Fajita Chicken

Living as an American in Paris — and I assume in most international, cosmopolitan cities — gives you automatic admission into a special club of other people trying to do the same thing. You might not see one another right away; it’s easy to mistake fellow Americans-in-Paris for tourists, and while I’m as happy as the next girl to show someone how to get somewhere on a map or explain that the curmudgeony teller in the métro stop wants exact change, I usually don’t spark up conversations with fellow anglophones on the bus.

But we find one another, without even looking. We accumulate names and numbers — through work, through school, through friends. It’s an endless revolving door of people who come, stay for awhile, and with little ceremony, return to the real world. Or don’t.

The truth of the matter is, this has finally started to become the real world for some of us. French significant others, “real” jobs, degrees that leave us bilingual and qualified for work in the country that, for many of us, might have been a whim… for whatever reason, some of us are starting to find our footing here… and for that, we need one another.

Sometimes, you just need someone to complain to about your visa appointment or the impossible task of finding an employer who will sponsor you. Sometimes you need to stop speaking French for an afternoon. Sometimes you want someone who is just as OK as you are with wearing pants with an elastic waistband and eating ice cream straight out of the container. Sometimes you need a hug, not a bise. Sometimes… sometimes you need someone who will come watch Breaking Dawn on the Champs-Elysées… or better yet, someone who plans the whole adventure for you.

Spicy food is not a very French thing. It’s hard for the Country Boy, though he tries, to keep up with the endless array of curries and chilis I want to make, and I generally try to succumb to his wishes, making things mild and topping them with Tabasco or Sriracha. But sometimes, you just need another American to come along for the ride.

Fajita Chicken
This chicken recipe is actually one of TCB’s favorites. I top mine with Tabasco; he throws on some extra crème fraîche soured with lime for a homemade version of sour cream. In the end, we’re both happy.

For the marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt (whatever fat content you have/prefer)
1 Tbsp. cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles (anywhere from 1/2 tsp. to 2 tsp., depending on your tastes)
1 crushed clove garlic
3 chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 red bell peppers, sliced into thin strips
1 onion, sliced into thin half-moons
salt, to taste

Combine the marinade ingredients in a plastic container with a lid. Toss the chicken to coat. Refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.

When ready to prepare, heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over high heat. Add the peppers and onion and the salt. Sauté about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned and the peppers are charred in places.

Add the chicken to the pan, shaking the excess yogurt mixture from the pieces before adding them to the pan. Brown about 2-3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cover the pan. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, ~10 minutes total. Serve with tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream… and hot sauce.