Puerto Rican-fried chicken

I’ve been waiting all week for my Puerto Rican night to happen. The ever-increasing expectations I’ve nourished for days, inspired me to cook the “Puerto Rican-Fried Chicken” I’m posting today. Still, even as my excitement built up, an underlying nervousness started surfacing, mostly because in Puerto Rico, we are almost brainwashed to believe we somehow represent our country in everything we do. As an unofficial ambassador to the Island, I knew I had to watch the Puerto Rican feature “La espera desespera” (Hopeless Hopeful) at the Cleveland International Film Festival. Unfortunately, I’ve come to find out that unofficial diplomacy works in two directions; not only your actions depict the country as a whole, but when someone from the country messes up, it somewhat reflects on you. At that point I felt that if the audience didn’t like the movie, I’d be somewhat responsible for letting them down. It’s pretty messed up.

 

The film festival often screens a handful of movies outside their main theaters. My movie (note how now I’m claiming ownership) was to be shown in one of those locations, in an area where many Puerto Ricans live. So, as if the stakes were not high already, I asked friends to meet me before the film for dinner at a Puerto Rican restaurant adjacent to the theater. Turned out that dinner was good (thank God). I had a mofongo that was excellent with shrimp in garlic sauce (that was perfect). My friends seemed to enjoy their dinner as well, and in a really nice gesture, took care of my tab. They’re just too sweet. So, no shame so far. But we were still waiting for the movie…

A couple of minutes into the film, we knew how it would be: fun! It was such a good film that I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets an award or two. It was funny and clever, the acting was excellent and the direction was awesome. As a bonus, the movie was shot mostly in the last neighborhood I lived in when I used to live in San Juan, and actually one of my best friends had a cameo appearance. Bam! It was a great night.

As we left the theater, we stopped by a local coffee house (Gypsy Beans) for coffee but had to buy some sweets. I’ve never seen such beautiful pastries; they were absolutely gorgeous so we had to buy something! We went for polvorones (think Spanish shortbread or Mexican wedding cookies) and slices of coconut cake, and chocolate cake to go. The Puerto Rican night was a success.

Now that I’ve enjoyed all this Rican-ess in full glory, I’m ready to share my Puerto Rican Fried Chicken recipe. Back home people eat fried chicken at least once a week. We don’t bread our chicken; but it gets fried with its skin, which brings lots of flavor. At the end, you can reduce the fat calories by not eating the skin. But I’m warning you that it will be hard, because it’s so good! Like many of the foods we eat, this chicken is simple, humble and unpretentious, but it’s absolutely delicious. I’m not that into frying, so I modified the cooking a bit. I start by searing the meat in a little bit of oil, and then continue on to roast it in the oven. At the end, the chicken is absolutely delicious, and the rendered fat can be used as a “sauce”, to dip your chicken, your bread or your side dish, or you can save it and use it as a base to cook something else the next day! 

On the road shortcut

Nutritional information per serving (4 servings):

394 calories, 0 g carbs, 27 g fat, 37 g protein (eating the skin)

295 calories, 0 g carbs, 14 g fat, 32 g protein (if you don’t eat the skin)

Ingredients

4 chicken quarters, bone-in, skin-on

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon spice blend (I used Morton’s Nature Seasons)

1 teaspoon oregano

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Season the chicken with salt, spice mix, and oregano.

Preheat an oven-safe skillet. Add the oil and let it warm up until it gets hot (about a couple of minutes). Sear the meat starting with the skin down, about 3 minutes. Flip the chicken, and sear for 3 more minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast at 450F for 40 minutes.

Call me a chicken; I don't give a rat's hat.

Last weekend turned out to be, not just a good weekend, but an awesome one. It all started with dinner and a movie on Friday. We decided to watch "Only God Forgives". It was quite the dude movie; among the audience there was not a single lady in sight. It literally felt as if we had crashed a massive guy's night-out party at the movies (I kept waiting for the strippers to pop out of somewhere). The film itself was a pretty cool, interesting, a la Tarantino movie, so think Kill Bill in Thailand with Ryan Gosling. Maybe the movie was that awesome, or maybe I liked it because I was already feeling happy since I had my Iskender kebab just minutes before. I love eating anything doner-ish, man; it’s my comfort food. I still happily remember how my love affair with Turkish food started and the many smiles that it had brought me since. 

It all started in a sunny September day. I had just moved to Spain and my friends and I just got to Madrid, without a place to stay, or any kind of realistic housing plan. Oh, the innocence of the 20 year olds... At the airport we were talked by the taxi drivers into taking 3 different cabs to reach the city center to try finding a hotel. I mean, what could go wrong? Well, we were dumped in different parts of the city. At least I learned the first lesson a traveler should be aware of: neither trust taxi drivers nor look like a lost tourist (even when you are one), under any circumstance. One of my friends, Eric, was lucky and had the chance to be with the non-douchy driver and together drove around the city trying to find us. When they finally found us, they picked us up and took us to different hotels until we found one with a vacant room we could actually afford.

People may say that I'm an angry driver, but I'm sure they have never been driven by that taxi driver. From him, I learned my favorite go-to curse "me cago en la leche" which is hilarious since it literary means "I poop in the milk" (which in turn it's a PG version of the real curse in which poor dear old God gets the chocolate treatment). Anyway, we stayed at the hotel for a night, and then wondered throughout the city trying to find a more affordable hostel we could stay for a bit longer; a place we could stay at until we could find an apartment. We did find one, and next to it we met this Argentinean guy who was working handing out fliers promoting a Turkish restaurant. We actually became good friends (and we are still friends to this day). I took the flier, and for the first time ever, I went to a Turkish restaurant, and had my, first "top notch, all-halal" doner kebab. It immediately became comfort food for me, and at 3€ including a drink it became my happy, happy meal. Since then, every time I eat a kebab I remember those days in Spain, and all the Turkish restaurant friends I made those days.

Comfort foods are dishes we associate with happiness, adventure, feeling safe, and feeling like being at home. I have collected an arsenal of comfort foods through the years. Through time, comfort foods had been the grilled cheese sandwiches and 7ups I had as a kid when I was sick, the pork-tasting roasted turkey my father would make for Thanksgiving, the potato balls stuffed with ground pork (rellenos) I had as a treat during a day in the town, the guanimes (boiled flour dumplings) my Grandma would make us for lunch, and the fried chicken my Mami would make us for dinner, breast always reserved for me. But as time passes, I have gathered comfort foods that have me-memories. These are foods that give me comfort in two ways. I really feel happy when I make them, and I feel happy when I eat them. So when I feel a bit down I go for my "coq au vin" (no pun intended), or if I’m feeling homesick I make the always perfect “arroz con pollo”.

Back to my super-fun weekend, I followed a good Friday with an even better Saturday. I went to my partner’s father birthday party and I had a blast, and Sunday we went hiking and grocery shopping. I was so happy by the end of the weekend that I decided to cook some comfort food to stretch that happy weekend feeling all the way to the end. I decided that I wanted to have a chicken that reminded me of my mother's. She fried her chicken without breading it. I wasn't going to bread, or fry, mine, either. So I took a whole chicken, cut as individual pieces, and seasoned each part with a spice blend (Morton's Nature's Seasonings) which resembles the Puerto Rican adobo the most, but without the MSG. Normally I mix the spices myself, but to be honest, I just wasn't feeling like it. I drizzled olive oil on a baking/roasting pan and placed the chicken in it. I added ground achiote (annatto) and dry thyme. I covered the chicken with pieces of lemon and added more thyme. I covered the pan with foil and into the oven it went, for an hour, with the last 5 minutes being uncovered. 

