Dateline: July 27, 2021 Grilled Chicken Thighs, Broccolini and Bean Salad

It was a lovely day, not too hot, not to windy, a perfect day for eating on the deck.  So grilling time!

I raided the freezer and found some skin on chicken thighs that I marinaded in a mix of spicy things, such as Calabrian Chilis, some vinegar, and some mexican hot sauce.

The bean salad was just a can each of chick peas and black beans along with chopped onion, red bell peppers, red finger pepper, garlic scapes, and perhaps a jalapeno.  Mix together, generously season with salt and pepper and dress with vinegar and olive oil.  Delish!

 

Dateline: April 26, 2021 Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs

I had some chicken thighs that needed to be cooked or frozen, I opted for the former.  I sprinkled Galena Street from Penzey's on the thighs and then put them in the 400° F oven for 30 minutes.

After I removed them from the oven, I added the vegetation, broccoli, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and a green pepper.  Coated them in the fat in the pan, and nestled them around the thighs.  Back into the oven for another 30 minutes. or until the internal temp of the thighs reached 180°F.  Then we ate!

Dateline: April 24, 2021 Experimental Dinner: Air Fried Chicken Thighs

I know, I know, I visited the website Modernist Pantry and saw a demo of air fried chicken, ordered the components and decided to give it a go.

I should have been more attentive to the recipe, there was an error, that I unfortunately didn't notice until after I made the breading..... live and learn.

The error was in printing the weight of the AP flour as 600 g, but it was supposed to be 60 grams.  So I have a big bag of stuff that didn't work out so well.

I brined the chicken first in a buttermilk brine with Worcestershire sauce, powdered hot sauce, salt, pepper, marjoram, thyme, and vinegar powder.  That part went well.  

Next came the breading procedure.  The products that I ordered were Evercrisp and Batter Binder S.  These are designed to 1) hold the batter on the product and 2) provide a long lasting crisp on the food.  Neither worked, which I attribute to the stupid error in the recipe and I will have to try again.

The taste was pretty good, hit of spice came through and the crispy parts were crispy, but the batter did not adhere very well.  The vegetables were good, they were steamed!

I have to admit, the photo makes them look really good!

Dateline: March 24, 2021 Another Trip to a French Bistro - Cider Braised Chicken Thighs

I had chicken thighs that needed to be cooked, and as I unpacked them, I saw that they had their bones and skin! Ok this is going to be a twist on a sheetpan, but not in a sheetpan.  A casserole that can go in the oven at high heat is needed or a large lidded frying pan.

I used Cider Braised Chicken Thighs with Apples and Greens , by Lidey Heuck.  This is a FABULOUS recipe.  OMG I can't say enough how delicious this was.  I did make some tweaks, I didn't have apple cider, so I used hard apple cider which made the dish dryer and I used about 1 tsp of agave syrup to turn it toward the apple cider vein.  

This was not a difficult dish, but again, I napped, I have go to stop doing that, and was pushed for time.  The shallots melted down into lovely slurp-able shards.  I used black kale as the green and used a frozen baguette as suggested to sop up all the lovely juices. This is a keeper you must give it a try.

The chicken is gently fried skin down first and then after braising, is put in to broil to crisp up again.  Excellent touch, if I might say so.  The sauce was a lovely, tangy, mustardy melange that was absolutely bread worthy.

Dateline: February 19, 2021 Sheet Pan Dinner #4, variations on a theme

Again, I didn't want the same old, same old.  Thursday, in our weekly call with Alan and Lyn, tajine came up.  Hmmmmm, I could do a variation on that theme.

Ingredients

6 boneless chicken thighs

2 T Tajine Spice Mix, divided.....see note/photo

4 medium Yukon Gold or other gold potato, cut into wedges

1 broccoli crown, cut into florets

1 tiny head of cabbage, the size of a navel orange, or equivalent amount from a larger head, cored and                  cut into 1 inch wedges

1 large onion, sliced

1 Yellow Bell pepper, any color will do, seeded, sliced into strips

1 Anaheim pepper, or other long narrow green or red pepper

1/2 Butternut squash, seeded and cut into wedges

1 c steamed string beans (leftover from the night before)

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 red finger pepper or other hot pepper. sliced thinly

1/2 c white wine

1/2 c Castelvetrano olives, drained

pimenton - see note

sumac - see note

1 preserved lemon, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup chopped cilantro for garnish

Method

1.  Sprinkle 1 T of the spice mixture on the chicken and rub it in well.  Keep to the side, or refrigerate.  Set oven to 400° F.

