This recipe is based on Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Spicy Cilantro Sauce by Melissa Clark that was published in The New York Times. I modified the recipe to chicken breast because they were on sale at Safeway for 99 cents a pound so I stocked up on them and that’s what I had. Peruvian Chicken should be made with whole bird or chicken parts with skin……….But…….. WOW!….. This recipe makes SUPER FORKING DELICIOUS Spicy CHICKEN AND FORKING DELICIOUS SPICY SAUCE! I like Melissa Clark’s recipe very much because it’s a very good recipe and she also gives you a lot of freedom with the recipe…such as the recipe should be made with aji amarillo paste and aji panca. Melissa suggest substitutes of to use sriracha or sambal and pasilla Chile powder since most people don’t have Aji Amarillo or aji panca paste in their pantry. She does explain you don’t get the same taste but it’s still delicious (and it is). This recipe does indeed come out SPICY…..but is delicious to people who can handle spicy. The original recipe is pretty much the same except whole chicken or parts with bone and skin, marinated 2-12 hours, oven roasted at 450 degrees F 25-35 minutes for split breasts and 35-45 other chicken. If I was doing this recipe again I’d say to get or order bottled Sweetie Drop Peppers. I would have chopped some up and spread them on top of the chicken over the sauce with some on the side if I knew in advance HOW FORKING AMAZING they are on this dish…… The Sweetie Drop Peppers are the small jarred Peruvian peppers I have in photos. The taste of them really makes the dish POP…Sweetie Drop Peppers are a little pickled and sort of sweet and bring the dish up another level. I saw Sweetie Drop at Whole Foods this week but never noticed them there before.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

2 large chicken breast – cut into 8 servings that are lightly pounded

6 cloves garlic – microplane (for marinade)

3 Tablespoons soy sauce (for marinade)

1 Tablespoon Aji Amarillo paste – suggested substitutions are sriracha or sambal (I used Korean Chili Paste) (for marinade)

1 Tablespoon lime juice (for marinade)

1 teaspoon aji panca paste – suggested substitution is 1 teaspoon pasilla Chile powder (for marinade)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (for marinade)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (for marinade)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper (for marinade)

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (for marinade)

1 cup flour – to coat dried off marinated chicken – (I used brown rice flour but any flour is fine…the flour is not to bread but seals in the juice from the chicken)

canola oil as needed to pan fry chicken

1 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems (sauce)

3–4 jalapeño peppers – seeded and diced (sauce)

1/4 cup 1 oz crumbled feta cheese (I didn’t have any so I substituted soy milk) (sauce)

1 garlic clove – minced (sauce)

1 1/2 Tablespoons lime juice – more to taste – (sauce)

2 teaspoons fresh oregano or basil – (sauce)

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt – more to taste – (sauce)

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard – (sauce)

1/2 Tablespoon Aji Amarillo or other suggested chili paste such as sriracha or sambal (I used Korean Pepper paste) – sauce

1/2 teaspoon honey – (sauce)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin – ( sauce)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil – (sauce)

lime wedges for garnish

optional – but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to order some Peruvian Sweetie Drop Peppers for this dish as they REALLY bring the dish up another level and make the dish POP!

Directions

Put chicken pieces in a ziplock bag.

In a medium bowl add the 6 micro-planed garlic cloves, soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon Aji Amarillo paste, 1 Tablespoon lime juice, aji panca paste, 1 teaspoon dijon, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Mix well.

Pour the marinade into the ziplock bag with the chicken. Try to push most of the air out of the bag and zip it shut. Push the marinade around the chicken and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or about three and a half hours but no longer than four hours. (This timing is for boneless breasts)

After 3 1/2 hours take the chicken out of the marinade and blot each piece dry.

Get another ziplock bag and add a cup of flour to it. Put the chicken in it and give the chicken some good shakes. Set to the side.

