What Do You Do With Pierna De Pollo? I Dunno. Enchiladas?

I found it at the bottom of my freezer, all red and wrapped up in cellophane but I don't remember buying it: a package of pierna de pollo. To preface, I don't speak Spanish well. Once in Ecuador when trying to ask the bus driver to turn down the loud music, I actually asked if he could make the big music more tranquil. Using my same genius at language, I assumed "pierna" had something to do with the red seasoning rub coating the chicken. (Yes, I do know "pollo").


Browning the chicken to prepare for braising.

I was thinking I could quickly saute the meat for fajitas but after defrosting, I realized I had a bunch of chicken hind quarters which where oddly sliced in half long ways. With lots of bones to deal with, I wasn't going to be able to quickly saute anything. I scrapped my quick plan and decided to braise the chicken in a bottle of white wine left over from a party.



An hour or so later, I had a pot of braised chicken legs in a greasy wine broth, but not exactly sure where I was going from here. I figured whatever the "pierna" seasoning was, had also cooked into the broth, so it was too good to dump. It would have to be part of the dish. I was thinking a soup maybe, but after a long winter I am SO F**ing SICK of soup I can't take it anymore. Next in my mind: make a sauce for enchiladas. So I did. Here's how.



Chicken Enchiladas with Wine Sauce

• 2lbs chicken, browned
• 1 bottle of white wine
• 1 large onion cut into 1" slices
• 2 Tbs tomato paste
• 1 tsp corn starch
• hot sauce
• 1 green pepper sliced
• 1 red pepper sliced
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 8 oz. bag
  
• 1 package corn tortillas

After braising the chicken and onion in wine (about an 60-90 minutes at 350 degrees), strip the meat from the bones. My meat was not as moist and tender as I would've liked so I cut it into smaller chunks to make it easier to eat.

Next make the sauce. I separated half of the broth out to use to make a side dish of rice. With the remaining broth, heat until just boiling and stir in tomato paste which will help temper the tart wine flavor with its sweetness. Remove 1/2 cup or so of the wine broth and stir in the corn starch quickly so it doesn't chunk up. Mix the milky liquid back into the broth stirring to avoid lumps. As liquid gently boils it will begin to thicken into a nice sauce, about 5 minutes or so. Add hot sauce to taste.

Saute green and red pepper over medium heat until softened about 5 minutes or so.

Assemble the enchiladas by stuffing the tortillas with the braised chicken, sauted peppers, and a bit of cheddar cheese (1 cup or half the bag).



Stuff the tortillas tight into an oven safe pan. Pour the sauce over the tortillas and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Sprinkle the remaining half of cheese on top and place back into the oven for a couple minutes until the cheese is nice and melted.


Chicken Enchiladas served with white rice cooked in wine broth with coconut milk and black pepper.

This was a weird take on enchiladas as the sauce was more tart then spicy, but they were just as satisfying. I really liked the cheddar with the wine sauce. Alcohol and cheese, who would have thunk?

I kept wondering what was in the "pierna" seasoning? Well, thanks to the internet, I realize the red rub was probably some adobo seasoning because pierna de pollo directly translates to "chicken leg". Ha ha. I guess I should have paid more attention in Spanish class. Oh well you know what happens when you "ass-u-me".

A Forkable Kitchen Staple: Chicken Stock

Jars of Chicken Stock ready for freezer.

Chicken stock is on the top of my must have kitchen staples list. Its so useful to have on hand when I want to whip up a quick delicious soup, need a base for a sauce or gravy, or just want to give some extra flavor to rice. Although making stock is easy, and doesn't require a lot of work, it does take a bit of time. Because of this, I always make it in huge batches I can freeze for future use. I love making stock because it always makes me feel so old-timey to have a huge pot of stuff cooking on the stove. OK, lets get to the meat of the situation and make our stock.


Chicken carcasses saved from previous dinners and frozen until I was ready to use them for my stock.

For each pound of chicken parts, add:

• 2 or 3 large onions cut in half
  
• 2 or 3 carrots sliced into large chunks
• a couple of stalks of celery sliced in large chunks
• 3 or 4 bay leaves
• a hand full of peppercorn
• parsley or any other herbs you have on hand

Onions and carrots chopped and ready to go, with parsley from the freezer.

