Chicken Tacos with Green Chili Adobo

I’m a sucker for food magazines. I subscribe to a few (to say the least) and I love sitting down on a cold or rainy day and reading every magazine from start to finish. I try to imagine what each recipe would taste like and how I could make it my own.

When the recipe is accompanied by a picture and the picture is a taco, I’m usually pretty much sold. Accompany the taco picture with the word Adobo and I’m on my way to the stove to start cooking!

This is my first stab at this recipe, so don’t judge it by its (not so great) picture!

I cannot remember where I found this recipe, but it is from Rick Bayless and it is amazing! Here is my slightly revised version:

• 1 head of garlic, separated into individual cloves, skins still on
• 5 serrano chilies, stems removed
• 1 fresno chili, stem removed
• 2 cups loosely packed cilantro
• 2 cups loosely packed flat leaf parsley
• 1 medium (white) onion diced
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Taco shells (flour or corn) - your choice!

Roast the Chilies and Garlic. Heat a dry pan on medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and all of the chilies. Cook until soft and browned in spots (turning occasionally). The chilies will take approximately 10 minutes to cook, the garlic about 15. Once browned, removed and let cool. Remove the skins of the garlic. Chop the chilies into smaller pieces.

Make the Adobo. Combine the cilantro, parsley, chilies, garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt and olive oil in the blender. Puree until smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the blender several times.

Cook the Chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Heat a sauce pan on medium high heat. Add two tablespoons of canola oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the chicken. Cook the chicken until brown on one side; about 4-5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook it on the reverse side until brown; another 4-5 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, add the onions to the open space in the pan. Once the chicken has browned on both sides, remove it from the pan and let the onions continue cook until caramelized; another 2-3 minutes.

After removing the chicken from the pan, slice the chicken into ¼ slices. When the onions have finished caramelizing, add the chicken back to the pan with about ½ of the Adobo mixture. Mix well and continue to cook the chicken until cooked through. Add additional salt if needed.

How to Serve. Wrap your taco shells in two wet paper towels. Place the shells/paper towels in an open plastic bag and heat them in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Rick Bayless recommended this method and the shells (I used flour) turned out perfectly!

Serve the tacos with extra chopped cilantro, diced white onion and your favorite crumbled mexican cheese.

Leftovers? I made 4 chicken breasts with this recipe and had plenty left over. The next day, I made nachos with the left overs. I placed the chicken on top of a layer of tortilla chips, added some of the extra Adobo and then added a ton of shredded cheddar cheese (I like cheddar over the mexican cheese). Heat this in a 400 degree oven until the cheese is melted. When you remove the nachos from the oven, add additional cilantro, onion (I used green onion with the nachos), and chopped jalepenos.

Enjoy!

Best EVER BBQ Ribs

Growing up, my favorite place to go for ribs was Al’s Restaurant in Cicero, IL. We would order slabs of Baby Back Ribs slathered in Al’s BBQ sauce - I can still taste them!

Since then, it has been hard for me to find a good place for ribs. I’ve tried several places, but they were often too salty. I finally gave up and and decided to make my own. Back in 2012, I found a recipe in Bon Appetite magazine for a recipe called Best Ever BBQ Ribs. How could I not try that recipe?

After making this recipe for two years - for summer birthdays or in the middle of winter - I have modified it and made it my own. I think that this has become one of my signature dishes.

Here is my version:

• 2 tablespoon (each) dry mustard, paprika, ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon (each) cayenne pepper, cumin
• ½ tablespoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup (ish) Roasted Chili oil
• ½ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ Sauce
• ½ cup Famous Dave’s Rich and Sassy BBQ Sauce
• 2 tablespoons water

Combine all of the spices into a bowl and mix well. Rub the Roasted Chili oil onto the ribs, then the dry rub (both sides). Cover the ribs and let them sit for 4 hours in the refrigerator or up to 1 day.

Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and let them sit for 30-60 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil (I cover the bottom of the pan twice). Place the ribs onto the baking sheet and then cover with another piece of aluminum foil. Place the ribs into the oven and let them cook for 1 ½ hours.

After the cooking time, remove the ribs and uncover. Move the ribs to another piece of aluminum foil and pour the remaining oil from the lined pans to a sauce pan. Let the ribs cool completely.

Add the two types of BBQ sauce and the two tablespoons of water to the sauce pan with the oil. Mix until combined. Cook on medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Reduce heat to low.