Put a good size fry pan on medium high heat and add about a 1/4 inch of canola oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken. Depending on the thickness of chicken and temperature of the oil …the timing will differ……You should need about 5 minutes a side…but that can differ. Place cooked chicken on a cooling rack or a sheet pan that’s lined with paper towels.

While your cooking up the chicken you can make the sauce. In either a blender or with a blender stick and container add cilantro, jalapeños, feta cheese, garlic, lime juice, oregano or basil, sea salt, dijon, Aji Amarillo, honey, cumin and olive oil and blend till emulsified.

Serve chicken with sauce and lime wedges and I recommend Peruvian Sweetie Drop Peppers. I also recommend to heat the lime wedges up…….It makes a big difference.

It’s delicious, moist, very flavorful and spicy! A special thanks to The New York Times for sharing Melissa Clark’s Wonderful Recipe!

This is a delicious potato salad that’s very easy to prepare. This one is best warmed or at room temperature. I got the idea for this potato salad after reading a Bon Appetit recipe for potato salad. This isn’t that recipe but is similar….The Bon Appetit recipe is for baby potatoes in a slightly sweetened vinaigrette. This No Mayo Dijon Tarragon Potato Salad is a Chunky, less sweet, sort of creamy cousin of the Bon Appetit Recipe. I also noticed that Epicurious also published the same exact potato salad recipe that Bon Appetit published for potato salad. Bon Appetit & Epicurious inspired this recipe for No Mayonnaise Dijon Tarragon Potato Salad. This potato salad came out perfect…..I mean really perfect…It didn’t get drippy, or dry or change flavors a few days latter.

Ingredients for about 10 servings

3 lbs red potatoes – peeled and cut into large potato salad type chunks (you want a little larger than you want because potato chunks get smaller when you mix)

1 Tablespoon sea salt (heaping or small palm full) – for boiling the potatoes

1/2 red bell pepper – chopped – somewhat small

1 celery rib – chopped small

2 1/2 oz shallots – sliced very thin on mandolin

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup white vinegar

6 Tablespoons dijon mustard – preferably Amora Brand from France (I do warn you that recipe adjustments might be needed when you use a different brand of dijon…..Amora is unique and not over-powering)

2 Tablespoons hot sauce – preferably Frank’s Red Hot

1/4 oz. package of fresh tarragon leaves – chopped

Directions

In a sauce pot add potatoes, add water to cover potatoes well and add salt. Bring the pot to a slow boil and cook till the potatoes are tender. (about 10 minutes)

While the potatoes are cooking chop and slice vegetables (shallots, bell pepper and celery) if you didn’t already and put them in a big mixing bowl and set to the side.

In a bowl add the dijon….slowly add the oil and mix till it’s coming together or emulsified then slowly add the hot sauce and slowly add the vinegar while mixing and set to the side.

By now your potatoes should be done. Either remove them with a slotted spoon and try to shake all the liquid out and add the potatoes to the bowl with vegetables or just use a colander but you risk breaking down the potatoes more. After the potatoes are in the bowl add the dressing while the potatoes are hot so they can absorb flavors and carefully mix trying not to break the potatoes much. Just before it’s almost mixed add the tarragon. I think it’s well seasoned but if you used different mustard or hot sauce than I did you might need to make some adjustments to this recipe…………….

It’s delicious everyone should enjoy….#CrowdPleaser

A special Thanks is needed to Thank Bon Appetit and Epicurious for Inspiring this delicious recipe.

These Turkey Meatballs start out with 85% lean turkey. The meatballs are low in fat and salt because they don’t have cheese in the recipe that is high in fat and salt. I also didn’t add salt because I used vegetable base. The vegetable base is full of flavors and is slightly less full of salt than salt. If you follow this recipe exactly as written you will have meatballs that are fluffy, moist and flavorful that aren’t mushy or hard. These are perfect delicious Turkey FORKING DELICIOUS Meatballs that are a little healthier than regular meatballs….. This recipe makes 17 or more servings. Leftovers freeze perfect. I suggest 4-5 meatballs a serving. With a small size scoop I made 86 meatballs.

