Bulgur or Quinoa Dressing

Quinoa Dressing garnished with Giant Italian Parsley 

Bulgur Wheat or Quinoa Thanksgiving Dressing  (Serves 4 to 5 as a side dish)

Part 1 
Cook over medium heat:
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery with some leaves, in
2 to 4 Tablespoons oil and/or unsalted butter until onions are translucent. 

Add 1 cup medium to coarse bulgur wheat OR 1 cup (washed or prewashed) quinoa and 1 ¾ to 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, cover tightly, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Let sit off heat for 5 minutes. Taste and carefully adjust salt if necessary. It probably will not need any additional salt if you used salted broth.  

Part 2
Microwave 1/3 cup packed sweetened dried cranberries in 2 Tablespoons orange or apple juice or water, until water simmers. Stir, cover and allow to stand until liquid is absorbed. 

Shortly before serving, fluff warm quinoa with a fork and add softened cranberries, 2 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley and 4 finely minced young scallions with some of the tender green parts, or some minced chives. Serve.   

Seasoning Tips: 

Bulgur Wheat version:  The original recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of poultry seasoning, but I leave it out because I want this dressing to taste different from the more traditional dressing on the table. You can add some black pepper with the onions and celery if using bulgur wheat.

Quinoa version:  Try doubling the amount of softened cranberries.

On a day other than Thanksgiving, you can substitute a minced garlic clove or one or two shallots (added with the onion and celery) for the scallions or chives added at the end.

If there is a no-sugar purist coming to dinner, you can leave out the cranberries and garnish the finished dressing with pomegranate arils. 

Quantity Cooking:  

If you will be eating with a crowd where the kitchen will be busy, a quadruple batch of the bulgur wheat version (Part 1) holds nicely for a few hours in a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker or big covered electric skillet set to “warm”. I don’t know how well the quinoa version holds. Add cranberries, parsley and green onion shortly before serving. 

Even after adding Part 2, this dressing re-heats nicely in a microwave.  Great for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

 Alternate Grains and Allergy information: 

The quinoa recipe is gluten-free.  I think  a wheat and milk-free alternative with brown rice and maybe a little wild rice, cooked until done but still chewy, would also be excellent.  For a different flavor, try adding some minced green tops from a bulb of fennel and chopping some of the bulb into the dressing, or some fresh tarragon. Consider pressure-cooking brown rice at high altitudes. Or try other grains. Cook enough rice (and/or other grain) in broth to make about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of cooked grain.  Add to cooked onions and celery, add additional liquid if necessary for a moister dressing and proceed as above.    

You're on your own figuring out equivalent amounts of cooked wild rice, millet, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat or pearled barley (people who react to wheat gluten may not get along with barley, either).   Check basic cooking techniques for these grains online to determine cooking times and the proportions of liquid which will be needed. 

This dish could easily be made VEGETARIAN.  Just use vegetable broth or water instead of chicken broth and use oil rather than butter. 

This recipe can be made free of corn products - check chicken broth and cranberry ingredients. 

Stocking Up, Preparing Bulgur Wheat without Electricity:  
The classic salad made with bulgur wheat, Tabouleh (AKA Tabouli) generally uses bulgur wheat soaked in hot or cold water, then drained before adding other ingredients.  

 In an emergency, even if you had no way to heat food and no fresh veggies, you could serve a salad using similar ingredients by soaking medium bulgur in cold water for one hour (or until hydrated), adding dried celery, parsley and onion (not as much as in this recipe) plus dried cranberries or other dried fruit, desired seasonings, a little oil and lemon juice or vinegar.  Allow to sit until vegetables re-hydrate and flavors blend, stirring occasionally.  Stir in a can of tuna or diced chicken (with the liquid in the can) if you like and serve.

Skillet Chicken Fried Rice

Quick to make. Serves 2. Triple or quadruple the recipe in a big electric skillet.

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
Up to 2 Tablespoons vegetable and/or sesame oil
1/2 cup long grain white rice
2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground ginger OR grated fresh ginger to taste
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or ground red pepper (optional)
1 3/4 cup chicken broth (14 oz. can)
1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped parsley and/or 2 or 3 minced scallions with tender tops.

