Food: Chicken Baked on Bread

Chicken. Baked on bread. "Hmmm…," you might say. "That sounds a little bland and boring. Are you talking about plain white bread topped with plain white chicken, baked together in the oven? I don't know about that…it sounds interesting?"

But keep reading…you know I'm not the type to give you soggy, sad, blah recipes (at least I hope you don't view my posts to be such!). Maybe I can convince you that chicken baked on bread is actually a quite wonderful thing - simple yet sophisticated and surprisingly flavorful and savory.

So I probably should give you a little background on the inspiration for the recipe below. Food & Wine's Melissa Perello came up with this (I've modified it slightly from her version) while thinking about Judy Rogers' brick oven chicken. For those of you unfamiliar with Judy or her San Francisco restaurant (the Zuni Café in Hayes Valley), Ms. Rogers is famous for her dry brining technique for poultry (in fact, her turkey recipe is the one I've used the past two Thanksgivings with sublime results). It seems practically everyone has posted the Zuni roast chicken recipe (or a version of it) on their blog. If you do a search, tons and tons of websites show up. So, yes, the chicken is that good -and- that popular. So why settle for an alternative?

A couple of years ago, my friend Christine and I actually visited Zuni and ordered the famed "Chicken for Two." It's a meal that's really an event since you place your order and wait an hour for the chicken to bake…drinking a glass (or two) of wine and conversing over appetizers. In the end, we decided that although brining does make chicken wonderfully juicy and delicious, we were a little disappointed in how salty it was (you definitely wanted to drink a lot of water afterwards) and it was a rather long time to wait for dinner. The experience at home is not much different.

When deciding to brine a chicken for roasting, you have to plan ahead. To brine is a couple-day process requiring dry rubbing salt on a bird, wrapping it up, placing it in a refrigerator, turning it over after a day or so, and so forth. Besides that, to make a perfect roast chicken, you have to find a very small, whole frying chicken - which many grocery stores unfortunately don't like to carry, meaning a trip to your local butcher. Also, the bread salad is made separately…i.e. once you do get around to cooking you're stuck with multiple pans and oven temperatures (not super handy if you don't have two ovens at your disposal). As you can see, although the recipe results are generally wonderful, the prep work is not.

Whew! So after all that, this is where I get to the part about the ingenuity behind chicken baked on bread. First, Melissa's recipe calls for using pieces of chicken (rather than an entire bird), significantly reducing the overall cooking time. Second, there's no brining involved and the chicken is skinless, meaning a lower fat and lower sodium dish. Third, it's a one-dish meal (less mess in the kitchen!). And to top it all off, baking the chicken on top of the cubed bread gives the sourdough a wonderfully crispy, caramelized outer shell with a dense, chewy, savory inside. What could be better?!?

So if you're looking for an elegant, relatively simple, modern take on chicken and stuffing, chicken baked on bread could be for you. It'd be fantastic for a casual dinner shared with friends and is snap to throw together. It's also something that could be served any time of the year - Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall...Just add different ingredients to compliment the seasons. Send out the invitations!

Chicken Baked on Bread
Adapted from Food and Wine (December 2010)


INGREDIENTS

• 1 small loaf day-old sourdough, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup salted capers, rinsed well
• 1/4 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
• 1 large bunch of Baby Spinach (about 1 1/2 pounds) torn into pieces
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon minced thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the olive oil, capers, raisins, spinach, shallots, garlic and thyme. Season with salt and black pepper. Spread the bread in a large enameled cast-iron casserole (MM: My enameled cast-iron pot wasn't quite big enough...so I ended up using a tagine - which worked out fine but upped the cooking time slightly).
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and arrange them over the bread. Cover the chicken with a piece of parchment paper and close the casserole with a heavy lid. Bake the chicken for 40 minutes.
• Remove the lid and parchment paper and increase the oven temperature to 400°. Bake the chicken for 12-15 minutes longer, or until golden on top and cooked through. Remove the casserole from the oven and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the chicken with the bread and greens.

