Kitchen Hack

Tomate Frito with Yucatán Spiced Chicken

The real thing worth paying attention to here is the sauce, Tomate Frito. It has noting to do with the abomination that is the Frito. Frito, in Spanish, means fried. So when you're eating those chips, you're eating Fried. Which likely makes it the most accurately titled processed food product ever. 'Cause whatever it is, is very much Fried, but there ain't much in the way of actual food in it. 

A classic Tomate Frito is a really versatile thing. Cook it down alot and it's a great sauce for fish, pork or chicken. I use it on omlettes, fried eggs, bacon. Cook it down just a little, add a touch of lime juice, and it's a crazy good salsa. We're going Yucatán-style with this, which means there's gonna be some Habanero going on, but that doesn't mean you gotta be punished by heat. I'll take you through how to get the piquancy of the habanero while controlling the heat to your liking. I've tried a number of versions of this in a quest to make it all chef-y. I've tried some of my own invention and tried out a passel of recipes I've found online. The Yucatecan culture is ancient. It's been doing this for a long time. Not surprisingly, then, the simplest, hardly any ingredients version of the sauce is, hands down, the best. For the simplest, most straight forward version of this sauce, I'd go with the version from Rick Bayless.

In this recipe, I'm putting it on chicken, but we'll also cover how to alter the cooking and ingredients just a little so it functions as a standalone salsa. 

Quinoa, Salsa & What to Do With the Leftovers

One of the things that's fun about cooking is figuring out how to use the leftovers. And, often, the leftovers are way more better than the thing you originally made. So...we're gonna cover three things here: Nemo's Mango-Chipotle Pico de Gallo; Southwestern Quinoa Pilaf; and something I have yet to name, that involves both of those and a couple of chicken breasts. 

Saturday we knew Erin would be coming home from seeing her dad down in New Orleans. Before leaving, I promised her I'd cook her something when she got back. She replied with "Salsa!" So, that was pretty clear direction. 

Also, I'd spent the week eating food that was a long way from healthy. I craved leafy, bitter greens (crazy healthy). 

And, I knew I needed protein but healthy protein.