Sunday, August 22, 2010

Jalapeno Roasted Chicken, Chile and Cheese Rice, and Vanilla-Pineapple Agua Fresca


I've really been enjoying Marcela Valladolid's new show Mexican Made Easy. I love the way Marcela uses Mexican flavors and turns them into fresh, light and gorgeous dishes. On a recent episode entitled "Mexican Family Style", Marcela made a Jalapeno Roasted Chicken and it made me wonder why I hadn't ever thought of something like that before. I watched her as she made a jalapeno paste out of oregano, butter, garlic, shallot, jalapeno, olive oil and salt and pepper. She rubbed it under the chicken skin and then she rubbed it all over the chicken. I got out my grocery list and started making notes!

I knew that Marcela's Jalapeno Roasted Chicken was going on the menu right away, but then she carried on making a delicious looking rice with fresh corn and poblano peppers. I watched her pour Mexican crema over the rice and top it with Monterey Jack cheese and set it under the broiler to melt and brown.

As soon as she pulled her Chile and Cheese Rice out of the oven I knew I had to make that too! Do you know what she had the nerve to do next?

She whipped up a batch of Vanilla-Pineapple Agua Fresca right before my eyes! I watched as she cut up a fresh pineapple and placed it in a blender with vanilla, water and a bit of sugar. She poured that golden pineapple juice into a glass pitcher and it looked so creamy and frothy. I was captivated. I was excited. I knew I had to make the entire meal and fast!

Notes/Results: This was such a wonderful Sunday supper! I loved every component. The chicken skin turned a perfect golden brown and was crispy crunchy. The breast meat was incredibly moist with just the right hint of heat from the jalapeno. (The kids ate the legs and thighs which weren't as spicy because the jalapeno paste is only rubbed under the skin of the breast meat). I had some potatoes to use up so I placed them under the chicken as it roasted and they turned out so tender, buttery, and flavorful. The rice was so aromatic with a wonderful toasty flavor. The poblano pepper added a nice mellow heat to the rice and I loved the pop from the corn kernels. The Monterey Jack on top of the rice adds such a lovely quality and doesn't over take the taste of the rice at all. The Vanilla-Pineapple Agua Fresca is the perfect sipper for this meal. It's gorgeous, sweet, frothy and refreshing! I loved everything about this meal and found it exciting and new. I'll definitely be making it again and highly recommend it.

You can find the links to all three recipes HERE on the Food Network website.

28 comments:

  1. Wow, I bet this chicken is great, but the rice certainly topped it all off with all that gooey cheese. I have to go to Food Network to snatch the recipe! Hope you're having a lovely Sunday, Kim! Roz

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  2. Oh, I definitely want to try this...it sounds amazing! I'll be right over w/ my chips, guac and pico and we can make a fiesta of it!!! ;-)

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  3. Thanks to your post I'm drooling all over my keyboard now!!! The jalapeno paste sounds incredible rubbed under the chicken skin, I'm definitely making this for my family soon, and the rice sounds delicious as well. Thank you so much for sharing :o)

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  4. Thank you so much for posting this. I missed this episode while moving and I would have definitely missed out on a fantastic dinner. My husband loves spicy and he is all about cheese so the chicken and rice is a winner already. In this desert heat (currently 104°) that pineapple drink is yelling my name.

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  5. I like this entire meal especially the herb-jalapeno paste. What a nice variation from the traditional roast.

    I also like the vanilla pineapple fresca. I don't think that I've ever had such a drink, I totally want to try it.

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  6. Woman, you are killing me with all of these Mexican Chicken recipes! YUM! That rice looks pretty amazing too.

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  7. I only saw her show once...this looks much better than the episode I saw :P I think my husband might really like that aqua fresca. May have to surprise him.

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  8. What a fabulous, flavorful meal. The Agua Fresca sounds amazing.

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  9. Sounds like a delicious dinner, and that combination of the pineapple and vanilla sounds heavenly! ;-)

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  10. What a fabulous roasted chicken Kim. You've made me hungry for the crispy skin and it's only breakfast time.
    Sam

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  11. Kim, what a gorgeous meal! Oh that chicken looks so good, you can just tell the skin is nice and crispy. And that cheesy yummy rice looks amazing too. I want a tall glass of that pineapple-vanilla agua fresca right now. It looks so refreshing. I've bookmarked this page, it all looks so wonderful. I wish I had had dinner at your house last night, lol.

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  12. There's a reason why I crave Mexican food so frequently...and it's because of bold flavored recipes like this! What a perfect meal.

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  13. This looks like a tasty way to enjoy chicken.
    Mimi

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  14. i have never caught marcela's show, but i really want to now. this looks like such a fun dish, and i love how she topped it off with a beverage too! i make roasted chickens all the time, this would be such a fun way to mix it up!

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  15. Wish I'd stopped by your house for dinner!!!!

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  16. I love everything about this meal! I have a pile of peppers that need to be used up and this would do just that. I must try these! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  17. The herb-jalapeno paste would indeed infuse the chicken with such flavor. I love it all and have noted it. My son always wants me to make spicier foods! Maybe this would do the trick!

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  18. This is my kind of food! The chicken looks very flavorful and exciting. The rice...geesh, Kim, what are you trying to do to me? That'll be stuck in my head all day.

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  19. Boy that cheese and rice dish looks so good!

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  20. What a wonderful meal your family had on Sunday! I'm making that jalapeno paste, seems like something that could be used on a variety of things. And that rice looks like it could be used as a side over and over. Great post!

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  21. Also missed this fantastic chicken while I was dropping various children off at college over the weekend! Fabulous! Great idea for some of those jalapenos pouring out of the garden, and I have beaucoup peppers that need a home in that rice as well! (Why does hot and spicy food sound so good when it is so hot and spicy outside???)

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  22. Wow, that all sounds so good! We don't have that show up here (yet). Hopefully soon!

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  23. Hi,
    i love vanilla milk shake...your presentation is great!!!

    Sameena@http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

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  24. I want in on this meal the next time you decide to make it. I can totally see why you jumped to making it.

    I don't know why but roasting a whole chicken scares me, yet I've roasted a whole turkey. I'm a dum-dum!
    ~ingrid

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  25. Kim your enthusiasm is contagious! I too love Marcela and this menu is simply so wonderful looking that I will have to try it this Sunday!

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  26. That looks so good it makes me want to say bad words......

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