Food: The Slanted Door's Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

I'm currently planning trip to California for my Mom's 60th birthday. She's never been to the West coast and I can't wait to show her my favorite city (San Francisco) as well as charming Carmel-by-the-Sea and decedant Wine Country. Jonathan and I took a similar trip a couple of years ago and he told me it was one of his favorite vacations - super relaxing, scenic, and, of course, full of great tasting food adventures.

When I think of San Francisco, one of the first things that comes to mind is the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building (you should have assumed one of my favorite things has to do with food!). The Ferry Building is a special place with scrumptious restaurants like The Slanted Door (Vietnamese cuisine) and Taylor's Refresher (California-style roadside dining), and fine-food specialty shops like the Cowgirl Creamery (cheese), Acme Bread, Miette (cupcakes), and Scharffen Berger (chocolate). So it's only appropriate that the recipe below happens to come from my favorite Ferry Building restaurant (The Slanted Door).

The smells and flavors of this Asian-style chicken dish combined with heavenly scented jasmine rice are wonderful. And paired with the fact it only takes 30 minutes to throw together (start-to-finish), you can't really go wrong - it's faster (and better) than just ordering carry-out. To dress up the flavors and textures, I often like to serve the chicken with peeled and steamed edamame (many grocers like Trader Joe's offer this option on the frozen foods section).

So...with that said, what better meal could you make for yourself during the work week? This is a wonderfully fast, healthy, and flavorful dish that can make any night seem like a special evening. You'll feel good about yourself...even if you didn't make it to the gym tonight :)

Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

Source: Food & Wine - recipe by Charles Phan

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c fish sauce
• 1/4 c water
• 3 T rice vinegar
• 1 t minced garlic
• 1 t finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 t coarsely ground pepper
• 2 dried red chiles
• 1 T vegetable oil (I like "Smart Balance")
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces (MM Tip: If you prefer the texture of white meat, chicken breast also works well in this recipe)
• 1/4 c cilantro sprigs, roughly chopped (MM Comment: I used a little more cilantro than this and it gave the dish a bright, fresh flavor)

DIRECTIONS

• In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, water, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper and chiles.
• Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes.
• Add the fish sauce mixture and the chicken and simmer over high heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with the cilantro and serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Food: Thai Chicken Burgers

I apologize for the lack of recipe posting the past few weeks. I've been doing a lot of traveling and a lot of working outside...so generally when I have had some time to spend on the computer I've been too exhausted to do so. I know I have some catching up to do.

The night I decided to make this recipe, I came in from working in the yard to discover the power was out. So between being exhausted from a full day outside, an ice cold shower in the dark, and being worried each time I opened the refrigerator, I wasn't quite sure if I even wanted to make dinner anymore. And when I continued on my way to mixing together these "burgers," I wasn't quite sure how they'd turn out seeing as I measured and mixed together the items by the light of two candles. I was definitely thinking I might have to make a late night pizza run.

But, I ended up having luck on my side. The entire meal could be prepared and cooked without power. The chicken patties turned out better than perfect (nicely spiced with a crisp, outer shell). And the power came back on right before we were ready to eat - so we could actually see what we were eating.

A simple salad to throw together to go alongside this tasty sandwich involves mixing together a bag of broccoli slaw, ~1/2 c bean sprouts, roasted peanuts, and shitake mushrooms and tossing the mixture with the peanut-lime dressing I usually reserve for soba noodles.

This is definitely a "burger" recipe that is being added to my summer grilling rotation.

Thai Chicken Burgers

MM Original

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 2 t hot curry powder
• 1/3 c coconut milk
• 1/2+ c panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 c fresh cilantro, finelt chopped
• 1 T Thai Red Chile Paste
• 2 T natural peanut butter
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• Vegetable Oil (Use a neutral flavored oil like Smart Balance)

TOPPINGS

• Round pear slices
• Sesame topped egg buns

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients (except the oil) in a large mixing bowl, using your hands to ensure a consistent mixture throughout. The mixture should not be sticky, so keep adding panko until you get a nice "hamburger" style texture.

Form mixture into 5-6 uniform patties. Brush oil on both sides.

