This is the first time in years that I didn’t wake up at 6:00 on Super Bowl Sunday to begin cooking for the party I’d be hosting. It’s a toss up for me on which day I love to cook for more, New Year’s Eve or Super Bowl Sunday. NYE is when I bring out the classy dishes, while I bring out the fun, indulgent grub for the Super Bowl party.
I work tonight, so I won’t even be watching the game. Sure, I would have taken off if the Patriots had made it to the Super Bowl, but they didn’t. I was disappointed that my first season in New England ended the way it did, but I did get to have the Pats in the Super Bowl for the past few years.
So, I am missing my friends today, as we always have a blast at these parties. I am also missing all the delicious food. Even though I am not cooking a feast today, I did manage to cook something that embodies what I’d want to eat on Super Bowl Sunday, salsa verde chicken.
This whole meal came about because I had two red onions and needed to do something with them. I built an entire meal around those two onions. I thought if I pickle the onions, they would pair well with a Mexican-inspired flavor profile. On Thursday after work, I made a batch of salsa verde chicken and pickled my red onion.
Today, I took out the salsa verde and threw it in the slow cooker on high heat. To the salsa, I added: chili powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, Mexican oregano, and ground jalapeño. Then, I seared my chicken quarters (legs and thighs) in the cast iron skillet. Once browned, I threw the chicken in the slow cooker to braise in the salsa. I left the chicken to braise on high for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Meanwhile, I went back to my assignment for Anthropology of Food. When the chicken had about twenty minutes left, I started my rice. I used jasmine rice (because that is what I currently have). I could see this rice dish going well with jasmine rice or long grain white rice.
While I was cooking the rice, I finely chopped some cilantro and zested a lime. The cilantro and lime zest would be incorporated into my cooked rice, while I used the the juice to make some lime crema.
To build my dish, I molded out a scoop of cilantro lime rice and laid one of my chicken quarters beside it. Then, I drizzled some extra salsa verde over the chicken and topped it with pickled red onions, lime crema, and cilantro leaves.
I may not be participating in the football festivities today, but at least I got a very good meal. Plus, I have leftovers to eat for lunch this week. What a great way to use those red onions!
Catie Cooks 