A Hungry Bear

chicken legs smothered in gravy

After all the turkey we ate last week, you’d think the last thing I’d be craving is more poultry. But, chicken legs are a great way to save some money and balance out the grocery budget. This recipe, from November’s Food & Wine magazine, has a nice bacon and tomato-based gravy that tastes so rich you’ll forget you’re eating more bird.

Ingredients: 8 skinless chicken drumsticks, olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 thick slice of bacon (about 1 ounce), 2 tablespoons flour, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 large tomato (peeled, seeded and chopped; or 1 15-ounce can chopped tomatoes), 1 cup whole or 2% milk, 1 teaspoon tomato paste, 1/4 cup chicken stock, 2-3 sprigs thyme. (more…)

asian barbecue drumsticks

Chicken drumsticks are about 1/4 or less the cost of boneless skinless chicken breasts, and have a lot more flavor. But did you know that they can also have almost the same nutritional value (in terms of low fat and high protein) as a chicken breast, if you just remove the skin? (If skinless drumsticks aren’t available at the meat counter, you can ask the butcher to remove it for you.) Combine that with a recipe that only takes about 15 minutes of hands-on time and I’ve got a chicken dish that will definitely be going into the regular weeknight rotation.

Adapted from October 2009 Food & Wine.

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder, 10 skinless chicken drumsticks, 1/2 cup hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons red chili pepper sauce, 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, sesame seeds. (more…)

jamie oliver’s spaghetti tetrazzini

When I first purchased Jamie Oliver’s cookbook, Jamie’s Italy, I seriously considered making every recipe in the book. I’m not sure why I slowed down with that quest, since I picked it back up again the other day and found another 10 things I want to cook right away. This particular recipe is a great way to use up some leftover roast chicken (the original starts with uncooked chicken thighs) - almost everything else is from the pantry.

Adapted from Jamie’s Italy.

Ingredients: 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, 1 pound chicken (2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, or 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs), 1 tablespoon butter, 2 cloves garlic, 4-6 ounces fresh crimini mushrooms, 3/4 cup white wine, 1/2 pound dried spaghetti, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (plus more for serving), 1 sprig fresh basil leaves, olive oil, salt, pepper. (more…)

provencal chicken with bearnaise

I haven’t seen the Julia Child movie, but I’ve been hit with the fever all the same - looking for dinner ideas in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This is probably one of the easiest and most iconic of the JC recipes - chicken sauteed in herbs de provence, with a simple bearnaise sauce over top. It turned out great even though I bastardized the recipe by using boneless skinless chicken breast instead of whole chicken pieces. With some simple oven-roasted potatoes and baby tomatoes on the side, it was a perfect mostly-french-inspired meal.

Adapted from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, “Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence.”

Ingredients: 1/2 stick butter, 1.5 pounds chicken, 1 teaspoon each thyme & basil, 1/4 tsp ground fennel seeds, 3 garlic cloves (unpeeled), 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon white wine, 2 egg yolks, 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice; plus one pound small round potatoes and 1 pint baby heirloom tomatoes. (more…)

chicken and cheese tamales

I normally don’t look for shortcut type of recipes - the challenge of trying to make something in an “authentic” way is more rewarding and interesting. But the idea of tamales, a Mexican dish where you steam a packet of corn dough and fillings in a corn husk, is so foreign to me, just making a dumbed-down version of one seemed like a good place to start. I found this recipe on the Food & Wine website, and made a few minor modifications. This recipe is a good one if corn husks or special bamboo tamale steamers are intimidating.

Ingredients: 2 cups masa harina (a special type of corn flour - available at almost any grocery store), 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1 1/4 cups water, 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening (room temperature), 1/2 cup chicken stock, 2 1/2 cups shredded chicken (from a cooked rotisserie chicken), 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, 1/4 of a red onion finely chopped. (more…)

chicken under a brick

This looks like a pretty normal piece of roast chicken, right? But if you could bite into it, you’d notice it has crispier skin and is a lot juicier than normal. As usual, the Italians figured out a better way to cook something. In this case, it involves pressing a brick on a butterflied whole chicken and roasting it in the oven. This is how it looks when it’s done:

It only takes about 45 minutes, and not a lot of work. (more…)

spicy peach chicken wings

I found this recipe in Gourmet a couple months ago, even before I started getting pounds of peaches in our weekly produce delivery. I would never have thought peaches and wings could go together, but they definitely do. The peach preserves give a sweet coating to the wings that caramelizes under the broiler, making these as juicy and crispy as if they were deep fried. Since they were ready in 30 minutes, with no mess and all from pantry ingredients, these are going to show up a lot at our house in the future. (more…)

asparagus and goat cheese pasta

Everyone needs a one-dish meal like this one. I used asparagus because it had been in my fridge for a few days waiting for inspiration, but you could also use zucchini, broccoli, sugar snap peas, or whatever vegetables are in season. I also added a couple of grilled chicken breasts that I had made a few days prior, to add protein. The actual dish itself was creamy with a satisfying crunch from the asparagus, and just the right citrus-herb balance from the lemon and basil. It takes about 15 minutes, plus however long it takes to bring a pot of water to boil. Perfect for a weeknight! (more…)

herbed balsamic chicken with blue cheese

Grilled chicken is such a staple in our house that I hardly ever consider how I make it. Just toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, maybe a squeeze of lemon juice while it’s cooking, and that’s it. Not exciting, but because I use a meat thermometer it’s never dry or bad per se… We just accept the fact that it’s going to be a boring vehicle for protein, good for topping salads. But then I saw this simple recipe in Bon Appetit last month, where you soak it in balsamic, and press some mixed herbs into the chicken right before grilling. Not much more effort than what I was already doing, so I tried it. And it really was 10 times better. For the first time in years, I think I actually was a tiny bit excited to be eating grilled chicken!
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broccoli rabe and ricotta pasta

Part of our produce delivery from our CSA last week was broccoli rabe. Since you don’t have a choice in what produce is delivered (whatever is in season and ripe - that’s what you get!), I had to get over my long-time avoidance of this bitter vegetable. The only time I had made this in the past was sauteed with garlic and olive oil - on its own like that, it was bitter enough to turn me away from the stuff for a year. This time, I decided to try a recipe direct from the TaylOrganic blog (that’s Farmer Neil ya’ll!). I adapted this by using ricotta instead of chickpeas for extra protein and to give it a creamy texture, and I also caramelized a couple of vidalia onions I had on hand and mixed those in. It was so easy, and the sweet onions balanced out so much of the bitterness in the greens that it was actually really good - so good I was craving the leftovers for days. Next time Farmer Neil puts broccoli rabe in our produce box, I’ll know what to do.

(Here’s another shot - this one was mine, with even extra red pepper flakes on top. If you’re scared of a vegetable, make it spicy!) (more…)