1. Cut chicken in 1/2 inch (or larger) cubes. Crush garlic and grate or mince fresh ginger, set aside. Prepare other ingredients.

2. Saute chicken in a large skillet (a skillet you can cover) over medium-high heat, in up to 1 Tablespoon of the oil, for about 2 minutes, until very lightly browned (maybe a little longer for larger pieces) . Remove chicken to a bowl. This time, I put some Pappy's Seasoning on the chicken at this point. It was frozen/thawed chicken and I thought it could use a flavor boost (mustard, celery seed, pepper, coriander, paprika, fines herbes, etc.)

3. Add up to 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and saute the rice until toasted and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. This step keeps the finished rice fluffy and separate, with a texture sort of like Spanish rice.

Add garlic and saute for one minute. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, ginger and red pepper. Cover, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium (or the temperature which produces simmering in the pan you are using). Simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add peas and cooked chicken to skillet, cover and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes - a little more for larger pieces of chicken, if you're worried that they're not done. Taste the rice, toss in salt and pepper to taste (I didn't need any) along with the parsley and/or scallions. You may also flavor with a little light or dark sesame oil if desired. David doesn't like dark sesame oil, and I just used vegetable oil in the recipe.

NOTE: If the lid to your pan is very tight, you may be able to reduce the liquid slightly, especially if multiplying the recipe. You can also use part water in place of broth in a pinch.

Allergy information: Check soy sauce and chicken broth for wheat or corn products.

Quick Asian Chicken Salad for a crowd

I accidentally bought 10 pounds of coleslaw mix this week for a branch party and only used 5 pounds. So I'm going to be trying out some cabbage salad recipes. This recipe is adapted from the Ready Pac coleslaw package. Haven't tried it. Think I'll experiment with a quarter recipe, less dressing.

Rotisserie chicken, skin removed, deboned and sliced: 6 pounds
5 pound restaurant pack shredded cabbage for coleslaw or 2 medium heads cabbage, shredded
Diced scallions: 20 oz. or 4 cups
Water chestnuts, drained or sliced, jicama, peeled and sliced in small pieces and /or diagonally sliced celery: 2 lb. or 2 quarts

Uncooked Ramen soup noodles broken into pieces (no seasoning pack): 2 pounds or 12 cups (or use fried crispy chow mein noodles or rice noodles for garnish)
Sesame Asian Salad Dressing: 3 quarts (I think you could use less - much less if you skip the Ramen noodles. Purchase where you get the restaurant pack of shredded cabbage, or make your own).

Mix chicken, shredded cabbage, scallions, water chestnuts, jicama and/or celery. Add broken Ramen noodles if using. Add dressing. Mix well and refrigerate until serving time. Garnish with cashew pieces, toasted almond slices or toasted mild sesame seeds if desired. Or garnish with fried chow mein noodles or rice noodles if you did not use the Ramen noodles in the recipe. If you intend to serve salad soon after you make it, it would be best to skip the Ramen noodles and use the crispy noodle garnish instead.

Slightly Spicy Chicken and Rice for a Crowd

A variation on Mexican Crockpot Chicken. Great for a potluck or buffet. Completely fills a 6-quart slow cooker if made with thigh filets (7 or 8-quart cooker is better if you use whole thighs), also appropriate for a large, deep electric skillet.  May be prepared in a large kettle or saucepan, too.  Halve the recipe for a family dinner. Prepare in a 3-quart (or larger) slow-cooker, large saucepan or in an electric skillet.

The ingredient list is about as simple as you could imagine.  Serve with small bowls of condiment-type hot sauce, cilantro or Italian parsley, onions or scallions, radishes, corn kernels and/or other typical Mexican additions to hot dishes if you like.   It's also fine by itself. 

INGREDIENTS:
2 Family Packs (about 5 pounds each ) chicken thighs.  About 12 thighs per pack for a total of about 24 chicken thighs.  You can also used 2 family packs of skinless, boneless thigh filets (about 12 per pack) if you're more short on time than money.


