(Almost) Last Supper

Last night I cooked our last meal at home before the big trip. While talking to my Mom on the phone yesterday, I was going through the fridge for perishables and scratching my head over what to do for dinner. I had about eight or ten tomatoes that were intended for tapas this weekend, but never quite made it. Naturally, fresh pasta sauce came to mind, but we made an insanely giant batch of Asian peanut noodles for dinner the other night (and still have leftovers), so I was not feeling like spaghetti.

While rummaging through the refrigerator, I found a lonely chipotle chili in adobo sauce stored away in the back and remembered that I had some dried chilis left over from my Oaxan feast. Voila! Dinner is born. Jesse ran out to the store to pick up some chicken and we were all set for an insanely tasty meal of chicken cooked in a tomato/chili concoction over brown rice with onions, garlic, oregano, and fresh cilantro. It looks like a humble meal, but it was really tasty. So tasty in fact, I'm having it for breakfast (with an egg on it of course):

Erin's Empty-The-Fridge Sauce

8-10 fresh tomatoes (blanched and peeled)
1 28 oz. can plum tomatoes (use 2 cans if fresh tomatoes aren't available)
5 dried Guajillo Chilis, stemmed and seeded
1-2 Chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (plus 1-2 tsp. adobo)
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. chili powder (or more to taste)
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. cumin (or more to taste)
1 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
4-5 chicken thighs
olive oil

Skin and de-bone thighs (or purchase them that way) and sprinkle with salt, a little garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne. This is the time when I break out my reserves of Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning -- it has the perfect amount of salt, spices, and heat. Let the chicken sit at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.

Hydrate guajillo chilis in about 2 cups of boiling water (this takes about 10-15 minutes). While chilis are hydrating, saute onions in a medium dutch oven or sauce pan with olive oil until softened and starting to brown. Add fresh and canned tomatoes with all sauce and juices to pan. Roughly break up tomatoes in pan. Add guajillos and their liquid, chipotle, adobo, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and salt to tomato mixture and stir. At this point, I used an immersion blender to blend the sauce into a nice smooth consistency. You could also do this in the blender. Let sauce cook at a medium to medium-high heat uncovered for about 20-30 minutes. If it splashes too much, set a lid ajar on the You want it to start to really cook down and thicken. Adjust seasonings to taste.

While the sauce is cooking, heat olive oil over medium to medium-high heat in a saute pan (preferably not non-stick). Brown chicken on both sides (about 3-5 minutes per side), in two batches if necessary. When chicken is browned, place in sauce and cover with lid and return saute pan to stove top. De-glaze the saute pan with a few tablespoons of white wine, dry vermouth, chicken stock or water (I guess beer would work here too). Add liquid to chicken and sauce. Cook for another 30-40 minutes until chicken is fully cooked and tender.

Serve over your choice of rice and enjoy! This would also make really good filling for tacos, burritos, or enchiladas.

Now, I'm off to finish packing, run a last few errands, and finish up those blog posts for the trip!!