Category Archives: Chicken

Chicken Marbella Reboot

Last week I had a craving for Chicken Marbella. If you are of a certain vintage, you will know exactly the dish I am talking about. Created, in 1982, by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, of The Silver Palate fame, Chicken Marbella appeared at every dinner party I ever attended in the 80’s. Chockful of prunes, olives and capers, it was considered very “gourmet” and a bit exotic for the times.

I pulled out my well-worn cookbook, and read through the recipe, to make sure I had all the ingredients. I was shocked to disover that it called for adding a 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the marinade! Clearly my tastebuds (as well as my skin) have matured since the 80’s. I would never consider adding that much sugar to a chicken marinade today. This dish clearly needed a reboot.

I ditched the brown sugar for a modest amount of honey, just 2 Tablespoons. Instead of dried prunes, I opted for dried apricots for their vibrant colour and dried cherries, for their tart flavour. I kept the olives and capers, and, while I was searching for the capers, I saw a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, another blast from my past, lurking in the back of my fridge. Sun-dried tomatoes were ubiquitous in the 80’s and 90’s. We overused them and they became shunned by chefs everywhere. But, in defense of sun-dried tomatoes, when used sparingly, they can add a certain savory sweetness that is welcome in many braised dishes.

To boost the flavour profile further, I added anchovy paste (an umami bomb) and a generous pinch of Aleppo pepper for some heat.

This reboot did not disappoint. Packed with flavour and not too sweet, it satisfied my craving. Sometimes you can go back again!


Roast Chicken 101

This summer, my daughter asked me how to roast a whole chicken. It dawned on me, that there is a whole generation of young adults out there who have no idea how to do this. Now, in her defence, she was a vegetarian up until a few years ago, so she never really paid attention to meat cookery when she was growing up.

That conversation was the impetus for this post. I gathered paper, pencil, measuring cups, spoons and a scale so that I could accurately record, exactly what I do. Since I roast chickens so frequently, I don’t normally measure. I just do it on autopilot.

Start with a 3 1/2 -4 pound chicken. If it is at all possible, buy a kosher chicken, as the salt added during the koshering process makes the meat juicier and more flavourful. Slice a lemon in half and stuff it inside the cavity of the bird. Tie up the legs with some kitchen twine. That will help the chicken roast more evenly. Then, shower that bird with a mix of kosher salt, pepper and paprika. Sometimes I used smoked paprika. Let the chicken sit on the counter while you get everything else ready.

Since you’re turning on the oven, you may as well roast some veggies with the chicken. I used shallots, carrots and mini potatoes. Feel free to use whatever you like. Squash, leeks, sweet potatoes and parsnips would all be good ideas. A few sprigs of thyme and rosemary are a winning flavour addition. A whole head of garlic, halved is also an option, if that’s how you roll.
If you plan to use potatoes, boil them first, for about 15 minutes, just until they begin to get tender. Then gently break the skin and flatten slightly with a fork or potato masher. This give you more potato surface area to get crispy.
If you have a 12- inch cast iron frying pan, or any enamel cast iron roasting pan (ie: Le Creuset) their hear retention properties make them the perfect roasting vessel. While you’re getting everything ready, place the empty roasting pan or skillet into the oven while you are preheating it.

Carefully place chicken into hot pan and surround it with veggies,. Drizzle it all with olive oil.
Roast it for about 60-65 minutes, until an instant read thermometer, inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (careful not to touch bone) registers 165°F.

The most important instruction I will give you is to let the chicken rest for 20 minutes before serving. This will give you time to turn the pan juices into a little sauce if you want. Complete instructions for doing this are in the recipe link.

Click here to print recipe for Roast Chicken 101.

Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich

Last week, as I was watching TV, this commercial caught my attention. It featured a young woman, staring wistfully, at the bountiful bread counter at Whole Foods. As they panned across the crusty artisan loaves, the tagline, “Maybe bread and you should be a thing again”, scrolled across the screen.

Personally, bread and I have never broken up. Bread has a very special place in my heart. It’s how I began my blogging journey, nine years ago, as I baked my way, alphabetically, from Anadama to Whole Wheat, in Peter Reinhart’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice. 

I’m a big believer in Julia Child’s credo, “Everything in moderation…including moderation.” So many people I know are abstaining from bread. While I don’t indulge in it everyday, I believe that if it’s good bread, I have a responsibility to eat it. The burnished crust on the baguettes at my local bakery were too calling my name.Sandwich making is not as simple as slapping a filling between two slices of bread. There’s an art to it. I’ll fill you in on how the pros do it.

Use two sauces instead of just one. Elevate plain mayo by adding a teaspoon of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. Their smoky mild heat takes plain mayo from drab to fab. Slather this on one side of the baguette. On side two, spread some olive tapenade for a punch of umami. You can make your own, or purchase some from the olive cart at the supermarket.

If it’s not the height of tomato season, roast some little cherry or grape tomatoes. Make sure you oil and season them well. Every layer of the sandwich should be seasoned. Slice some roasted or grilled chicken. A supermarket rotisserie chicken is perfect for this.

Even if you aren’t an onion fan, I urge you to try pickling some onions. It takes about 15-20 minutes and is simple to do. It removes all the harshness of raw onions and becomes quite mellow. I’ve included instructions in the recipe. Don’t forget to show your avocado some seasoning love as well. A squeeze of lemon or lime juice, some salt and pepper are all that’s needed. Finish with some fresh basil and some peppery arugula or a handful of micro greens.Dagwood would be jealous!

