You read that right! Tequila. Cream. Sauce.I had one item in mind for dinner but I got the sense Jim was not in the mood for soup. It was a bright and sunny day, and did hit 66º today. I wanted to make some kind of chicken soup as I am still working on getting better from this bout of strep throat. I’m starting to feel better. Upside, I have more energy, downside, I don’t have enough energy.
When he gave the impression he wasn’t in the mood for soup, I threw my hands in the air, much like my almost four year old would do and went to take a nap. I’m not a good sick person. I get grumpy. But I’m also smart enough to know that sleep is the fastest way for me to heal. On the plus side, my creativity comes just as I start to drift off to sleep and I needed to come up with a new dinner plan. When I was in college and needed to write a paper, I would take a little nap to think about what I wanted to write. By the time I woke, I had an outline in mind. Same thing seems to work with recipe writing.As I was slowly relaxing, I thought about tequila. Now, now, that wasn’t a secret plea for booze. I love the smoothness of 1800 Silver and thought it might be good as a sauce base. Chicken was the protein, and I have wanted black beans (I make them just about weekly.) As I was thinking how best to use the tequila, I tossed in sour cream, cilantro, and finally freshly squeezed lime. Tasted perfect in my mind.Once I woke up from my mini-nap, I went to work in the kitchen. As I was making the sauce, I heated the sauce pan and added the freshly squeezed lime to it, causing a glorious sizzling sound. Then I poured in the tequila. Unfortunately, I did not move my face away quickly enough and as the tequila hit the hot pan, not only did I get a tequila facial but am certain I got a minor contract ‘drunk.’ My house smelled like a distillery or an old-fashioned dusty cantina in the middle of nowhere Mexico. Even my freshly brewed coffee tasted like tequila, and that wasn’t a good thing.As I taste-tested the sauce, I realized it tasted similar to a margarita, only a creamy margarita. It lacked the sweetness of a margarita so I added one capful of sweet and sour mix I just happened to have on hand. It gave it the nice twist that the sauce seemed to be lacking. On its own, the sauce is good, but mixed with the cumin spiced black beans and the seasoned chicken, it was downright glorious. I, of course, made more sauce than I needed for this one dish, but I have a second application already in mind.
When he gave the impression he wasn’t in the mood for soup, I threw my hands in the air, much like my almost four year old would do and went to take a nap. I’m not a good sick person. I get grumpy. But I’m also smart enough to know that sleep is the fastest way for me to heal. On the plus side, my creativity comes just as I start to drift off to sleep and I needed to come up with a new dinner plan. When I was in college and needed to write a paper, I would take a little nap to think about what I wanted to write. By the time I woke, I had an outline in mind. Same thing seems to work with recipe writing.As I was slowly relaxing, I thought about tequila. Now, now, that wasn’t a secret plea for booze. I love the smoothness of 1800 Silver and thought it might be good as a sauce base. Chicken was the protein, and I have wanted black beans (I make them just about weekly.) As I was thinking how best to use the tequila, I tossed in sour cream, cilantro, and finally freshly squeezed lime. Tasted perfect in my mind.Once I woke up from my mini-nap, I went to work in the kitchen. As I was making the sauce, I heated the sauce pan and added the freshly squeezed lime to it, causing a glorious sizzling sound. Then I poured in the tequila. Unfortunately, I did not move my face away quickly enough and as the tequila hit the hot pan, not only did I get a tequila facial but am certain I got a minor contract ‘drunk.’ My house smelled like a distillery or an old-fashioned dusty cantina in the middle of nowhere Mexico. Even my freshly brewed coffee tasted like tequila, and that wasn’t a good thing.As I taste-tested the sauce, I realized it tasted similar to a margarita, only a creamy margarita. It lacked the sweetness of a margarita so I added one capful of sweet and sour mix I just happened to have on hand. It gave it the nice twist that the sauce seemed to be lacking. On its own, the sauce is good, but mixed with the cumin spiced black beans and the seasoned chicken, it was downright glorious. I, of course, made more sauce than I needed for this one dish, but I have a second application already in mind.
Ingredients
Black Beans
- 3 cans black beans; 2 drained and rinsed , 1 not
- 1/2 onion; diced
- Drizzle extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- Pinch of chili pepper
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro; chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- Salt to taste
Tequila Cream Sauce
- 1 lime; freshly squeezed
- 1/2 cup 1800 Silver Tequila
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro; chopped
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 capful Sweet and Sour Drink Mix
Chicken
- 21/2 lbs chicken breasts; sliced
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Granulated garlic
- Cumin
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
Beans
-
In a medium size saucepan, add a drizzle of olive oil.
-
Add the onions and sauté for 2 minutes.
-
Add the cumin, mixing them together well. It will become very fragrant.
-
Once it is fragrant, add the chili powder, garlic, cilantro, black pepper, and salt.
-
Once everything is mixed well, add the can of beans that has not been drained or rinsed.
-
Gently stir the beans into the spiced onion mixture.
-
Slowly fold in the remaining beans. The beans are fragile, and will break easily, so stir them gently.
-
After the beans have been thoroughly mixed into the seasonings, reduce the heat to low, cover and allow the beans to simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-12 minutes, or until ready to serve.
Tequila Cream Sauce
-
Heat a sauce pan on medium heat.
-
Once the pan is warm, pour the freshly squeezed lime juice in and then add the tequila. STAND BACK!
-
Allow the juice and the tequila to simmer together and reduce slightly.
-
After 2-3 minutes, add the cilantro, black pepper, and sweet and sour mix. Mix well.
-
Remove from heat.
-
Once the sauce pan has been removed from heat, slowly fold in the sour cream. Mix well. Set aside.
Chicken
-
In a frying pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and the butter.
-
While the pan is heating, season each slice of chicken with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and cumin.
-
Add the chicken slices to the pan, only as much as will fit in the pan, don't crowd them.
-
Cook on each side until done, about 2-3 minutes on each side depending on how thick they were sliced.
-
Serve all together topped with freshly chopped cilantro.
**This recipe, as written, is gluten free. Not all tequilas are gluten free however. If you use a “lower shelf” quality tequila, it might not be gluten free. If your tequila label says 100% Agave, then it is naturally gluten free. Additionally, I used Master of Mixes Sweet and Sour Mix. According to their website “All Master of Mixes cocktail mixes are gluten free.” (https://www.masterofmixes.com/contact.aspx#9)
1 Comment
Pork & Potato Stew (& Tequila Cream Sauce) - The Complete Savorist
February 25, 2021 at 2:43 pm[…] I made the tequila cream sauce the other day, there was plenty left over. I spent over a day thinking about what else I could […]