White Wine Braised Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014....

Another lovely winter day with a brisk high of 84!!! Are you kidding me, Los Angeles?!?! It's like Jimmy Fallon said, the only two seasons we have in Los Angeles are Pilot and Awards.

Some of my favorite things about "Awards Season (aka Winter)" are comforting soups, slow cooked braises, and cozy comfort food. Nothing warms you up on an 80 degree day like beef stew. Ha. Right about now I am getting in bikini shape, thinking maybe we should fire up the grill for some burgers!

This weather is stupid. I love living in southern CA, and I LOVE that we never have to shovel snow (well, that Rich never has to) or bundle up in 14 layers (3-4 is nice though, JCrew agrees with me)...  But, we are getting close to mid July temperatures while the rest of the country is dealing with the "arctic vortex/frozen tundra/other thing Al Roker made up" nonsense.

So... what to do, what to do...

Make a braise... I just don't want to feel left out, ya know? The sun may be shining outside, but my house can be filled with the delicious aromas of roasting chicken and winter scented Yankee Candles. With just a few tweaks, you can make a perfect, lightened up version of this quintessential Awards Season dinner.

Here's the plan: Ditch the rich, heavy tasting red wine for white wine. Bonus: now you can drink that bottle of Brunello you were going to cook with. And since awards season will soon give way to "Bikini Season" (which is the season Rich gives me "awards" for...) leave out the bacon and veggies and add olives and preserved lemons and voila... you've got a lighter, bikini friendly, take on a classic coq au vin.

White Wine Braised Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Ingredients:
2 sprigs thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)

1 bay leaf

Small handful of parsley leaves, chopped, plus a few stems

6 skin-on chicken legs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

10 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups white wine

2 cups chicken stock or broth

16 green, briny olives

2 small preserved lemons, cut into ⅛-inch thick rounds (**recipe below)

**Whole Foods usually has preserved lemons in the olive bar section, but if they let you down (like they did me yesterday...) you can use this recipe in a pinch.  Slice two lemons into 1/8 inch rounds. Place in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, cover with water, and bake at 250 degrees for three hours. 

Method:

Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat a dutch oven (or large braising dish) and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, brown the chicken, skin-side down for about 4 minutes until brown and crispy. Turn and brown the other side. Set the chicken aside and add the garlic cloves to the pan and sauté until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a bowl and set aside.

Make a roux. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour to the pan and whisk over low heat until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the wine and bring it to a boil, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to pull up the brown bits. Continue to cook until the wine is reduced by 1/3. Add the stock, browned garlic cloves, bay leaf, olives and thyme sprigs to the pan. Tuck the chicken, skin-side up, into the sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or so. You cannot rally over cook this dish... which is the best part of a braise!

Preheat the oven t o 425 degrees. Place the chicken legs on a large baking sheet along with the preserved lemon slices. Remove the garlic, olives, and herbs from the sauce and set them aside. Then, bring the sauce to a boil and reduce it until it is a nice consistency and coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and season to taste with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

While the sauce is reducing (it took about 25 minutes for me), put the chicken and lemons in the oven to brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the garlic, olives, and browned chicken back into the reduced sauce. Place the preserved lemon slices on the chicken and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

I served this over oven roasted potatoes and it was perfect.

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This, and many other delicious recipes, can be found on TastingTable.com!

Carolina Style BBQ Pulled Chicken

Oh, hi.
Remember me?
Ya... I have a blog.

You may remember me from the past few posts about my daily juicing "habit," buttttt, well.... I caught a cold and now the last thing that I want to drink is juice, so we are going to take a short break from that whole idea. I'm certainly not the best at committing to these grande plans that I come up with, but I am really good at my marriage and that is a huge commitment, so that's gotta give me some points, right? It kind of evens out? Look, I juiced some really good juices... and now I am ready to move on. Maybe I will come back to it, maybe I won't. I am on the no plan juice plan and were gonna play that plan by ear.

