Roasted Chicken With Potatoes, Arugula and Garlic Yogurt

Image and recipe from New York Times Cooking here

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks 
• 1 ¼ pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes, halved and cut into 1/2-inch slices 
• 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed 
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed 
• 2 tablespoons harissa (or use another thick hot sauce, such as sriracha) 
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin 
• 4 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed 
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced 
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest (from 1/2 lemon) 
• ⅓ cup plain yogurt (do not use Greek yogurt) 
• 1 small garlic clove 
• 2 ounces baby arugula Chopped fresh dill, as needed Lemon juice, as needed

PREPARATION

Combine chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together harissa, cumin and 3 tablespoons oil. Pour over chicken and potatoes and toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine leeks, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange chicken and potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes. Toss potatoes lightly. Scatter leeks over pan. Roast until chicken and potatoes are cooked through and everything is golden and slightly crisped, 25 to 30 minutes longer.

While chicken cooks, place yogurt in a small bowl. Grate garlic over yogurt and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon yogurt over chicken and vegetables in the pan. Scatter arugula and dill over mixture. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice and serve.

Peach-Glazed Pork Chops with Fresh Peach Salsa

Peach-Glazed Pork Chops with Fresh Peach Salsa

Ingredients:

For the sauce/marinade:

·        3/4 cup peach jam or preserves

·        6 Tbs. Maker’s Mark bourbon whiskey or peach nectar

·        4 Tbs. white wine vinegar

·        1/4 tsp. salt

·        1/2 to 3/4 tsp. hot-pepper sauce

For the peach salsa:

·        3 cup chopped peaches

·        1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

·        1/2 cup chopped red onion

·        1 to 2 jalapeño chilies, seeded and finely chopped

·        3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro or mint

·        1 tsp. grated lime zest

·        2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

·        Dash olive oil

·        Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

·        6 boneless pork chops, each about 6 oz. and 3/4 inch thick

·        3 Tbs. olive oil

·        Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Sauce/Marinade - In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the jam, bourbon, vinegar and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the hot-pepper sauce and remove from the heat. Use the sauce immediately, or let cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. If refrigerated, remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before using. Measure out 3 Tbs. of the sauce to use as a glaze for the pork and reserve. Marinade pork chops in remainder of sauce.

Peach Salsa - In a bowl, combine the peaches, bell pepper, onion, chilies, cilantro, lime zest and lime juice and toss gently to mix. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Grilling - Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. Oil the grill rack. Brush the chops on both sides with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Brush the chops on both sides with some of the sauce.

Grill the chops over the hottest part of a charcoal fire or directly over the heat elements of a gas grill, turning once and brushing with additional sauce, until cooked to your liking, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium (slightly pink at the center and juicy).

Transfer the chops to a warmed platter and brush them with the reserved 3 Tbs. peach sauce. Let rest for 3 minutes. Serve with the salsa spooned on top or alongside. Serves 4 to 6.

Adapted from here, which was adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Essentials of Grilling, by Denis Kelly, Melanie Barnard, Barbara Grunes, Michael McLaughlin & Bob & Coleen Simmons (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Chicken Breast Calvados

Image from here

CHICKEN BREAST CALVADOS

Printed from COOKS.COM

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1 lg. (about 1/2 lb.) Golden Delicious or Newtown Pippin apple
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 c. apple brandy, Brandy, or apple juice
2 boned & skinned chicken breast halves, (about 3/4 lb. total)
2 slices (about 1 oz. each) Havarti cheese
Minced parsley

Peel, core, and thinly slice apple. Divide between 2 shallow ovenproof Ramekins (1 1/2 to 2 cup size) the apple slices, brandy, and half the nutmeg. Cover Ramekins tightly with foil. Bake apples in a 400 degree oven until tender when pierced, about 20 minutes. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Put one breast half in each dish, basting surface of chicken with juices, then sprinkle with remaining nutmeg. Bake, uncovered, until chicken is no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 12 minutes. Top chicken with cheese. Broil 6 inches from heat until cheese is bubbling, about 2 minutes longer. Sprinkle with parsley.

Recipe from here.

Artichoke Arugula Pizza

Move the oven rack to the lowest level for a crisp crust on the pizza.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 wedges)

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
2 tablespoons commercial pesto
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 (9-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained
1 ounce thinly sliced prosciutto
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups arugula leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation
Position oven rack to lowest setting. Preheat oven to 500° (425° if convection oven)

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with cornmeal.
Unroll dough onto prepared baking sheet, and pat into a 14 x 10-inch rectangle.
Spread the pesto evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over pesto.
Place baking sheet on the bottom oven rack; bake at 500° for 5 minutes.
Remove pizza from oven. Leave oven on.

Coarsely chop artichokes.
Arrange artichokes on pizza; top with sliced prosciutto.
Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Return pizza to the bottom oven rack; bake an additional 6 minutes or until crust is browned.

Place arugula in a bowl.
Drizzle juice over arugula; toss gently.
Top the pizza with arugula mixture.
Cut the pizza into 4 (7 x 5-inch) rectangles; cut each rectangle diagonally into 2 wedges.

Nutritional Information

Calories	419 (28% from fat)
Fat	13g (sat 4.4g,mono 6.4g,poly 0.6g)
Protein	20.1g
Carbohydrate	55.3g
Fiber	5.7g
Cholesterol	20mg
Iron	3.6mg
Sodium	1001mg
Calcium	265mg

Kate Washington, Cooking Light, JANUARY 2007

Chicken Marbella

Chicken Marbella

2 chickens, 2 ½ pounds each, quartered, skins removed
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
¼ cup dried oregano
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes, dried apricots, dried figs or any combination of your favorite dried fruits
½ cup pitted Spanish green olives
½ cup capers with a bit juice
6 bay leaves

½ cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
¼ cup Italian parsley or fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper, and coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, dried fruits, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when the pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.

With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, dried fruits, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

8 pieces, 5 or more portions

dutchbaby's notes: I am a great fan of all the Silver Palate cookbooks. This is by far my favorite recipe of Rosso and Lukins'.

Modifications to the original recipe:
* The original recipe calls for 4 chickens instead of two, but I didn't change the proportions of the remaining ingredients because double the amount of sauce is a real bonus!
* The original recipe calls for prunes only, I like to use other dried fruits as well.
* The original recipe call for 1 cup brown sugar, I prefer to add only ½ cup.

angel-in-love's notes: Made the same recipe modifications as dutchbaby plus: I used only chicken tenders and I tried to find apricots that are not too sweet.