2 - 4 cans, about 8 ounces each, El Pato Mexican hot sauce (the one in the yellow can).  Lately I have been using 3 cans for thigh filets, 4 cans for whole thighs.

1 - 2 large, dark green Ancho/Poblano or other mild chiles - optional

Chicken broth
Salt to taste

Fluffy rice (start with 4 cups dry rice). Or use an equivalent amount of brown rice, cooked in a rice cooker (or maybe a pressure cooker at high altitude)

DIRECTIONS
Chicken thighs and sauce
Cook chicken until almost tender in a slow-cooker or electric skillet (the latter will require some added water or chicken broth) until almost tender, but not falling apart. You may want to add a can of single-strength chicken broth now if you use thigh filets, which don't release as much moisture as whole thighs.  Cool, remove the skin, bones and cartilage after thighs are cooked. Skim fat from liquid. Cut meat into chunks.  (If the meat falls apart, it will be O.K.  The meat just won't be as noticeable in the finished dish). 

Put the meat and liquid back in the electric skillet or electric skillet.  (If you use whole thighs, you may be able to save part of the broth for soup or another dish).  Add hot sauce, rinsing out cans with a little water and adding to the liquid.  Add additional chicken broth if liquid does not come up to the level of the top of the chicken meat.  Seed chiles, cut into large chunks and add to sauce.  Heat through until sauce is steaming and chiles are partially cooked.    Cool and refrigerate  if made ahead.

(You can continue cooking the skin, bones and cartilage in a smaller slow cooker with a little water and any extra broth for a really good chicken stock.)

Serving day: Putting it all together
Rice
Within about 3 or 4 hours of serving, cook rice in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (about 4 quarts) or in a heavy-bottomed kettle. Do not remove cover during or after cooking. Keep warm. Rice should be completely cooked before adding it to the chicken and sauce.

Chicken and sauce
 Heat chicken in sauce if it was refrigerated. Adjust salt to taste.

Transport hot chicken and sauce in the 6-quart (or larger) slow cooker or electric skillet and transport the warm rice in the covered saucepan or kettle if not making on-site. Maintain chicken at the "keep warm" temperature until serving time. Within a few minutes of serving, gently fluff rice and mix into the chicken. 

NOTE:  All of the rice may not fit into your slow cooker with the chicken and sauce, and you may not want to add it all even if it fits in yours.  I generally leave some of the rice out for other uses. 

VARIATIONS
Leftovers and Home Meals: You may need to add a little extra chicken broth to leftovers if the rice seems dry. David likes this chicken and rice with re-fried beans (maybe covered in melted cheese) and a salad. If serving the chicken at home, you can leave the chicken and sauce in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days, heating some up to serve over rice, with good tortillas, in burritos, etc. as needed instead of mixing the chicken with rice.

"Lots of Chicken" variation: Add additional boneless, skinless chicken breast  meat. Cut away any fat or tough connective tissue and cut into 1/2 inch pieces or smaller. The breast meat won't need as long to cook as the dark thigh meat, so add it partway through cooking. You may need to add a little extra chicken broth to get a "mouth-feel" similar to the original recipe.

Allergy Information: El Pato hot sauce contains no corn, wheat or soy products. There are a few brands of boxed chicken broth which do not contain corn products. Most canned chicken broth contains corn products. Update: Swanson has removed the corn products from its chicken broth. But check the label.

Mexican crockpot chicken

Our friends Manuela and Ana taught us to make this wonderful, amazingly simple dish.

Medium-spicy rather than hot, if you fill a 3 or 4-quart crockpot with chicken thighs and use one small can of hot sauce.

Menos pollo, màs piquante. - The less chicken, the spicier the dish.

DIRECTIONS
Place thawed chicken thighs in slow-cooker. One family-pack (4 or 5 pounds) will usually fit in a 3-quart cooker if you remove most of the skins (you may want to leave the skins on the top layer of chicken. Pour a small (about 8 oz.) can of El Pato Mexican hot sauce (in the little yellow can) over chicken. Add a little salt. Cook for several hours, until chicken is tender, stirring at least once after juices are released from chicken. Adjust salt and skim fat from sauce. Serve with rice and/or tortillas, spooning some of the sauce over the rice. Serve with some vegetables or a salad. David likes refried beans with it.