Grill on Direct, Medium-High heat for 8-10 minutes until cooked through, turning once during cooking process. Feel free to brush a little more oil on the patty as it cooks.

Top with a sliced pear and serve on a fresh, sesame egg bun.

Food: Meyer Lemon Gnocchi with Chicken and Asparagus

What could be better than soft potato pillows with a hint of citrus? What am I talking about, you ask? Warm potato gnocchi spiked with a hint of Meyer lemon.

If you've only ever had gnocchi out of the box (i.e. dried) or at restaurants who don't make it from scratch, you really, really, really must try the homemade version. Believe me...it's a completely different flavor and texture. There really is no comparison. Also, if you've never cooked with Meyer lemons and wonder what's so special about them...Meyer's are sweeter than regular lemons and have a thinner peel. Also, instead of being yellow they come dressed in a warm, almost egg-yolk hue. They're believed to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange (so they get their sweetness and orange coloring from the mandarins).

I've made gnocchi before (For example, here's a sweet potato gnocchi recipe I posted on here last year). But this recipe is slightly different due to Steve Corry's technique for making the dough, which keeps the gnocchi super tender and pillowy. I also love his one-pan technique since it helps cut down on the mess you make on the counter top :)

Besides boiling the dough, this recipe toasts the gnocchi in a pan afterwards. The results are wonderful - crisp, lovely, browned sides reminiscent of a heavenly potato-cake...a light as air dumpling with a slight pan-seared crunch on the outside and soft goodness on the inside.

I did make a few modifications to the original recipe. I cut down the amount of butter and added chicken and asparagus to make a more complete meal. If you're worried about not being delicate enough in your efforts to combine the chicken and asparagus with the tender gnocchi, feel free to grill the chicken breasts whole, cook the asparagus as spears, and serve as three separate items on the plate.

This recipe does have a lot of steps and it is time consuming...but it's well worth it in the end. You do dirty a lot of pans, and I apologize for that. So if you're going to make anything, at least make the gnocchi...chicken and asparagus can be any time :) And, if it helps, you should be able to make the gnocchi dough in advance. Maybe you'll want to make it in the morning and have it ready to go in the refrigerator when you get home from work. That would reduce the workload significantly.

Meyer Lemon Gnocchi with Chicken & Asparagus

Adapted from Food & Wine

SPECIAL TOOLS: Potato Ricer

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 3 large egg yolks
• Zest of 2 Meyer lemons
• 2 T plus 1 t extra virgin olive oil
• 1 t salt
• 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1 c low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, chilled
• Juice from 1 Meyer lemon
• 1/4 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 2 inch chunks
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

DIRECTIONS

• In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately high heat until the potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes (MM Tip: Super tender potatoes is key for potato ricer ease of use). Drain the potatoes, return to the pan and shake over medium heat until dry.
• Working over a large rimmed baking sheet, rice the hot potatoes in an even layer. Whisk the egg yolks, lemon zest, olive oil and 1 t salt in a small bowl and pour over potatoes. Sprinkle the flour over the potatoes and stir gently until a soft dough forms.
• Gently roll the dough into 4, 1-inch long ropes. Using a sharp knife, cut each rope into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll each piece against the tines of a fork to make ridges. Transfer the gnocchi to another baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
• In a large stockpot or French oven, bring the chicken broth to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the butter, a few pieces at a time, until the sauce is creamy. Stir in the lemon juice. Pour into a glass measuring cup and set aside. (Keep this saucepan out for future use).
• On a plate, season the chicken breast pieces with salt, pepper, and 1 t coriander. Add 1 T vegetable oil to a large, non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning 1-2 times during cooking process until cooked through. Remove from skillet and add to pot used for chicken broth. Set aside. (You may want to wash/dry the skillet to re-use for toasting the gnocchi).
• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi until they rise to the surface. Drain and toss with olive oil, and transfer to a baking sheet until cool.
• In a small skillet, add a couple of tablespoons of water and heat to medium heat. Add the asparagus and cook until just tender. Drain and set aside.
• In the large, non-stick skillet, add half of the gnocchi and cook in a single layer over high heat until browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the pan containing the chicken and repeat with the remaining gnocchi.
• Reheat the sauce, pour it over the gnocchi and chicken, heating the pan over low heat. Gently toss in the asparagus and parsley right before serving (I like using a French oven for this since it keeps the dish nicely heated when on low heat...in case anyone wants a second helping).

