Ancho Rubbed Roast Chicken stuffed with Mexican Stuffing, Poblano Corn Pudding, and 'Calabacits Guisada' with Edamame

Hello!  How I've missed blogging.  And cooking!

In case you don't know, I've moved from PA to CO.  The Boyfriend and I lived here for a week out of backpacks.  Literally.  No dishes. ONE skillet, paper plates and cups, plastic silverware.  For a WEEK!  

Now that we're all settled in, I thought my first blog out here should showcase Colorado's food scene.  

Which is Mexican.  

Makes sense right?  Colorado really doesn't do their own thing

 (Philly- cheesesteaks, soft pretzels... Whole state of Colorado- meat and potatoes I guess!) 

I'd be willing to estimate that the restaurants here are 30% American food, 30% Asian food, and 40% Mexican food.

Quick breakfast:

 Philly-  Grab a Wawa sandwich or Dunkin Donuts.

Colorado- Grab a breakfast burrito

Quick lunch: 

Philly- grab a Wawa sandwich or a hoagie

Colorado- Grab a lunch burrito

:)

Not that I mind, the Mexican food here is SO MUCH better than on the East Coast.  

So for you, I made a Mexican dinner.  A Mexican feast.  

Suitable for a non-conventional Thanksgiving or Sunday night dinner.  I can't say how authentic it is, I have to check out more of the Mexican places around here.  But man was it good. 

The showstopper on this meal is was the Proscuitto and Poblano Corn Pudding. Trust me on this.  This recipe is one of the BEST things I ever ate.  I kid you not.  The bite from the poblano's, the salty bits of proscuitto, the sweetness of the corn, and the manchengo cheese....  you just don't understand.    It would be a great side dish to many, many meals.  If you make nothing else here, I'm telling you....

The Ancho Rubbed Roast Chicken was also amazing.  The skin was so crispy, with a bit of heat from the ancho chile powder (but not really spicy), the meat so juicy.  The Mexican stuffing I made at the last minute, as I had a bunch of bread-butts I wanted to use up.  I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but it was pretty darn good.  Maybe next time I'd add a little chicken stock for a little added  moisture.

'Calabacitas Guisada' is Mexican Stewed Zucchini, only I forgot to buy zucchini!  I had some shelled edamame in the fridge that worked pretty nicely though.  

All-in-all, a great meal!

The Mexican Feast:

Ancho Rubbed Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken

1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup) cut into chunks

2 tbsp ancho chile powder

2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 lemon

Prosciutto and Poblano Corn Pudding    

 *recipe modified from Bon Appetit via Epicurious

1 large poblano chille pepper (sometimes called a piquillo pepper)

1 1/2 cups frozen, COMPLETELY thawed corn kernels

1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup) melted and cooled 

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

pinch of baking powder

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup corn mesa mix (Maseca)

4 ounces prosciutto (or any kind of ham will do) cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1/2 cup coarsly grated Manchengo cheese

Mexican Stuffing

6 pieces of sandwich bread, cubed (I had whole wheat on hand)

1 onion, diced

2 celery ribs, chopped

1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced

1/2 roasted red pepper, diced

2 oz green chiles (canned- in Mexican food aisle)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp smoked paprika

Stewed Edamame

2 cups frozen edamame, thawed

1 tomato, cut into chunks

1/2 white or yellow onion, half mooned (thin slices)

1 cloved garlic, minced

 For the Chicken:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Remove innards and wash chicken.  Dry thouroughly with paper towels.
2. Combine ancho chile powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
3. Rub this mixture on all over the bird.
4. Gently peel back skin without detaching too much, shove some pieces of butter inside.  Try to get some of the rub in there too.
5. Place on a roasting pan.  Throw a lemon in the bottom.
6. Add the stuffing.
7. Place in oven.  Depending on your chicken, it will take about an hour, an hour and a half.  Baste often with butter and juices that will drip down, and cook until internal temp reaches 180 degrees.

Don't through out carcass!  Make chicken stock!

For the Mexican Stuffing:

1. In a large saute pan, heat a bit of olive oil over med heat.  Add the onion, and saute about 5 minutes, until onions start to soften.
2. Add the garlic, celery, jalapeno, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste.  Saute until celery begins to soften and cook down.  Remove mixture from pan and let cool.
3. Once cool, stir the egg in. Add the roasted red peppers and bread cubes, and stir.
4. Stuff into the cavity of the bird, putting leftovers in a separate baking dish. The leftovers should be baked about 30 minutes.

For the Corn Pudding:

1. Once the chicken is in the oven, start on the corn pudding.  Char chile and red pepper (for the stuffing) over gas flame or broiler until blackened on all sides.  Remove and let cool.  Once cool, peel and seed, and dice.
2. In a blender, add the melted butter,  1 cup of corn (fully thawed!), the egg, salt, and baking powder.  Blend until almost smooth.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Stir in the sour cream and Maseca.  Once blended, add prosciutto, cheese, chiles, and remaining corn.  Stir until combined.
3. Grease a 8 X 8 glass baking dish.  Pour in the pudding, and bake about 40 minutes, or until pudding is puffed and the top is golden brown in spots.

 For the Edamame:

1. In a large saute pan, heat a bit of olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, edamame, and tomato. Saute until edamame is starting to brown, about 5 more minutes.
4 Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!