Chicken Canzanese

This is a easy, delicious meal that makes ordinary chicken thighs amazing.  We love it over polenta.

Serves 4 to 6. Published May 1, 2010. From Cook's Illustrated.

When seasoning the dish at the end, be mindful that the prosciutto adds a fair amount of salt. It is important to use a piece of thickly sliced prosciutto in this recipe; thin strips will become tough and stringy. An equal amount of thickly sliced pancetta or bacon can be used in place of the prosciutto. Serve the chicken with boiled potatoes, noodles, or polenta to absorb extra sauce.


1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ounces prosciutto (1/4 inch thick), cut into 1/4-inch cubes (see note)
4 medium garlic cloves , sliced thin lengthwise
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat and skin
ground black pepper
2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 whole cloves
1 (4-inch) sprig fresh rosemary , leaves removed and minced fine (about 1/2 teaspoon), stem reserved
12 whole fresh sage leaves
2 bay leaves
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Table salt

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed ovensafe skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add prosciutto and cook, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic slices and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is golden brown, about 1½ minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer garlic and prosciutto to small bowl and set aside. Do not rinse pan.

2. Increase heat to medium-high; add remaining 2 teaspoons oil and heat until just smoking. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with ground black pepper. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until well browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate.

3. Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan. Sprinkle flour over fat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly add wine and broth; bring to simmer, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Cook until liquid is slightly reduced, 3 minutes. Stir in cloves, rosemary stem, sage leaves, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and reserved prosciutto and garlic. Nestle chicken into liquid, skin side up (skin should be above surface of liquid), and bake, uncovered, until meat offers no resistance when poked with fork but is not falling off bones, about 1 hour 15 minutes. (Check chicken after 15 minutes; broth should be barely bubbling. If bubbling vigorously, reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.)

4. Using tongs, transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil. Remove and discard sage leaves, rosemary stem, cloves, and bay leaves. Place skillet over high heat and bring sauce to boil. Cook until sauce is reduced to 1¼ cups, 2 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in minced rosemary, lemon juice, and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce around chicken and serve.

Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers with Satay Dip

This is one of my go-to recpies for parties.  A neighbor has me make it for her parties about twice a year.  Tonight I'm taking it to book group, as it's perfect at room temperature.

I love that you cook the breasts whole and slice them to skewer.  Much easier and much prettier.  When I make it in the summer I usually lay the skewers on a bed of thyme from the garden.

From Ina Garten; The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, 1999
serves 8-10 easily

Ingredients

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
3/4 cup good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Satay Dip, recipe follows

Directions

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour over the chicken breasts in a nonreactive bowl. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

Grill the chicken breasts for 10 minutes on each side, until just cooked through. Cool slightly and cut diagonally in 1/2-inch-thick slices. Skewer with wooden sticks and serve with Satay Dip.

Satay Dip:

1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2/3 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion) (sometimes I just use a large shallot - A)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice  (lemon is just fine too - why be complicated!  -A)

Cook the olive oil, sesame oil, red onion, garlic, ginger root, and red pepper flakes in a small, heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat until the onion is transparent, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, sherry, and lime juice; cook for 1 more minute. Cool and use as a dip for Grilled Lemon Chicken skewers.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Chicken, Mango, and Rice Salad

I had to post this recipe because it's one of the things I make that I always get tons of requests for the recipe. It's super awesome for grill-outs in the summer and it's an easy dish for people to like.

Mango and avocado may seem unlikely partners, but they have one thing in common: an affinity for cilantro. Here the herb ties them together in an unusual and unusually delicious dish. The salad makes a fine light meal all by itself. It's easy to replace the mango and avocado for things that are easily available or favored in your home - we have made it with pineapple (sorry, Lisa) and with bananas and it holds up real well.

SERVES: 4

ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups rice, preferably short grain
* 1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4)
* 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cooking oil
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 3/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
* 3/4 cup chopped red onion
* 1 mango, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
* 1 avocado, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
* 3 1/2 tablespoons lime juice (from about 2 limes)
* 3/4 cup chopped cilantro

directions
1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rice until just done, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain thoroughly.
2. Coat the chicken with the 1 tablespoon oil. Season with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan over moderate heat. Cook the breasts until just done, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Alternatively, heat the tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and season and cook the chicken as directed above. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut it into 1/2-inch dice.
3. Toss the rice with the chicken, onion, mango, avocado, the 1/3 cup oil, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the lime juice, and cilantro.

perfect roast chicken

I really think this is the best roast chicken I've ever made. I morphed the recipe from The Barefoot Contessa.

• 4-lb chicken


• a few sprigs of fresh thyme


• half of a lemon


• 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise


• 1 TBS of olive oil


• 1 large onion, thickly sliced

Preheat oven to 425. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Liberally salt and pepper inside of chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, the lemon half, and as much of the garlic as you can cram in. (I have only managed to get half of the head of garlic inside.) Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and place the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan. Scatter the onion slices around the chicken. Roast for about 1.5 hours or until done. Remove chicken to a platter and cover with foil while you make gravy with the pan drippings or until you are ready to carve.

Larb

Larb
This recipe came from my mom. She took a cooking class when they travelled to Thailand from a chef there....so it really is authentic:)
1 c. ground chicken meat
2 c. chicken stock or water
1 c. diced shallot( I used extra green onion)
4 T green onion
1 t. Chili powder or chili flakes
4 T roasted rice powder* (cut down to 3 T it was too grainy)
4 T lime juice
2 T fish sauce
¾ c. cilantro, chop
1/8 c. mint leaves
Heat up 2 c. water/stock. Quickly add ground meat. Mix constantly. Stir until chicken is cooked. Drain excess liquid. Add remaining ingredients, except mint(I added the mint in for the flavor). Mix well. Garnish with mint. *Rice powder: bake white rice in oven (I think I did it at 350, but I don't know how long. It was browning) Then put in food processor and ground into powder.

Penang Curry

Ok, Patri....here's one of....(how many do I owe you now?) I'm on the wrong computer for the rest of them, but we'll consider this a good start:)

Penang Curry

You need:
1 cup of chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 c. cocnut milk (I used half of the can:)
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
2 to 3 tablespoons of penang curry paste
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
sugar to taste
2 lime leaves, finely shredded
10-15 basil leaves, finely shredded

Place a wok over medium high heat, and warm the coconut milk, but don't let it boil. Add the curry paste, and stir it until the oil begins to seperate out and form a thin film, to bring out the maximum flavour. Add the remaining ingredients except the lime and basil leaves, and simmer until the sauce is absorbed and thickened, then add the leaves and stir fry briefly before serving. Garnish with julienned red chillies, with steamed white rice, and the usual table condiments.

Sorry, I can't remember which site I swiped this from. I will hunt it down and post it later:)

Garlic herb marinade

OK, while this recipe is a bit summery, it was 86 degrees here today. And I was making split pea soup. Long, slow simmered split pea soup. Blech.

We're having grilled shrimp marinated with this recipe for dinner, accompanied by rosemary polenta.

This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe (I LOVE Ina!!!!!) that I've been using for about 6 months now. It's great on shrimp and yummy on chicken too. The recipe makes enough for 2 pounds of protein. It's easy to divide or multiply.

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, small-diced
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 lemon, juiced

Combine all the ingredients and allow them to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.