As my for my side dish I wanted to make a ratatouille, my “let’s survive grad school” comfort food. I do ratatouilles even with my eyes closed (bitch, please), and it makes me happy to prepare it (and it makes me even happier to eat it, I admit). I really wasn’t making a true “Ratatouille Nicoise” because I wanted to use more of the produce I had, while it was at its peak. I layered carrots (Mon Dieu!), eggplant, zucchini, yellow peppers (jaune?…Mon Dieu!), onions, canned (yes, canned) diced tomatoes and finely minced garlic (and then more onions...) in a casserole, added red wine, olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh oregano. Normally you would used marjoram, basil or/and thyme, but the animals have been messing with my basil and thyme, so I used only oregano, and prayed the French gods for forgiveness. I covered the casserole and instead of cooking it on the stove I set it in the oven (so the coq wouldn't feel so lonely) and cooked at 450F for an hour.

After an hour, I got my comfort eating all this food. The chicken was great. It was crispy on the outside, still juicy in the inside. I loved the refreshing flavor courtesy of the lemon - thyme combination. The adobo worked its magic bringing additional notes, salt and spice to the meat and the achiote, as always, added complexity with its nutty, yet refined taste. This was great chicken with a minimal amount of work and an hour to spend at my own leisure. What else can anyone ask for? The veggies were also great. They were not swimming in liquid (that was important to me). Had there been too much liquid I would have had to reduce some of the liquid on the stove and then add it back to the veggies. The fresh oregano added a very nice flavor and aroma to the dish, making me a very happy Frenchy-Rican. I love using tomatoes from a can to make this dish, and I feel no shame. I save my fresh tomatoes to eat on their own, which I really enjoy.

This meal feels very hearty, but it’s actually a low calorie sweetheart. The whole dinner is well under 500 calories for a generous serving (which is why I felt free to add some avocado and tomatoes on the side). I love dishes that use different veggies because I can make sure I get different nutrients,  giving me a more complete nutrition. The other great thing is that when I use all that fresh produce, all at their appropriate ripeness, it allows me to really enjoy the pleasure of eating vegetables. It isn’t fun to eat anything if you don’t really enjoy it. It makes a huge difference to eat fresh, local vegetables when you eat food that actually highlights the vegetables. To me, that’s comfort. Next, we re-define “soul food”, lol.

On the road shortcut
 

Ratatouille

4 carrots

1 eggplant

2 zucchini

1 can tomato

2 large onions

2 teaspoons fresh oregano

1/4 wine

1 teaspoon oil

1 yellow pepper

1 taspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 cloves finely minced garlic

Peel and cube the carrots, eggplant, and zucchini and add to a casserole as layers. Add half of the sliced onions. Add the rest of the ingredients as layers (ending with the remaining onions). Cover and cook at 450F for an hour. 

 Chicken

1 whole chicken, in pieces

Adobo or other spice blend

Achiote

Dry thyme

Lemon wedges

Olive oil

Drizzle olive oil on a baking or roasting pan. Season each chicken piece with the adobo or other spice blend and add them to the pan. Sprinkle achiote evenly and then sprinkle with dry thyme. Top with lemon slices and add some more thyme (optional). Cover and cook in the oven at 450F for an hour. Uncover during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

The morning-after, or eating la vida loca

Special events are the spices to condiment our lives. Is that too corny? It totally is. It's still true. For the last few weeks I've had nothing but crazy schedules, not enough sleep and LOWs (lots of work). So I had been looking forward to this weekend because I was going to take a much needed break Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon (Father's Day)! I worked for 10 hours on Saturday (yeah, I know, I've been bitching about it like-forever), but I was perked up because I was going to a friend's housewarming party afterwards. Also, I found out a high school friend was visiting Cleveland (yes, people do visit Cleveland) so I arranged meeting her after the party. So when the working day was over, I went to warm up that house, and in exchange, the hosts warmed me up with Caribbean food. There was Cuban-style rice & black beans, stewed chicken, and yuca (root, what Tapioca is made from). There were also desserts... Man, there was flan and tres leches (sponge cake soaked in 3 different milks). I ate some of everything and flushed all that food down with sangria. Yummy.