Place all the ingredients in a large stock pot and add water until all the ingredients are just covered. Place on burner set to high. Bring to a boil and then turn burner down to low. Allow to simmer for a couple hours until the liquid is is a nice broth color.



Some only cook their stocks for an hour or two, but I like to let it go for about 4 or 5. I usually make this on a day I want to laze around the house.

If you taste the broth and it tastes bland, you can strengthen the flavor by reducing the liquid by bringing it to a rapid boil to concentrate the flavor. I don't worry about having too strong a flavor because this is just a base. I don't add salt to my stock, but wait until I am seasoning whatever I use the stock for be it soup or gravy.


Water simmering with stock ingredients on left, stock ready to be drained on right. Notice the nice dark color of the completed stock.

When you feel your stock is done, remove from stove top and using a strainer, drain all the veggies and bones out. Make sure you drain into another pot. I forgot this once! I guess maybe I thought I was straining pasta or something and I stupidly poured all my stock down the drain and was left with a strainer full of garbage. ARG! Anyway, make sure you strain it into a pot big enough so you don't loose any of your precious stock broth.



The stock is ready to be put into the freezer. I like using glass jars which I can quickly microwave to defrost whenever I need them. I just save old mayonnaise and pickle jars just for this use.Pour the stock into jars leaving about an inch or so at the top. As the stock freezes it will expand a bit so you want to leave some room in the jar and screw the lids on loose so the jar doesn't break in the freezer. Check the stock in the freezer the next day and when its totally frozen, screw the lid on tightly and you're ready to go. Don't forget to label and date the jar so you don't forget what it is. You're ready to go!



If you are missing any of the above, don't worry. Onions are the only truly integral ingredient in my opinion. Even if you only have chicken and onions, you'll get something good. You don't need to fuss too much on the recipe. Just go for it. Here are some tips to help you along the way.

5 Forkable Stock TIPS

• Look for good sales on chicken legs and thighs (generally the cheapest cuts of meat). I can find them for less then $1 a pound. I'll pick up a couple pounds to freeze until I am ready to make my stock.

Bags of frozen chicken carcasses and vegetables collected for stock.

• Save the chicken bones left over from your Sunday dinner, or vegetable cuttings which would otherwise get thrown away to use in your stock. Using plastic bags, place bones, unused meat or vegetable cuttings in the freezer until you've collected enough for a big batch of stock. I love being thrifty and making stock always makes me feel like I'm getting something for nothing.

• Save the giblets which come with whole chicken for your stock.

• If have left over parsley or other herbs from a recipe, stick them in the freezer. For stock, it doesn't matter if the herbs are fresh.
  

Why is the wine in a whiskey bottle you ask? Here's your answer.

• White wine is a delicious addition.
  

Have fun!

Recycling Left Overs: Pot Pies.

Recycling leftovers: making pot pies from left over Coq au Vin and dough from pastry bowls.

I have a difficult time estimating how much food to make for a specific amount of people. When cooking for a group of twenty, I always end up with enough to feed forty. I don't know why. Perhaps, because of my Midwestern background, I think in terms of Old Country Buffet style portions. For Forkably Hip, I did my BEST to keep gourmet portions in mind, but I still had left overs. I don't know about you, but I can only eat the same left overs for a couple of days before I want to throw them away. But me, throw away food? NEVER!

This weekend, I just can't eat any more Coq au Vin or the Portobello au Vin, I made for the vegetarians. Time to recycle. I had some left over dough I had in the fridge from making my pastry bowls. Stew, dough. Its time to make pot pies



Making my pies was as easy as rolling out the left over dough into disks, and added a dollop of the stew leftovers mixed together with some shredded Swiss cheese to add melty deliciousness and change the taste just enough to convince me I was eating a different meal. I brushed some milk over the edges of the dough pinched the sides together with my fingers.



Brushing the outsides with more milk and sprinkling the pies with Parmesan cheese and some celery salt for flavoring, they were ready for the oven. 400 degrees for 15 minutes and done.



Swiss Chicken Portobello potpies with a red wine gravy. New meal recycled from old meal, made quickly and eaten with gusto!