Tag Archives: Chicken

Provençal Chicken Thighs

Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich

Click here to print recipe for Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich.

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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Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma

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I live in Ottawa, while my mom, brother and four sisters all live in Toronto. I don’t get to see them nearly as much as I would like to. Admittedly, we have become a little lazy about communicating with each other. These days, it’s mostly emails and texts and very few phone calls.

Last week I got an email from my brother. The subject line read, “Mom passed!!” My heart stopped. Logically I knew that my brother would never tell me that mom died in an email. But in the heat of the moment, I got nervous, and for good reason. My family and I have a bit of a sketchy history when it comes to communicating about death.

When I was in University, I came home one weekend for a visit. I asked my sister where Heidi, our dog, was. Apparently, my parents had put her down a month ago, and no one remembered to tell me. I was also the very last one of my siblings to know that my dad died, although to be fair, the signs were there.

You will be relieved to know that mom did not die. The body of the text read: “Mom passed her drivers test today. 2 more yrs of driving at least. Wish her Mazel Tov!” My mom is 82 years old. In Ontario, after the age of 80, you must take a test every 2 years to ensure that you are still fit to drive. I fired off an email to my brother with the subject line, “Don’t send an email with the heading “Mom passed”. It could be misinterpreted.” Then I promptly called my mom to say congrats and I love you. For the record, all my sisters had momentary heart failure and my brother properly apologized.

The recipe for this chicken shawarma came to my attention via a text from my baby sister. She is always sending me links to different recipes she thinks I would like. She said she’d never read a recipe with so many positive reviews.

Recipes are like rumours. You must always consider the source. This recipe is from an impeccable source, Sam Sifton, food editor of The New York Times. If you don’t already subscribe to cooking.nytimes.com, get on it right away! It is one of the best food websites. Their Mobile App is fantastic. Not only can you save and categorize their database of over 18,000 recipes, you can also save non-NYT recipes to your recipe box. I finally have a way to save all the online recipes I am inspired by, in one place. Genius! Subscribing to their daily newsletter is free, but they charge $5 US per month for the App.

Boneless skinless chicken thighs are bathed in a highly flavourful marinade.Let the thighs marinate for up to 12 hours in the fridge. If you’re short on time, even an hour will still produce spectacular results. Add a quartered red onion to the sheet pan and bake the whole thing off for 30-40 minutes. If you have time, mix up some great sides to go with the shawarma. I made an Israeli salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and cilantro and dressed it simply with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I doctored up some store-bought hummus with a sprinkle of smoked paprika, toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of good olive oil. I thinned some tahini with lemon juice and hot water for a drizzling sauce. I also added some charred corn slaw that I had leftover from last night’s dinner. Sour dills and hot sauce are more than welcome to join this party. Stuff everything into a pita pocket or lay it flat and roll it up. Whichever way you choose to go, make sure you have plenty of napkins to catch all the drips. This is messy eating at its finest.

Click here to print Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma.

Grilled Chicken and Nectarine Skewers with Peanut Coconut Sauce

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Somehow, when you put dinner on a skewer it just seems more festive. Local peach and nectarine season is right around the corner, so bookmark this recipe and celebrate the season.

The combination of peanut butter and coconut milk could skew a bit sweet and heavy, but lime juice and jalapeño provide the perfect balance. Cilantro adds a fresh-grassy herbal note, but cilantro haters could certainly substitute Italian parsley. The marinade also includes Greek yogurt. If you keep kosher or just want a dairy-free marinade, I have discovered a great yogurt alternative – So Delicious Dairy-Free Unsweetened Coconut Yogurt. It provides the tanginess of yogurt without the dairy. Surprisingly, it does not taste overwhelmingly of coconut. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, as they are almost impossible to overcook. Don’t forget to soak the wooden skewers so they don’t burn. For a casual dinner, wrap some warm pita around the skewer, pull the wooden stick out and to make a wrap. Serve extra sauce, lime, chopped peanuts and cilantro on the side.

Click here to print recipe for Grilled Chicken and Nectarine Skewers with Coconut –Peanut Sauce.

Spring Chicken

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When spring finally arrives, most people don’t normally turn to braising as a cooking method. But you guys don’t read this blog because I’m like most people. I promise I will hustle out to the BBQ very soon, but this braised spring chicken recipe really deserves your attention now. Mindy Fox created this recipe for epicurious.com. I adapted it slightly.

