Azteca Style Chicken or Mexican Style Chicken

This is one of my friend Laraina's favorite recipes. Azteca Style chicken looks complicated at first sight but happily once you assemble your ingredients mise en place (a French phrase which means "everything in place") it goes together and cooks quickly. It will take more time to assemble the ingredients than to actually prepare this delicious chicken.

Azteca Style is a broad category and is just another way to say Mexican Style. But it does sound more exotic, doesn't it?

More about mise en place: most of the Mexican cooks that I know have small to tiny kitchens with almost no workable counter space and ingredients are stored in many locations. So, they need to arrange all of their ingredients prior to actually cooking the dish. This method is also used in the culinary world by professional chefs. Once the meal begins to cook, there is no time to seek out the ingredient, measure it or find out you are missing one of the vital parts of the recipe. These Mexican cooks taught me this technique early on and I use it every time I either cook or bake something and it has saved 'my bacon' on more than one occasion!

6 SERVINGS

(don't let this list scare you!) I have divided the list into sections that you will prepare individually.  (this should make it less daunting)

6 Tablespoons chilled butter, divided usage (2 Tbls; 4 Tbls)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil or mild olive oil (not extra virgin)

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1-1/2 Tablespoons sugar

3/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar or good quality red wine vinegar, divided usage (1/2 cup; 1/4 cup)

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided usage (1/2 tsp; 1-1/2 tsp)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 boneless chicken breast halves with skin

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided usage

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, diced

1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted oil-cured black olives

1/4 cup drained capers, rinsed

1/4 cup dry Sherry

1/3 cup low-salt chicken broth

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried

1 Teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, or 1/3 teaspoon dried

1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Melt 2 tablespoons butter with the vegetable (or olive) oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions; cook until deep brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Pour in 1/2 cup vinegar; cook until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Transfer these caramelized onions to small bowl.

Preheat oven to warm - about 200°F (95°C). Mix salt, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and pepper in small bowl. Rub the chicken breasts all over with this spice mixture. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken breasts, skin side down. Sauté until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to baking sheet. Keep warm in oven.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté 20 seconds. Add the caramelized onions (from step 1), 1/4 cup vinegar, tomato, olives, capers, and Sherry. Cook until liquid reduces slightly, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1-1/2 teaspoons cumin, chicken broth, lime juice, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Add avocado and cook until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add 4 tablespoons butter and stir until blended into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Place 1 chicken breast on each of 6 plates; spoon sauce over.

Serve this delicious Azteca Style Chicken with rice or mashed potatoes and your favorite fresh vegetable salad.

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How to Pasteurize an Egg

Because many recipes call for raw beaten egg yolks or whites, I thought today would be a good day to chat about what you can do kill those pesky salmonella bacteria that might be present. One of my favorite and well used books is Cookwise by Shirley O. Corriher. If you don't have one, check it out at your local library, it is chock-full of information. The book is more the science behind food than a cookbook and is a fascinating read.

Although the information I am talking about today is available all over the internet, I chose to use Mrs. Corriher's book as my reference guide.

Many foods from mayonnaise to ice cream include raw eggs, either whites, yolks or both in the recipes. I love to make my own mayonnaise for instance, but I don't feel comfortable using raw eggs. So I pasteurize them myself. I also don't like those eggs in a refrigerator carton, you know like the ones milk comes in. There is just something that makes me gag about having pourable eggs.

To pasteurize a whole egg, you are going to love how easy this is, you only need to put the room temperature egg in hot water 145°F (63°C) for 3.5 minutes – yes 3½ minutes. They can be in the water up to 5 minutes. I personally do it for 4 minutes – always being cautious. Make sure to use a thermometer to keep the water temp correct. After the time is up, drain the water off and allow the egg to come to room temperature before refrigerating or using. Word of warning, eggs cook at 180°F (82°C) so watch your temperature, and they won't pasteurize under 145°F (63°C).

You can also pasteurize just the yolks individually. (this excerpt is from Cookwise) “Heat 2 egg yolks and ¼ cup liquid from the recipe – for example, lemon juice and water in mayonnaise or cream in truffles – and ½ teaspoon sugar in a small skillet over very low heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan constantly with a spatula. At the first sign of thickening, remove the pan from the heat, but continue stirring and dip the pan bottom in a larger pan of cold water to stop the cooking. Use in the recipe instead of raw yolks.”

Now you do not have to be afraid of those raw egg recipes. I normally pasteurize 6 eggs at a time and keep them in a covered plastic container in the refrigerator separate from the unpasteurized eggs. I almost always have pasteurized eggs on hand for any last minute recipe I want to make.

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