Start your grill once the ribs cool. The ribs can sit overnight in the refrigerator and be reheated on the grill the next day if you prefer.

Once the grill is hot, place the ribs on the grill and begin to sauce the ribs. You will cook the ribs 5 minutes on each side (saucing as it cooks). Once the ribs have cooked a total of 10 minutes, remove the ribs from the grill and serve.

Notes about St. Louis Ribs. I have bought my ribs from both Standard Market and Whole Foods. Whole Foods often puts St. Louis ribs on sale in the summer and I will often buy multiple slabs and freeze them. They definitely freeze well. Friends have said that Costco sells excellent St. Louis ribs. Although I have not tried them, I would give those a try. Bottom line, as long as the ribs look meaty and you cook them first in the oven with the rub, I can’t imagine they will turn out anything less than perfect!

Notes about BBQ Sauce. My husband loves Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ sauce, but when you combine these two sauces, you really get a nice sweet, tangy and smokey sauce. I haven’t tried making my own sauce yet, but I’m sure that will be on the horizon someday soon!

Enjoy!

Shallot, Lemon and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes (a.k.a. "Guinea Potatoes")

My mom used to make the best roasted potatoes. She used new potatoes - from the can - and then covered them with olive oil, garlic and italian seasoning. I LOVED the potatoes and it was the first thing I made when I started to cook 20 years ago.

My recipe has changed a bit over the years, but right now, my favorite is a combination of roasted shallots, lemon and rosemary.

Here is the recipe:

• 3 large russet potatoes
• 4 large shallots sliced into large chunks (more if you are using smaller shallots; you can’t use too many shallots - trust me!)
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• ¼ cup parsley chopped
• Salt and pepper
• ¼ cup - ½ cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Peel potatoes and cut into a medium dice. Mix canola oil, garlic powder, oregano, zest of one lemon, shallots and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. I use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic because fresh garlic burns too easily when roasting the potatoes. When garlic burns, it tastes bitter.

Roast potatoes on a sheet pan at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. Flip potatoes once after about 45 minutes.

Once potatoes are brown on all sides, remove from oven. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, juice from one lemon and ¼ cup of chopped parsley.

Eat and enjoy!

Tina Marie-style Tri-Tip

A couple of years ago, I stopped at the City Meat Market in Naperville. It was the first time I tried a tri-tip roast,Santa Maria-style, and it was amazing! Sadly, City Meat Market closed at the end of 2013, but I still remember that roast!

A couple of weeks ago, I bought another tri-tip. I did a search for “Santa Maria-style” rub and there were several variations. This is my version of the rub so I’m calling it the Tina Marie-style Tri-tip.

Here is the recipe:

• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 ½ - 2 lb tri-tip roast
• Equal parts garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and black pepper (maybe 1 tablespoon each)
• ½ tablespoon kosher salt

Combine all of the spices. Rub the roast first with the canola oil, then the spice mixture. Let the roast sit covered in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.

Start the grill and get it as hot as you can (600-700 degrees). Sear the roast on direct heat for approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Move the roast to indirect heat and cook until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 135-140 degrees (140 degrees for medium). Remove the roast from the grill, cover with foil and let sit for approximately 10 minutes. Even if you like your beef well done, PLEASE remove it from the heat at 140 degrees. The carry over cooking will bring the roast to the perfect temperature.

Slice the roast across the grain into thin slices. The tri-tip is an odd roast and you may have to change the direction of the roast as you slice it. It seems like the grain runs in different directions on opposite sides of the roast. You can serve the roast as is or as a sandwich. My recommendation for sandwiches is on garlic bread with melted provolone.

One other thing to note. Tri-tip isn’t super expensive and it contains less fat than most other cuts. This roast can serve two people for up to two meals. If you haven’t tried it yet, search it out - it is fantastic! I have seen it before at Trader Joe’s as well, already prepared Santa Maria-style. Let me know how yours turns out!

Enjoy!

Inside Madonia's Kitchen

My husband Tony is always looking for cool and unusual things for me. He buys things that no one else would ever even think of and I can’t think of a gift I haven’t loved and enjoyed! When we first moved into our house, he bought the most awesome clock for our kitchen. This is where Madonia’s Kitchen (Trattoria) actually originated.

