Arroz Con Pollo

Dinner was a hit! Twice actually, as my husband and I just had the leftovers for dinner tonight.

The pumpkin seed dip had a peanut butter taste to it that complimented the roasted tomatoes, cilantro, and habanero chili that were chopped and mixed in the paste. It was good with chips and with carrots.

The salad was really good, though I should have made individual salad plates instead of making a platter of butter lettuce leaves topped with the roasted pepper salad mixture. It was difficult to get them from the platter to plate. I added cucumbers to the roasted pepper mixture for the texture.

And the Arroz Con Pollo y Frijoles Negros entree was amazing. I promise I am usually quite critical of my own cooking, but this was really good. The chicken was tender, the rice cooked thoroughly, and the spices were just right. While you are making the dish you think there is no way that anyone should ever use that much ancho chili powder in one dish, but you do and it works. I even pulled off doubling recipe without a hitch. It was easier to make than I thought it would be. The salsa I made to top the dish was Smoky Chipotle and it added the perfect amount heat to the dish. I broken in my Le Creuset Dutch Oven making this dish and it worked like a charm (thanks Hunter and Caroline!) I could not have been more pleased with the outcome. Of course, I only remembered to take a photo after the dish was half eaten. At least that way you know people liked it!

Dessert ended up being very simple - sliced, fresh strawberries. A delicious ending to a somewhat heavy dinner.