Buttermilk-Marinated and Herbed Roast Chicken

Buttermilk is amazing for fried chicken and makes it tender and juicy, and it's also awesome for roasted chicken. The meat is tender and juicy and the skin as this amazing tang. It's super simple. I used the recipe from The Times this week, but added the herbs because I had them. You're welcome to omit the herbs, or stuff the chicken with onion or lemon or some combo of aromatics. Yum! The buttermilk also gives the chicken a really rich, dark brown skin. You just need to start the night before. 

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 3-pound chicken

1 pint buttermilk

3 tablespoons kosher salt

handful sage and rosemary

Collard Wraps

Has anyone tried collard wraps? Seems to be the new thing! I had my first one from Bare Burger when I was deep into gestational diabetes and had a moratorium on carbs. It's kind of genius. You can use a big, sturdy collard leaf to wrap up anything that you would normally use a tortilla to wrap. You can do burritos, wraps, sandwiches, etc. I tried it for a desk lunch and it was quick and delicious, and of course, healthier than a couple big slices of bread or a big tortilla. Will definitely be doing this more! I stuffed the wrap with some sriracha chicken salad.

You just wash and dry a big collard leaf, put it vein-side-up and shave the vein down to be the same level with the leaf (to make it more pliable), then use the leaf as you would use a tortilla or wrap. 

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Broccoli and Carrots

After a mini vacation in California eating everything in sight, I wanted a nice, homey meal. I love this recipe for roasted chicken and wanted to change it up with broccoli and carrots. Yum! It's easy, pretty healthy, and a great weeknight meal. Your house will smell amazing when you cook it. 

BBQ Chicken

Yum! I tried out the New York Times style of watering down the BBQ sauce to 50/50 sauce vs water. This is supposed to make it so the flavor slowly concentrates and caramelizes without burning. It's great! I made my own BBQ sauce, but you can either make your own or just use store-bought. 

Ingredients:

8 pieces of chicken (ideally 4 thighs and 4 drumsticks)

1 cup BBQ sauce mixed with 1 cup of water

salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat up half of a charcoal grill to medium heat and leave the other half without coals. (On a gas grill, leave one burner off.) Season the chicken with salt and pepper and put over the hot part of the grill. Cook for 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so, and basting continuously with the watered down BBQ sauce. After they are brown, move them to the other side of the grill and cook them there for another 15-20 minutes until cooked. (Peek inside and make sure it's no longer pink.) Finish them up over the hot coals for another couple of minutes, basting with sauce. 

Chicken Kabobs

We had a big weekend of eating and drinking (see monkey bread), so I wanted something a little lighter for dinner. I found this recipe for kabobs - yum! I had to alter it slightly because I didn't have aleppo pepper, but it worked out great with paprika, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Yogurt is a great base for chicken marinades because it tenderizes the chicken and keeps is juicy when you're cooking at a high temperature. Usually, grilled chicken breast is pretty dry but this chicken is super moist and flavorful. I serve it with pita, tzatziki, babaganoush, and some Greek salad. 

Ingredients:

3 big chicken breasts, cut into 1.5" pieces

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp warm water

Black Garlic-Roasted Cornish Game Hen

This is a simple and tasty weeknight dinner. I used black garlic, but you can swap in regular garlic - just halve it and mash it to a paste. The black garlic is a sweeter more subtle garlic flavor. 

Thai Chicken Soup

This is a really light and flavorful soup. I recommend making your own stock, but store-bought is fine, too. 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lemongrass stalks, 1-2 hard outer layers discarded

2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

2 quarts chicken stock

1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained but reserving juice

2oz tamarind paste

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 Serrano chiles, thinly sliced

A little lime zest

Coq a la Biere (Chicken Cooked in Beer)

I made this years ago when I was abroad in Paris but hadn't thought of it again until today. It's basically the same as coq au vin but with beer instead of red wine. It has such a great flavor and it a perfect fall or winter hearty dinner served over some buttered egg noodles. It also makes your house smell wonderful.

Vinegar Hill House Chicken

Vinegar Hill House is an amazing restaurant in Vinegar Hill, just North of DUMBO. They have this incredible roast chicken. Usually I won't get chicken at a restaurant and go for something more exotic, but I'd heard good things, and I love anything with vinegar as an ingredient. It's rich and tangy and just perfectly chickeny. The chicken jus, vinegar, butter, and shallots makes an intoxicating sauce. 

My wonderful friend Kara who knows me so well bought me this cookbook which has the recipe inside. Thanks, Kara! If you make extra jus, freeze it and then it makes the whole process a little quicker. (It is a bit of a process - only do it if you have a free afternoon.) My pictures don't do  it justice.

