Mayan Chicken Fricassee

My lunch today is something really good. I will be having Mayan Chicken Fricassee or Pollo en Pepian Dulce. It is good. I cooked it about a month ago and the recipe makes quite a bit. I froze some for later and last night I remembered it was in the freezer. Here is the recipe. It is easy and with the rasins and nuts, it is a different taste sensation. It is very good. Try it out. You will enjoy it!

MAYAN CHICKEN FRICASSEE
(Pollo en Pepian Dulce)Mexican

3 1/2 to 4-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
2 cups chicken stock,
about 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/2 cup pepitas (Mexican pumpkin seeds)
3 red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped, or 5 canned pimientos, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
1/4 cup Seville (bitter) orange juice, or use two-thirds orange juice and one-third lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
salt, freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup seedless raisins
butter
1/4 cup chopped almonds

Put the chicken pieces into a heavy casserole, pour in the stock, adding a little more to cover, if necessary. Cover and simmer until almost tender, about 30 minutes. In a blender or food processor grind the sesame and pumpkin seeds as fine as possible and shake through a sieve. Set aside. Put the peppers, tomatoes, onion, and garlic into a blender or food processor and reduce to a coarse puree. Mix the puree with the ground sesame and pumpkin seeds.

Heat the lard or vegetable oil in a skillet, add the puree, and cook, over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes. Drain the chicken, reserve the stock, and return the chicken to the casserole. Add to the puree 1 cup of the stock, the Seville (bitter) orange juice, allspice, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix, and pour over the chicken. Cover and simmer gently until the chicken is tender, about 15 minutes. Add a little more stock if necessary. The sauce should be thick. Soak the raisins in cold water to cover for 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Heat a little butter in a skillet and saute the almonds until they are golden. Drain. Transfer the chicken and sauce to a warmed serving dish and sprinkle with the raisins and almonds. Serve over white rice. Servings 6

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder.
~~Unknown~~

China Bans Dog From the Menu

Interesting news article: I think that while we foreigners will be horrified by dog being on the menu, I do not think that it was necessary to ban it. Foreign countries mean foreign food. We do not have to eat it. But who does not know that wierd and strange foods are eaten in places other than North America? Do we really think that the majority of chinese culture will be trying to impress us? I think not. The culture and political govenment are not about the western world.

China has ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official Olympic
restaurants in order to avoid offending foreign visitors.
Restaurant workers
are advised to "patiently" suggest other options to diners who order dog.
Any restaurant found violating the ban would be black-listed, the state-run
Xinhua news agency reported.
Dog - known as "fragrant meat" - is eaten by
some Chinese for purported medicinal properties.
The ban, issued by the
Beijing Catering Trade Association, forbids all designated Olympic restaurants
from offering dog and urges other food outlets to remove the meat from menus.
"If a customer orders dog meat, restaurant staff should patiently suggest
another entree," said Xiong Yumei, deputy director of the Beijing Tourism Bureau
told Xinhua.
Act of respect
The measure has been implemented to "respect
the habits of many countries and nationalities," the Beijing News quoted the
municipal food department as saying.
The BBC's James Reynolds says the ban
is one of several steps taken by China to avoid foreign visitors being amused or
offended by local customs.
Authorities have also told people to queue up
politely, to smile and not to spit on the streets.
During the 1988 Seoul
Olympics, South Korea also banned doggie dishes from menus. Officials invoked a
law banning the sale of "foods deemed unsightly".
Dog meat is eaten in some
other Asian countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos

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You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder.
~~Unknown~~