On a more positive, solid food note.... I catered a party a couple of weekends ago and pretended that I was a southern belle again. You know, the whole she-bang. Biscuits, pimento cheese, slaw, mac n cheese.... I did it up real southern and real delicious.

I really just love southern food. SO much. It's comforting, it's satisfying, and it's gosh darn delicious. (Ya, I said "gosh darn." It was cute, right?) You should give it a try... Southern food that is. It will make you happy and it will make you full which are the very best things to be.

a little southern birthday catering by yours truly. 

Ingredients:
5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (they don't have to be boneless and skinless, but it makes everything easier because you don't have to pick out the skin and bones. That all sounds very barbaric, but it is true.)
2 onions, quartered
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Special equipment:
Slow cooker

carolina style BBQ pulled chicken

Method:
Place onions in slow cooker.
Blend brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper; rub over chicken things.
Place chicken in a slow cooker and drizzle the liquid smoke over it. If you haven't used liquid smoke before, you are in for a treat. It is awesome.
Combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and garlic, stir to mix well and then pour into slow cooker.
Cook the chicken on low for about 8 hours until it is falling apart and your house smells like heaven.
Remove meat and onions, discard onions and shred meat. Add juices from slow cooker to the shredded chicken so that it is super moist. I know that word is gross to many of you, but it is the only appropriate word. I am sorry.
Now, here's the really great thing... this chicken is freaking delicious by itself, or you can pile it on a bun, top it with some slaw, and eat it as the most delicious pulled chicken sandwich ever.

Enjoy!

Post Labor Day Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken

I am blogging today from a very different place than usual. You see... we went to Palm Springs for  a pretty epic Labor Day weekend, and my brain has decided that it still needs a day or two of vacation before getting it together. Four days in a gorgeous house with a huge pool and 7 of your absolute favorite friends really takes it's toll on a girl. I am tired, extra freckly, and feel a little bit like a fish must feel when you deprive it of water... dead. So, we're just gonna roll with this and see how it goes....

Upon our return last night, the Mr. and I walked through our front door, explained to our dogs that the only kind of attention we were capable of was the cuddling kind (mostly of each other, while they watched, confused and sad), then planted our lazy (but nice) asses immediately on the couch with absolutely no intention of moving for at least 12 hours. We succeeded with flying colors because, well, let's be honest, we are very dedicated when we put our minds to something. We ordered not only one meal, but two. Yup, we had two meals delivered to our couch yesterday. It was more of a pre-dinner  and late dinner.

It really worked for us, but it got me thinking.... maybe since I am a chef (surprise!) and I put my body through a little more abuse than usual over the past four days, I could pull it together, lose the Chinese delivery guy's number, save a few bucks, and make my own crave-worthy Asian peanut noodles while keeping my waistline in mind (it is possible, both for me to think and for me to do). I finished that thought (and my second round of delivery food) and decided that, once again....this was a plan worth succeeding at. So, here we go....

Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken

Ingredients:
Peanut Sauce-
1/2 cup chicken broth (or no-chicken, chicken broth for vegetarians)
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp organic honey
1 tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
3/4 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp siracha sauce (or more to taste if you like spicy)

Chicken-
10oz (2 small) chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/2 tbsp siracha sauce
juice of 1/2 lime
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh garlic, grated
1 tsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
1/2 tbsp sesame oil

8oz rice noodles (you can find them in the Asian section of your super market)
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
1 1/4 cups ribboned carrots (the original recipe called for shredded carrots, but I used a vegetable peeler and shaved mine into pasta like ribbons, which added a great texture when mixed with the noodles... and helps to cut carbs!)
1 cup grated broccoli stems (again, the original recipe called for shredded broccoli slaw, I used the stems of a head of broccoli and grated it. This worked great and I saved the crown for another use.)
1 cup bean sprouts
2 tbsp chopped peanuts
Sliced lime and cilantro for garnish (optional)

I know, this seems like a TON of ingredients, but the dish comes together super quickly!
And obviously, if you want to make these vegetarian... leave out the chicken.