Serve with hot sauce for those who want more heat.

Leftovers still taste good. For a milder flavor, use enchilada sauce (El Pato brand is in a red can. For a slightly different, spicy flavor, use Jalapeno salsa. I think the sauce in the yellow can is the best choice.

VARIATIONS

This is a family-style dish. There's an easy-to-serve variation for a crowd here.

Or you can make this dish "gringo style" by cooking the chicken thighs first, removing skin, bones and cartilage, skimming fat from liquid then adding the hot sauce and cut-up or broken-up chicken to the cooking liquid and allowing everything to cook together for a few more minutes. If you don't have time to cook the chicken in a slow-cooker, you can simmer it on top of the stove in a little broth or water until tender but not falling apart.

You should end up with chunks of chicken in about enough sauce (including liquid from cooking the chicken) to almost cover the meat. This method allows you to remove a little more fat from the dish. You can serve the chicken and sauce with Spanish or white rice or mix the chicken and sauce with cooked white rice. Plus vegetables, beans, etc. as desired.

French Garlic Chicken

Easy. Requires an oven, so it's not a recipe for summer.

Spray the inside of a glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Use a baking dish in which the number of chicken pieces you are cooking will fit fairly tightly. Sprinkle salt and fresh-ground pepper on the dish, then sprinkle lightly with peeled, sliced fresh garlic.

Place one layer of chicken thighs over the salt, pepper and garlic in the dish, skin side up. Sprinkle with a little more salt, pepper over the chicken and lay at least 3 garlic slices on each piece of chicken. Cover fairly tightly (if using aluminum foil, grease the side which will touch the chicken, or spray with non-stick cooking spray). Run your finger along the inside edge of the foil-covered dish to push the foil below the top of the dish (to keep liquid from falling outside the dish).

Bake at 325º F. for at least 1 1/2 hours. Longer is better. You may cook at 275 degrees for several hours if you will be away. If chicken is not slightly browned as cooking nears completion, lift edge of cover to allow juices to concentrate and chicken to brown very slightly. Serve with French bread, roasted potatoes or baked potatoes to soak up juices. And some vegetables or a salad. Leftovers lose some of their flavor, especially if you're short on leftover pan liquid, so don't make too much extra.

Note: The original recipe calls for whole chicken, cut-up, many cloves of whole, peeled garlic and lots of butter. You may dot thighs with a little butter before cooking, if desired. Or remove skin from chicken and baste with butter and broth from the pan during cooking.

Buffet-style Pozole Rojo - chicken or pork

A big, easy-to-serve version of Family-style Pozole.   Instructions for the pork version are below the chicken version.  Very popular for parties in the fall to winter season, especially as Christmas approaches. Pozole is traditional for Christmas Eve.  It is very simple but somewhat time-consuming to prepare. It's way easier to make than homemade tamales. Special tamales, including sweet tamales, are about the most labor-intensive Christmas-time food project in our town.  And Pozole is easier than its cousin, Menudo, too.

Pozole can be largely prepared in advance of a party, except for the raw vegetable accompaniments. It is served in bowls. Not for a formal-style gathering.  Good for brunch on cold mornings, or for people with a cold. The recipe may be doubled or tripled to serve from an electric roasting pan (they vary in capacity), but the weight could strain the handles of the roaster if lifted. Transport part of Pozole (especially liquid) in a separate container.

CHICKEN POZOLE

Ingredients

One family-pack chicken thighs (about 5 pounds)
Chicken broth or water
One very big can of Mexican-style hominy - about 3 Kg or almost 7 pounds
One 8-oz. package dried pods of Chile California or similar very mild chiles
One 2-oz. package dried pods of Pasilla, Pasilla Negro or Pasilla-Ancho chiles (optional)
Garnishes (see below)

Chicken and Broth: Simmer chicken thighs in enough water and/or chicken broth to cover, until tender but not falling apart. Remove from broth. Cool, remove skin, bones and visible fat and cut chicken into chunks.  Strain chicken broth, mix some warm water with the skin and bones and strain into broth.  Skim fat from broth.  If making ahead, it will be easier to remove the fat from the broth after refrigeration. 

