HONEY-GLAZED CHICKEN LEGS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

A low-and-slow, followed by a high-and-fast blast in the oven is my favorite way to cook chicken pieces, similar to another recipe I blogged about in the past. In this version the proportion of honey is quite a bit higher, forming a glaze that acquires a fantastic mahogany hue in the final roasting time. The meat underneath will be the way we love it: juicy and tender. The inspiration for this recipe came from the latest issue of Food and Wine magazine.

HONEY-GLAZED CHICKEN LEGS
(adapted from Food and Wine, May 2011)

1/4 cup + 1 tsp honey
2 Tbs + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 chicken legs (or 8 chicken thighs)

Make the glaze by mixing all the honey, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Sprinkle the chicken legs with salt and pepper, then use a brush to cover them with the glaze. Place the chicken legs on a baking sheet, skin-side down, cover with aluminum foil, and slow roast at 325F for about 40 minutes. Flip the pieces to have the skin side up, brush some more of the glaze over, cover with aluminum foil again, and continue cooking for another 40-45 minutes. (If you want to finish the recipe later, place it in the fridge).

Increase the oven temperature to 425F, remove the aluminum foil and roast until the skin is dark brown, 10 to 15 minutes (a little longer if roasting from the fridge).

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Lots of recipes will have you roast poultry at a high temperature, but in my opinion, nothing compares to the “low and slow” approach. Not only the meat retains moisture, but it makes no mess in the oven, a huge bonus for neat-freaks such as myself. 😉

I like to prepare this type of recipe in two stages: the slow roasting on a lazy weekend afternoon, or a quiet evening. After that, the meat can go to the fridge for a day or two. When it’s time to enjoy it, just do the final, higher temperature roasting for 20 minutes. White rice, pasta, couscous, or just a salad and a piece of bread, and you are set for a wonderful dinner!

ONE YEAR AGO: French-Style Rolls

27Apr2011

CINCO DE MAYO DINNER CELEBRATION

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Image via Wikipedia

If you love Mexican food, then Cinco de Mayo is a perfect excuse to invite some friends over and make a tasty dinner at home. The holiday is celebrated with more enthusiasm by Mexicans living in the US than by their compatriots in Mexico. Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with Mexican independence (that happened in 1810), but instead celebrates a huge Mexican victory over the French army in the Battle of Puebla, 36 years later. Outnumbered and outgunned, all odds were against the Mexicans, but they pulled off a spectacular victory, and now celebrate the date with all the pride it deserves.

Because we are living in California this year, I want to make a special dinner with a truly authentic recipe that’s appropriate for Cinco de Mayo. Mexican cuisine is famous for moles : sauces that may be complex, time consuming to prepare, and a bit intimidating for the unfamiliar (such as myself). After a lot of research I settled on a recipe for chicken in peanut mole sauce, and made a “trial run” this past weekend. Tasty, tasty, tasty…. And, by the way, if you throw a Cinco de Mayo party, make sure to serve a batch of guacamole for starters. My husband’s recipe es muy deliciosa!

POLLO EN MOLE DE CACAHUATE
Chicken in Peanut Mole Sauce
(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Mexican Cooking)

1 (4-pound) stewing chicken, cut up
8 cups water
4 stalks celery with leaves
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 small onion, diced
2 sprigs parsley
2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp salt (+ more for final seasoning)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (10-ounce) tomatoes with green chiles, drained
2 slices white bread, torn in pieces
3 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 whole cloves
3 whole black peppercorns
1 (1/2-inch stick) cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 small clove garlic, minced

Place the chicken pieces in a large pan or Dutch oven with water. Add celery, carrot, onion, parsley, bouillon granules, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over very gentle heat for 2 hours or until the chicken is tender. Don’t let the water boil, make sure it stays at a constant simmer.

Take the chicken pieces from the pan (remove the skin if you like) and season it lightly with salt. Place the pieces in a baking dish. Strain the broth; skim off fat. Reserve 1 + 1/2 cups of the broth for the sauce. Let it cool slightly before proceeding with the recipe.

Make the mole sauce: in a blender or food processor place the reserved chicken broth, tomatoes with green chiles, bread, and peanut butter. Cover and blend until completely smooth. Place in a saucepan.

With mortar and pestle (or in a spice grinder) crush cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon well; add to saucepan along with chili powder and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring often.

