Chicken Piccata

4- 5 Boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (Bell and Evans or other all natural chicken)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

All purpose flour

2 eggs beaten

Bread crumbs (½ cup white bread crumbs mixed with ½ cup of panko or 1 cup freshly made bread crumbs)

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 shallot ( chopped)

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

1/3 cup dry vermouth

Juice of ½ large or 1 small lemon

Fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. One piece at a time; dredge the chicken in the flour, dip in eggs and then coat with the bread crumbs, shaking off any excess.

Heat a large pan over high heat and then add 1 tablespoon of butter and oil. When the butter has stopped foaming reduce the heat, add the chicken and brown for about 4 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Put the chicken on a baking sheet and place in the oven on low to keep warm while you make the sauce.

Drain any remaining oil or butter from the  pan and then add the shallot cooking for a minute or two on medium heat until softened.   Add the vermouth and capers and cook until the vermouth has reduced to a glaze. Lower the heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter and wisk into the shallots and vermouth. Add the last 2 tablespoons of butter with a wisk. Add the lemon juice, and  salt and pepper if necessary.

Plate the chicken, spoon the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

( adapted from a recipe by Frank Stitt)

Perfect Barbecue Chicken

Cooking with Indirect Heat

The best way to make great barbecue chicken on the grill is to use indirect heat. Learning to use indirect heat is really just learning to control the temperature of your grill. Think of your grill as an oven. I cook on a gas grill but you can easily adapt this to charcoal. Once you learn to cook with indirect heat you’ll love it!

To cook over indirect heat, you heat one side of the grill and use the other side of the grill for the food. You place the chicken on the flameless side,  close the cover and you let the heat and smoke cook the food. While direct heat is great for grilling steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs, when it comes to barbecue chicken, indirect heat is the solution to perfectly cooked, moist and delicious chicken.

Let’s get started!

You need two things to cook using the indirect heat method on a gas grill: (1) more than one burner and (2) a cover for the grill.( ....and chicken, of course).

Turn all the burners of the grill on high, close the cover and let the grill get very hot.

Oil the grill so the chicken won’t stick.

Turn the burner(s) on one side of the grill completely off. Set the burner(s) on the other side to medium high.
(You are looking for a grill temperature of about 300-325 degrees.)

Place the seasoned chicken skin side up on the cooler side of the grill, close the cover and let cook for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes turn the chicken over and continue to cook for another 20 minutes. (Do this for as long as it takes, you might need another 20 minutes depending upon the size of your chicken and the temperature of the grill)

You should have a beautiful crisped skin on your chicken at this point.

With the chicken still on the cooler side of the grill raise the temperature a little and liberally apply sauce to both sides of the chicken basting a few times  and let cook until your sauce develops a beautiful caramelization ( 15 minutes or so) Remove from the heat and let the chicken rest for ten minutes. Serve with additional sauce on the side.


Your chicken is perfectly cooked. Moist, delicious, sticky beautiful barbecued chicken!

 Finger lickin good.

adapted from everyday food

Vegetable oil, for grates
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Chicken (about 3 pounds)
Simple Barbecue Sauce




Directions

Prepare the grill as described above. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, 1 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Reserve  at least 1 cup barbecue sauce in a bowl for serving.( I had leftovers) Keep remaining sauce in another bowl for basting.

Grill chicken, as descibed above and serve with  additional sauce on the side.



Sauce

Makes 3 1/2 Cups


1 bottle (24 ounces) ketchup (about 3 cups)

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup water

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon mustard powder

1 tablespoon  garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4  teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sauce is thickened and reduced by a third, about 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before using. (To store, refrigerate, up to 2 weeks.)

The Best Turkey Burger

This recipe was adapted from a recipe that first appeared in Gourmet in 2004 entitled “Turkey Cheddar Burgers”.

I used a mixture of equal parts white and dark ground turkey from Whole Foods. The dark turkey keeps the burgers moist but it adds fat.

 Make these on an outdoor grill If at all possible.

Now for the cheese… if you have a Whole Foods nearby, you want to use Seaside Cheddar. Seaside mature English cheddar is a cow's milk cheese. It is smooth and nutty with a little bite. It combines both a creamy sharpness and a crunch that comes from the calcium crystals. It is full-bodied and complex with a start, middle and an end. This is an amazing cheese; once you taste it you will never forget it. (If you don’t have a have a Whole Foods near you, from what I have been able to determine this could be similar to what is sold under the name of Coastal Cheddar available at Trader Joes.)

FOR BURGERS

• 1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)

• 4 teaspoons olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 lb ground turkey (white and dark meat)

• 2 ½ oz Seaside Cheddar cut into 2 (1/2-inch-thick) slices ( the cheddar must be extra sharp)

• 4 Brioche hamburger rolls

FOR SUN-DRIED TOMATO MAYONNAISE

• 1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

• 1 tablespoon water

• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• ACCOMPANIMENT:

lettuce leaves

MAKE MAYONNAISE

• Purée tomatoes with water, vinegar, and salt in a blender or mini food processor, scraping down sides as necessary, then blend in mayonnaise.



MAKE BURGERS:

• Prepare or preheat an outdoor grill.

• Cook shallot in oil with salt and pepper in an 8-inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes, and then transfer to a bowl. Add turkey and mix gently but thoroughly.

• Turn out turkey mixture onto a sheet of wax paper and divide into 4 equal mounds. Pat 1 mound into a 4-inch patty and top with 1 piece of cheese then put a second mound on top, patting it onto other patty to enclose cheese. Pinch edges together to seal and shape into a single patty.

• Grill burgers, turning over once, until just cooked through (no longer pink), 8 to 9 minutes total.

• While burgers are cooking, lightly toast the Brioche rolls.

ASSEMBLE BURGERS:

• Spread cut sides of rolls with tomato mayonnaise. Serve burgers on rolls with lettuce.

Chicken Adobo - Filipino style

Adobo/Inadobo" − cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic. It could also refer to just roasting on a wok, with light oil, garlic and salt, as in adobong mani (peanut adobo).

I was looking for something I could make with ingredients I have in the house today and I came across Chicken Adobo, the national dish of the Phillipines. Adobo is actually a Spanish word meaning marinade. The ingredients in this dish are ones we all know well but the combination was a delightful surprise.

Not only is this quick and easy but it is incredibly delicious. There is no overpowering vinegar taste and the aroma is heavenly. This one is definetely a keeper.

I served it on a bed of couscous and I left the whole peppercorns in the sauce, but you can strain it if you like.


• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar

• 1 whole garlic bulb , peeled and crushed

• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger , grated ( I throw it into the food processor)

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 3 pounds chicken, cut into pieces



1. Combine the first seven ingredients in large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add chicken. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes, basting the chicken occasionally. After 30 minutes, remove lid and cook until liquid reduces ( by about half)

2. Remove chicken from the pot to a serving plate. Serve chicken hot over rice and drizzle with reserved sauce