Joan Didion's Mexican Chicken

I love when people move. One day in Philadelphia I found a box of free books on the sidewalk and picked out a few gems. My favorite selection is a copy of The Great American Writers' Cookbook. There are tons of recipes and I always end up pleasantly surprised at the author who contributed it. Some are written as recipes, some are written as essays on cooking the recipe.. it's just a fantastic read. If you can get your hands on a copy, I highly suggest you keep it.

Anyway, one of my favorite authors in the book is Joan Didion. I've made this simple Mexican Chicken recipe many times and it's officially in my regular mix of dinners. Nora Ephron called it "Joan Didion's Chicken Thing."

Joan Didion’s Mexican Chicken

Chicken breasts: 1 whole breast per person
Onions: ½ per person
Tomatoes: ½ per person
Fresh chiles: see below
Garlic: 1 clove per person
Salt & Pepper

This is very simple and takes about half an hour if you have cooked the chicken breasts ahead. If you haven’t, poach them in water with an onion, a carrot, celery tops, bay leaf, whatever; remove the chicken from the bones (I usually throw the bones back in to the pot to make stock, but the stock has nothing to do with the recipe) and tear into rather large bite-sized pieces. Set the chicken aside.

Slice the onions and sauté until limp in a little olive oil. Add the chopped garlic (if you’re doing this in quantity you cut down the amount of garlic) and the chopped fresh chiles. The amount of chile depends in the heat of the particular chile available; I use very hot small Serrano green chiles, and chop maybe three for six people. Chop the tomatoes roughly and add to the onion mixture. (The amount of tomato you use should also decrease if you make a large amount, or the sauce will be watery.) Add salt and pepper; cook five or ten minutes, uncovered, over low heat; add the chicken, mix thoroughly, and cook only until heated through. This can be kept warm for quite a while but if you keep cooking it, the tomato turns watery and the chicken gets stringy.

Serve with hot tortillas, a bowl of guacamole, a bow of fresh cilantro, a bowl of sour cream, and a fresh salsa. (The salsa is made by chopping up more chiles and mixing with a little chopped onion, a little tomato, some cilantro leaves and a splash of cold water.) The idea is to break off bits of tortilla and wrap it around bits of chicken and anything else you want and eat it with your fingers. I do this all the time as a main course, usually with a chilled cucumber or water cress soup first and a banana tart or flan for dessert.

Tis the Season.. for Tights

These tights are beautiful! Check out the Flash Back Collection on Gal Stern.

Some more from the collection...

GIFT GIVING TIPS

I pride myself on being a good gift giver. Even if you don't know a person too well, if you pick out cool, unique gifts, you too can be a good gift giver (GGG?). Here are a few tips for giving good gifts:

1. Instead of one big gift, a few smaller gifts look better. For special occasions like birthdays and Christmas, I like to get an eclectic mix of three little gifts. It's easy to put together in a store like Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters (a store that sells nice quality novel items).

2. Pick unique gifts that are as relevant to the recipient as possible. Do they like to write? Notecards are a good pick. Do they like food? A chic cookbook. You get the idea.

3. If you don't know the recipient (like a Secret Santa-type situation) go generic, but nice generic. By generic I meant in the creativity of the gift. Pick a fancy candle that you would like for yourself, but have to be generous. Easy to maintain plants are nice too, actually. Succulent plants are great gifts.

4. Don't be afraid to make your own gifts! It's really inexpensive to give homemade food as a gift. Cake mix in a jar, homemade jam, a pretty bracelet-- I would love to receive all of those things tbh.

I don't know, use your imagination!

White glazed Terracotta hanging ceramic pinch pot planter - $35

Hinoki Memo Cube - $16

Nestled Ring Dish - $10

Vintage Book iPhone Charger - $68

Brass Plant Mister - $20

Now go buy great gifts! xo

New Music Post

These songs are new to me and I figure I'd let you in on what I'm listening to these days. It's pretty electronic and hip hop.

I hope you like!

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!

Instead of watching CNN, BOW.

LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN

Rihanna is our hero here at Alicia and Layla headquarters. "Rude Boy" was my ringtone for years and she's pretty much flawless in our eyes (save for gross Chris Brown dramz). I don't have much to say about this except it is just ratchet flawlessness incarnate. Honestly, based on the snippets I've heard, this is the first Rihanna album that I would actually buy. The first song, "Fresh Off the Runway" had me DYING. It's all so, so good. The Chris Brown song (ugh) is even okay, but not the best on there. Seriously Rihanna, well done. 

I am so thankful for this because it took my mind off of the election, which is stressing me out massively. Bless.

Girl Crush: Anna Faris

Anna Faris is really underrated, in my opinion. Ever since I saw the movie Smiley Face where she plays a stoner girl, I saw her in a completely different light! That lead me to watch The House Bunny and I was surprised that I found it so hilarious. I think she's a great example of a female comedian, and she really inspires me ~as a woman~.