Spoon the peanut mole sauce over the chicken pieces in casserole. Bake, covered, in 350-degree F. oven 30 to 40 minutes or till heated through. Remove the cover and run it under the broiler for a few minutes if you want a little more color. Serve the chicken over white rice.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

for an oldie but goodie from Cake, click here

Comments: Don’t use a small, fryer-type chicken for this recipe, or you’ll end up with dry and tasteless meat. You need a stewing chicken, in all its plumpness, to stand up to the long cooking; at the same time it will give the broth an intense, deep flavor. You can freeze the leftover broth for use later, just remember it has a little salt already added to it. Even using the correct size of chicken, make sure the cooking liquid is kept at only a gentle simmer. I’d say this is the most important point to keep in mind when making this recipe.

The mole sauce seemed a tad too spicy when it finished simmering, but it mellowed during the final baking. The small amount of bread gives it that extra substance, so that the dish, as my husband stated quite well, “is Mexican comfort food at its best.”

My first mole adventure will definitely not be the last…

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

ONE YEAR AGO: Thom Leonard’s Country French Bread

24Apr2011

THAI CHICKEN CURRY

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

One of the features I like the most in Fine Cooking magazine is their section called “Cooking without recipes.” They pick a particular dish, say, risotto or meatloaf or lasagna, and dissect it into its basic techniques, helping you devise your own take on it. A recent issue (number 110) offered an overview of Thai curries, including poultry, seafood and vegetarian, from spicy to mild, with all sorts of aromatics to round out their flavors. If you love curries – and who doesn’t? 😉 – get this issue and start experimenting. Here I share with you my first interpretation of a chicken version, that ranked high on the yummy-ness scale.

RED CURRY CHICKEN
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, inspired by Fine Cooking)

1 can of coconut milk (13.5 oz)

1/8 to 1/4 cup red curry paste

1 cup chicken broth (or water)
1 Tbs lemon zest

2 Tbs. light brown sugar

2 tsp. fish sauce

1 Tbs grated fresh ginger

1 lb. boneless chicken thighs cut into 1/4-thick bite-size strips

3/4 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed well

2 cups asparagus, cut in 1-inch pieces
salt to taste
1/2 cup minced cilantro leaves

Shake the can of coconut milk, open it and stir well if not completely smooth. Transfer 1/2 cup of it to a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken it up. Don’t worry if it starts to separate. Add the red curry paste, whisk for a minute, then add the broth, brown sugar, fish sauce, and the rest of the coconut milk left in the can. Bring to a simmer over high heat, and add the chicken pieces. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Add the lemon zest, ginger, asparagus, and garbanzo beans. Simmer for 5 minutes, adjust seasoning with salt if necessary (fish sauce is salty, you may not need to add additional salt), sprinkle with the fresh cilantro and serve right away over white rice.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Cooking the chicken in the sauce (instead of sauteing it first) saves a messy step that’s particularly hard to deal with in a tiny kitchen, where I’m working with a two burner hot plate. Plus, the meat turns out very tender and juicy this way. Of course, if you prefer chicken breast instead of thighs then substitute, but something about the velvety texture of chicken thighs makes them more appropriate for this type of recipe. Once the meat is cooked add the vegetables that you like (some of which might profit from a previous parboiling: potatoes, butternut squash, carrots); as long as you pay attention to their cooking times, they’ll be fine.

Keep in mind that different brands of curry paste vary considerably in their spiciness. If you’re new to this ingredient, then start with a small amount, taste, and add more according to your level of tolerance.

ONE YEAR AGO: Zen and the Art of Risotto

23Feb2011

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH CREAMED CORN

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

This recipe joins ingredients I’d never imagined together. Think about a Chinese stir-fry with an American Southwestern flair. Canned creamed corn might send me running in the opposite direction, but this recipe was described as “brilliant,” and with Mark Bittman backing it, I took the gastronomic leap of faith and went for it. What a great stir-fry concoction it is! It’ll be a regular in my nightly repertoire from now on. The combination of creamed corn and fresh corn kernels is the secret to success.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH CREAMED CORN
(from The Essential New York Times Cookbook)

1 pound boneless chicken breasts (or thighs), cut into small chunks
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp Japanese sesame oil
1 Tbs white wine (or rice wine)
salt to taste
2 Tbs vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs minced ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can of creamed corn (15 oz)
1 cup corn kernels (I used roasted kernels, frozen)
chopped fresh cilantro

Mix the chicken with the soy sauce, the sesame oil, and wine. Season very lightly with salt. Keep at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes (you can also do this step several hours in advance).