Food: Stacked Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

What can I say, it seems the tuna noodle has broken my opinion about one-dish, baked-in-the-oven meals and now I'm on a casserole kick. I don't think I've told any of you how I happened to stumble over these recipes lately. I'm on a nice vacation from work (i.e. I quit my old job to take a new job and decided to take off about a month in between stints). So I've been getting caught up on things around my house that I have neglected due to massive travel over the past couple of years. And one of those things is getting rid of old magazines and combing through past articles and recipes I've torn out, trying to make some sort of organization out of them. That's how I've managed to make two casseroles in one week. I suppose the recipes and the magazine tear-outs struck me in just the right way. (I promise the photo of this one doesn't do it justice...for some reason the lighting in the kitchen wasn't allowing the camera to pick up the nice green chile bits and the juicy salsa verde.)

Stacked Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Adapted from Bon Appetit - June 2007

INGREDIENTS

• 2 poblano chiles
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 12 (5- to 6-inch-diameter) corn tortillas
• 1.5, 16 oz jars salsa verde (can be found in many Mexican food sections), divided into four equal parts
• 1 small roasted chicken, skin removed, meat shredded, divided into two equal parts
• 3/4 cup sour cream, stirred to loosen
• 6 ounces grated Chihuahua cheese (about 1 1/2 cups packed)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

• Char chiles in broiler until blackened all over. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed, then cut into 2x1/2-inch strips.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat medium skillet over medium heat. Brush tortillas with vegetable oil and set aside. Add 1 tortilla to skillet; cook until slightly softened, about 15 seconds per side, turning with tongs. Transfer tortilla to paper towels to drain off any excess oil. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
• Spread one portion of salsa over bottom of 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange 4 tortillas over salsa, covering bottom of dish completely, overlapping slightly, and extending about 1 1/2 inches up sides of dish. Scatter 1/2 of the chicken over tortillas, then half of poblano strips. Spoon another portion of salsa over, spreading evenly. Spoon 1/4 cup sour cream over in small dollops. Cover with 4 tortillas, overlapping slightly. Layer with remaining chicken, remaining poblanos, another portion of salsa, and 1/4 cup sour cream. Cover with remaining 4 tortillas, remaining salsa, and remaining 1/4 cup sour cream. Sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake casserole until bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces; divide among plates. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Food: Chicken Pepian

The snow melted here last week but alas it's coming down from the sky again. It's not even February and I'm already itching for warmer weather to spend time outside in the sun and in my flowerbeds. So...in a time where I'm already starting to think of spring, what could be better than a warm dish with nutty, spicy and citrusy flavors? I like to think of this one as a fusion between winter and summer...warmth and heat to keep you toasty and bright clean flavors to remind you better weather is on its way (hopefully sooner than later!).

When I first saw this recipe, I was intrigued. I don't think I've ever thought of making a sauce out of raw pumpkin seeds and tomatillos (And you wouldn't believe how difficult it was to find raw seeds at my local grocery store - thank goodness for Whole Foods and Trader Joe's). I had been eyeing this recipe for some time now but unfortunately hadn't made a good enough effort to find the main ingredient. Although I admit it isn't super pretty on the plate (see the big green pile below), I'm sure the plating could be improved...especially if I had followed the instructions adding a lime wedge and a sprig of cilantro on the side. I promise the flavor more than makes up for the appearance.