Ingredients for around 17 servings

3 lbs ground turkey 85% lean

8.5 oz sweet onion – fine chopped

8 hot/sweet jarred cherry peppers – fine chopped

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves – microplane or ground to paste

3 Tablespoons vegetable base

1 Tablespoon ground black pepper

6 eggs – lightly beaten

3 cups whole wheat panko bread crumbs

2/3 oz fresh basil leaves – chopped small

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 sprigs marjoram – just the leaves – chop slightly

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

3 Tablespoons water

non stick spray

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F and spray baking sheets with non stick spray and set the baking sheets to the side.

Put a medium sized fry pan on medium high heat with the olive oil. When the oil is hot add the onions, cherry peppers and black pepper. Stir. In a few minutes when the onions are cooked add the vegetable base and garlic. Turn the heat down to medium and when you smell the garlic shut off the heat and take pan off of the heat source and set to side.

In a BIG mixing bowl add the turkey, eggs, panko, basil, thyme, marjoram, oregano, white pepper and water. Mix. When the fry pan contents are cool add them to the turkey mixture and mix well.

Use a small size scoop or a spoon and scoop out meatballs and roll them slightly in your hands. Set them on the sprayed baking sheets with a little bit of space around each ball. You should end up with enough meatballs to fill one oven. The meatballs go in the oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked. Pull out of oven when down. Extra meatballs that you aren’t using within three days should be frozen when they cool down.

Serve with sauce and grated cheese if you desire cheese.

The Forking Truth is that these meatballs will be more delicious and also with a better texture than what you can find at most restaurants.

When you dine at James Beard nominated restaurants you taste amazing things that you might not have ever thought of before. I recently dined at Barrio Cafe Grand Reserva. The Chef is James Beard Nominated Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza and really deserves to win the award. She is among a small group of chefs in Metro Phoenix that come up with dishes from another planet delicious. One of the crazy amazing dishes I tasted was made with a delicious green sauce and was studded with fruits, chiles and ahi tuna…. I tried to remember the flavors….and put some of them into this guacamole. This guacamole taste better than it looks…My photo doesn’t pick up all the different colors it has. This guacamole is very complex with different flavors and textures in each bite. My husband didn’t expect to love it since in general he hates guacamole and avocados…..He reluctantly tried a chip with guacamole and said, “that is really good” “That really is GOOD!” and he said it a few more times….. I have to thank Fry’s supermarket for the 99 cent sale on 3lb bags of avocados.(or I wouldn’t have made guacamole)…..Of course I also have to thank the Barrio Cafe Grand Reseva for inspiring this recipe.

Ingredients for about 15 servings

9 medium avocados (about three pounds…mine were super ripe with a few brown spots I cut out…that is why they were only 99cents)

1 sweet lime – just the fresh squeezed juice (impossible to find…it taste like sweet lime-aid) sub either some lime-aid or add sugar to the juice of one lime to taste like lime-aid)

2 limes – just the fresh squeezed juice

3oz shallots – fine chopped

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 roasted red Fresno – fine chopped – (mine was unusually hot…you can sub a jalapeño)

1/2 oz fresh cilantro – fine chopped

1/2 oz scallions – sliced thin

.03 oz fresh mint leaves – fine chopped

0.16 oz nori (one snack package of seaweed) – fine chopped

1/2 a soft ripe pear – remove skin and core – cut in small cubes about pea sized

4 chiltepin chili peppers – crush with fingers

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

finish with about a cup of pomegranate seeds

Directions

Depending on the firmest of your avocados – if very soft just scoop out. If slightly firm break up slightly…you want chunky not mush. Toss over the avocados lime juices, shallots, vinegar, Fresno, cilantro, scallions, mint, seaweed, pear and chiltepins. Stir gently. Try to keep some avocado chunky. Add salt and pepper to taste….(you don’t need much) Top with pomegranate seeds to serve.