Tony has indulged me with many gifts that support my love for cooking. A couple of years ago, he bought me several Pop Chart Lab posters which I framed and proudly display in my kitchen. My favorite is The Cartography of Kitchenware. This poster depicts about every kitchen utensil you would ever want and hopefully, that I will have one day. I’m sure you made the connection, but he regularly adds actual utensils and appliances to that collection!

This past year, I received these as a gift:

Custom cutting boards!

He ordered these from The New York Times Store and I LOVE them! I use them as actual cutting boards but also as serving pieces. They are great way to present antipasto or even grilled meats. They are really versatile and come in several different sizes (yes, I have all of them!).

Stay tuned for more unique Madonia’s Kitchen gifts (I know I will be)!

Garlic, Rosemary and Thyme Pork Chops

Over the last year, one of my favorite meals to make has been pork chops. I love pork chops; seriously, I LOVE them!

I wasn’t always a fan though. Most of you have probably eaten broiled pork chops which were dry and cooked until they were well done. That is my memory too (sorry mom), but this past year, I feel like I have mastered the cooking of the perfect pork chop. It is quickly becoming my signature dish.

Grilled pork chops

Tom Colicchio’s cookbook, Think Like a Chef taught me how sear the chops on the stovetop first and and then finish them in the oven. The process is actually pretty simple:

• Salt and pepper your pork chops - use more salt/pepper than you think so that you can get a nice crust.
• Once your pan is hot, add about 2 tablespoons of canola oil. When the oil starts to glisten, add your chops and sear them on each side - about 2-3 minutes a side depending on how thick they are.
• After you sear the second side of the chops, add about 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 3-4 whole garlic cloves and some fresh rosemary and thyme. Baste the pork chops with the melted butter (it will smell amazing) and then throw your pan into a pre-heated 400 degree oven.
• Remove the pan from the oven and baste every 5 minutes. Check for temperature. The chops are done when the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Total cook time will range from 5-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the chops.
• Remove the chops from the pan once at temperature and pour any remaining melted butter over the chops. Let them sit 5 minutes or so before serving.

I thought this was the perfect method for cooking pork chops, but recently tried the same approach on the grill. Before I give you the grilling steps, I want to talk about the grill and the charcoal. I never gave much thought to either of these things until our neighbor Dayton introduced us to the Weber Performer Deluxe Grill and Cowboy Hardwood Lump Charcoal. The grill is actually pretty simple - a standard Weber kettle charcoal grill fit into a stand. What sets this grill apart is the automatic gas start. It gets the fire going much faster and you never have to use lighter fluid - thank you!

The charcoal makes a huge difference. The flavor is really amazing. Search this stuff out - it is worth the extra effort! Believe it or not, Ace Hardware is where we have found this most often.

OK…back to the process:

• First, get your grill hot - really hot! Brush both sides of you chops with canola oil and salt and pepper your chops.
• Sear the chops on each side - about two minutes per side. Remove the chops from the grill and place a cast iron skillet on the grill. Let the skillet got hot, then add the chops back in (same approach as the Bobby Flay Rocks! post). Add the butter, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Don’t worry about basting.
• The chops will take anywhere from 5-15 minutes to cook, depending on the thickness. They cook fast, so check them every 3-4 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
• Remove the chops from the skillet as soon as they reach temperature. Worry about the skillet later. Spoon any remaining butter from the skillet over the chops. Let them sit 5 minutes or so before serving.

Regardless of which method you use - stovetop/oven or grill/cast iron pan - these will be the best pork chops you will ever eat. All of those bad memories will fade and if you are like me, you will devour every inch of the chop down to the bone.

Most of you will freak out about the temperature recommendation. The new USDA recommendation on temperature is truly 145 degrees.

One last thing…

Make sure that you are using canola oil for this recipe, not olive oil. Because you are cooking at high temperatures, the olive oil tends to taste bitter as it burns. Canola oil is very mild and doesn’t burn at the same high heat.

Make sure you try this recipe and let me know what you think. Best pork chops ever, right?!

Enjoy!

Bobby Flay Rocks!

Dinner tonight was inspired by Bobby Flay’s BBQ Addiction. The theme today was Steakhouse at Home. We watched Bobby cook a Rib Eye steak on the grill by first searing the steak directly on direct heat and then finishing it in a cast iron pan on the grill itself.

This is the BEST steak that I have ever eaten at home and to be honest, on the same level as Mastro’s and Ruth’s Chris. The steak was THAT good!

