Chicken with 40 Cloves

Chicken with 40 Cloves 

This is one of Bo and my favorite "nice" dinners. By "nice" I mean better then meatloaf and not cooked often enough. Really though, it's so easy to make, and now that I've figured out a version with chicken pieces as an alternative to a whole chicken when you're in a bit more of a rush? Well, it's pure gold! Keep this is the back of your mind for company too, it looks quite impressive with no effort past the initial 10 minutes on the stove top!

Also, do NOT be scared by the name, even if you're not a garlic person. The flavor added to the chicken is so mild and delicate because the garlic turns sweet from slow roasting in the braising liquid.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1hour 10 minutes (chicken pieces) or 1 hour 40 minutes (whole chicken)
Serves: 4

Ingredients:


1 whole chicken (whole, or cut into 8 pieces. you can also just buy chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, skin on)
4 large garlic heads worth of cloves, peeled (this will net you around 40 cloves)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup chicken stock (sub water if you don't have stock on hand)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 large sprigs of fresh thyme
salt
pepper

Directions:


Pre-heat your oven to 350°F and generously sprinkle your chicken with salt and pepper on all sides.

In a dutch oven over medium-high heat melt the butter together with the olive oil until searing hot. Add your chicken and brown on all sides (about 3 minutes per side). Remove chicken to a plate.

 
Drain all but 1 tbsp of accumulated liquid from the pan, then add garlic cloves and cook for a couple of minutes, until starting to become fragrant but not browning.

Turn off the heat and add your chicken back to the pot, on top of the garlic. Pour the chicken stock and lemon juice evenly over the top of the chicken, then add the thyme sprigs. Cover with the lid and bake until the thickest part of the thigh registers 180°F (a whole chicken will take about 90 minutes, chicken pieces about 45 minutes).

Let the chicken rest on a plate for ten minutes, tented in foil, before carving.

Enjoy!

Note: Do not throw out the garlic from the bottom of the pan after cooking. If you do this I will have to come to your house and call you nuts! Slice up and lightly toast a baguette, then spread the soft, sweet roasted garlic cloves on it. Or, mash some up and make a quick vinaigrette out of it. Or, mash some up and mix with some extra virgin olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, a splash of balsamic vinegar, salt and Italian seasoning, then dip some bread in it. Your options are endless.

The only option I won't let you have is to throw it out!

Show Stopper Roast Chicken

I call this my show stopper because is tastes like I put hours of planning and effort into figuring out the perfect combination of accouterments to highlight the bird, when really, I got lucky about 5 years ago on my first shot and haven't looked back. Sure, I've tried variations, but I always come back to this.

Unless it's summer time.

Then it's all about the beer can.

Or the rotisserie!

Did I mention that this is a breeze to pull together too?

No?

It's a breeze to pull together!

Show Stopper Roast Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 2 hours +/-
Serves: 4, but they'll fight over it

Ingredients:


1 lemon, sliced into ¼" rounds
8-10 sprigs fresh rosemary (just buy a pack at the store and use it up)
1 medium sweet onion, sliced in half, then each half into 4 chunks
6 tbsp butter, softened
garlic powder
salt
pepper
olive oil

Spice Rub:
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp old bay seasoning



Directions:


1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and mix together your spice rub.

2. Rinse your chicken, then pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the cavity of the bird liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stuff the cavity with 1 tbsp of butter, 3 sprigs of rosemary, and some lemon slices and onion chunks (roughly 2 of each).

3. Loosen the skin from the breast meat and the legs. Rub ½ tbsp of butter under the skin of each leg, and 1 tbsp of butter under the skin of each breast. Rub the remaining two tbsp of butter all over the outside of the skin. Finally, rub the spice rub over the buttered skin. Yumm.

4. Place the remaining onion chunks, lemon slices, and rosemary sprigs around the perimeter of your roasting pan. Place the chicken, breast side up, onto a roasting rack in the pan. Sprinkle a bit of kosher or fresh ground sea salt over the top of the chicken.

5. Bake at 350°F until the thickest part of the breast registers 180°F on a thermometer. Half way through baking (1 hour in), drizzle some olive oil over the top of the chicken (1-2 tbsp). Be sure to let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving or else the meat will lose its juices and you'll be eating dry bird.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

I've spent a couple of weeks on this now, and finally have it to the point where I think it's perfect, there's nothing else to add or do to it (such a relief). I'll probably try to figure out how to freeze it at some point, but for now I can't stand not cracking into it as soon as it's out of the oven. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Bake Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:


3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1 can corn niblets
2 cups potatoes (white or yukon gold), peeled and cubed
½ cup celery, diced
4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup butter
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2/3 cup flour
½ tsp old bay seasoning
½ tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp celery seed
1 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream or ½ and ½ cream
2 packages of pillsburry pre-made pie crusts (4 crusts total)
1 egg, beaten

Directions:


1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. In a large saucepan, combine the chicken, carrots, peas, corn, potatoes, celery and chicken stock. Stir to ensure everything is covered with the stock. Cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain into a colander set over a bowl to retain the stock for later. Set the chicken mixture and stock aside.

3. In the same saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and then cook the onions until translucent and softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 15 seconds. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, old bay seasoning, poultry seasoning, garlic powder and celery seed. Whisk in the chicken broth, milk and cream in 4 batches, ensuring that the mixture is well combined between each addition. Simmer until starting to thicken, then remove from heat.

4. Roll two of the pie crusts together, creating a large rectangle. Fit the pie crust into a 9" x 13" baking dish, ensuring at least a ½" overhang all around. Brush the crust with the beaten egg, then pour the chicken and vegetable mixture into the crust. Evenly pour the sauce over the chicken mixture, and use a wooden spoon to move the filling around to make sure everything is covered.

5. Roll the last two pie crusts together, then top the dish, sealing and crimping the edges. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg and poke several small slits into the top crust to allow steam to escape.

6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Teriyaki Chicken - Best Ever

Best Ever Teriyaki Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4



Ingredients:

8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
2 tsp vegetable oil
½ cup soy sauce (use the low sodium if you can)
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp white wine
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
½ tsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes


Directions:

1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season generously with pepper. Heat the oil in a deep 12” non-stick skillet over med-high heat until just smoking.

2. Add the chicken, skin side down, then weigh down with a large pot (the largest you can fit inside the skillet. Cook until the skin is a deep mahogany brown and very crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. (The chicken should be moderately brown after 10 minutes. If it’s very brown at 10 minutes, turn down the heat, if it’s still pale, increase the heat).

3. Remove the weight and flip the chicken over. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, without the weight, until the second side is brown and the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, whisk the soy sauce, sugar, wine, ginger, garlic, cornstarch and pepper flakes together.

5. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Pour off all of the fat from the skillet. Whish the soy mixture to recombine, then add to the skillet and return to medium heat. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin-side up, and spoon the sauce over the top. Continue to simmer until the sauce is thick and glossy, about 2 minutes longer.

NOTE: Here's a picture of the chicken after the pot comes off for the flip. This is the colour that you're aiming for before you flip them.

Teriyaki Chicken, Roasted New Potatoes and Broccoli

This was a nice and easy meal to make, though it did require a little bit of prep work on the teriyaki sauce.

Teriyaki Chicken

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can use any type of chicken though, just adjust your cooking times)

1 tbl cornstarch

1 tbl water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

2. In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the cornstarch, water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.

3. Coat your chicken with the sauce and the place it on a cooling rack over a rimmed cookie sheet (if you're like me and dread the clean-up, line the sheet with foil first). Baste the chicken with the sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 20 minutes, until no longer pink, juices run clear and the internal temperature is 180 degrees. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, lightly tented with foil to absorb all their juices.

NOTES: Because Oliver was having a major freak out during cooking, I didn't baste the chicken at all during cooking and it still tasted quite good. I just threw some sauce on at the end and cranked the broiler up for a minute. I've also made chicken thighs like this (boneless, skinless), by putting them in a glass baking dish and just covering with the sauce (no basting) and it was great too.

Roasted New Potatoes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Bake Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6

 

Ingredients:

 

2 lbs small new potatoes (I prefer red)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tbl salt (I prefer freshly ground sea salt)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (this stuff is like gold, check your spice isle)

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

 

2. Slice the small potatoes into halves, and medium to large potatoes into quarters. Just try to make the potato pieces close to the same size.

 

3. Put the potato chunks onto a rimmed baking sheet and top with the oil, salt, Italian seasoning and Old Bay Seasoning. Use your hands to mix it all together, making sure that each piece of potato is well and evenly coated with oil and the spices. Make sure that the bottom of the pan is covered in oil too.

 

4. Arrange all the pieces skin side down. Doing this first ensures that the cut edges cook a bit, and means that they won't stick to the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, and then toss the potatoes so that they're now cut side down. Bake 15 minutes and then toss again.  Bake for a final 15 minutes. 

 

Quick Cook Broccoli
 
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients:
 
3 heads of broccoli, tips cut into manageable pieces and stalks removed
4 tbl butter
salt and pepper to taste
 
Directions
 
1. Add the broccoli and butter to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir frequently until softened and bright green in colour, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 
NOTE: A few other tasty additions to this broccoli are minced garlic, slivered almonds, chopped peanuts, sliced bell peppers or red pepper flakes (for some heat)

Buffalo Chicken Bites, Baked Macaroni & Cheese, Garlic Toast, and Garlic Butter

Buffalo Chicken Bites

Ok, so Bo felt like something tossed in my chicken wing sauce, but not chicken wings. He didn't know what he felt like, so I went with chicken bites, nice and easy to make. And they were delicious! They were even delicious the next day warmed under the broiler (though completely different tasting, not as spicy, like a warm spice).

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4 (so long as you have something else on the side)

Ingredients:

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut unto bite (or two-bite) size pieces

1/3 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs (or regular breadcrumbs with some Italian seasoning mixed in)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup butter

1 cup hot sauce (we use and love Franks Red Hot, I highly recommend it)

Directions:

1. Take 3 zip-lock bags. Put the flour, salt and pepper in the first, the eggs in the second, and the breadcrumbs in the third.

2. Toss the chicken cubes in the flour mixture until well covered, then put the chicken pieces into the egg mixture and move around until all the pieces are wet on all sides. For the bread crumbs, toss about 6 pieces at a time, and make sure that you let any excess egg drip off before moving them to that last bag (you don't want to gum up the breadcrumbs). Place the chicken pieces onto a plate, because you're ready to fry.

3. Now, I have one of those ridiculously unhealthy but FANTASTIC counter top deep fryers. Bo and I love chicken wings, especially in the winter in front of the TV while we watch a hockey game. I thought it was common for people to have deep fryers, until our cousin Jenny looked at it with pure disgust. So, I get it, you make not have a deep fryer. So, put a couple of inches of oil (I use peanut for deep frying) in a pot (a cast iron one retains the heat best, think Le Creuset or Kitchen Aid who makes a good imitation) and heat it to between 350 and 375 degrees. Drop your chicken in, and fry until deep golden brown, about 8 minutes

4. While the chicken is cooking, it's time for the sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and then whisk in the hot sauce. That's it, we're done.

5. Toss the cooked chicken in the hot sauce and enjoy!

NOTE: When I do a breading like this I usually double bread them because it will give you a ridiculous crunch, this time though it was late and I just didn't have the time. If you'd like to, at this point cover the chicken pieces with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (you can do this for a couple of hours if you want to do most of the prep ahead of time). Then, you repeat the egg and breadcrumb dip, then continue with frying.

   

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

 

I love macaroni and cheese. It's that comfort food for me like no other (those of you for whom soup is your comfort food, I feel for you). I saw this recipe on Cooks Country TV (by America's Test Kitchen). Now, I have a serious hard on for America's Test Kitchen, I have never made a recipe by them that I didn't love, and that didn't turn out exactly as they said it would (and I've got over a hundred of their magazines and almost every cook book they've put out). That said, baked macaroni and cheese is my thing, I immediately saw some tweaks that would make this even better, but I will say that their white sauce base kicked my base's ass. Anyway, here's "our" recipe for baked macaroni...you will love...trust!

 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 25 to 30 minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

4 slices white sandwich bread , torn into large pieces

11 tablespoons unsalted butter , 6 tablespoons melted

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbl + 2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

1 pound elbow macaroni

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk

2 teaspoons hot sauce

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon dry mustard

3 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and macaroni to boiling water and cook until just al dente, about 6 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup macaroni cooking water, then drain and rinse macaroni in colander under cold running water. Set aside.

3. White the macaroni is cooking pulse bread in a food processor until ground to a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and Parmesan and pulse again to combine. Pour breadcrumb mixture into a small frying pan and toast the crumbs until golden brown, stirring almost constantly.

4. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons butter in the now-empty pasta pot over medium-high heat until foaming. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture turns light brown, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, hot sauce, nutmeg, mustard, pepper and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until mixture begins to simmer and is slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water until cheese melts. Stir in macaroni until completely coated.

5. Transfer mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and top evenly with entire bread crumb mixture. Bake until cheese is bubbling around edges and top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

MAKE AHEAD: Cooks Country TV has directions for making this ahead of time. I can't speak for how well this works because I haven't tried it, but here is their directions in case any of you want to give it a go. If you do shoot me a line and let me know how it goes so I can let others know.

The macaroni and cheese can be made in advance through step 3; since the pasta continues to absorb moisture, adjustments must be made to avoid a dry filling. To do so, increase amount of reserved pasta cooking water to 1 cup. Pour filling into 13 by 9-inch baking dish, lay plastic wrap directly on surface of pasta, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. The bread crumb mixture may be refrigerated in airtight container up to 2 days (Don't toast the breadcrumbs first though, that's something that I added to get a better crunch from them). When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap, cover macaroni mixture with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle bread crumbs over top, and bake until topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes longer.