2.  Prep the veggies and place on a sheet pan and distribute them equally, mixing colors and textures.

3.  In a bowl, put olive oil, garlic, hot pepper, preserved lemon, olives, and 1 T Tajine Spice Mix.  Mix well and drizzle over the vegetables.  Lightly dust the top of the vegetables with pimenton, salt, pepper, and sumac.

4.  Place chicken thighs on top of the veggies and lightly coat with cooking spray or olive oil, pimenton and sumac.  Put in oven for about 30-40 minutes until thighs are cooked through and potatoes are soft.

Pre Oven 

Dressed in Cilantro

Note: 

Pimenton is Spanish Sweet Smoked Paprika

Sumac is a Mediterranean spice from the Sumac plant, it has a lemony flavor, you could sub zest and juice for it.

Tajine Spice Mix:

front of package

back of package

Dateline: February 2, 2021 Chicken Thigh Sheet Pan Dinner #2

I had a bunch of broccoli, some shisito peppers, 1/2 a butternut squash and some carrots.....plus some chicken thighs.  What to do?

Option 1 - Tajine

Option 2 - Sheetpan

Feeling lazy, I took option 2.  I piled the chopped veggies into a sheet pan along with a sliced onion and mixed it with some olive oil and salt and pepper.  Added the chicken thighs on top and drizzled them with oil and salt and pepper, and popped it in the oven, 350°F for 30 minutes, rotated the pan, and set the timer for 15 more minutes.  Chicken was cooked, and veggies were nicely browned.

Yum!

Pre Cooking

 

Here is the finished product.  I was quite pleased with the results and will definitely play with this sort of thing again!

Dateline: December 9l 2020 Soy Marinated Chicken Thighs and Assorted Stir Fried Vegetables

The inspiration for tonight's dinner came at lunch.  I was eating some doctored ramen, and I added mandarin orange peels.  Why, I'm not sure, but it tasted great!

Out came the chicken thighs and I marinated them.  Cooked them first, then cleaned the wok and stir fried the veggies.  Added what was left of the marinade and a cup of brodo.  Voila!  Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Marinade

2 T dark soy sauce

1 T light soy sauce

1/2 t agave syrup

2 t cornstarch

1 t garlic powder

1 t sesame oil

1-2 T Shaoxing rice wine

2 drops orange flavoring

small handful of hot szechwan dried peppers

4 Skin On Chicken Thighs trimmed of excess fat.

Put all the ingredients except the chicken into a sealable plastic bag and squish it around to disperse the cornstarch.  Add thighs and massage the marinade into the meat side and seal the bag.  Marinate with flesh side down for 1-2 hours

Vegetables

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 shallots, peeled and sliced through the roots end

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

a good handful of dried mandarin orange skins, broken up into small pieces

1-2 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled, sliced into planks, and then into shreds

1 bunch broccoli rabe, cut into manageable pieces, trim stalks, if need be

1/2 large bell pepper, cut into strips and then halved

12 oz. green beans (I used a bag of microwave beans that I liberated and cut the beans in half)

1 cup brodo

small handful of garlic chives, cut into 1 inch lengths, for garnish

Method

1.  Heat wok, with oil of your choice, and remove the chicken from the marinade and let drip back into the bag and put into wok skin side down when pan is hot.  When skin releases from the pan, flip the thighs over.  Test temperature with an instant read thermometer.  You want the thighs near the bone to be at least 160 - 165° before pulling out of the pan.  Hold on the side.  You may want to cover the wok and after turning the thighs over, add a splash of water or broth and recover until temp is reached.

2.  Clean out wok and wipe dry.  Add more oil.  When oil is hot, add ginger and cook until softened, about 1 -2 minutes, then add peels and garlic.  When peels are softened, add shallots and carrots.  After they have been coated in the flavored oil, add in the rabe, peppers, and beans.  Stir fry until cooked through.  Add brodo, if using, and any remaining marinade. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.   Put the thighs back into the wok and cover for a few minutes until reheated through.  Add garlic chives and serve.

Here is the dish before adding the chives

Dinner, with garnish!