Dry-rubbed Chicken Breast with Sweet Red Chile Sauce

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Chef Jim Heywood teaches at the Culinary Institute of America, and is a Fiery Foods Show favorite. He always offers a lot of cooking tips and information, as well as incredible food!

Ingredients

For the Dry Rub:

  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 1 tablespoon green jalapeño powder
  • 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground Mexican oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tellicherry pepper
  • 2 teaspoons granulated onion
  • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
  • Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in a tightly covered jar.
  • Chicken Breast Sauté
  • 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
  • 8 teaspoons dry rub
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2-3 ounces dry sherry wine
  • 1-2 jalapeño peppers, cut in julienne strips 1″ long
  • 1/4 cup chopped shallots
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced fine
  • 3/4 cup sweet red chili puree
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 pound cooked, drained penne pasta

Garnish: 1/2 cup aged Monterey jack cheese, fresh oregano sprigs

Instructions

Rub each chicken breast with 2 teaspoons dry rub. Refrigerate until needed. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter. When the butter is hot, sauté the chicken breast until golden brown and done through. Remove from the pan. Add the shallots, jalapeños and garlic to the pan and sauté briefly. Add the sherry wine and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and then add the sweet red chili puree. Bring to a simmer, and stir well. Remove from the heat, and stir in the cream. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.

To serve toss the sauce with the hot penne pasta, but save a little sauce for the chicken. Put the coated pasta on a dinner plate, place a coated chicken breast in the center. Garnish with grated aged Monterey jack cheese and some sprigs of fresh oregano.

Keeping ‘Pace’ with Picante Sauces

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Although most commercial salsas and picante sauces are made from similar ingredients, their flavors differ because of spices, cooking techniques, and the proportion of ingredients. Perhaps this home-cooked version outdoes the original–you tell us. It is important to use only Mexican oregano, as Mediterranean oregano will make this taste like a pasta sauce.

Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 ripe red tomatoes (about 4 pounds), peeled, seeded, and chopped fine

  • 2 onions, chopped

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 cup cider vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste

  • Salt to taste

  • 6 jalapeño chiles, seeds and stems removed, chopped

Instructions

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine the tomatoes, onions, garlic, vinegar, oregano, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat to thicken the sauce.

Add the jalapeños and continue cooking for 15 more minutes. Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, and serve with chips.

Caribbean Sun-of-a Beach Hot Pepper Sauce

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If there were a typical eastern Caribbean hot sauce, this might be it. It has hints of Trinidad, Barbados, and even Grenada. To be perfectly authentic, you should buy or grow the red habaneros so popular in that part of the Caribbean, called Congo or bonney peppers. This will last up to eight weeks in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

Instructions

Combine the chiles, onion, garlic, papaya, and tomato in a food processor and puree (you may have to do this in batches). Remove to a shallow bowl.

Combine the vinegar, lime juice, and water in a saucepan and heat until it reaches a slight boil, then sprinkle the thyme, basil, nutmeg, mustard, and turmeric. Pour this hot, spiced mixture over the reserved puree and mix thoroughly. It will last up to eight weeks in the refrigerator.

Caribbean Sun-of-a Beach Hot Pepper Sauce

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This will last up to eight weeks in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

white onion, garlic, cider vinegar, lime or lemon juice, papaya

Instructions

If there were a typical eastern Caribbean hot sauce, this might be it. It has hints of Trinidad, Barbados, and even Grenada. To be perfectly authentic, you should buy or grow the red habaneros so popular in that part of the Caribbean, called Congo or bonney peppers.

  • 1/2 pound red habanero chiles, seeds and stems removed

  • 1 white onion, chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar

  • 1/2 cup lime juice (or lemon juice)

  • 2 tablespoons water

  • 1 medium papaya, boiled until tender, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

  • 1 tomato, finely chopped

  • 1 teaspoon thyme

  • 1 teaspoon basil

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 2 tablespoons dry mustard

  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Combine the chiles, onion, garlic, papaya, and tomato in a food processor and puree (you may have to do this in batches). Remove to a shallow bowl.

Combine the vinegar, lime juice, and water in a saucepan and heat until it reaches a slight boil, then sprinkle the thyme, basil, nutmeg, mustard, and turmeric. Pour this hot, spiced mixture over the reserved puree and mix thoroughly. It will last up to eight weeks in the refrigerator.

Yield: 3 to 4 cups

Heat Scale: Hot

Chuck’s Chiptole Sauce

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This chipotle sauce is a version of coauthor Chuck’s best-selling brown hot sauce, Smokey Chipotle® Hot Sauce, manufactured by Sauces & Salsas, Ltd. under the Montezuma® brand. A tasty way to reconstitute dried chipotle chiles is to place them in a bowl and cover them with cider vinegar. After several days, the chiles will be reconstituted and will be plump.

Ingredients

  • 12 dried chipotle chiles, stems removed, reconstituted as above or soaked in hot water for 1 hour

  • 1 medium white onion, sliced

  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced

  • 3 cups water

  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar

  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce

  • Salt to taste

  • 2 cups white distilled vinegar (more or less, depending on the thickness of the sauce you desire)

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients except the 2 cups of distilled vinegar in a saucepan, cover, and simmer over low heat until the sauce is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups. Puree the mixture in a food processor or a blender until a paste-like, seeded mixture is achieved.

Combine the paste and the vinegar in a bowl and stir well. Strain through a sieve to remove the seeds and discard the solids.