Heat the vegetable oil on a large skillet, when very hot, drain the chicken and add to the pan, without crowding (if necessary, do it in two batches). Let it cook undisturbed until the pieces get a nice golden brown color, then flip them around to cook the other side. The whole process will take less than 5 minutes, if your oil was hot enough to begin with. Turn the heat down, add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute, add the creamed corn and corn kernels (no need to defrost if frozen). Cook stirring every once in a while until the dish is heated through, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro right before serving, preferably over white rice.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Most stir-fries finish with a liquid thickened by some type of starch – usually cornstarch or arrowroot. In this recipe the creamed corn provides all the texture and substance you’ll need. I made it, start to finish, in less than 30 minutes on a weeknight, but in the future I might marinate the chicken early in the morning and leave it in the fridge the whole day.

In the Summer, when corn is at its peak, I’ll use fresh kernels, but this time I grabbed the excellent frozen kernels at Trader Joe’s. The fact that they were roasted added even more flavor. The colors and the taste were like Spring on the plate. We are ready for it… 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedo (this definitely goes to our Hall of Fame of Breads)

11Dec2010

HOLIDAY DOUBLE-DECKER

Posted in Poultry, Side dishes, Veggies by sallybr

One post, two recipes… It’s the holiday spirit! 😉

A few years ago I began using the 7-6-5 method to cook pork tenderloin, with all varieties of rubs, glazes, and marinades. It’s a nice approach because once you memorize those numbers, you’ll have no need for the recipe, and you’ll always have perfectly cooked pork tenderloin.

Shortly thereafter it occurred to me that chicken breasts are so similar in fat content and overall texture, so why not “7-6-5 them?” Well, I’m happy to report that the idea was a success. Several times I’ve grilled chicken breasts with this technique, and it leaves meat tender, moist, and perfectly cooked.

7-6-5 GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
for the marinade (substitute any recipe you like):
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T fresh orange juice
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Whisk the olive oil, vinegar and orange juice vigorously together into an emulsion. Add the dried thyme and red pepper flakes and whisk again. Place the chicken breasts in a bowl and pour the marinade over them, coating well. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Remove the meat from the marinade, season with salt and pepper and place on a very hot grill, covered, for 7 minutes. Turn the meat over and continue grilling for 6 minutes. Without opening the grill, turn it off and let the meat stay inside for 5 minutes. Place the meat on a serving plate, tented with aluminum foil, let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice at an angle and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This is a basic method, with which you can use any marinade or rub you ‘re fond of. I like to start marinating the chicken early in the morning before leaving for work, so that dinner is a no-brainer: all it takes is 7-6-5 minutes, and a side dish or two. Like Brussels sprouts and roasted butternut squash!

Which brings me to the double-decker, Shredded Brussels sprouts. My husband insisted that a post solely devoted to Brussels sprouts would scare away most, if not all my readers! I am sure my readers are very loyal (fingers carefully crossed), but in fact this poor veggie ranks way low in any popularity contest. So, allow me to share with you a GREAT way to prepare Brussels sprouts, and I ‘ll bet that even the sprout haters in the audience will enjoy it…

LEMONY SHREDDED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
(adapted from Martha Stewart.com)

1-2 pounds of Brussels sprouts
2 T olive oil
2 T water
zest of 1 lemon
good squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice the Brussels sprouts with a knife or the slicing disk of your food processor. Heat the olive oil in a skillet until very hot, almost smoking. Add the sliced veggies, the water, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring every once in a while until the sprouts become tender and develop a few brown spots. Add lemon zest, mix, and squeeze a little lemon juice all over and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Sometimes a different way of processing a vegetable will substantially improve its taste. Prepared this way, Brussels sprouts have a pleasant texture ( don’t overcook them!), and a bright, fresh flavor from the lemon juice. It’s perfect alongside roast chicken, pork, or a thick piece of grilled salmon.

Brussels sprouts are low in carbs, and loaded with vitamins A, C, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, magnesium, and fiber. They are good for you, so, give this recipe a try! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Baked Shrimp and Feta Pasta