Here is the recipe (my version below):

The thickest Rib Eye steak you can find

Canola Oil

Salt

Pepper

½ stick unsalted butter

Maytag Blue Cheese (optional)

Start your charcoal grill. While the grill is getting hot, let the steak come to room temperature. Before grilling, brush the steaks with canola oil and then heavily salt and pepper the steaks. Use enough salt and pepper so that it feels unnatural; the goal is that the salt/pepper form a crust on the steak.

Grill the steak on direct heat about 2 minutes per side. Remove the steak from the grill and place a cast iron pan on the grill. Cut the steak into large strips against the grain and return the steak to the pan (in the same shape of the steak). Place ½ stick of unsalted butter (cut into ~1 inch chunks) on the top of the steak and cover the grill. Let cook approximately 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the grill and place the steak strips on a serving dish. If you are using blue cheese, crumble the blue cheese on top of the steak and then spoon the butter sauce from the cast iron pan over the steak/blue cheese. Let the steaks sit about 5 minutes, covered, before serving.

What do you serve with the steak? I tried the Grilled Potatoes. I personalized this by using peeled russet potatoes and tossed the potatoes with canola oil, salt, pepper, shallots and italian seasoning to start. Once they finished on the grill, I tossed them again with parsley, olive oil and some finishing salt. I could have cooked them a bit longer on the grill, but they were still SO good!

Enjoy my friends!

Pasta Agli Olio

I love a good bowl of pasta (a.k.a. “macaroni” in our house) and could it pretty much everyday. While our family favorite is probably rigatoni with a a hearty, slow cooked, meat gravy, a close second is definitely Pasta Agli Olio. In fact, I have had a taste for Agli Olio ever since my post last week about Chef.

Ingredients

¼ cup(ish) olive oil

8-10 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

Red pepper flakes - make your own call on how much heat you like

Handful of chopped Italian Parsley

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

1 lemon

1 pound linguini, spaghetti or fettucini

A note about “macaroni.” Our family favorite is Ronzoni , which you can now buy through Amazon. For dinner last night, I used fresh linguini from Standard Market . It was meh; a little too thick for my taste.

Cooking Method

Start your pasta water - big pot, lots of salt, bring to a rapid boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, warm a medium/large saute pan (any pan with sides) on low heat. Add the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes and allow the mixture to cook in the pan on low throughout the rest of the cooking time. Stir occasionally.

Once the water begins to boil, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. We prefer our pasta al dente. Saute the pasta in the oil for a few minutes (3-4) until the pasta is completely coated in the oil. Remove the pan from the oven and add the Parmesan, parsley and the juice of one lemon. Mix well and serve!

Another note. Most of the time I make Agli Olio with just the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. I added the parsley, cheese and lemon based on the recipe from the Chef movie. I don’t know that I would regularly add the Parm and to be honest, my ingredient list is slightly different in terms of quantities than the Chef movie recipe, but the addition of the lemon and parsley I’ll make sure to incorporate all of the time (as long as I have some in the house)! It is definitely a nice touch!

Enjoy!

Chef, the Movie

After a weekend of marathon cooking with my son Anthony, I’m drinking a bottle of Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon and watching one of my favorite movies:  Chef.

I love this movie.  I’ve always been a fan of Jon Favreau - I mean who isn’t?  Swingers? Elf? Very Bad Things? Come on! The music and the food regularly inspire me to get off the couch and cook for hours, which is what I did this weekend.

Anthony and I spent Friday night and all day Saturday cooking our butts off.  We made gravy, pot roast, pulled pork and lemon chicken orzo soup.  We started with the pot roast on Friday night which cooked for about eight hours in the slow cooker.  Saturday morning we were up and cooking by 9am.  Our gravy turned out awesome (ask my expert tasters, Diego and Lili) and we both walked away with about five servings (meals) EACH of gravy.  The pulled pork has actually become one of my signature dishes: pork shoulder cooked for seven hours at 300 degrees with a rub of roasted chili oil, dry mustard, paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Right out of the oven, as tacos or in sandwiches, as is or with BBQ sauce, it makes my mouth water.

But, despite everything I made, what I really want to eat right now is Cubano.  I’m watching John Leguizamo prepare Mojo Pork Cubanos right now and I’m obsessed!  That is the next recipe I’m going to tackle.  Bakespace has published a list of the recipes from Chef on-line.  All you have to do is create an account and you can access six recipes.  Make sure to download the soundtrack first, because you can’t make Mojo Pork Cubanos without that music playing in the background.  Stay tuned for a future post on how my Cubanos turned out!

