Cars Land Cozy Cone Chicken Chile Verde Recipe

With Covid-19 in full effect, there are a ton of people that are having Disney withdrawal!  We moved to Florida almost two years ago just so that we wouldn't experience this feeling.  I love irony as much as anyone, but this is borderline cruel :)

While I do miss the rides and attactions, that's not the thing that I am really jonesing for.  I want some good food!!!  When we didn't live so close to Disney and wanted to get our theme park food fix, we would look for recipes.  My wife has pretty much perfected the cheese soup from Le Celier!  So I thought this would be a good time to add a recipe for another of our favorites.

I haven't been to Disneyland since 2013.  Even then, I didn't have a park ticket.  I ran through the parks for the Disneyland half marathon (which hasn't been held for a few years now).  But one of my all-time favorite Disney food items (note to self, I should put together a list of my top five faves) was the Chicken Chile Verde Cone from the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars Land at California Adventure.
This is a stock image of the Disneyland Cones.

Notice that I said that it "was" one of my all-time faves.  While looking for the recipe to post, I discovered that this item hasn't been on the menu since late 2017.  Huge bummer!

I did not find the actual recipe for the Cozy Cone Chicken Chile Verde cone.  Below are two recipes.  One for chicken chile verde and one for the cone.  Please try them out and let us know how you like it!

Here is our actual result.  It was very tasty!


Chicken Chile Verde

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos
5 garlic cloves, not peeled
2 jalapeños, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
2 Anaheim or Poblano chiles (optional)
1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped
3 1/2 to 4 pounds chicken, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 to 2-inch cubes
Extra virgin olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano or 1 Tbsp of dried oregano
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
Pinch of ground cloves
Cotija cheese (optional garnishment)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
  • Roast the tomatillos, garlic:
    • Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.
    • Cut in half and place cut side down, along with 5 unpeeled garlic cloves, on a foil-lined baking sheet.
    • Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin. Remove from oven, let cool enough to handle.
  • If you want the additional flavor of chiles other than jalapenos, you can add a couple Anaheim or poblano chiles.
    • Either use canned green chiles or roast fresh chiles over a gas flame or under the broiler until blackened all around. Let cool in a bag, remove the skin, seeds, and stem.
  • Purée tomatillos with garlic, jalapeño, cilantro:
    • Place tomatillos, skins included, into blender.
    • Remove the now roasted garlic cloves from their skins, add them to the blender.
    • Add chopped Jalapeño peppers, other chiles (if you are using them)
    • Add cilantro to the blender.
    • Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. 
  • Sear chicken on all sides:
    • Season the chicken cubes generously with salt and pepper.
    • Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken chunks well on all sides.
    • Work in batches so that the chicken is not crowded in the pan and has a better chance to brown well.
    • Using a slotted spoon or tongs, lift chicken out of pan and place in bowl, set aside.
  • Sauté onions and garlic:
    • Pour off excess fat, anything beyond a tablespoon or two
    • Place the onions and garlic in the same skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until limp, about 5 minutes.
  • Add chicken, oregano, tomatillo sauce, stock, ground cloves:
    • If your skillet is large enough to cook the entire batch of chile verde, with the sauce and meat, then add the chicken back to the pan.
    • If not, get a large soup pot and add the onion mixture and the pork to it.
  • Add the oregano to the pan.
  • Add the tomatillo chile verde sauce to the chicken and onions.
  • Add the chicken stock (enough to cover the meat).
  • Add a pinch of ground cloves. (I did not add this ingredient and still loved the dish)
  • Add a little salt and pepper. (Not too much as the chile verde will continue to cook down and concentrate a bit.)
  • Bring to a boil and reduce to a slight simmer.
  • Cook for 2-3 hours uncovered or until the chicken is fork tender.
  • Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
Cone "Recipe"
Our cones didn't turn out perfect, but they tasted good and made it more fun!


Start with frozen roll dough, preferably the Texas rolls.
Let them thaw, according to directions on the package, but do not let them rise.
While the rolls thaw, wrap some waffle ice cream cones in aluminum foil.
When rolls are thawed, roll them out into a long, snake-like shape.
Spray the foil-wrapped cones with cooking spray (this is important!).
Wrap the bread dough around the foil-wrapped cones, pinching the bottom of the dough to seal it.
Place cones onto a baking sheet, upside down.
Bake according to the directions on the rolls' package.

Once you have completed both recipes, fill up the cones with the Chicken Chile Verde, garnish with some cotija cheese, a sprig or two of cilantro, and serve!

Enjoy the dish and let us know how it went in the comments!


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