Week Three - Idaho

Last Saturday, I took the family on a culinary trip to Idaho, the Gem State.  I know what you're thinking, that this was all we had to eat...

And yes, Idaho is famous for its spuds.  But I wanted do more than just serve baked potatoes and call it good.  The idea behind this year long project is to explore new cuisine, new recipes, and push me out of my cooking comfort zone.  So I dug a little deeper into the culture of Idaho, and here's what I came up with.

The Basques are an ethnic group that hails from the are Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France.  They have a distinct language tradition and culture, and their food takes influences of the countries that surround the region and mashes them up into something new. A people with a rich farming and animal husbandry history, the Basques came to the United States like so many other ethnic groups and set out to make a new life for themselves here.

Outside of California, the largest population of Basque descendants is in, you guessed it, Idaho.  So it was using that cultural influence that inspired my Idaho-themed dinner.


Basque Chicken and Chorizo Saute

Three chicken leg quarters, divided into thighs and drumsticks
10 oz. chorizo sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 large thyme sprigs
1 small jar artichoke hearts
1 cup red wine

First, I heated up the chorizo and tried to brown it.  It was very greasy...

Once it was "done," I transferred it to a large plate with a paper towel on it to drain. I then heated up the olive oil in the skillet and added the chicken pieces...

After the chicken was browned on both sides, I added the chicken to the chorizo plate. Next, I added the bell peppers, onions, garlic, and thyme to the skillet.  Once softened, I added the cherry tomatoes and red wine, scraping up any of the left over bits from the pan.

I added the chicken and chorizo back to the skillet, covering everything for about 25 minutes on low heat.  I then added the artichoke pieces and cooked for an additional 5 minutes.  At the end of this cooking time, I removed the chicken pieces and plated them.

Mashed Potatoes

6 waxy yellow potatoes, peeled
1 parsnip, peeled
1 or 2 dollops sour cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

I won't go into too much depth with the mashed preparation (you boil everything, you drain the water, then you mash in the sour cream and olive oil).  I've been adding parsnips to my mashed potatoes to get another vegetable into my kids, and it's worked to varying degrees of success.  I've also started replacing butter with olive oil, as I've found that it makes the mashed potatoes just as creamy but not as heavy tasting.

To plate everything, I put a piece of the chicken over a big scoop of the mashed potatoes, then poured the chorizo sauce over everything.  The result...

...tasted about as good as it looked...which was to say, it was kind of a mess.

I'm realizing that I should have used dried chorizo and chopped or sliced that up (more like kielbasa or smoked sausage), instead of using ground chorizo sausage.  The ground chorizo made everything way too greasy and over powered the flavor of everything else.  It tasted...fine?  I guess?  But it definitely didn't come out looking like this...

...nailed it?

It was bound to happen that some of the meals I cooked for this project would be duds.  52 weeks of recipes would eventually lead to left overs that would not be eaten again.  And while I feel like it was a valiant attempt, I didn't do Idaho justice this time around.  The "undefeated season" is now beyond my reach, which is actually kind of nice.  The pressure is off early now, which means I can refocus on my next stop on this culinary adventure.

Vaya con dios, Idaho.  See ya tater...




(Yikes...potato puns...)