as hell, too, but it is so worth it.

Oh, if you go to Red Robin more than occasionally, join the Red Royalty Club (yeah, shameless pitch). It’s free. For signing up, you get a free appetizer on your next visit. For having the card, you get every tenth burger/entrée/entrée salad/sandwich free. If you go with 9 other people, someone eats for free on that visit. If you go to Red Robin 5 times in 5 weeks, you get $20 off your next visit. That might be a one-time thing, but still kind of nice. End shameless pitch.

Anyway, get thee to Red Robin.