Adobo Chicken Puerto Rican Style (Pollo Adobado del estilo boricano)

This past Labor Day weekend, I played host to two of my favorite people in the entire world: two of my four sisters. My sisters Jasmine and Shannon came to NYC to visit me for the weekend.

In my family, the only person I would never go head to head with during a cooking contest would be my sister Jasmine. Let me tell you about this woman. First of all she is gorgeous. Last Saturday night, we cooked a family dinner, and I had some of my friends over. Jasmine and Shannon showed up to my apartment dressed to go out on the town. They both came in looking like beauty queens. Jasmine had on a tight blue cocktail dress, come do me leather high heels, and was made up to heaven. That didn't stop her from putting on an apron, tying back her hair, and laying down some fierce sinigang (a soup from the Philippines that is tangy and delicious).

The left on Sunday, and since then I have been in the kitchen experimenting with Puerto Rican and Pinoy flavors. The cuisines of both countries are related, in some respects, due to their shared history as Spanish colonies. One type of dish loved by both nations is the tradition of adobo. Adobo is Spanish for stewed, and the techniques for cooking Puerto Rican adobo and Filipino adobo are related.

Tonight, I made a dish that combines some of the flavors from both types of adobo. And I almost ate the entire damn pot.

Chicken Adobo (Stewed Chicken) Puerto Rican/Pinoy Fusion Style

Two leg/thigh chicken pieces cut into quarters (including the leg)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 jalapeno minced
1 medium red onion diced
5-6 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup Goya Adobo seasoning
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 bunch scallions diced
2 tsp paprika
2 tbs patis (fish sauce)
1 packet Goya Sazon con Azafran (optional but adds a helluva flavor)

This dish is best when it is cooked in a dutch oven. Though any good pot will do. Combine all of the ingredients into your dutch oven. Using a large spoon make sure that the chicken is evenly coated with all of the ingredients.

Cover the dutch oven, and over a medium high heat bring it to a boil. Once the adobo starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook covered for 30 minutes stirring occasionally to continue marinating the chicken. Do not worry about liquid as the ingredients combined with the liquid already present in the chicken will create a rich broth.

After 30 minutes, uncover the pot and allow the chicken to simmer, uncovered for another 30 to 45 minutes. Basically, you want to let the chicken cook until about half of the liquid that was in the pot when you uncovered it is gone. The sauce will thicken, and this will be an amazing topping for your rice.

After simmering uncovered for 30-45 minutes, turn it off, and serve it over your choice of rice (I had mine with a mixture of leftover jasmine rice mixed with short grain brown rice served with a side of black beans...perfection!)

This amazingly savory dish will run you no more than $7 and, if you aren't a greedy monster like me, will easily feed four people.

Seafood Jollof Rice

Some of the most amazing foods that I have ever had come from Africa. From Ethiopa to Morocco, from Nigeria to Senegal, I am in love with the flavors as well as the communal tradition of eating. My all time favorite dish from the African continent has to be Ceebu Jen, the national dish of Senegal. I was dating a wonderful man that was ex-military, had spent quite a bit of time in Senegal, and ended up raising the sons of his best friend. These boys were amazing and hilarious. They called Tony "toubab", which is translated as "ghost skin" or something close to that. They would also cook dinner for us from time to time, and the rice and fish dish that is ceebu jen blew my mind.

I tried to make ceebu jen once, and it was something of a minor fiasco.

So, last night, my friend Bebe was coming to my house for dinner. Bebe is from Cameroon, and I thought I would attempt, again, to make a popular dish from Africa. This time I went after jollof rice, which is probably one of the better known African dishes to people living in the United States. And this time, though I had to modify the recipe a bit so that David, my pescatarian partner, could it. This is close to traditional jollof rice, but I won't claim it is authentic, but it will give you some of the amazing flavors in that tremendous dish from the Mother Land.

Seafood Jollof Rice

2 catfish fillets cubed
1/2 lb uncooked shrimp
1/2 cup sesame oil (regular or hot)
1/2 medium red onion minced
1 bunch parsley minced
5 cloves garlic minced
1 can tomato paste
1/2 can whole stewed tomatoes
4 cups jasmine rice
2 jalapenos minced (also four Thai chili peppers, one habanero or two poblanos would work depending on your tolerance)
2 medium red potatoes cubed (small!)
1/2 pound fresh green beans chopped (again bite sized pieces)
Two teaspoons salt

In a large pot, heat half to the sesame oil. Next throw in the fish and shrimp. Cook for approximately two minutes, just enough to lightly cook both, but not enough to cook them all the way through. Remove the fish/seafood from the oil and set aside.

In the same oil, add the onion, peppers and garlic. Saute them until the onion starts to turn transparent. Next add the parsley and potatoes. Cook until the potatoes start to soften just a bit. Next add the green beans and salt to the mixture, stirring frequently, for the next three to four minutes.

Next add the rice to the pot. At this point, also add the second part of the oil. Stir the mixture together for two to three minutes making sure that all of the rice is integrated with the vegetables. Then stir in the tomato paste. Continue stirring until the tomato paste has been disseminated throughout the rice.

