2K1R: Puebla Chicken Stew

Two Kitchens, One Recipe! Sorry it's taken me so long to post my response, but this week has been busy! The most momentous event: my last first day of school ever. Don't quote me on that but, if I mention going to school again in my life, remind me that I said it. Unless it's culinary school.

Sooooo, this stew. I loved it. Big time. Mine was soupier than yours because I used all the broth the chicken made, and also a big 28-ounce can of tomatoes, rather than the 15-ounce one the recipe calls for. And you probably just liked mine better because you didn't have to make it, kind of like when you could make yourself an excellent sandwich or have someone else make you a more mediocre one and they would end up being at the same level of goodness. Your quesadilla made me jealous, though. I believe you when you say it was the best ever.

I kind of forgot to take pictures of the finished soup. I'm going to blame it on the fabulous company I had with me, rather than the fabulous cocktails we were drinking (props to your orange vodka, LFW! Mixed with simple syrup and lemon Perrier, a complete success). So this is what you get because I also really liked this browning of the onions on a dry griddle and the garlic cloves with the skin still on.

On to your questions:

Did this live up to your expectations?
Yes and yes. But I don't expect to come up with Cafe Poca Cosa or Mexican street food when I gear up to cook Mexican and this is perhaps what saved me. I guess I didn't really have many expectations since I was just making the recipe you told me to, without coming up with any aspirations. This may mean that I should make my cooking more mindful, or at least when making recipes that I don't choose for myself.

Would you make this recipe again?
Yes. I really liked it. I also think it would freeze well. And I like having soup around because it gives me a really good excuse to eat some buttered, toasted bolillos. It was, though, rather fussy with all the pots and pans the recipe thought it needed. And then I managed to make it a little fussier by browning the chicken skin before adding the water.

Also, I mostly avoided the layer of fat on top by skimming the fat off the chicken broth before adding it to the chipotle puree and, then, by letting the soup sit in the refrigerator overnight. The fat congealed on top and I was able to take some of it off.

How would you change this if you were going to make it again?
I would just use chicken stock rather than making it—maybe I'd have some homemade stock sitting in my freezer? So then I'd make that chipotle puree first, add it to the chorizo, but I would do it in a big pot. Then I'd add my stock and use chicken breast, skinless, cooking it in the broth and shredding it when it was cooked. This would cut down on the fussiness and the amount of dishes used.

What was your favorite part of making this recipe?
Feeding it to these knuckleheads:

Least favorite?
Definitely the pots and pans. I don't understand why you like cutting chipotles so much. I always end up coming close to touching my eyes after I've cut them and then having my eyes sting and burn for a little while.

Did you mess up any part of this recipe?
No! Also surprising. Maybe we're better at cooking than desserting?

If you were going to serve this to one of your friends, who would you choose?
Well, you, clearly, and these proud members of the clean plate club: