![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraaSo last night I made glazed chicken (glazed with an apple cider, maple syrup and smoked paprika mixture), rice, roasted beets, and broiled asparagus.
I'll make linguini with sweet potatoes tonight, and salmon tomorrow. Or possibly the other way around, but I think linguini tonight makes sense.
The glazed chicken was adapted from a Cook's Illustrated recipe, and serves two but can readily be scaled up, as long as you have a big enough pan to cook it in.
Cider-Maple Glazed Chicken
2 chicken breasts or thighs, bone-in and skin-on salt and pepper 3 tbsp all-purpose flour 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 medium shallot (or half a medium onion, or half a leek)
Whisk together the 3/4 cup cider with the maple syrup, mustard, and vinegar. Add paprika (or paprika + red pepper), tasting frequently to get a level of spiciness that you're comfortable. (I don't give quantities for spicy ingredients because for some people it'll be a pinch and for some people it'll be a tablespoon, so. I like this one moderately spicy but not on the top end of my spicy tolerance, for a guideline.) Whisk again and set aside.
Trim extra skin and fat off the chicken. Basically you want to leave the skin that covers the top of the breast or thigh (in addition to contributing good flavor, it keeps the meat from drying out), but trim off any that overhangs the edges, since extra flaps of skin and fat tend to stay flabby and not crisp up.
Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. You want a pretty generous sprinkling of salt, and then as much pepper as you're comfortable with.
Dump the flour into a shallow dish and roll the chicken in it until it's coated with a light layer of flour. This serves three purposes: flour browns nicely, helping you get a good crust; it dries out the surface of the chicken, which helps the chicken brown and not steam; and it protects the pepper from scorching in the hot pan. Set the floured chicken aside.
Find an oven-safe (to 375F) skillet or frying pan that's big enough to hold your chicken. I use a cast-iron skillet, which is big enough to hold two to four good-size pieces. (If you don't have an oven-safe skillet, or you have too much chicken to fit in your oven-safe skillet, that's fine, you can use a baking dish for the baking part. That just means you'll need to brown your chicken in two batches, and there'll be an extra dish to wash.) Heat the pan over medium-high heat and add the oil, then heat the oil until it's shimmering and not quite smoking. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and reduce the heat to medium.
Pan-cook the chicken breasts, skin side down, for eight to fifteen minutes. Check at the five-minute point: if the skin hasn't started to color at all (it'll start by turning yellowish, usually), turn the heat up; if it's starting to get blotchy and dark, turn the heat down.
While the chicken cooks, finely mince your shallot, onion, or leek. Also, preheat the oven to 375F.
Continue cooking until well-browned and crisp to the touch at the top-center of the piece of chicken. (When chicken skin renders, it gets crisper as the fat cooks out. It won't crisp all over at this point, but it should start to feel crisp at the very center, where the skin touched the pan most.) Flip the chicken over and cook for five minutes on the other side, then remove from the pan and set aside.
Pour out the fat in the pan, leaving 1-2 tbsp in the bottom, and return to the heat over medium-high. Add the minced shallot, onion or leek to the hot fat and stir constantly for 3 minutes or until soft and beginning to color. Then pour in your sauce mixture. Boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to a thin syrup. (You can tell that this has happened when a spoon or spatula, dragged through the pan, leaves a brief trail in the liquid.)
Return the chicken to the pan and roll it to coat all over with the sauce, ending with the pieces skin-side-down. Slip into the 375F oven and cook for about 12 minutes, skin side down. Then pull it out, flip the chicken, and return to the pan to finish. You want the center of the chicken breast to register 165F, which should take 12-15 more minutes.
Pull out the chicken and remove from the pan; let rest about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, return the pan to the stovetop, splash in a little more cider to freshen the taste, and simmer for that 5 minutes over medium-low heat, just to let the fresh cider flavor mingle. Plate the chicken, spoon sauce over the top, and serve with a starch to soak up the extra sauce (which tastes amazing) (I used rice).
Roasted Beets
These don't merit a recipe, since they're simple. First, preheat your oven to 375F. Take your beets and trim off the tops and the long skinny root at the bottom. Scrub well, but you don't have to peel them, and if they have a bunch of hairy rootlets you can leave those on as well. Just make sure you get the dirt off.
Then lay out a double layer of aluminum foil and place your beets in it. Sprinkle the cut ends with salt, then drizzle the whole generously thing with olive oil to coat. (Don't skip this step: you'll wind up rubbing off most of the oil at the end anyway, and the oil helps the beets cook evenly.) Wrap up with foil tightly and turn over a few times to make sure the oil doesn't leak out. Then throw in the oven.
Baby beets will cook in about 30 minutes, and whole beets in more like an hour, but the beauty of the tight wrapping is that you can 'overcook' them by a fair bit without ill effect. I've had baby beets in for an hour and a half before (while baking something else) and they were fine.
When the beets are done, you'll be able to pierce them with a fork without too much resistance. Let them cool until you can handle them, then peel them by just rubbing the skin off. It'll come right off just with the friction of your fingers.
Cut your beets into bite-sized pieces and dress with something. They're nice with just a smidge of honey mustard, although last night I stirred a spoonful of jarred chutney into some leftover raita and used that, and it was lovely too.
Broiled Asparagus
No recipe, and in fact no recipe needed. Just toss with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stick under the broiler until the heads darken and the stalks start to look a little wrinkly. Try to get them as close to the heating element as you can (without touching, of course). Yum. You can lemon them afterward if you like, but I usually don't bother.
