Ah, the best laid plans – of taking a picture of the finished kabobs. I guess you just need to trust me that they looked delicious after grilling and with the herby crema drizzled all over the top! And tasted wonderful.
My cousin Gary has a girlfriend. It’s been nine months now, and they finally came south to visit. It happened to be Gary’s birthday too, so I invited members of the family and some friends who’ve known Gary for a long time, to come for an outdoor dinner. It was delightful meeting Susan, and the family was happy to come to celebrate the birthday and to meet this new person in Gary’s life. In addition to the kabobs (which actually had 3 of the food groups – protein, veggies and carbs in them) I made one of my favorite salads. It’s been posted here before – many, many years ago (you realize I’ve been writing this blog for 16 years now). A rice and vegetable salad from the Silver Palate cookbook.
It went well with the kabobs. Gary can’t eat wheat, so I catered the menu to meet his GF needs. I had ample salad leftover – some I gave away and I ate some in the ensuing days and enjoyed every single bite. Actually, Gary had told me ahead of time about all the things Susan doesn’t eat. We had a big laugh about it because Susan does eat all of the things Gary thought she didn’t. Like raisins. I asked her, as I was making the salad, if it was okay to put the raisins in the salad and could she move them out or would it ruin the salad for her if I put them in. She looked at me quizzically — I said, “Gary told me you don’t like raisins.” She looked at him, frowning, I believe, and asked why he thought so. Anyway, that was one of several things we laughed over as she has very few things on her no-no list, if any. The salad has raisins – or currants – or golden raisins in it. I prefer currants because they add a speck of dark color to the salad, but I didn’t have any, so used golden raisins instead.
Incidentally, Susan and I had been briefly acquainted some years ago – she wrote a blog called Wild Yeast. She wrote about sourdough and I happened to write a comment – I had no recollection of it – but when she heard that I write a food blog, she remembered it. Her blog is still up and available (though she doesn’t post to it anymore), if you’re at all interested in bread baking in all forms. Susan is retired now, and is quite the birder, which is kind of funny, because Gary’s mom was a birder too. Small world!!
Anyway, back to this recipe. The chicken is marinated in taco seasoning and oil for awhile. You can use breasts in this, but I prefer thighs, especially for grilling. Then you thread the chicken onto skewers with peppers, corn coins and red onions. The skewers are grilled briefly – my son in law John did the grilling – and did it perfectly. The chicken was nicely cooked through and not at all dry. The kabobs are then drizzled with a simple sour cream “crema” that has Tajin seasoning, some cumin, Cotija cheese, cilantro and lime. Brilliant! Originally I found the recipe on the web, but I changed it some to suit my tastes.
Once the kabobs are cooked, have everything ready to serve since the meat and veggies will cool off quickly. Sara had brought home made angel food cake for the birthday dessert. Altogether lovely meal.
What’s GOOD: the kabobs are delicious – the marinade makes it, along with the crema drizzle. It makes a very appealing presentation and altogether succulent combination of flavors in your mouth.
What’s NOT: only that you need to prep all the kabob ingredients ahead of time. Not hard, just takes a bit of planning. You could prep the kabobs altogether several hours ahead – and the sauce too. Loved the flavor of the chicken and the drizzle “makes” it.
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Tex-Mex Chicken Kabobs with Vegetables
Recipe By: Adapted from Lena’s Kitchen blog
Servings: 8
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs — cut into 1 1/2″ cubes (see NOTE below)
2 whole corn on the cob — husked, and cut into 1″ coins
2 whole poblano peppers — trimmed, cut into 1-1/2″ pieces
1/2 small red onion — cut into 2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons safflower oil
1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
SAUCE:
1/3 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons cilantro — finely chopped, then remove about 2 tbsp for garnish
1 small lime — zested and juiced
1 tbsp Tajin seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
GARNISHES:
1/4 cup Coija cheese — grated
more Tajin seasoning, cilantro and Cotija cheese
NOTE: If you’d prefer to use chicken breasts, cut them into similar-sized pieces as the chicken thighs and grill the kabobs for a shorter period of time – 1-2 minutes less, but still cooked to 165°F internal temperature.
1. Preheat the grill to medium high – about 400ºF.
2. Combine 4 tablespoons of safflower oil and taco seasoning in a bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Refrigerate chicken for an hour or two, covered.
3. Using skewers, thread the chicken, corn pieces, red onions, and poblano chiles, alternating until filled. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the same bowl the chicken was in and lightly brush the corn, onions, and jalapeno pieces. Sprinkle all skewers with salt on both sides.
4. Grill over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway. Use an instant read thermometer to check the chicken – remove when the center has reached 165ºF.
5. SAUCE: Combine sour cream, 1 tablespoon of Tajin seasoning, cumin, lime zest, juice, and cilantro in a small bowl. Mix well. Mixture may be too thick to drizzle, so add water to thin it to a sauce consistency, about a tablespoon or less.
6. SERVING: Place the skewers on a serving plate. Drizzle the sauce on top, and sprinkle with Tajin seasoning, cilantro, and cotija cheese. The kabobs will cool quickly, so serve immediately.
Per Serving: 297 Calories; 19g Fat (56.0% calories from fat); 23g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 115mg Cholesterol; 732mg Sodium; 3g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 56mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 224mg Potassium; 70mg Phosphorus.
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