Chile Puree (Red Sauce): Tear off and discard stem ends of chiles. Tear in half lengthwise (or break very dry chiles into pieces). Remove as much of the central seed membrane as can be done without too much work and shake out loose seeds.  Tear each chile into several pieces.  Sometimes chiles are toasted at this point, but I learned to make this dish without toasting the chiles.  Pack chile pieces into a large saucepan, cover with water, cover pan and bring to a boil. Remove covered pan from heat, setting aside for 30 minutes to soften and cool chiles.

When at least cool enough to leave your hand on the bottom of the pan, process chiles and part of the liquid in a blender or food processor until skins are reduced to about 1/4 inch chunks, or until smooth. Work sauce through a coarse sieve to remove skin and seed fragments. Or use a food mill or berry press to remove the seeds and skins. You may add the remaining liquid or some water to the skins, stir and strain again. Discard skins. Chile puree may be prepared the day before and refrigerated, or up to a couple of weeks in advance and frozen.

Final Preparation:  Heat broth and chunks of chicken meat in a large kettle.  You can also use an 7 or 8-quart slow cooker turned to high heat, but heating and simmering will take longer. Drain, rinse and add hominy to chicken and broth. Add chile puree and salt to taste. You should have leftover chile puree (red sauce).  Many recipes call for 4 ounces of dried chiles to make puree for this much hominy and meat.  The packages above should make enough sauce for 2 big batches unless you serve additional red sauce as a garnish.  The red sauce can also be used to flavor other dishes.   

Add water and/or additional chicken broth to bring Pozole to a soupy consistency. Adjust salt and simmer to blend flavors, for at least half an hour. The hominy swells as it simmers, so you may need to add additional water, broth and/or chile puree later. Refrigerate or freeze extra chile puree.

To Serve: Ladle into serving bowls and serve with these garnishes:

• A big bowl of thinly shredded or finely chopped cabbage (with tongs for adding cabbage to the Pozole).  I think pre-packaged Angel Hair Coleslaw (cabbage only) works very well.

• Finely diced red or white onion (offer minced scallions for more sensitive tummies or when available onions are very strong)

• Lime and/or lemon wedges (or lemon or lime juice)

• Sliced or julienned radishes

• hot pepper flakes, reserved red sauce and/or hot sauce 

• dried whole oregano to rub over individual servings as desired. 

 Cool and refrigerate leftover Pozole.   You may need to add additional liquid when reheating.   

Notes, including directions for Pork Pozole

The cabbage, onion and/or scallions and citrus are mandatory accompaniments. Other garnishes are optional but may be expected. Minced cilantro and/or Italian parsley are not traditional garnishes for this dish in winter in many regions, but are often offered.  Sometimes shredded iceberg lettuce is substituted for the cabbage and avocado is offered.  I don't know if these are traditional, however.    

I learned to make this style of Pozole from a friend who grew up in Michoacán.   Many of the people who live in our little town are from this state of Mexico.  This state includes mountainous regions where it freezes in winter, so cilantro is not available then.  This state also includes wintering grounds for Monarch butterflies.

PORK POZOLE

In our little town, Pozole made with pork butt or pork neck and a pig's foot is common at Christmas-season family gatherings. You may also use pork in the recipe above.  Pork shank and Boston pork butt are common choices for this size recipe.  Four or 5 pounds of lean country-style spare ribs (not real spare ribs) is an easy choice. Cut into large chunks before or after simmering in water or broth until tender.  Cool meat enough to remove visible fat and any bones.  For buffet-style Pozole, shred meat with two forks.

In some recipes, the pork is cut into one inch or 1 1/2 inch chunks and browned before simmering, adding some minced garlic at the end.   Rubbed oregano or coriander and a bay leaf may be added to the liquid as the meat simmers.   In some regions, the cook may add garlic cloves, cumin and/or a little ground allspice to the red sauce as it is placed in the blender to be pureed.   Garlic, cumin and oregano will make the dish taste more like chili.  Coriander is the seed of cilantro, but has a different flavor.  I have made pork pozole with bay leaf and a little coriander added to the meat, and liked it.  Remove bay leaf before serving. 

Our friend Rosie likes to add some dried Pasilla chiles with the traditional dried California chiles.   I believe that the name "Pasilla" refers to the wrinkled appearance of the dried chiles (like a raisin).   You could also try Ancho/Poblano chiles, which are sometimes smoked while drying.  Here, one popular choice is called "Pasilla-Ancho".  These may be dark Ancho peppers, but I'm just guessing.  Any of these will give a deeper color and more complex flavor to the dish. None of them are very spicy.   We have used a 16 oz. bag of Chile California and an 8 oz. bag of Chile Pasilla-Ancho to make red sauce for a season's worth of Pozole. Chile California is a red, dried version of the Anaheim Chile.  It is very similar to New Mexico Chiles, but milder.  Guajillo chiles are also used for Pozole, often in combination with one of the others above. 

Sometimes we see red hominy (made from red corn) in big cans this time of year, too. 
 
In Mexico, various raw or cooked vegetables (and other accompaniments like chopped hard-cooked eggs) are also offered when other kinds of soup are served, so diners can add the ones they like.

Allergy information: Contains corn.

Family-style Pozole

When the weather gets cooler in the fall, we start seeing big bags of dried, whole Chile California on sale at the store.  It's time to think about making Pozole, a cousin to Menudo. We're not quite up to making Menudo.  Pozole  looks like it contains tomatoes, but the color comes entirely from dried chiles. In summer, diced green chiles and chunks of chicken are often used.

Pozole can be prepared a day or two in advance of serving. Leftovers are good. David likes it for breakfast on cold mornings.

For Pork Pozole, follow the recipe on the 29-oz can of Teasdale Mexican-style hominy, substituting about 7 large dried Chile California peppers for Ancho or Chile sauce and Cayenne pepper. These peppers are mild, but the ones we buy are not smoked like dried Ancho (Poblano) peppers sometimes are. You could also used other dried, mild chiles, or combine California and Pasilla chiles for richer color and flavor. as our friend Rosie does. I use lean "country-style spare ribs" in place of the pork and pig's feet in the recipe on the can.

Remove stems and most of attached membrane and seeds from chiles, rinse and tear into pieces. Place in small covered saucepan and bring to boil in water to cover. Turn off heat and allow to sit until cool enough to comfortably keep your hand on the bottom of the pan. Process cooled chiles and some of the liquid in a blender or food processor until the skins are broken into about 1/4 inch pieces, or until smooth. Strain and press (while stirring) liquid and pulp through a coarse sieve, leaving skins in sieve. Add remaining liquid to skins, stir and press again.  Or try using a berry press or food mill to remove skin and seeds. Add chile puree to Pozole to taste. Adjust salt.

For Red Chicken Pozole, substitute 6 to 8 chicken thighs or a whole, cut-up chicken for pork and pigs feet. Cook chicken until tender in water and/or broth to cover. Remove from broth. People who grew up eating Pozole often like chicken or pork neck and/or pig's foot pieces served whole. For Gringos or for a big party, you may cool chicken enough to remove skin, bones and visible fat, breaking or cutting into bite-sized pieces. Skim fat from broth and return chicken to broth. Drain and add a 29-oz can hominy. Add salt and strained Chile puree to taste as above. Add water or additional chicken broth to produce a soupy consistency. Adjust salt. Simmer until flavors are well-blended.

Serve either pork or chicken Pozole with finely shredded or chopped cabbage, chopped onion or minced scallions, lemon or lime wedges or juice and sliced radishes to be added individually by diners. Also offer dried oregano to rub into Pozole (or finely minced fresh oregano to add) and hot sauce or hot pepper flakes.

Allergy information: Contains corn.