Fabulouso Fritos

Ok, so I'm getting pretty adventurous with my meals lately, not really sure why, but inspiration hits and I've been running with it! Last week I posted about my Italian cooking discoveries, this week it's Cuban.

The inspiration for this exotic cooking adventure was actually this marinade hubby picked out at the grocery store a few months back, Cuban Garlic Lime.

Now, we had absolutely no clue what Cuban flavor was, not in the least, but it sounded interesting. However, interesting paired with my occasionally lazy cooking habits made for a 'ho-hum, somewhat edible' baked chicken in pure marinade. I tried a little variety, with more garlic and lime, but just couldn't make it taste good.

Then, I was using up some honey, adding it to some other chicken marinades (like BBQ sauce & honey...mmm) I was throwing in the freezer, when I thought of adding honey to the Cuban marinade, balancing the sour/bitter with some sweet, so I poured 1/2 cup honey and 3/4 cup marinade in a ziplock with two chicken breasts.  Then, when I pulled it out the day I cooked it, I drained all of the marinade rather than cooking in it as well, rather I cut up the meat, sauteed it about a tablespoon of oil and teaspoon of chopped garlic, and when there was hardly any pink left on the chicken, I put in about a tablespoon of lemon vodka and simmered on medium until the liquid reduced and the chicken was nice and brown.

Turns out I made my own variation of what's known in Cuba as Pollo Frito. This I discovered when I decided to look up ideas for a Cuban sidedish to go with my Cuban chicken. That's where I found the yummy side known as Boniatos Fritos, or fried sweet potato....mmmm! So I cut up some sweet potatoes into fry shaped pieces, leaving the peel on, which is my preference, and then added in some julienne carrots (cut on the bigger side), and deep fried them in about 3 tablespoons of oil, sprinkling some salt as well.

Well, I have to say I am quite impressed with my improvisational Cuban cooking because this meal was magnífico!! The chicken turned out with a really great blend of the flavours. I'm definitely adding this entire meal to my cookbook, just had to document it here before I forget though....and to share with you my adventures in cooking (and pretty simple cooking at that!).

By the way, here is a great place/blog to check out more homemaking and house-wifery!