Method:
Marinate chicken with siracha, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and tamari sauce. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the dish.

To make the sauce, combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir every few minutes and simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce is smooth and well blended. Set aside.

Prepare the rice noodles according to the package directions. Most likely, you will place the noodles in a large bowl, pour boiling water over them, and let them sit for 8-10 minutes until tender.

Heat sesame oil in a skillet and sauté chicken on high heat until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Add shredded broccoli and carrot ribbons to the skillet and sauté for just two minutes. You still want them to be crisp!

Toss rice noodles, broccoli, carrots, and chicken together with the peanut sauce. Place on a bed of bean sprouts and top with sliced green onions, chopped peanuts. Garnish with lime wedge and cilantro.

Makes about 2 servings.
Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste.com


P.S. (as in Palm Springs....)
I though about it and due to my braggy first paragraph, I feel it is only right to share a few photos from our Palm Springs getaway. I love photos and I love sharing, so here you go!

 

 

My friends are better than your friends. Well okay, I don't know that

for a fact. I just know that mine are pretty fantastic.

Fried Chicken Southern Feast

I talk about a lot of things that I love on this blog. It's safe to say that I'm a pretty lovey- dovey person. (You should see me after a glass of wine...) But there are few things that give me butterflies more than a dinner party. (Except Rich, a glass of wine... or even better, Rich handing me a glass of wine). As I've gotten older, I've even found ways to tie all of the things that I love into a dinner party.  And with Michael's sister, Elizabeth, in town, it was the perfect time to tie all the people I love into a meal that was, if I must say so, to die for. And, if you've read my blog, you know that if I'm cooking dinner, people are gonna get fed... a lot.

Since Elizabeth is from North Carolina (she goes to college in Boone, the same little town Rich grew up in), and since I am trying to look as unattractive as possible before heading to our Palm Springs vacation, I decided that it was the perfect night for some fried chicken! I mean, when is it not the perfect time for fried chicken? Now, since I don't break out the deep frier very often (I care about my health and I would like my husband to still have three or four abs), when I do bust it out, IT'S ON! Like Donkey Kong. Which is about how big I felt after eating my way through this epic dinner. Who wants to go bikini shopping!?

Dinner Menu:

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Biscuits with Pimento Cheese

Fried Pickles

Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes

Cheddar Grits

Homemade Fresh Mint Ice Cream

Ingredients

3 pounds or so of chicken pieces. I used thighs and drumsticks. (If you buy happy, humanely raised, free range chickens, I will think you are a better person and so will the universe. Thanks.)

1 quart buttermilk 

4 cups unbleached flour
1 tbsp baking soda

3 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp hungarian paprika

2 tsp black pepper

3 tsp kosher salt

Canola oil for frying (Or peanut, or another high heat oil)

Special Equipment:

Deep Fryer or heavy dutch oven pan (think Cast Iron Le Crueset.) We have the Breville deep fryer from Williams Sonoma and I love it.... I just wish it was 4 times bigger!

Method:

Place chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Let marinate for as long as possible. I marinated for about 12 hours, but overnight would be ideal!

Set deep fryer to 320 degrees. If you are using a dutch oven, use a thermometer to regulate temperature. Mix flour and spices together in a large bowl. Remove chicken from buttermilk and coat with flour mixture. Fry chicken for about 12 minutes until golden brown, crispy, and 160 degrees in the center. I am OCD and temperature check every piece of chicken! Transfer to a drying rack to drip and then keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.

 

cheddar grits.

i spy....

 

and then Tuna joined us for dinner. 

*Note: We don't usually let Lucy (Tuna) sit at the head of the table,

but she hurt her paw so we wanted to make her feel better

Dry Rubbed, Slow Roasted, SERIOUS Chicken Legs

With two husbands in my life (one gay, one straight, both wonderful & Italian), I consider myself a very lucky lady. I mean some, less fortunate, girls can't even get themselves one boyfriend, let alone two husbands! That sounded a bit bratty. And a lot Mormon. It's not. But I definitely put in the legwork keep my men happy (I didn't mean it like that. Besides I don't have the legs required for the kind of legwork Marco would like, so get your mind out of that sexy, six legged gutter!) Where was I? Oh right, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Hopefully for us girls, that stomach is burried underneath some nice abs, not just more stomach, but that's besides the point. (Although, I could definitely get lost in that day dream for a minute...ok...) Anyways. Stomach. Food. Date Night.