I'll make linguini with sweet potatoes tonight, and salmon tomorrow. Or possibly the other way around, but I think linguini tonight makes sense.
The glazed chicken was adapted from a Cook's Illustrated recipe, and serves two but can readily be scaled up, as long as you have a big enough pan to cook it in.
Cider-Maple Glazed Chicken
- 3/4 cup apple cider, plus a splash more (fresh is best)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp vinegar (white wine or apple cider work best)
- Paprika:
- smoked hot paprika OR
- mild smoked paprika plus red pepper flakes OR
- unsmoked paprika plus red pepper flakes
Whisk together the 3/4 cup cider with the maple syrup, mustard, and vinegar. Add paprika (or paprika + red pepper), tasting frequently to get a level of spiciness that you're comfortable. (I don't give quantities for spicy ingredients because for some people it'll be a pinch and for some people it'll be a tablespoon, so. I like this one moderately spicy but not on the top end of my spicy tolerance, for a guideline.) Whisk again and set aside.
Trim extra skin and fat off the chicken. Basically you want to leave the skin that covers the top of the breast or thigh (in addition to contributing good flavor, it keeps the meat from drying out), but trim off any that overhangs the edges, since extra flaps of skin and fat tend to stay flabby and not crisp up.
Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. You want a pretty generous sprinkling of salt, and then as much pepper as you're comfortable with.
Dump the flour into a shallow dish and roll the chicken in it until it's coated with a light layer of flour. This serves three purposes: flour browns nicely, helping you get a good crust; it dries out the surface of the chicken, which helps the chicken brown and not steam; and it protects the pepper from scorching in the hot pan. Set the floured chicken aside.
Find an oven-safe (to 375F) skillet or frying pan that's big enough to hold your chicken. I use a cast-iron skillet, which is big enough to hold two to four good-size pieces. (If you don't have an oven-safe skillet, or you have too much chicken to fit in your oven-safe skillet, that's fine, you can use a baking dish for the baking part. That just means you'll need to brown your chicken in two batches, and there'll be an extra dish to wash.) Heat the pan over medium-high heat and add the oil, then heat the oil until it's shimmering and not quite smoking. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and reduce the heat to medium.
Pan-cook the chicken breasts, skin side down, for eight to fifteen minutes. Check at the five-minute point: if the skin hasn't started to color at all (it'll start by turning yellowish, usually), turn the heat up; if it's starting to get blotchy and dark, turn the heat down.
While the chicken cooks, finely mince your shallot, onion, or leek. Also, preheat the oven to 375F.
Continue cooking until well-browned and crisp to the touch at the top-center of the piece of chicken. (When chicken skin renders, it gets crisper as the fat cooks out. It won't crisp all over at this point, but it should start to feel crisp at the very center, where the skin touched the pan most.) Flip the chicken over and cook for five minutes on the other side, then remove from the pan and set aside.
Pour out the fat in the pan, leaving 1-2 tbsp in the bottom, and return to the heat over medium-high. Add the minced shallot, onion or leek to the hot fat and stir constantly for 3 minutes or until soft and beginning to color. Then pour in your sauce mixture. Boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to a thin syrup. (You can tell that this has happened when a spoon or spatula, dragged through the pan, leaves a brief trail in the liquid.)
Return the chicken to the pan and roll it to coat all over with the sauce, ending with the pieces skin-side-down. Slip into the 375F oven and cook for about 12 minutes, skin side down. Then pull it out, flip the chicken, and return to the pan to finish. You want the center of the chicken breast to register 165F, which should take 12-15 more minutes.
Pull out the chicken and remove from the pan; let rest about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, return the pan to the stovetop, splash in a little more cider to freshen the taste, and simmer for that 5 minutes over medium-low heat, just to let the fresh cider flavor mingle. Plate the chicken, spoon sauce over the top, and serve with a starch to soak up the extra sauce (which tastes amazing) (I used rice).
Roasted Beets
These don't merit a recipe, since they're simple. First, preheat your oven to 375F. Take your beets and trim off the tops and the long skinny root at the bottom. Scrub well, but you don't have to peel them, and if they have a bunch of hairy rootlets you can leave those on as well. Just make sure you get the dirt off.
Then lay out a double layer of aluminum foil and place your beets in it. Sprinkle the cut ends with salt, then drizzle the whole generously thing with olive oil to coat. (Don't skip this step: you'll wind up rubbing off most of the oil at the end anyway, and the oil helps the beets cook evenly.) Wrap up with foil tightly and turn over a few times to make sure the oil doesn't leak out. Then throw in the oven.
Baby beets will cook in about 30 minutes, and whole beets in more like an hour, but the beauty of the tight wrapping is that you can 'overcook' them by a fair bit without ill effect. I've had baby beets in for an hour and a half before (while baking something else) and they were fine.
When the beets are done, you'll be able to pierce them with a fork without too much resistance. Let them cool until you can handle them, then peel them by just rubbing the skin off. It'll come right off just with the friction of your fingers.
Cut your beets into bite-sized pieces and dress with something. They're nice with just a smidge of honey mustard, although last night I stirred a spoonful of jarred chutney into some leftover raita and used that, and it was lovely too.
Broiled Asparagus
No recipe, and in fact no recipe needed. Just toss with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stick under the broiler until the heads darken and the stalks start to look a little wrinkly. Try to get them as close to the heating element as you can (without touching, of course). Yum. You can lemon them afterward if you like, but I usually don't bother.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 11:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 03:22 pm (UTC)