Next, add half of a regular sized can of stewed tomatoes. Using your cooking utensil, chop up the tomatoes as you stir them into the mixture. Do not use the juice from the can, just add the fruit. Continue stirring frequently for about two minutes. Watch to make sure that the heat isn't too high, so that the contents aren't burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Finally, add in three cups of water. Then throw the fish and shrimp into the mixture Stir two or three times IMMEDIATELY but do not stir after that or your rice will get mushy.

Let the contents come to a rigorous boil. Then reduce the heat and let cook for about 15 minutes/until the rice is cooked. Remove from the heat, stir once, and serve.


This amazingly delicious African inspired dish will cost you roughly, depending on the price of fish/seafood in your neck of the woods, $15-$18 and will easily feed 6 to 10 people.

Seafood Jollof Rice

Grilled Trout/Grilled Pork Chops in Sweet Bell Pepper Marinade

Every once in a while I borrow an idea for a recipe from a friend...and make it better.

Just saying.

A couple of months back, I had gone hiking with my friends Josh Pugliese, David Nigro, and company. When we returned from the wilds of Staten Island, Josh hosted an awesome BBQ with his husband, NY State Assemblyman Matt Titone (D-Staten Island). When we returned to Josh and Matt's home, Mr. Titone was madly at work in the kitchen whipping up something tasty. Josh is the grill master, but Matt was making a marinade that, frankly, was delicious (though a bit too creamy for my tastes).

I asked him what he put in his magic blender, and he shared with me his secret. I took what I liked from it and made a sauce, similar, but my own.

It's simple, it's fresh, it's delicious, and it's cheap...which makes it a prime recipe for The Fairy Chef.

Now, as I was cooking for David (pescatarian), myself, and his family....I used the marinade on fresh center cut pork chops as well as a rainbow trout and a brown trout caught my David's cousin in Maine. It was beautiful.

Grilled Trout and Grilled Pork Chops with Sweet Bell Pepper Marinade

2 trout fillets or whole trout or 4 center cut pork chops
1 large red bell pepper sliced
1 large orange bell pepper sliced
1 jalapeno chopped
4 cloves garlic
1/2 large red onion chopped
1 cup Light Italian Dressing
1/2 cup fresh basil minced or 1 tbsp dried basil flakes
2 tsp salt

First of all you will need a blender or food processor. Turn on the food processor on medium speed. Next, add the ingredients a bunch at a time starting with the bell peppers, then add the Italian dressing, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Once all of the ingredients are in the processor, turn the speed to high and allow to blend for one minute. This makes a richly flavored marinade that is light enough for summer with a bit of a zip from the jalapeno.

Place your pork chops or fish (whichever you choose to make) in a large zip lock bag. Fill the bag until the meat is covered. You will have sauce left over. Set this aside as you will use the sauce for basting the meat on the grill as well as for a condiment at the dinner table.

Shake the meat in the zip lock until it is thoroughly covered (if you have whole trout, make sure the sauce gets inside of the trout). Set the meat aside for at least an hour to let it marinate.

Next prepare your grill. If you are using a gas grill, then you can heat up the grill 10 minutes prior to the time you wish to start cooking. If you are using a charcoal grill, get the coals nice and hot without too much flame before you are ready to put the meat on the grill.

Next take some of the sauce leftover and pour it into a bowl. If you have a basting brush, set the brush and the extra sauce aside. Next put your meat on the grill. Turn the meat every couple of minutes. Each time you turn the meat, baste it with extra sauce. Make sure to cover the meat on the grill between each rotation.

Depending on the thickness of the pork chops and the size of the fish, it should take roughly 10 to 12 minutes to cook the meat thoroughly. For extra security if you cook pork....check the meat before removing it from grill.

Set a small bowl of the marinade on the table to use as a condiment. Enjoy with freshly steamed vegetables (we ate ours with fresh green beans from the garden), and enjoy!

The total cost of the marinade is roughly $4 and the total cost with the fish or the pork chops, depending on seasonal prices, will run you $12-$15 to feed a family of four...with leftovers.

Curry Beef Stew with Thai Peppers

Now and again, I throw a bunch of stuff in the Dutch Oven, close my eyes, and pray for the best.

Yesterday, I had to restrain myself from licking the insides of the pot. As a matter of fact, I was so excited about the stew I created that I went on ahead and am making another pot right now as we speak. I flared it up a little this second time around, and it will make your tummy sing sing sing.

For less than $12...you too can create a kitchen miracle.

After this week, I am going on a meat hiatus for about three weeks in order to get myself in better shape for my trip to China, Thailand, and Indonesia. It is my hope that when I return from those trips that I will come back with more interesting flavors and recipe ideas to share with you all. I am also going to be taking a Balinese cooking class while in Indonesia, so prepare your palate for some true delights coming to you in August.

