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Creating recipes isn't a pastime—it's a passion. And a lot of fun.

The rules are few: Use 99% fresh ingredients (or thereabouts); make the dish simple but flavorful; make the dish flavorful but simple; be creative, not silly.

With this blog, I want to share new recipes, along with tips on ingredients and preparation, and, hopefully, show new cooks (and non-cooks) the pleasure in setting the table with a delicious homemade meal. The Briny Lemon is about fresh, simple, flavorful ingredients and easy cooking methods that help you bring the best to your family table. Your comments are welcome!

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Chicken and Black Bean Nachos with Cheddar Sauce


I think nachos are as fun to put together as they are to eat. Lean, pan-seared chicken, black beans, and fresh salsa bring a healthful note to this platter. The cheddar cheese sauce and sour cream add some scrumptious Tex-Mex flair—without much guilt.

Speaking of the cheese sauce, this recipe starts with a roux, which is one of the best ways to ensure easy, lump-free melting of the cheese. Also key is adding the cheese a little at a time after you’ve removed the pot from the heat. This helps the roux and cheese blend slowly together into a deliciously velvety sauce.

I simply have to include a hot chile or two in the nachos topping because…well, heat is good. Here, I used only one because the chile was a fatalii—one of the hottest, most beautiful little chiles in the world, born in south-central Africa.

Fatalii Chile
The fatalii’s flavor is a little fruity, like citrus, but the heat is like habanero. The typical ranking on the Scoville scale is around 250,000, which puts it just below habanero—but I cook with habaneros a lot, and this fatalii certainly tasted hotter to me.

If you don’t have access to fatalii, use habanero. Or, if you’re not into that much heat, use milder jalapeno. The chicken and black bean mixture will tame whichever chile you use.

For a nachos recipe with a chili topping (and a quicker cheese sauce), check out Chicken-Chili Nachos with Spicy Cheddar Sauce.


Serves 4-5

Ingredients

For the Nachos
  • olive oil for brushing, plus 1 tbsp
  • 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 fatalii or habanero chile, finely chopped
  • 1 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
  • large, white-corn tortilla chips to cover a platter, slightly piled
  • fresh salsa (or your favorite salsa) and sour cream, for serving
Vegetables and Garlic
For the Cheddar Sauce
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1-1/2 cups 2% milk
  • sea salt
  • 6 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Cheese Sauce Ingredients
Preparation

For the Nachos
  1. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and brush with oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear until lightly charred and just cooked through, 4-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness. 
  2. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 4-5 minutes. Cut into thin strips.
Tenders Ready to Sear
Beginning to Sear
Thinly Slice
  1. Re-heat the skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and chile and cook, stirring frequently, 4 minutes.
  2. Add the black beans and season with salt and pepper. Cook until hot throughout, about 4 minutes.
  3. Add the sliced chicken to the skillet and stir to combine.
Onion Mixture Beginning to Cook
Beans Added
Sliced Chicken Added
For the Cheddar Sauce
  1. Heat a saucepan over medium-low heat and melt the butter. When the butter begins to foam, whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring frequently, 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add 1/2 cup of milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumping. Once the first 1/2 cup is blended in, add another 1/2 cup. Once blended, add the final 1/2 cup. Season with salt.
  3. Reduce the heat to low and cook the roux slowly, stirring a few times, 8 minutes.
  4. Remove from the heat a stir in 1/3 of the cheese. Once the cheese is blended, stir in the remaining cheese, 1/3 at a time.
Cooked Roux
Milk Stirred In 
Milk mixture should coat the back of a spoon 
Whisk in the cheese off heat
Cheddar Cheese Sauce
To Assemble and Serve

Spread nacho chips on a platter, piling slightly. Pour half the cheese sauce over the chips and spoon the chicken-black bean mixture on top. Spoon the remaining cheese sauce around and over all. (Don’t smother the other toppings.)

Top with salsa and dollop with sour cream, or serve the salsa and sour cream on the side.


Chips with Cheese 
Chicken Mixture Added
Chicken and Black Bean Nachos with Cheddar Sauce



Friday, January 30, 2015

Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas


Sometimes the success of a simple meal rests on a single component. This recipe is an example, and the single component is sauce. Homemade barbecue sauce. Even if you have a favorite store-bought sauce, it’s worth taking a little time to make your own.

You could make a big batch and let it simmer for hours, but, here, I made only a small amount and cooked it less than 30 minutes. The taste truly is richer—and the satisfaction deeper—than what you get out of a bottle.

Quesadillas are simple and easy, no matter what you fill the tortillas with. Barbecue chicken gives these a little southern flair.


Makes 2 quesadillas

Ingredients
  • 1-3/4 lbs bone-in chicken thighs (about 6 small thighs total)
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 serrano chile, finely chopped
  • 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped
  • 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp chile powder
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 4 10-inch flour tortillas (burrito-sized)
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
Preparation
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a baking pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake until cooked through and very tender, 1 hour, depending on size. Transfer to a work surface.
  3. When cool enough to handle, discard the skin and pull the chicken from the bones, shredding it.
Ready to Bake 
Baked Chicken
  1. Meanwhile, heat a saucepan over medium-low heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic, serrano, and chipotle chile and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, 3 minutes.
  2. Stir in the tomato sauce and next 7 ingredients (through cumin) and season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook 20 minutes.
  3. Add the shredded chicken and cook until hot throughout, 5 minutes.
Garlic Mixture
Tomato Sauce Mixture Added
Cooked Barbecue Sauce
Chicken in Sauce
  1. Lay the tortillas on a work surface. Divide the barbecue chicken on 1/2 of each.
  2. Scatter the cheese and onions on top, then fold the other sides of the tortillas over top, pressing down gently.
  3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and brush with olive oil. Lay 2 quesadillas in the pan and press with a grill press or large spatula. Continue pressing until the bottom tortilla begins to crisp and has grill marks, 3-4 minutes.
  4. Turn and grill until the other side has grill marks and the quesadillas are hot throughout, 2-3 minutes longer. Transfer to a cutting board and repeat with the other quesadillas.
Chicken Layer
Cheese and Onion Layer
Beginning to Grill
After Turning
Cut each quesadilla in half and serve.

Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas