Filed under: Poultry
Since I have been having good luck with the boys eating roasted chicken lately, I thought I’d branch out and try a turkey burger. Neither of them eat any red meat, but since these turn out pale like chicken, I thought I might have a shot. Even making miniature burgers — sliders — on a cute roll couldn’t convince them to try this dinner.
I used 1 lb. of lean ground turkey, an egg, 2 tablespoons of wheat germ (you can use bread crumbs, or skip it entirely), a heaping teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and some black pepper. I rolled most of the mixture into small meatballs and then flattened them, broiling them in my toaster oven for about 5 minutes on each side. I used a little olive oil to pan-fry the leftover meat as 2 full-size burgers. The broiled burgers, especially in the sandwich, were really delicious — flavorful and moist. The ones that were fried were even better, natch.
The rolls are actually hot dog buns cut into three pieces. I know there are slider buns on the market, but I couldn’t find any that were pareve. These worked just fine. The creamy avocado is a really nice counterpoint to the acidity of the tomato and the meaty burger.
This was such a cute, easy meal… if only the boys had eaten any of it. G. ate a bun; A. had a bun plus some watermelon. I couldn’t even get him to try the avocado. (I gave them deconstructed plates, with just the burger on the bun, so they could choose to add the avocado or tomato.) At least my niece enjoyed the meal — she packed away some of the turkey burger, the roll, avocado and watermelon. Thank goodness for Miss M.
May 20, 2009
I had fun making up this chicken coating tonight. I just made drumsticks, but the proportions would be appropriate for a whole, cut-up chicken. The brown sugar caramelizes in the oven and creates a sweet, crunchy, coconutty chicken that almost tastes fried. Yum! I loved it. The boys eagerly ate it, too… once I took the coating off so it was totally plain.
If you can’t find unsweetened coconut, use the sweetened kind in the baking aisle, and either reduce or eliminate the brown sugar. I didn’t use salt in this recipe (kosher chickens tend to be saltier than non-kosher due to the kashering process), but you can add some to the coating mixture if you like.
Coconut Crunch Chicken
2 eggs
3/4 c. unsweetened, dessicated coconut
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. wheat germ
1/4 c. brown sugar
1½ tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 dozen chicken drumsticks, rinsed and patted dry
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Beat eggs in a shallow bowl, and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine ingredients up to the chicken to create the coating.
Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly coat with non-stick spray.
Carefully dip each piece of chicken in the egg, and then coat thoroughly with the coconut mixture. Arrange chicken on the baking pan and bake on the top rack of your oven for about 50 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
May 18, 2009
Our TiVo occasionally picks up old PBS episodes of Daisy Martinez’s show Daisy Cooks! We always enjoy it, even if we wouldn’t eat what she’s cooking. I think that’s the mark of a good cooking show! Daisy’s on the Food Network now, with Viva Daisy! which I haven’t see yet. A few years ago I made her Chicken with Figs after seeing it on Daisy Cooks! Her recipe is not online, but there are discussions about it on Chowhound and a similar recipe at We Are Never Full. Oh, it was so delicious — as good as I’d imagined while watching her prepare it on TV. My mom and I loved it, but it was labor-intensive and I never wound up making it again.
This is not Daisy’s recipe. Instead, it’s based on Rachael Ray’s Montalcino Chicken with Figs and Buttered Gnocchi. In both Daisy and Rachael’s recipes, I just left out the pancetta; I also swapped bow tie pasta for the gnocchi this time since the boys wouldn’t eat the latter.
This version of Chicken and Figs is much easier to prepare, and it’s delicious if not beautiful — the red wine colors the whole dish so that it almost winds up looking like a beef stew, and the figs and chicken are indistinguishable from each other. Served with roasted asparagus (with lemon wedges and garlic) and pasta, it was definitely a meal I’d make again. I was thrilled that my Aunt Barbara, who was visiting, loved it as much as my mom and I did!
The only dried figs on offer in my supermarket were Sun Maid Calimyrna Figs. A textural note: the figs release their tiny seeds as they cook, and so the finished dish seems a little grainy. This didn’t bother me at all, but I was aware of the texture more than I normally am. You can look for “figlets” in your store, which you wouldn’t have to chop and would cut down on those seeds.
Chicken and Figs
Adapted from Rachael Ray’s Montalcino Chicken with Figs and Buttered Gnocchi
You can use any type of dried fig — you’ll need about 2 cups, either quartered or halved so the pieces are similar in size to the prepared chicken.
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
ground pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1½ lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1- to 2-inch chunks
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tsp. crushed garlic (or 2 cloves, minced)
2 c. dried figs, stems removed and halved
1 c. dry red wine (I used Chianti)
1½ c. vegetable broth
3/4 c. flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (about 1 small bunch)
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. ground thyme
Combine flour and pepper in a small bowl and set aside (if you salt your chicken, you can add some to the flour now, too.)
In a large skillet, heat the olive. Sprinkle chicken with the flour mixture and toss lightly until all the pieces are dusted. Put the chicken into the hot oil and cook over medium-high heat until it is golden brown (it does not need to be cooked through). Move the chicken over to the side of the pan, and add the onion, garlic, and figs to the empty spot. Saute for 5 minutes, until onions soften. Mix the chicken into the onions and figs, and then add your wine to the pan. Simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes.
Add veggie broth, parsley, lemon zest, and thyme, and mix well. Bring the liquid back up to a simmer for 10 minutes, and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Serve over pasta or rice.
May 16, 2009
It was nearly a year ago that I first tried making Chicken Scarpariello, a dish I’ve ordered several times in restaurants and always enjoyed. I made it way too spicy that time, though, and my mom and I struggled through the dish — we could tell it had potential, but were just blasted away by the heat. It bears repeating that we both have a relatively low tolerance for chili-type spice; levels that make my eyes water and my nose run, for instance, taste like minimal seasoning to J.
I wanted to come back to this recipe, though, and I did so last night. While doing a little online research on how I might tweak my original preparation, I found a Rachael Ray version which was chicken only, no sausage. I’m a lot less enamored of kosher sausage than I once was, and rarely buy it anymore. Her recipe also used fresh peppers plus some jarred hot peppers rather than all jarred, which appealed to me. And so instead of fixing the recipe I had, I used hers instead (with some changes).
It was great! I used a very minimal amount of pre-sliced hot cherry peppers packed in oil (Victoria “So-Hot” Cherry Peppers), and it was pretty spicy to me and my dad. I liked using the slices rather than chopping those hot little orbs to bits, because we treated them like bay leaves — they were there to flavor the dish but not to eat. There was a nice amount of sauce, and the orange peppers and onions lent a sweetness to the dish that helped balance the heat. I should have let the parsley cook in the sauce a little longer, though. The texture was kind of woody and not soft enough; I was trying to keep it nice and green by barely cooking it. If I was ever going to make Chicken Scarpariello again, I’d work off this recipe. But I’m still not sure I will… maybe next year.
Chicken Scarpariello
Adapted from Rachael Ray’s Chicken Scarpariello
This is a relatively mild version — adjust the amount of hot cherry peppers you use to regulate the heat
1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. olive oil
ground pepper
2 red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 c. sliced hot cherry peppers
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 c. dry white wine (I used a Chardonnay)
1/2 c. vegetable broth
3/4 c. flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (a small bunch)
Rinse, trim, and pat dry your chicken cutlets, then cut into 1-2 inch chunks. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and then add chicken, cooking over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes until it is nicely browned. Season with ground pepper. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
Add bell peppers, onion, hot peppers and garlic to the pan. Saute for 5 minutes, until softened. Add wine and adjust heat to bring the liquid to a simmer for a minute or so. Add in the stock, keeping the pan at a simmer — make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so any browned chicken and vegetables are released in to the sauce.
Add your chicken and parsley back into the pan, stirring thoroughly, and simmer for 3-5 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through. Serve over pasta or roasted potatoes.
May 14, 2009
I’m on some sort of a mustard kick this week: first the Dijon Egg Salad, and now this chicken dish. I love the way the seeds in a whole grain mustard pop in your mouth!
This is a super-simple chicken preparation. If I’d timed it properly I would have allowed the chicken to marinate in the sauce for at least an hour, or overnight. Even though it went right into the oven, it was very flavorful. The sweetness of the honey and acidity of the vinegar in the mustard are great foils for each other, and the paprika adds a warmth to the dish that rounds it out.
I served the chicken with Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Brussels Sprouts, made as a vegan/pareve version: sauteed in olive oil (no butter) and without cheese. It was still really delicious! I don’t think you can make a bad dish if gnocchi are included.
The boys did not eat the chicken. I was the mom I try not to be: I actually rinsed the chicken off so it would look plain before putting it on their plates, and they still wouldn’t eat it. Serves me right!
Kickin’ Honey Mustard Chicken
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. whole grain Dijon mustard
1-2 tsp. paprika (I used sweet, but you can choose hot)
salt & pepper to taste
3 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Combine ingredients up to the chicken, stirring well. Set sauce aside.
Make sure chicken breasts are dry — pat them with a paper towel if you’ve rinsed them. Lightly grease a large casserole dish or baking pan with non-stick spray, and arrange the chicken in the dish in a single layer. Poke a few holes in each piece with a fork, then brush on half of the sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Uncover the chicken and flip each piece. Brush with remaining sauce, and bake uncovered for another 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
May 1, 2009
The last time I made these Baked Egg Rolls (which was also the first time), I described them as “yummy and healthy,” and I still agree with that assessment. However, even after bumping up the flavor a bit this time around, I don’t think I’ll be making them again. The boys won’t touch them, and I would be just as happy with a stir fry made out of the filling, without the extra step of rolling them into wrappers and baking them.
This time around I used more cabbage (8 cups, the yield from a small, 1.8 lb. common green cabbage), more carrots (3 cups of pre-shredded, bagged carrot), and less turkey (just half a pound). I wanted to add sprouts, but was surprised to find my grocery store doesn’t carry them. I did add a bunch of green onions (8 of them, minced), too. When I browned the turkey, I did so in a couple of teaspoons of sesame oil, which I think improved the overall flavor of the dish.
Otherwise I kept the sauce the same, though I think I wound up cooking the filling for longer than last time. I prefer the cabbage to remain a little al dente, but in this attempt it was cooked a bit beyond that.
The egg rolls are still tasty, and they smelled terrific while they were baking. It was a drama-free, but still terribly unsuccessful meal: G. ate a bit or two of Basmati rice, and that was it. A. had slightly more. I enjoyed the egg rolls, which is a good thing — I’ll be eating the leftovers many, many times over.
April 22, 2009
My aunt Barbara is the source of some of my favorite recipes: Mrs. Jones’ Macaroni & Cheese and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. She could send me a recipe for pretty much anything, and I’d give it a go, confident that it would turn out well. Most recently she recommended this roasted chicken dish, and it did not disappoint. She wrote, “The gravy is delicious and if there is leftover gravy (which there often is), I use it for other things (like my chicken pot pie with an oat crunch crust).” Obviously, I need to get her pot pie recipe, too!
I initially planned to serve this with just some roasted Brussels sprouts and a challah, but then we added a few more people to the dinner so I added some brown rice and a quick tomato and cucumber salad with red wine vinegar and olive oil. (more…)
March 24, 2009
When I looked up the recipe for Lemon Roasted Chicken on my blog, I was surprised to see a full year had passed since I made it last. This dish is delicious, why did I wait so long to make it again? I know it is in regular rotation for Merrie and for Lauren!
I did make it with bone-in chicken again, but in the future I will switch to boneless, skinless breasts. In my opinion, you can’t use enough garlic: Renee and I were picking leftover roasted cloves out of the pan after dinner. Aren’t you glad you weren’t kissing us last night?
March 13, 2009
This recipe comes from the November 2008 issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of the bone-in thighs. Make sure to pat your chicken dry after you rinse it to help the olive oil and spices stick.
I used my roasting pan to cook this one-pot meal. I put the chicken in the pan, drizzled it with olive oil, and then sprinkled it with dried thyme, black pepper, and garlic powder. The chicken went into a 400° oven and cooked for 15 minutes, until it was browned on the bottom. I flipped all the pieces, making sure they were in a single layer, and then poured all the vegetables on top (I used pre-sliced Baby Bella mushrooms, frozen peas, and frozen chopped onions — could it be any easier?). Back into the oven for about another 40 minutes, stirring once or twice to help release some of the moisture from the veggies.
This is a really comforting dish, easy to eat and hearty without being heavy. It was a little under-seasoned, though — next time I’ll bump up the spices on the chicken, and I’ll make sure to season the vegetables separately as well. I had planned to serve Black Bean Cakes with this meal, but opted for plain whole wheat spaghetti instead. (Neither boy ate a single bite of last night’s meal, and I wasn’t up for that again.) I had no better success with them eating this chicken dish tonight, but my family came to the rescue and happily gobbled it up with me.
I wouldn’t have thought to use this combination of vegetables in the oven without reading this recipe, and I really loved the result. Will definitely make it again.
February 5, 2009
My mom used to occasionally make Shake ‘N Bake chicken when I was growing up, and I recall thinking it was a real treat when she did. I thought it would be fun to make it for Shabbat dinner, since it fits with my comfort foods theme this week.
I took the skin off some of the chicken pieces before shaking and baking so the boys could choose between a plain piece (I’d just remove the skin with the coating) or a “fried” one. They chose plain, and really only G. ate any of it. So this is clearly not the start of a fond food memory for the boys! But I enjoyed it, regardless.
January 30, 2009
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I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 5 and 7, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 