Until then, listen to one of my favorite songs from the movie!

Chicken Parmesan

This is probably Tony’s favorite meal and was one of the first recipes he made sure that I got from his mom (a.k.a. “Grandma Pat”).  Her recipe is amazing and over the years, I have pretty much stayed true to the original.  Here is my most current version:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 4 cups (about) panko breadcrumbs (see note below)
• 4 tablespoons (about) Parmesan cheese
• 1.5 - 2 lbs Mozzarella cheese
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt, pepper

Special note on breadcrumbs: My sister Lia introduced me to Whole Foods Italian breadcrumbs. These are REALLY good.  In this picture, I used a combination of the Whole Foods breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs.  SO good!

Before you get started on prepping your chicken, make sure your gravy is cooked and ready to serve.  That’s gravy, not sauce and yes, it is red (gravy recipe will be a separate post one day!).

The chicken needs to be dredged in flour, egg and breadcrumbs (in that order).  I use three different Pyrex dishes and create the following “mixes:”

1. Flour mixed with a couple of pinches of cayenne
2. Egg beaten with a shot of water and a pinch of salt and pepper
3. Mix of panko, Whole Food breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese

Dip the chicken in the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs.  Once all of the chicken breasts are coated, place in the refrigerator for about an hour before cooking.

Heat a large frying pan and add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Once the oil is hot, place the chicken breasts in the pan and let them brown on one side; about 3 minutes.  Flip the chicken and brown the breasts on the other side.

Place a small amount of gravy all over the bottom of a sheet pan.  Place the browned chicken on top of the gravy.  Put a small amount of gravy on top of each piece of chicken.  Smother the chicken with shredded mozzarella and cook the chicken for approximately 15 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted.  Serve your chicken parm with a side of spaghetti or penne.

A note about cheese: I like to shred my own cheese.  It takes more time and some days  I curse when I have to do it, but I really feel like it tastes better.  My favorite mozzarella right now is Whole Foods part skim mozzarella.  My “back-up” mozzarella is Boars Head whole milk mozzarella (I get this at Caputo’s - ask the deli to cut you a “chunk” of mozzarella, which is about 1 ½ pounds).

Enjoy! 

Lemon Chicken

I have made dozens of lemon chicken recipes, but this specific recipe and the use of the cast iron skillet is definitely my all time favorite!  I had been wanting a cast iron skillet for about two years now, but despite all of my talking, I never actually got around to buying a pan. One day, Tony went to Farm and Fleet (yes, I said it - Farm and Fleet) and came home with bird seed and a cast iron pan.  The pan is awesome and I can’t believe I have lived without it for this long!

Here is the recipe:

• 1 whole chicken, quartered (bone-in and skin on is going to give you the best flavor, especially with this pan)
• Zest of 1 lemon plus juice of 3 lemons
• 1 Tbsp dijon or whole grain mustard (trust me, you won’t taste the mustard for all of you haters out there!)
• 7-8 “dashes” of Worcestershire sauce
• 6-7 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Fresh rosemary (3-4 sprigs for marinade; additional 2 sprigs used during cook time)
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• Pepper
• Salt

Mix the lemon zest, lemon juice (2 lemons), mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, rosemary, pepper and olive oil in a mason jar and shake until all ingredients are well combined.  

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and then place in a Ziplock bag.  Add the marinade. Massage the marinade into the chicken (with the bag closed).  Placed the bag on a plate and keep in the refrigerator overnight.

Heat a cast iron skillet until it is smoking hot!  Add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan and then add the chicken (discard excess marinade) to the pan, skin side down.  Let the chicken cook at least 5 minutes.

Flip the chicken (skin side up) and let cook an additional 5 minutes.  Flip the chicken again (skin side down) and add about 3 tbsp of butter and additional rosemary springs.  Place the pan in a 400 degree oven and cook for about 20 additional minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into a thigh/leg registers 165 degrees.  Remove the pan from the oven, place the chicken on a plate and cover with aluminum foil.  Place the pan on a medium high burner.

Add an additional 1 tbsp of butter to the pan and 1 tbsp flour.  Whisk the butter and flour together until completely combined.  Add 1/3 cup chicken stock and the juice of 1 additional lemon.  Continue to whisk until the sauce starts to come together.  Add additional salt/pepper to taste.  

