This TexMex treat first originated after a long day on Lake Austin in 2003. A somewhat ravished and raucous crew of lakegoers ventured to Maudies for some post lake drinks and a hearty meal. Good times led to good drinks which led to a yearning, nay a hankering, for a grilled cheese by a younger El Smokeador. Originally met with quite a bit of "we can't do that" and "tell me again" my hunger (and quite a bit of the El Smokeador Y Smokehopper trademarked unadulterated gumption) prevailed and the waiter/cook finally agreed to make me a grilled cheese with fajita meats on the inside.
I have tried to make this for the blog twice in the past 3 years to no avail. Turns out as El Smokeador gets older the ratio of good drinks to bad pictures has a direct relationship in which the correlation grows closer and closer to 1 as amounts of both variables in the test are increased. Never thought the MBA would make an appearance on the ol' blog. Statistics!!
It should be noted that I cooked all of this on the stove top in the house I am currently leasing. Gas grill with a cast iron skillet. Here are the spices I used for the chicken. I am not going to go into great detail on certain amounts of what that I used because everyone likes it different, but lets say it was two tablespoons of olive oil and about a teaspoon of the rest of what you see in the picture. NOT THE METAMUCIL AND OATMEAL. THOSE ARE FOR A FORTHCOMING BRISKET. But the salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander, garlic powder and olive oil were all used.
Bought three chicken breasts from the store. Washed. Patted dry and sliced into fajita like strips. Put them all in a bag with the spices and olive oil.
Found a couple of small limes, halved them and added the juice of both to the bag. I did this at lunch today and let them sit until about 7. So thats 7 hours if you are not counting along at home. I am pretty sure and hour or two would have been ok.
Bought this stuff for the toppings to go inside the sandwich with the cheese and chicken. Cut it all into 3-4 inch strips and tried to keep the onion in a circular manner. No real science to that.
Before slicing all of that up I threw the skillet on high heat and it got hot. Once everything was sliced in the most meticulous manner and the skillet was hot, I dumped the whole bag of chicken on (no oil as there was already oil in the marinade) and let it brown until the juice had simmered off. This is what we in the business of food call the wise mans gambit meaning its always better to have a little bit dried out chicken than the alternative of undercooked chicken. A wise man told me that once as I was huddled over a trash can nevermind. A little stream of consciousness folks. Tip your waitress.
When your chicken is thoroughly cooked it will look like this. Off of the skillet and on a plate so you can add the red pepper, white onion and jalapeno slices.
When the onions are carmelized to your liking and the peppers are soft enough for you, add the chicken back in. I don't know why but pretend your Nike. Hello Nike.
Based on previous posts you would think that buttering bread is not something this blog is about. Wrong.
In an ideal situation I would have used a nice thick piece of bread but I didn't have any and Stephsmoke is saving up her bread making abilities for Bagel Bites that will be made soon. That said, there is some cheese at the store that I have been enjoying, I think its New York Cream and Habanero Pepper-jack. I used two slices here. Could have used more to get a really cheesy sandwich, but I had a turkey sandwich for lunch and there is such a thing as too much cheese in one day.
Added the peppers and chicken to both sides of the bread and combined them into a singular being. Put the whole thing on a new non stick skillet and let it cook for about 2.5 minutes per side. You can do it longer if you want to burn your sandwich but I don't particularly care for burned bread. Toast on the other hand is delicious.
Finished product with a side of Guacamole. The guacamole was just avocado, half of a smallish tomato, some red onion, garlic and lime juice with salt and pepper. Couple of different views for you.
All in all it's a pretty cheap, somewhat healthy meal. No it's not healthy at all, but not much that tastes good is. If you try it at home please send us a pic and we will post it.
Also, from a musical standpoint if you don't have the new J. Mascis album get it. It's fantastic.
And there is this:
~El Smokeador~
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