Curry Beef Stew with Thai Peppers

2lb chuck roast with good marbling
1 large carrot chopped
4 large garlic cloves chopped
6 Thai peppers minced
1 tbs curry powder
1 tbs Adobo seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/2 large red onion diced
1 bunch scallions diced
1 cup white wine
1 can pink beans

First cut up your roast into bite sized cubes. Next chop up the rest of your ingredients. Place all the ingredients in a medium sized Dutch oven (or stew pot). Cover the ingredients 2/3rd's of the way with water. Then, open the can of pink beans (I use Goya's), and dump the contents of the can into the pot including the juice. (an option is to add red potatoes to the pot for a more traditional beef stew).

Cover the stew and turn the heat to medium high until it begins to boil. Once it begins to boil turn the stew down to low heat and let simmer for one to two hours (the longer you let it simmer the better the flavors). Do not add more water to the pot unless you see that the water has reduced greatly to the point that beef or carrots are going to burn.

Once the stew is done serve over a bed of Romain lettuce with a layer of brown rice on top of the lettuce (or just put the stew in a bowl and eat it up!).

This stew will change your world. The entire shebang should run you about $12 and will easily feed 6-8 people or a family of four (with plenty of leftovers).

Black Beans and Rice

Last week was one hell of a week. I dealt with some really hard things in my life and had to confront some really difficult realities about myself. The fall out of the entire situation isn't yet clear, but I have been forced to look directly at myself, admit some hard truths, and decide whether to grow or lose myself in pity and fear.

I choose life.

And, of course, you can't live without eating.

Sometimes, though I go a little overboard in the kitchen. Tonight, thus far, I have made homemade guacamole. I am making carne frita. I am also boiling the pork bone from the carne frita, combined with some herbs, to create a soup base for later use. And, after all that, I am also making my homemade vegetarian black beans.

Did I mention I also cooked an amazing seafood stir fry with glass noodles for lunch? If I didn't, I just did.

But, enough with the food porn...here is my black bean recipe. Enjoy.

Black Beans and Rice

1lb bag black beans
4 tbsp Lobster flavor Better than Bouillon
5 bay leaves
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp curry
1 jalapeno
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp tarragon
1/2 large red onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp Adobo

First, to speed up cooking time, soak your black beans in water over night. If you forget or don't have the time to do that or you have a whole bunch of time in the house one day...then don't worry about soaking them.

First off, if you want purely vegetarian beans, feel free to leave out the lobster bouillon. The flavor black beans are so rich that even without any animal product, they are delicious. The lobster bouillon, however, takes these beans from delicious to blow-your-friggin-brain-straight-out-of-your-skull-and-into-orbit delicious.

Pour the beans into a large cooking pot. Cover the beans with water until there is about an inch of water above the beans. Next add in all of the additional ingredients. With a large spoon, stir all of the ingredients together so they are well mixed. Next turn the beans on medium heat and cover.

Watch the heat so that the beans don't boil over too much and check the beans every 15-20 minutes to make sure that they are well covered with water. If you have soaked the beans over night, it should take about an hour and a half of slowly simmering and stirring to finish these beans. If not, it will take roughly four hours.

But let me tell you, do NOT rush the process. If you keep the beans covered in water, you can't overcook them, and the longer you let them cook the more amazing they will be.

Serve the beans with rice to make a complete carb/protein meal or serve the beans as a side dish with your favorite protein. This dish will create about 10 services for a family of four, so you should freeze some of the beans or use the beans in a good stir fry. Without the bouillon, the cost of this dish is roughly $5, with the lobster sauce the cost is roughly $10.

Capellini with Langostinos

About a week and a half ago, I was at Trader Joe's in Union Square, and I came across a bag of frozen seafood that looked like itty bitty lobster tails. The name langostino means "little lobster." I bought this unknown seafood on faith, and I let it sit in the freezer for about a week and a half before I turned my attention to it.

I did my research, and I spent some time online learning about this food and some popular ways to prepare it. Turns out that the creatures look like shrimp with wicked long pincers. Kinda scary. They were once considered throw away food, but now are looked at very favorably. Indeed the meat is deliciously sweet, and it was very affordable.

So, after looking at some of the flavors that folks said go well with langostinos, I concocted a light pasta dish with an amazing white wine sauce. David, my in-house food tester, made me save the leftover sauce for later use. It's good. Real good.

Capellini with Langostinos

1lb frozen cooked langostinos
1lb capellini
1/2 cup red onion
2 cups white wine
2 heads of broccoli cut up
1tbs Goya Adobo seasoning
3 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 stick of butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To begin, prepare your pasta al dente. Set the pasta aside.

Next in a large skillet, melt HALF of the stick of butter over medium heat. Next add the onions and garlic and saute for two minutes in the butter. Next add the rest of the ingredients except the other half of the butter, langostinos and the pasta. Saute this for about five minutes so that the broccoli has time to cook a bit. Finally add the last half of the butter stick and the langostinos. Cook for about seven minutes allowing the flavors to mix well. Serve over the capellini.

This dish will run you about $10 and will easily feed four to six people.