Pour pan sauce over the chicken and serve.  I typically serve this with Tony’s Favorite Roasted “Guinea” Potatoes or risotto (recipes will follow later).

This same recipe can be used for any type of chicken.  You may need to reduce the browning time in the cast iron pan and the overall cook time.  You can also do this without the cast iron pan or even on the grill.  There is not an exact science to this.  Use what you have available to you and just adjust your cooking method until you get the right color on the chicken and the right temperature. 

Enjoy!

Adobo Pork Chops

Two weeks ago, I went to Rustic Road Farm and bought the most delicious pork chops. They raise their own pork on the farm and it is truly amazing. Typically, my go to recipe is seasoning the pork chops with salt, pepper and cumin and then either throwing them on the grill or starting with a quick sear in a saute pan and then finishing them in the oven. This specific day, I had been to Anderson Farms and had bought a mix of different peppers. I wanted to find a recipe that could incorporate what I had picked up from the farm.

I found a recipe for Adobo Pork Chops, originally from Food and Wine in June 2014. I modified the recipe a bit based on what I had available. Tonight’s recipe was much closer to the original Food and Wine recipe, but to be honest, the recipe from a couple of weeks ago was much more flavorful. Here are both recipes for you.

This photo is the first recipe I tried, using the original marinade below.

Original Marinade

• 1 white onion, chopped 
• 2-3 garlic gloves, chopped 
• 2 dried Guajillo chiles, seeded and shredded into ½ inch pieces 
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock 
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• Canola oil

My Version of the Marinade

• 1 white onion, chopped 
• 2-3 garlic gloves, chopped 
• 4-5 dried Chile de Arbol, shredded into ½ inch pieces (I was too lazy to seed the chiles) 
• 2 fresh hot peppers (serrano, red fresno or anything fresh that is available), seeded and chopped into ½ inch pieces 
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock 
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• Canola oil

This is the revised version, using my version of the marinade.

Cooking Process

Saute onions, garlic, dried chiles and fresh peppers in canola oil over medium heat. Once onions and chiles become soft, add chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Taste broth and add salt and pepper to taste. Cool mixture.

Pour mixture into a blender and puree until smooth. Salt and pepper two bone-in pork chops and place into a Ziplock bag. Pour half of the marinade into the Ziplock bag and massage marinade into pork chops. Place on a plate and let sit in refrigerator for a minimum of four hours but up to 24 hours. Reserve the remaining marinade for basting.

Remove pork chops from marinade. Cook on indirect heat on a grill for approximately 20 minutes or until pork chops reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Throughout the cooking process, baste with remaining marinade. Once chops reach temperature, remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes, then serve.

I have served the chops with risotto as well as lemon orzo. Both are pictured here, but the recipes will be posted later. My preference is still the Chile de Arbol version. The combination of Chile de Arbol and fresh hot peppers really bring a nice level of heat that you cannot get from the Guajillo chiles.

I also like to serve Sangria with this. My version of sangria is pretty simple: 1 bottle of Pinot Noir, 1 granny smith apple, 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 peach and 1 can of Sprite Zero. I know the Sprite sounds odd, but I read about the addition of Sprite somewhere (sorry I can’t cite the exact source) and it is the PERFECT addition. Give it a try!

Bon appetite!

Welcome to Madonia’s Kitchen!

I fell in love with food and cooking right after college.  It all started with WTTW - Channel 11 in Chicago.  I would watch Cooking with Claudine (Jacques Pepin and his daughter), Yan Can Cook, Lidia’s Kitchen and even Julia Child back in the early days with my dad in his office.

Once Food Network hit the airwaves, Emeril LaGasse became my favorite TV chef.  Twenty two years later (yes, Food Network started back in 1993), I’m still a fan of the network.  No matter what time of day you walk into my house, Food Network is on.  My tastes and favorite chefs have changed over the years and despite my Italian heritage, I have to admit that my favorite chef has to be Bobby Flay.  Go to MESA Grill in Las Vegas and you will understand why.  Ever since I ate at this restaurant, my entire cooking style has changed.  The chiles have made my stomach a little worse for wear, but you can’t help but love this food.

My goal for this blog is to simply indulge my love for food, cooking, wine and entertaining.  I hope that you enjoy the stories and recipes as much as I do.  

Salute!