Serves 4

Ingredient:

10 shallots, peeled, 2 sliced and 8 whole

1 large yellow onion, sliced

two 2-3 pound organic or Amish chickens (back bone removed, cut in half, leaving wing bones and leg in tact but removing and reserving all other bones)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cups dry white wine

1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 bay leaf

8 sprigs fresh thyme, divided

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter

4 tsp vegetable oil, divided

1/2 cup sherry vinegar

Cornflake-Crusted Chicken

I've always heard good things about using cornflakes on chicken, so when I was in the grocery and looking for a cheap dinner, I decided to try it. It's really easy and has a great, flavorful crunch. Feel free to change the seasoning.

Serve 3-4
Ingredients:
4 skinless chicken thighs
1 cup crushed corn flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp freshly chopping basil
1 tsp freshly chopped parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
big pinch of cayenne pepper
1 egg
1 tbsp water

Roasted Chicken Legs and Ramps

 

I, like the rest of New York, am totally into ramps. They're only around for a month or so in the spring, so I try to use them a lot. First ramp dish this year was roasted chicken and ramps. I usually love just tossing the ramps with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and grilling them, so this was similar. The leaves get crispy and the bulbs are sweet. Yum.

This is really simple for a weeknight dinner, and I served it with some peas at Jamie's request.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 chicken legs
2 bunches of ramps, roots removed
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 lemon, sliced

Directions:
Heat the oven to 500. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Toss the chicken and ramps with salt and pepper and olive oil. Put in the oven for 10 minutes, then top the chicken with lemon slices, and put in for another 20 minutes, or until the chicken is nicely browned. Check on the ramps - you'll probably need to remove them 10 minutes before the chicken.

Sunday Night Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

Yesterday was a rainy Sunday and I was just really in the mood for a nice roast chicken. Roasting a chicken on top of root vegetables is always an easy 1-pot dinner, and I had some extra time, so I brined the chicken, too. (You don't need to brine a chicken if you buy a kosher chicken.) I think it added some flavor and made it juicier. This is a really nice Sunday dinner, hearty and with good flavors. Feel free to change the root veggies and do carrots or potatoes or butternut squash - whatever you like.

Ingredients:
1 4 lb chicken

Brine:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup salt
4 garlic cloves, crushed
tbsp black pepper corns
water

Fried Chicken and Waffles

So, being engaged is great. I keep getting all of these wonderful presents! My awesome future sisters-in-law threw me a shower last weekend (thank you!) and one of the lovely gifts I received was a waffle iron. Jamie was so excited and insisted on having waffles for dinner one night this week. I saw this as an opportunity to finally try fried chicken and waffles. I'd heard about it, but never actually had it. Boy was I missing out! Not exactly wedding-diet material, but if you want a really hearty, really delicious dinner, this is it. And we topped it off with some Champagne because, why not?

I got the fried chicken recipe from Cook's Illustrated and it's safe to say it's the best fried chicken I've ever had (and certainly ever made). It does require some time (and I even cut back from the 5 hour prep they suggested to 2 hours because it was after work). The brine is incredibly flavorful and really soaks into the chicken, and the crust is unbelievably crispy - with juicy, juicy meat inside. Home run! Jamie loved the combination of the maple syrup and the crispy fried chicken.

Thai Chicken and Spicy Asparagus Stir Fry

After Cinco de Mayo tamales (recipe coming soon) and other fun eating with Chip and Siobhan last weekend, once again, Jamie and I found ourselves craving healthy, fresh food on Monday night. I picked one recipe from the Times and one from Food & Wine, partially from the mouthwatering pictures printed alongside them - Thai Chicken with Hot-Sour-Salty-Sweet Sauce (also, can you resist that name?) and Stir-Fried Spicy Asparagus because asparagus is fresh, healthy, and so delicious this time of year. It's also nice that the asparagus takes less than 2 minutes to cook. It's delicious! The asparagus is extremely fresh and light, and the chicken is juicy. The real star is the dipping sauce. I want to make a gallon of it and pour it on everything. It's pretty much a winning combination of all of the tastes. Yum!

Thai Chicken, serves 4
Ingredients:
Marinated Chicken:
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 whole chicken legs
Dipping Sauce:
1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate dissolved in 1 tsp water (or 1 tsp tamarind paste)
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 small  Thai chili (or jalapeno) seeded and minced
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Roasted chicken with potatoes, asparagus, and lemon

Yum! This is so, so tasty! And easy! One pot, too. Pretty perfect meal. I found this great recipe on MarthaStewart.com. The potatoes are super crispy on the outside and soft inside and sweetened from the lemon, and the roasted lemon is very mellow and sweet instead of tart and acidic. The asparagus is cooked perfectly and still has a little crunch and the pan juices are flavorful and great drizzled on top. She recommended a roasting pan which I think would work fine. I only had a pyrex one, so I opted for a cast iron skillet instead so the potatoes would be crispier. It worked perfectly. Also, I got 4 chicken legs instead of a whole chicken cut up because it was way cheaper. I recommend that, as long as you like dark meat. The whole dinner cost $12 and would serve 4 (or 2 and then lunch the next day). Jamie was so psyched about it he asked, "Do I get to live like this forever?" with a big grin on his face.

