Thursday, April 22, 2010

Honey Citrus Chicken

This is a riff on a Rachael Ray recipe I saw on TV. I honestly have no idea what she made because I was at the gym and wasn't listening, but it looked like it had Oranges and Honey and herbs. So here is my take:

One Chicken cut into parts
2 lemons
2 oranges
1 head of garlic
1/2 cup honey
1/2 onion
Kosher Salt
Dried Thyme and Oregano (Or fresh, but I dont have any fresh yet this season)

Rinse the chicken and sprinkle with the juice of one lemon and kosher salt. Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 424 F

Take Garlic, cut off the top to expose the inside of most of the cloves, sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Wrap in tin foil.

In a roasting pan, place slices of oranges and the last lemon and the half an onion, sprinkle with olive oil and salt and toss to coat. Move the citrus to the side of then pan and place the chicken around, skin side up. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, oregano and thyme. Rub to coat.

In the microwave, warm the honey to make it more spreadable, drizzle that over the top of the chicken.

Place the roasting pan and the head of garlic in the oven and roast for 45 minutes or until done.

Put the chicken, citrus, onions on a platter. Squeeze out the garlic cloves and scatter them around. Drizzle with the pan juices and serve. I will serve this with some bread, some rice, and probably some corn on the cob.

This is one of those meals that forces us to slow down and savor the time together at dinner, and gives us a reason to take a much needed break from our busy lives.

I think it even deserves homemade bread and maybe a special dessert. I will let you know what I find.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Chicken Taco Burgers and Onion Rings

This tax season thing is really killing my blog. I am just too busy actually living life to write about it. But this came out yummy and I want to remember it. You should try it too!

Chicken Taco Burgers

1 1/2 lb chopped chicken
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 onion, minced (Use the small middles of the two onions for the next recipe, as minced onion in the burgers)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg
1 packet of taco seasoning

Mix the meat with all the other stuff other stuff and pop it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. It is easier to work with cool.

Using a 1/3 cup measure to plop a pile of the chicken onto your grill pan or greased grill, flatten with a spatula and cook. Flip. Cook some more. Till done. I served these on potato rolls with some salsa con queso poured on top and a slice of crisp lettuce.

Onion Rings

2 onions cut into 1/4 inch thick rings
2 cups flour
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups canola oil
spices to suit your taste.

Heat oil in a large pot.

Split the flour into two bags and season. Drop a handful of rings into one bag, then dip in a bowl of buttermilk and place in the other bag. Shake to coat. You may have to add some more flour to the second bag and it gets too gooky. Is that a word? Drop in the oil, do not crowd them. Fry for a few minutes and drain on paper towels. Repeat until all the onions are cooked.