I am feeling quite generous these days, so you’ll get two recipes in a single post. It turns out they went so well together, that it would be sad to separate them.  The source of inspiration for the chicken was a blog I found not too long ago, and started following right away: The View from Great Island, hosted by Sue. Her photography is beautiful, and I’d be happy sitting at her dinner table anytime! The mashed carrot was in  the latest issue of Fine Cooking magazine  as an option for Thanksgiving side dish. Roasted asparagus rounded our meal quite nicely.

POMEGRANATE AND LIME CHICKEN THIGHS
(adapted from The View from the Great Island)

To marinate the chicken, put the yogurt, pomegranate juice, salt, and chicken in a large zip lock bag. Massage everything until well combined. Put in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Set the oven to 300 F.  Remove the chicken from the marinade, place the pieces skin side down on a large baking dish, and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at this low temperature.  Remove the foil, if there is a lot of liquid accumulated in the dish remove most of it and discard.  Turn the pieces skin side up, cover with foil again and bake for another 20 minutes.  At this point, prepare the glaze by combining all ingredients together.   If too thin, gently warm it on a small saucepan to thicken it a little.  Watch it carefully because it can burn due to all the sugar.

Remove the aluminum foil from the baking dish, increase oven temperature to 425 F.  Bake for 15 minutes, once the skin starts to get some color brush the glaze all over the chicken thighs and bake for 10 more minutes or until very dark.  You can also broil the pieces at this point, but pay attention to prevent it from burning.  Serve with lime wedges.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

CARROT MASH WITH ORANGE AND MINT
(adapted from Fine Cooking magazine)

2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
salt
1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
2 Tbs. almond milk, unsweetened
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
Put the carrots in a large saucepan with enough cool water to cover by at least 1 inch. Add 1 tsp. salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and cook at a gentle boil until the carrots can be easily pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes.

Drain well in a colander, letting the steam rise for a few minutes. Meanwhile, heat the butter, almond milk, oil, mint, orange zest, and  1/2 tsp salt in the saucepan over low heat until the butter melts.

Purée the carrots in a food processor until smooth and then add them to the pan, stirring well to combine.

Adjust seasoning and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My main modification of the chicken recipe was to adapt it to my favorite method of cooking chicken thighs: low and slow followed by high and fast.  I like the way the meat gets super tender and the skin super crisp.  You should stop by Sue’s blog and check her version too.  She actually made the glaze from pomegranate juice, reducing it with sugar. Since I had a bottle of pomegranate molasses, I followed a slightly different path.  The full idea is to have a reasonably thick glaze to coat the chicken.

The carrot mash: my only tweak was to use almond milk instead of heavy cream.  I love almond milk and use it every chance I get.  A lot more orange zest went into the recipe then called for, because the music playing got me carried away with the Microplane. Such a cool gadget!  Phil thought it was slightly too orange-y and not enough carrot-y, but when we had leftovers next day that flavor had mellowed down considerably.  As to a side dish for Thanksgiving, I was a bit shocked by how little puree 2 pounds of carrots produced… If you will be feeding an army of people, be ready to peel a ton of carrots and scale this recipe up by a factor of 3 or 4.  😉  Still, a delicious option, bright color, bright flavor, it will shine on your Thanksgiving table next to that big bird.

ONE  YEAR AGO: The Many Faces of Kale

TWO YEARS AGO:  Short and Sweet

THREE YEARS AGO: Ciabatta, a Classic Italian Bread

FOUR YEARS AGO: Magical Lamb Stew