I decided on using boneless skinless thighs for this to hasten the cooking time. Feel free to use bone-in thighs or breasts if that’s how you roll. Just promise me you won’t select boneless breasts. They are not meant for braising. I treated the thighs to a generous seasoning of ground fennel seeds, paprika, salt and pepper.After an initial browning, the thighs are simmered gently in white wine and chicken stock. The proper technique is to have the chicken pieces only halfway submerged in the braising liquid. Don’t drown them.

Leeks are thinly sliced and slowly sautéed until meltingly tender. Fat spears of asparagus and green peas pretty much shout “SPRING”. I used frozen peas because fresh are still a few weeks away for us here in Ottawa. Mini yellow, red and purple potatoes seemed like a good idea so I invited them to this spring fête as well!The braising liquid gets reduced and treated to a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Scatter chopped dill and lemon zest over everything and celebrate spring.

Click here to print recipe for Spring Chicken.

Chicken Thighs with Sicilian Cauliflower

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Good chicken recipes are like men. There are lots of available ones out there, but very few great ones. I make chicken for dinner at least twice a week and have aquired several favourite standbys: Pomegranate Chicken, Chipotle Lime Chicken, Chicken Skewers with Ginger Coconut Sauce, and Chicken Tortilla Soup. But a girl needs something new every once in a while to spice things up.So when I saw Michael Symon making this tofu dish on The Chew a few weeks ago, I loved the citrus flavours of the marinade, but not being a tofu lover, my mind instantly went to boneless chicken thighs. I made a few other adaptations to his recipe and I think I’ve found a new weekday favourite. Pound the boneless thighs to about 1/4 inch thick so that they will cook more quickly.The marinade contains citrus juice and zest (I used clementines and lemon), red pepper flakes, cumin, honey and olive oil. One of the most brilliant things about this recipe is that you only have to dirty one pan. The cauliflower, chicken and sauce all get made in the same skillet. The other genius thing is that the recipe calls for multi-tasking. You cook the cauliflower while the chicken is marinating. No wasted time.

I am an eminently practical person and I love accomplishing as much as possible in the shortest amount of time available. Like when I go to the hairdresser to get my hair coloured, I have to sit for 30 minutes after the colour is applied. So while I am waiting for my grey hair to disappear, I get a manicure or pedicure and accomplish two things at the same time. I suggested to my dentist that he offer pedicures while you get your teeth cleaned. Imagine the extra revenue, I suggested, but he just looked at me like I was crazy. Clearly multi-tasking is not for everyone.

Once the cauliflower is finished browning in the skillet, the chicken gets a light coating of rice flour and is shallow fried to make it really crispy. When chicken is done, remove it from the pan and make the sauce. No need to clean the pan, all those little browned bits on the bottom of the pan will make your sauce extra delicious. White wine, shallots, garlic, golden raisins and capers combine to make a zesty Sicilian inspired sauce.

Garnish with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley this is destined to become a new dinnertime favourite. Any leftover chicken makes a fantastic cold salad the next day with avocados and tomatoes.

Click here to print recipe for Chicken Thigh Cutlets with Sicilian Cauliflower.

Grilled Chicken Skewers with Ginger Coconut Sauce and Mild Annoyances

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I am the grill master of our house. However, if the weather is particularly nasty, I will try to send my husband out to cook, but inevitably I will be beckoned to see if the food is done. It seems that I have the magic touch. Well, total disclosure here; I spent the summer between my first and second year of cooking school working in a restaurant as the grill chef.

The restaurant had a huge stone barbecue on their patio. They stored the charcoal for the barbecue in 50-pound bags on the roof of a shed at the back of the patio. I had to climb a ladder at the side of the shed and toss down the sacs of charcoal. My nickname that summer was Cinderella as my face was always covered with charcoal streaks. In addition to cooking the proteins, I also had to prepare pan sauces on the grill. That required a deft hand in moving the charcoal around to create hot and cool spots on the grill. I burned more than my fair share of pans the first few weeks, but eventually I got the hang of it. By the end of that summer I was fairly proficient in determining when a burger was done, when a strip steak was cooked to medium rare and when halibut was just cooked through to perfection.

These days I cook on a gas grill, and rely more often than not, on an instant read thermometer. They are basically idiot proof and they guarantee perfect results almost every time. This one is expensive but works very well.

This recipe for Grilled Chicken Skewers with Ginger Coconut, sauce hails from Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby’s brilliant book, “License to Grill.” Although this book was written over 17 years ago, it still feels fresh and relevant. I have been making this recipe for many years and never tire of it. The original recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken breasts, but I recommend using boneless skinless thighs.