Yes, that's where I was. Date night. I have date night with my hubby's tonight. Both of them. It's always one of my favorite nights of the week. Sometimes we have a surprise guest (I do have to approve of all of Marco's conquests, er- dates, after all) but tonight it's just the three of us, which is my favorite way to do it (bad reader, no gutter). My very favorite threesome (okay, I guess I'm asking for it now. Even this parenthetical is dirty. You really can't say threesome without it sounding dirty.) Haha.... wow, this is gonna be one of THOSE blogs I think. You're welcome.

Subject change.

When I stopped eating meat (6 months ago!) I promised the boys that I would still cook it for them as if nothing had changed, so that's the plan for tonight. I was perusing Smitten Kitchen for a new idea on how to prepare the 35 pounds of green beans that we got in our CSA box this week, when I came across a chicken recipe that made me start to drool a little. I mean, a lot. So, I decided that while I might think green beans and wheat berries make a lovely date night dinner, maybe my husbands would prefer some melt in your mouth meat (Marco!). So I decided to make this dry rubbed, slow roasted chicken. I know- they are crazy lucky. I also dance (twirl) like a boss.

 this chicken is delicious.

Ingredients:

Brine
4 cups water
1/3 cup Kosher salt
1/3 cup white or brown sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar

Dry Rub
6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons smoked paprika
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
Up to 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

Chicken
5 pounds chicken legs. That's a lot of freaking chicken. Clearly, if you are not feeding an army, cut this recipe in half!

Sauce
A generous squeeze of honey
1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Method:
Brine the chicken: In a large plastic container, mix water, salt, sugar and vinegar. Add chicken parts and cover with a lid or plastic wrap in the fridge, for at least 1 hour and up to 6. I did it for 3 hours.

Make the rub: Mix the ingredients and mix them well. Like, so well. (I need to get a life.)


Prepare chicken: Heat oven to 300 degrees. Remove chicken parts from brine and pat dry. Place pieces of chicken on two very large pieces of foil, large enough to fold over chicken and form packets. Pat chicken pieces generously on all sides with rub; do not be shy about using more than seems… seemly. Turn the chicken pieces so their meatier sides are down, and tightly fold the foil around them to make two large packets.

 

these legs look like they are hugging.....

Place two cooling racks (which will act as baking racks) on two baking sheets (one on each). Place a chicken packet on each and place one sheet on an upper oven rack and one on a lower. I ruined my baking sheets in a small oven fire back on July 4th (ugh) so I just put the foil packet directly on the baking rack and put foil below it. My house didn't burn down, so I guess my way works, too. Bake chicken for 1 hour, then rotate baking sheets. Bake for another 30 to 60 minutes, until the internal temperature of the thickest part of each chicken reads 155 degrees. (Chicken is done at 160. This leaves you a little heat window for the next step, without leading to overcooking. If you’d like to skip this, just cook the chicken in foil until it reaches 160.)

 

this is the ugliest photo I have ever taken.

Finish the chicken: Heat broiler. Carefully open each packet of chicken and pour accumulated juices into a saucepan. Arrange chicken pieces on open foil packets and run each tray under the broiler until lightly crisped at edges and cooked through. Place on serving platter.

Make a sauce from the juices: Boil your accumulated juices in the saucepan over high heat for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, until it makes a syrupy sauce that coats a spoon. I like to add a squeeze of honey for flavor while it reduces. Once syrupy, add 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Serve with chicken.

I am serving this with gazpacho (because I am obsessed) and a green bean and wheat berry salad that you are gonna read all about tomorrow. Enjoy!