Chicken Pepian
Modified from a recipe by: Ellie Krieger

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 fresh tomatillos
• 1 large poblano pepper, seeded and cut into 4 pieces
• 1 t dried jalapeno pepper flakes (can substitute red pepper) - adjust based on how much heat you'd like in the dish
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 1/2 cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
• Fresh cracked pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
• Lime wedges

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the broiler and remove "paper" layer tomatillos then rinse them in warm water to remove some of their natural stickiness. Pat dry, then cut into quarters. Toss tomatillos and poblano with 2 teaspoons of the oil, place on a baking sheet and broil until charred, about 10 minutes.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add pumpkin seeds, pepper, and cumin and toast until pumpkin seeds are fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• In same saute pan, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
• Place tomatillos, poblano, onions and garlic, cilantro, chicken broth, toasted seeds and spices and salt in a blender and blend on high until totally smooth, about 30 seconds.
• Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in skillet and cook the chicken until browned on both sides and nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
• Add pepian sauce to skillet, covering chicken pieces. Bring to a simmer and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Serve chicken topped with sauce and garnished with cilantro and lime wedges

Food: Shish Kabobs

We're in the middle of tailgating season right now and it just so happens one of my favorite things on the grill works pretty great as tailgating food: Shish Kabobs. In three simple steps (1. Marinate the meat overnight; 2. Skewer the morning of the game; 3. Place in gallon-size ziplock baggies for easy transporting) you have something easy and delish to throw on the grill. And since these bad boys consist of both veggies and meat, you don't need to pack a million side dishes to go along with them! If you're in charge of all of the tailgate food, you could turn this into a complete Mediterranean meal by buying some pitas and hummus and mixing up a quick tabouli mix with fresh, diced tomatoes. Ask a friend to bring some cookies or brownies and you're all set!

MM Note: I don't know why I don't make these more often. First of all, the marinade transforms any meat into something tangy, juicy and flavorful. And second, they're so easy! I generally do a mix of chicken and beef to keep the crowds pleased and alternate skewers with pearl onions (defrosted frozen pearl onions save time since they're already peeled), grape tomatoes, pineapple chunks, sliced green pepper, and garlic.

Shish Kabob Marinade
MM

Ingredients

• 1 c Cooking Oil (I like to use something with little-to-no flavor like Smart Balance)
• 1/4 c Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 1/2 t Kosher Salt
• 1 T Fresh Cracked Pepper
• 2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
• 3/4 c Soy Sauce
• 2 T Dry Mustard
• 1/4 c Fresh Parsley, chopped
• 1/2 c Wine Vinegar
• Juice from 1 Lemon
  

Food: Quick Grilled Chicken and Caesar Potato Salad

When I think of summer barbeques and picnics, two of the items that instantly come to mind are potato salad and grilled chicken. A couple of weekends ago I made this really quick meal for dinner, inspired by the Caesar Potato salad recipe featured in June's Bon Appetit. I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me to try a Caesar dressing on potatoes before, but this was great! Not only was it a non-mayo potato salad (which makes it more transportable for sticky, summer days), it's all fancied up for a celebration (or in this case a casual dinner) with colored baby potatoes, radishes, and crunchy sugar snap peas. It'd make a fantastic, showy, 4th of July side dish - especially if you mixed in some purple potatoes. I'm looking forward to making it again very soon.

Sorry...another blurry iPhone picture....

Smoky Grilled Chicken MM

Ingredients

• 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Tb Smoked Paprika
• 3 Tb Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

• Pre-heat your grill to medium heat
• In a small bowl, mix together smoked paprika, olive oil, salt and pepper
• After trimming any excess fat off the chicken, lay the breasts on a counter between two sheets of waxed paper and pound them flat to ensure they are all of uniform thickness.
• Brush both sides of the chicken them with the oil/paprika mixture
• Grill 8 to 12 minutes on Direct Medium, turning chicken mid-way through
  

Caesar Potato Salad with Sugar Snap Peas
From Bon Appetit (June 2009)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds unpeeled assorted fingerling potatoes or baby potatoes (such as white-skinned, red-skinned, and purple), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 8 oz trimmed sugar snap peas
• 1 bunch radishes, trimmed, sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  

Directions

• Steam potatoes on steamer rack set in large pot over boiling water until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and steam until peas are crisp-tender and potatoes are just tender, about 1 minute longer. Transfer vegetables to large bowl. Cool slightly.
• Add radishes and onion.
• Whisk next 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Whisk in Parmesan. Season dressing with salt and generous amount of pepper. Add dressing to potato mixture; toss to coat. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.