The house had been warmed, so my best friend and I went down to a bar to meet our high school friend. We really got some serious remembering done of some pretty good times, over beer. Who would have known that memory and beer could work on the opposite direction as well? The more you know...

The next day was Father's Day. Of course, my father lives in Puerto Rico, but my partner's family lives here so we get to celebrate his father. His mom organized a brunch at their place and took care of the food. We had scrambled eggs, fried chicken, breakfast links, quiche-Lorraine, hash browns, bagels, veggies... we had it all. We had biscuits, cookies, éclairs, and rum balls, her specialty, for dessert. Not only everything was delicious, but everything was beautiful. My only contribution to this feast was a fruit salad. It was a fairly simple one but it had a punch of flavor. I used one pound of strawberries, one pint of raspberries, one pint of blueberries, eight dried figs, and one apple. The apple and figs brought different textures to the salad. The crunch of the apple was absolutely needed and the tartness of the fig deepened the flavor. I made a simple dressing using the juice of half a lemon and 3 teaspoons of honey. I like calling this dressing the homeopathic dressing. Man, I did love having lemon juice and honey to treat my colds as a kid. Anyway, the dressing brought out the flavor of the fruits, gave the salad depth and prevented the apples from browning (reacting with oxygen and becoming Fugly). It was actually pretty good.

The next morning I realized that I needed some detox time so I needed to get back in the kitchen and do some cooking. I wanted something healthy, and as always, tasty. But I wanted something I could leave unattended to do some work. Apparently, I love asking for too much, so I also wanted something I could eat again the next day, because I knew I would be way too busy all week. I decided to roast a chicken. After I pat-dried the chicken, I seasoned it with a quick dry rub. I used salt, pepper, herbes de Provence, and brown sugar. I don't think I can share the quantities of those, though. It was one of those days I go on automatic, and it's as if a rat would take over and cook for me (I really have to get out more). All I remember is that the sugar was one teaspoon, because it was the only ingredient I actually measured. The side dish was supposed to be uncomplicated as well, so I just peeled 2 turnips, cubed them and seasoned them the same way as I seasoned the chicken, plus I drizzled them with olive oil. I placed the turnips on a Dutch oven, got the chicken on them (breast down), and roasted at 450 for a bit over an hour. I actually took it out of the oven too early and it wasn't ready so it had to go back in... I guess the thermometer is just not good enough for me.

When the chicken was actually cooked, it was all I could have asked for. It was juicy, tender and with a great flavor. I had dinner/lunch (dunch???) at one of my favorite restaurants a few days before and I had a half chicken... Mine was better! Plus, I love herbes de Provence. I use them for everything. LOVE them. The flavors of the turnips were great, and it did resemble the Kohlrabi from my very first blog post. I guess the internet was right about that one. It was a great combination that would otherwise be unlikely, and unseasonal. Sue me...

There was some leftover chicken and I had it, as planned, for dinner the next day. This time I had it with some whole wheat spaghetti, with a drizzle of olive oil and one ounce of freshly grated parmesan cheese, some fresh oregano, and fresh thyme, salt and pepper. It was nice, and life was good again.

Let's talk about efficiency and calorie savings. I really can't think of many things that can keep you full, satisfied, and happy for fewer calories. A turnip is just 30 calories for the whole thing. The chicken varies based on size and the piece you actually eat, but it can be very low-cal, especially if you avoid eating the skin (which was very hard in this case, because man, that damned skin was delicious). The spaghetti was about 200 calories per serving, and since mine was whole wheat, I was more than ok with it. So both dinners were less than 500 calories for me.

During these few days I got to hang out with friends, have a great time with family, and I even got to lose about 3 pounds. Enjoy what you like with moderation, and if you really like something, take your time to enjoy it.  Don't just shove it in and swallow (no comments, please). Take your time to enjoy the flavors and to enjoy your company. Give your brain the chance to get the message: "Dude, I'm good. You can stop now." Just listen to it; for Christ's sake, it's a brain.