I must admit that I get mildly annoyed when people tell me they only use boneless skinless chicken breasts. Not quite as annoyed as when people tell me they never use salt in their cooking, but I won’t get started on that one right now. I always use boneless skinless thighs and serve it to guests who say they don’t like dark meat. They don’t even realize they are eating thighs and they always ask me how I keep my chicken so moist. Thighs are a no-brainer. They are next to impossible to overcook because of their higher fat (and therefore flavour) content.

The velvety coconut-ginger sauce enrobes the chicken and the ginger, jalapeño and lime add a seductive little flavour zing. The “shake” topping, crafted from peanuts, sesame seeds, cumin and red pepper flakes adds crunch and packs a welcome buzz of heat.If you are using wooden bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them for about an hour before skewering the meat, so that they do not burn. This recipe is also quite delicious when you substitute tofu for the chicken (or so I have been told by my vegetarian daughter!)

Click here to print recipe for Grilled Chicken Skewers with Coconut-Ginger Sauce.

Three Pea Coconut Rice and Chicken

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Just did a quick check and discovered that coconut has been featured 15 times on my blog. To the coconut haters out there, “I’m sorry”, and to the rest of you lovely folks I say, “you’re welcome”.

When I saw this dish on serious eats last month I bookmarked it immediately. This recipe checked all the boxes for me; one pot complete dinner, flavourful moist chicken thighs, coconut milk and jasmine rice. Since we are trying to limit our intake of white carbs, white rice has been scarce around here lately. But every so often, I get a craving for Basmati or Jasmine rice. The nutty, popcorny aroma that envelopes my kitchen makes me believe that all is right with the world and that I am very loved.

Yasmin Fahr, creator of this recipe asked “Why I don’t cook everything in coconut milk is beyond me.” Well Yasmin, in answer to your question, I would bathe in coconut milk if I could, but if I cooked everything in it, I would surely weigh 200 pounds. The sweet luxurious coconut milk in this recipe is saved from a cloying fate by the addition of cumin and a strong hint of cayenne. The finishing touches of lime and cilantro produces a dinner that packs a wallop of flavour.

You must exercise great patience when browning the chicken thighs. Put the pan on high, add the thighs, skin down and leave them alone for a good 8-10 minutes. The brown caramelized bits and pieces of chicken that get stuck to the pan, known in French as “fond” should not be thrown out. The chicken stock and coconut milk will help you to to scrape up all those flavourful dark bits. They will dissolve and become the foundation for the luxurious sauce that the chicken and rice are cooked in.

The original recipe called for adding snow peas during the last few minutes of cooking for some crunch and gorgeous colour. I went with a triple pea crunch and added snow peas, sugar snaps and some frozen green peas, because that’s how I was raised. I come from a home where more is better. When my mom made banana bread, if the recipe called for 3 bananas, my mom added 5. It produced a loaf with the heft of a brick, but heck, that’s just how mom rolled.

Click here to print recipe for Three Pea Coconut Rice and Chicken.

Chipotle Lime Chicken

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In the three and a half years that I have been blogging, it just occurred to me that I have never blogged about what I eat for dinner at least once a week. Not that I’m holding back my secret recipe from you, or anything like that. I just make this on auto-pilot and I sort of forgot to tell you about it. But I have been remiss and I need to tell you about it now! This chicken is moist and tender, because I always make it with boneless chicken thighs (never boneless skinless chicken breasts!) Thighs are very forgiving and are almost impossible to overcook. They have a slightly higher fat content than breasts so they don’t dry out as quickly.

This Chipotle Lime Chicken is my go-to recipe for a speedy delicious dinner. I actually get a craving for it. I end up with leftovers which are even more delicious cold the next day, chopped up into a salad with a hard-boiled egg for a protein packed lunch. I discovered this recipe in 2006 in Gourmet magazine (a moment of silence please!! I still miss it!) The marriage of flavours in this chicken recipe are perfect. Lime juice contributes a sour note, honey provides sweetness, Chipotle Tabasco adds a smoky heat, and olive oil brings all the flavours together to create a symphony of flavour in your mouth.

The chicken only needs to marinate for about 15 minutes, in a zip loc bag in the fridge. It can be grilled outside on the BBQ, or inside in a grill pan. You can even bake it in the oven. Last night I had it with parsnip and carrot oven-baked “fries” and a bean salad with a mustard vinaigrette.

Salt and Serenity

Tales from my kitchen