Click here to print recipe for Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich.

Brassica Grain Bowl

While this is ostensibly a post about a Brassica Grain Bowl, what I really want to tell you about is a new habit I have adopted. If you are a friend of my daughter, you know not to call her on a Sunday afternoon. That’s when she does her weekly meal prep. She chops, roasts and steams various vegetables and grains and fills her fridge with the component parts she will need for healthy meals all week long. That way, when she gets home from work, she is less likely to call a glass of wine and a bag of chips dinner, as her mother has been known to occasionally do, 
At some point, many children’s intelligence surpasses their parents and they start teaching us. I have decided to take a page out of my daughter’s book and start doing some weekly meal prep, so that my occasional solitary meals will be a bit healthier.

At the beginning of the week I fill a big zip-loc bag with chopped raw vegetables. My blend includes raw broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale and sugar snap peas.
Shredding Brussels sprouts is admittedly a fiddly task. Do it by hand to work on your knife skills or go ahead an bust out the Cuisinart.

All this chopping takes time. I binge-watch something addictive on Netflix. This month I’m watching Offspring. Shot in Australia, I have become smitten with the protagonist, Dr. Nina Proudman, a slightly neurotic and very funny OBGYN. She is a rockstar in the operating room, but not so skilled in her lovelife. The series showcases her two siblings and parents. While I would not call them dysfunctional, they are decidedly eccentric and unconventional. Good luck watching just one episode! Completely addictive.

This raw veggie mix makes a great base for a grain bowl, an excellent slaw to accompany roast chicken, a delicious stuffer for Tuesday fish tacos, and a perfect foundation for some shredded chicken for lunch. You can sauté it in butter or olive oil and garlic and serve it as a side dish.

After I chop the vegetables, I cook up one or two kinds of grains or some brown rice. I love farro, barley and I’ve really been into wheat berries lately. I adore their chewy texture and nutty flavour. If you like quinoa, go ahead and cook up a batch of that. I won’t judge you.

I like to keep a jar or two of homemade dressing in the fridge so that a salad can come together quickly. For this grain bowl I mixed up a herb-lemon vinaigrette.

I also roasted some butternut squash. Sweet potatoes would also be delicious. Chop it small so it roasts quickly.The last component of my meal prep is a batch of pickled vegetables. Carrots, cucumber and shallots are a nice mix. They last for a while in the fridge and are excellent on tacos and sandwiches.You can top your grain bowl with whatever protein you like. Grilled chicken, skirt steak, salmon, tofu, chickpeas, cheese and eggs are all great options. Avocado is always a good idea and don’t forget the crunch on top. Seeds and nuts of all kind add welcome texture.

 

 

Braised Pomegranate Chicken with Israeli Couscous

Apologies to all who tried to access my blog over the last few days and were unable to connect. I’ve had some technological issues, something about exceeding the allowable CPU’s and plugins not properly updated. Sadly, my skill-set does not extend to understanding the issues much less fixing them. I turned my problem over to the talented Hillary Little, and put my talents to work on problems I can solve.

I spent the better part of the week perfecting pomegranate braised chicken. I already have one pomegranate chicken recipe on the blog, and while it’s very delicious, it’s been in my weekly dinner rotation for over 7 years now and I’m bored with it. The chicken is braised in a tomato based sauce, enhanced with some pomegranate molasses. I really wanted a more vibrant, pronounced pomegranate flavour.

In my quest to perfect pomegranate chicken, I made it several times this week. In round one, I loaded up on pomegranate molasses in the braising liquid. The finished sauce was way too bitter. Strike one. I also had the brilliant idea of making it a one pan dish and added the uncooked Israeli couscous to the pan, with the browned chicken and braising liquid.  By the time the chicken was done, the couscous was too mushy. Strike two.

In round three, I used less pomegranate molasses and added some white wine and chicken stock to round out the braising liquid. It was better than round one, but the pomegranate flavour was really muted. Strike three.

A quick web search revealed an epicurious.com recipe that cleverly used pomegranate juice as the braising liquid. Wish I’d thought of that! As the chicken braisedin the oven, the juice reduced down to a thick, rich, sweet-tart sauce. Exactly what I was trying to achieve.

I started with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. I really wanted the extra flavour that braising on the bone would bring. Season the chicken liberally with salt and paprika and put it in the skillet on high heat, skin side down. Leave it alone for a good 5-8 minutes to give it a chance to really get brown. There’s flavour in the brown. 
Remove the chicken and pour off some of that rendered fat. Saute the onions until light brown. Cumin and cinnamon add great depth of flavour and ground pistachios add body and texture to the sauce.
 I used a combination of pomegranate juiceand chicken stock for the braising liquid. Vegetable stock or water would also be fine. 
Israeli couscous is the perfect starch to sop up all that braising liquid. I added tons of fresh mint and Italian parsley to give it a lively herbal note. Toasted chopped pistachios and pomegranate seeds added crunch. A squirt of lemon juice and big glug of extra virgin olive oil brought it all together.

Click here to print recipe for Braised Pomegranate-Pistachio Chicken Thighs.

Click here to print recipe for Israeli Couscous with Pomegranate and Pistachio.

 

 

 

 

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