{"id":1261,"date":"2010-03-01T00:13:04","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T07:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/?p=1261"},"modified":"2010-03-01T00:13:59","modified_gmt":"2010-03-01T07:13:59","slug":"cafe-rio-almost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/cafe-rio-almost\/","title":{"rendered":"Cafe Rio (Almost)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/caferio.com\" target=\"resource_window\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"floatleftnb\" title=\"Cafe Rio\" src=\"http:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/crio.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Rio\" width=\"172\" height=\"89\" \/><\/a>It&#8217;s no secret that I am a fan of Cafe Rio &#8211; especially their <em class=\"b\">Chicken Tostada salad<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 It used to only be served as a Wednesday special, and I actually planned my travel to Salt Lake around being there on a Wednesday for lunch or dinner.<\/p>\n<p>I guess it proved popular enough that it is now a regular menu item, and every time I visit Salt Lake I make at least 2 visits to one of the several locations.\u00c2\u00a0 Kennedy says they make the <em class=\"b\">BEST quesadilla EVER<\/em> <em>(and, even better &#8211; they serve kids quesedilla&#8217;s for free).<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Seattle has a lot of great Asian food.\u00c2\u00a0 And the <a href=\"http:\/\/machiavellis.com\/\" target=\"resource_window\">best Italian restaurant<\/a> on the planet (well, that I&#8217;ve tried).\u00c2\u00a0 <em class=\"b\">But no Cafe Rio<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 And no decent substitute.<\/p>\n<p>So when I discovered Cafe Rio copy-cat recipes, I just had to give them a try.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"b\">The results?\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 SUCCESS!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1314\" title=\"Cafe Rio Tostada Salad\" src=\"http:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cr-4.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Rio Tostada Salad\" width=\"525\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cr-4.jpg 525w, https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cr-4-300x91.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the recipe (I halved everything except the dressing, and it made about 8 servings):<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHICKEN<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>5 lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless<\/li>\n<li> 1 sm bottle zesty Italian dressing + 1\/4 cup water<\/li>\n<li> 1 T chili powder<\/li>\n<li> 1 T cumin<\/li>\n<li> 3 cloves garlic, minced<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours.\u00c2\u00a0 Remove chicken and shred. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken.\u00c2\u00a0 Keep warm.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LIME RICE<\/strong><br \/>\nIn a large pot, bring to a boil the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>6 2\/3 cups water<\/li>\n<li>8 t chicken bullion<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 bunch cilantro chopped<\/li>\n<li>2 tsp cumin<\/li>\n<li>2 sm cans diced green chilies (I used mild)<\/li>\n<li>1 T lime juice<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 t pepper<\/li>\n<li>3\u00c2\u00a0 &#8211; 3 1\/2 cups of rice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Cover and simmer on low for approx 15 minutes, or til water is absorbed.\u00c2\u00a0 Remove from heat and let sit for an additional 5 &#8211; 15 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>In a saucepan, saute:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 T butter<\/li>\n<li>1 yellow onion, chopped<\/li>\n<li>4 cloves garlic, minced<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stir into rice before serving.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PICO DE GALLO<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> 4 fresh tomatoes, chopped<\/li>\n<li> 1 white onion, chopped<\/li>\n<li> 1\/4 bunch cilantro, chopped<\/li>\n<li> 2 cloves garlic, minced<\/li>\n<li> 1\/2 t lime juice<\/li>\n<li> 1 t salt1\/2 t pepper<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>CREAMY TOMATILLO DRESSING<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> 1 pkg Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix (I didn&#8217;t use the entire pkg)<\/li>\n<li> 1 C buttermilk<\/li>\n<li> 1 C Mayo<\/li>\n<li> 1 to 2 tomatillos<\/li>\n<li> 1\/2 to 1 clove garlic, minced<\/li>\n<li> 1\/2 to 1\/3 bunch cilantro, chopped<\/li>\n<li> 1\/2 t lime juice<\/li>\n<li> 1\/2 to 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Other ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Black beans (I actually soaked them overnight and cooked for an hour before serving &#8211; but canned black beans work too).<\/li>\n<li>Sour Cream<\/li>\n<li>Chopped or shredded romaine lettuce<\/li>\n<li>Round corn tostada shells<\/li>\n<li>Tortilla strips for the top<\/li>\n<li>Grated Cheddar cheese<\/li>\n<li>Lime wedges<\/li>\n<li>Fresh Cilantro<\/li>\n<li>Grated Cotija or Parmesan cheese<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"floatright\" title=\"Chicken Tostada Salad\" src=\"http:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cr-1.jpg\" alt=\"Chicken Tostada Salad\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" \/>Place corn tostada shell in a metal or foil pie plate<strong>. <\/strong>Spoon about 1\/2 cup rice and 1\/2 cup black beans on top.\u00c2\u00a0 Top with shredded chicken and a little grated cheese.<\/p>\n<p>Pop under the broiler for a couple of minutes, til cheese melts.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It should look something like this when you take it out of the oven.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"floatleft\" title=\"Chicken Tostada Salad - yum!\" src=\"http:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cr-3-300x206.jpg\" alt=\"Chicken Tostada Salad - yum!\" width=\"226\" height=\"155\" \/>Then top with lettuce, pico de gallo, tortilla chips, a few sprigs of cilantro and a little grated cotija or parmesan.<\/p>\n<p>Add a scoop of sour cream and lime wedge on the side &#8211; and pour on the Creamy Tomatillo dressing (I like to use a lot).<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s no secret that I am a fan of Cafe Rio &#8211; especially their Chicken Tostada salad.\u00c2\u00a0 It used to only be served as a Wednesday special, and I actually planned my travel to Salt Lake around being there on a Wednesday for lunch or dinner. I guess it proved popular enough that it is &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/cafe-rio-almost\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Cafe Rio (Almost)<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[76,73,128,127],"class_list":["post-1261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recipes","tag-eat","tag-food","tag-mexican","tag-recipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1261"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1324,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261\/revisions\/1324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}