Ingredients:
4 chicken legs
1 1/2 pound little red potatoes, halved
3 tbsp butter cut into little pieces
salt and pepper
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
1 tsp dried thyme (she says fresh, but I didn't have any)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475. Put the potatoes and 1 1/2 tbsp butter in the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

White Wine Braised Chicken Thighs

Last week there was a particularly cold and blustery day so I was craving something warming, and on the cheap side. I settled on braised chicken thighs. I spent $8 at the grocery and it fed me and Jamie dinner and lunch the next day. The white wine broth has a great flavor and the turnips get really soft and sweet. Great quick version of a braise (the whole thing takes about 45 minutes).

Ingredients:
5 chicken thighs
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
5 gloves of garlic, crushed
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
2 turnips, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig rosemary
A bunch of baby red potatoes (I used 9)
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
Olive oil and butter
Salt and pepper
Snow peas, cut in half

Fried Cornish Game Hen

Jamie and I had a big ugly sweater Christmas party and the next night were feeling like we needed a little comfort food.

I had never made real, deep fried chicken before and went to the grocery to pick out what I thought I might need. There was a sale on Cornish game hen and I love these little birds. They cook faster than chicken and they're delicious, and great when you just have two people to feed. So then fried chicken turned into fried Cornish game hen. Sounds fancy, right? You could totally serve it at a dinner party without seeming too down home. (Don't be intimidated by the name - Cornish game hens are basically just mini chickens.)

Red Wine Braised Chicken Thighs

I wanted something somewhat healthy for dinner last night, and something cheap. It was a little cold, so I thought chicken thighs braised in red wine would be perfect and warm and tasty. My grocery run cost $5.06 (for 5 chicken thighs and a big leek) and it fed two of us for dinner and lunch the next day. Letting the red wine and broth cook down makes the sauce so flavorful. I served it over some Israeli couscous just because that's what I had on hand, but this would be great on polenta or mashed potatoes too. The whole process took an hour, and most of that was just braising/cooking down, so it's totally doable for a week night. Of course, feel free to add other veggies if you want it to be more coq au vin style, but this is simple, tasty, and cheap.

Ingredients:
5 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
1 large leek, rinsed and sliced into 1/4 inch rings
5 cloves garlic, crushed

15-Minute Fried Chicken and Pea Puree

I was in the mood for some comfort food last night and remembered a chicken I had made after reading the recipe in the times in 2009. It was Mark Bittman's 15-Minute Fried Herbed Chicken. I was daydreaming about it all day and couldn't wait to rush home to make the crunchy, herbacious chicken. I thought pea puree would be the perfect, homie side, also a pretty burst of color. It was a big hit. Jamie had two pieces of chicken and we devoured the peas. We followed with some delicious brownies (recipe to come). It's an easy dinner and the bright pea puree and the browned chicken are very tempting.

15-Minute Fried Herbed Chicken (served 4)
Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cheaper to buy with bone in/skin on and debone/take off the skin yourself)
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, I used sage and basil
2 tbsp tahini, or peanut butter
1/4 cup olive oil, more for frying
flour for dredging
lemon wedges for serving

Directions:
In a food processor, combine onion, herbs, and tahini. Puree the mixture and add just enough olive oil to make a smooth, thick paste (you don't want it too watery or it won't stick to the chicken).
Put flour in a small bowl. Smear the puree on the chicken and dredge in flour. Shake off excess and repeat, putting on more puree and dredging again - this makes it extra crispy.

Heat about 1/4" olive oil in a large skillet and heat until a pinch of flour sizzles. Add the chicken thighs and cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Pea Puree
Ingredients:
1 box frozen peas
3 tbsp water
2-3 tablespoons butter
1 tbsp milk
salt and pepper

Directions:
Add the frozen peas and water to a small pot and cook about 5 minutes, or until peas are tender. Add to a food processor with butter and milk and puree. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Flattened Brick Chicken

Cooking a whole chicken in the summer seems daunting, long, and hot - but not if you do a flattened brick chicken! Flatten out a chicken and cook it in a hot skillet with weight on top and it cooks quickly and evenly and has a great crispy skin and juicy meat. Great leftovers for chicken sandwiches. Very tasty!

Ingredients:
1 2-3 pound chicken
spice rub
olive oil

Directions:
Butterfly the chicken. To do this, use kitchen shears to cut out the backbone. Turn the chicken over and press against the breast with your hand until it flattens (you'll probably hear a crack). Cut out the breast bone. Cover the chicken in a spice rub and let sit for half an hour or so.

Heat a large skillet (or grill pan) and add a little oil, then put the chicken in breast side down. Weight the chicken down with either two bricks wrapped in tin foil or another heavy skillet. (I used a pot full of water.) This helps the chicken cook evenly.

Cook on breast side until crispy and brown, about 10 minutes. Flip the chicken (wiping the bricks/skillet/pot) so it's skin side up and put the weights back on, cooking another 10 minutes or so until juices run clear. Let the chicken sit on a cutting board for about 5 minutes, then cut it up and serve! Juicy and delicious. I served it with steamed haricots verts.