Garlic Toast

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Bake Time: 5 minutes

Here's just a quick run down for my garlic toast, which is SO easy to make, and so fantastic to eat!

Ingredients:

Calabrese bread (it's got a nice dense crumb that holds the topping well)

Garlic butter (store bought, or recipe below)

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Slice the bread into 3/4" thick pieces and spread one side with the garlic butter mix (I usually cheat here and buy it at the grocery store, but it's so easy to make too!)

2. Top with a light sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese, and for this I actually prefer the store bought pre-grated stuff (like Kraft) to the real thing. Go figure.

3. Place on the middle rack of your oven and broil for about 5 minutes, until the top is a little crunchy feeling and starting to turn golden brown. Watch this carefully though, as it can go from golden to burnt very quickly.

Garlic Butter

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground paprika

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together

Notes: This butter is also fantastic on steaks, melted to dip seafood in, and mixed into mashed potatoes. It also stores well in your fridge. Simply roll into a log using plastic wrap and refrigerate, cutting off what you need (example, cut 1/4" rounds and place atop a steak straight off the grill).

Turkey Parmigina and Mini Banana Muffins

Turkey Parmigiana

This recipe is one that I've tucked into my "perfected" file. I basically cook a recipe over and over again, trying to simplify everything I can while making absolutely fantastic tasting food (taste always comes first though, I just save the time consuming dishes for weekends).

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes (10 of which are in oven)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 Turkey scaloppini (or chicken or veal, turkey is WAY cheaper though)

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup fresh grated parmigiana cheese

1 egg

Olive oil

1 jar of pasta sauce (Bo makes me use Ragu, lol)

1/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Steps:

1. Pre-heat your over to 400.

2. Put the bread crumbs and parmigiana cheese in a dish and mix well together. Put the egg in a second dish and whip up with a fork.

3. Dip each cutlet into the egg, and then put it into the bread crumb mixture. Make sure that they've evenly coated with crumbs. The panko crumbs won't look as uniform as regular bread crumbs, but the crunch? Oh la!

4. Heat some olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet (about 1/8" think coating). Make sure the oil it super hot, but not smoking. Look for it to start to shimmer on the surface, this is when you're ready to rock!

5. Put the cutlets into the pan, carefully! Always start with the chicken hitting the pan closest to you, then drop it down towards the back, this way you don't get splashed with boiling hot oil (trust me on this one). Cook each cutlet until well browned, about 3 or 4 minutes on each side over med-high heat. The best part about this, it's totally ok to flip it back and forth a couple of times (I always do), to make sure it's nice and brown!

6. As the turkey is cooking, pour your pasta sauce into a large rectangular baking dish. HINT: Line the dish with foil first, this makes for a really easy clean up! When the turkey is done, lay the cutlets in the sauce and then top each one with a sprinkle of the mozzarella cheese. Throw this puppy in the oven for 10 minutes, just until the cheese has melted and the sauce heated up. If you're in a rush, you can throw it under the broiler and it'll be ready in 3 - 5 minutes, just be careful that it doesn't burn!

NOTES: Don't put any sauce on top of the cutlets, as this gets rid of that incredible crunch that the panko crumbs adds. Instead, when you serve, put a nice dollop of sauce on the side for dipping, and if you want to go all fancy drag your spoon through it on a curve to make a tail.

If you want to make the scaloppini yourself, just butterfly a chicken breast, and then pound to 1/4" thickness between two sheets of cling wrap.

For the garlic pasta with vegetables: Go to your freezer isle, buy a bag for $2, pour it into a pot with 1/2 cup of water and crank the heat for 6 minutes. Delicious!

Mini Banana Muffins

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Bake Time: 15 minutes

Makes: 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup plain yogurt (good substitutions are sour cream, or milk if you don't have either of those)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (3 med bananas, 4 small bananas, make sure they're VERY ripe, mostly brown)

Topping:

2 tablespoons white sugar

Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

3. In a second, smaller bowl, mix together the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until combined (It will seem quite stiff).

4. Mash the bananas in the bowl that the wet ingredients were in. Make sure that you mash them really well, then mix into the batter.

5. Drop by a spoon into mini muffin tins (filling 3/4 of the way up the sides)

6. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping, and just lightly dust the top of each muffin.

7. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until golden brown, and enjoy!

NOTES: If you want to make full size muffins, just increase the baking time to about 25 minutes. You can also add some chocolate chips, or toasted walnut pieces to these and it'll be DELICIOUS!