Search Results for: "chicken"

There are techniques you learn in restaurants that stick with you forever. And then there are techniques you wish you had learned sooner.

Pressing proteins is one of those.

When I worked in restaurants, we pressed proteins all the time. But we didn’t use a tortilla press. We used mallets. We’d bang chicken out between plastic wrap until it was thin enough to cook evenly. It worked, but it was loud, inconsistent, and honestly kind of a pain.

I didn’t even think about using a tortilla press back then. It wasn’t a thing. At least not in any kitchen I worked in.

Now it is.

Pressing proteins with a tortilla press has completely taken over social media, and for good reason. It’s fast, it’s clean, and it gives you a perfectly even piece of meat every single time. Once I started doing it at home, I had one of those moments where you just think, why didn’t we do this sooner?

This Nashville hot chicken grilled cheese exists because of that realization.

By pressing boneless, skinless chicken thighs thin before dredging and frying, you get maximum surface area, more crunch, faster cook times, and zero guesswork. It’s the same goal we always had in restaurants, just with a smarter tool.

From there, it turns into what I think a great sandwich should be: wider, not taller. Crispy Nashville hot chicken, sharp white cheddar melted directly into the pan for a cheese crust, and a cold dill pickle remoulade to balance the heat.

This is the grilled cheese I wish I’d been making years ago.

A cozy one pan winter dinner

Before we get into this recipe, I want to say something that applies to everything I cook and share here. These recipes are meant to be guides and roadmaps, not strict instruction manuals. Use them as inspiration. Cook with what you have. Taste as you go. Adjust things to your liking. That mindset is how I learned to cook in restaurants, and it is how I still cook at home.

This dish is a perfect example of that philosophy. Crispy chicken thighs, deeply braised cabbage, a simple pan sauce, and a bright apple slaw to bring everything back into balance. It is cozy, savory, and feels like something you would want to make on a cold weeknight when you do not want to overthink dinner.

It is also a true one pan meal, which is always a win.

Crispy Crab Rangoon Taquitos with Sweet Chili Sauce

If you grew up on the border like I did, you call them flautas.

If you grew up up north, you probably call them taquitos.

Either way, this is what happens when crab rangoon meets my grandma’s kitchen.

I did not try crab rangoon until I moved to Seattle. Cream cheese and crab inside a crispy shell felt very far from South Texas. But flautas? My grandma made them constantly. Golden, rolled, fried, stacked on a plate like little edible cigars.

Years later, working at Cantina Leña in Seattle, we made masa from scratch every day. The flauta filling rotated. Some weeks chicken. Some weeks carnitas. Some weeks something completely different.

This is one of those fillings that feels like it could have been a special.

Crab rangoon filling inside a flauta just makes sense. It is creamy. It is savory. It is rich. And the tortilla is a better vessel than a wonton wrapper. I said what I said.

Bananas and rice has been everywhere this week.

If you’ve seen it, you know. A Somali creator casually mentioned bananas and rice as a comfort food, and suddenly the internet couldn’t stop talking about it. It became a meme, then a conversation, then a reminder that simple food done right is always powerful.

For me, it clicked immediately.

When I worked at Palace Kitchen in Seattle, we made tostones all the time. Fried plantains smashed and refried until crisp. Seeing bananas and rice trend felt like perfect timing to turn that idea into a full bowl that actually eats like dinner.

Crispy smashed plantains. Fragrant yellow rice. Bright chimichurri. Rich protein on top.

This is comforting food. This is my version of bananas and rice.

This dish came together because citrus season is here, and Satsuma oranges are at their absolute best right now. Sweet, juicy, low acidity, and honestly perfect for something savory and sticky like a General Tso style sauce.

I’ve made a lot of General Tso sauce over the years. One of the restaurants I worked at made it constantly, and it always relied heavily on orange juice. So instead of reaching for a bottle or some random citrus, I figured why not lean fully into the season and use fresh Satsuma orange juice for the base of the sauce and then carry that flavor through the dish with a bright, simple citrus salad on top.

This is one of those bowls that hits every angle. Rich beef. Meaty mushrooms. Sticky, savory sauce. Fresh citrus. Crunch from almonds. It’s balanced but still indulgent, and it comes together faster than it looks.

Crispy arancini filled with roasted delicata squash and caramelized onions, served over a smooth white cheddar fonduta. A restaurant-style appetizer perfect for entertaining.

Crispy fried Brussels sprouts with celery dill remoulade.