Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Yukon Gold Potatoes

Truth be told we are not that big on chicken around here. However, I use chicken stock frequently for dishes that don't actually contain chicken meat. Since I buy whole chickens for making the stock, quartering the chickens and reserving the meat, this leaves me with chicken pieces that I then need to find recipes for. I know, what a burden, right?! :-D Until now, I really only knew one excellent way to prepare chicken... more on that later... then this week I found a new chicken recipe which is actually quite good! I found it on Epicurious.com. You can link to the actual recipe, which I have rewritten here to illustrate the steps as I did them, by clicking on the link in the title. The photos are my own.

Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Yukon Gold Potatoes
Bon Appétit | March 2009

by Greg Atkinson In this simple chicken bake, the skin gets good and crispy, and the juices make the vegetables extra-succulent. Yield: Makes 6 servings 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 6 large chicken thighs with skin and bones (preferably organic; about 2 1/4 pounds total) 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt 2 teaspoons dried thyme 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg 2 pounds unpeeled medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 2-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick spears 2 pounds medium carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick spears Preheat oven to 450°F. Place chicken in a single layer in a baking dish. Coat chicken pieces with olive oil and set skin side up. Mix salt, thyme, 1½ teaspoons pepper, and nutmeg in small bowl. Sprinkle half of mixture over chicken. Roast until chicken starts to brown and some fat has rendered, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine potatoes, carrots, 2 tablespoons oil, and remaining salt/thyme mixture in large bowl. Transfer thighs to medium bowl; set aside. Transfer potato-carrot mixture to same baking dish; turn to coat with drippings. Roast until vegetables soften, 30 minutes. Place thighs on vegetables; pour accumulated juices from chicken over. Return baking dish to oven. Roast until chicken is cooked and vegetables brown, 15 minutes longer. As you can see we served ours with some green beans. It was really tender and juicy and well-seasoned.

Spicy Lentil Salad

This recipe has countless health benefits including lots of fiber, heart-healthy fat, turmeric (anti-inflammatory/anti-cancer properties), yogurt (the "good" bacteria); and it's delicious!

From The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook...

1 cup brown rice
1 cup brown lentils
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 cardamom pods
3 star anise
2 bay leaves
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
8 oz broccoli florets
2 carrots, cut into julienne strips
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas, thawed

Mint and Yogurt Dressing
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tsp cumin

1. Put 3 cups water with the rice, lentils, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, and bay leaves in a pan. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce, cover, and simmer gently for about 50 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the whole spices. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk 2 Tbsp of the oil with the lemon juice and fork through the rice mixture.
2. Steam or microwave the broccoli and carrots until tender. Drain and refresh in cold water.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and add the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, the add the garam masala and coriander, and stir-fry further 1-2 minutes. Add the broccoli, carrots, and peas and toss to coat in the spice mixture. Add to the rice and fork through to combine.
4. To make the dressing, mix the yogurt, lemon juice, mint and cumin seeds together, and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 6. Per serving: 380 calories, 20 grams protein, 15 gms fat, 50 gms carbohydrate, 10 gms dietary fiber.

I forgot to add the peas in mine...but, it was still great.

Potato Leek Soup

I've been away from the blog for a bit... out of town, Easter holidays, Spring Break from school... we've been keeping it simple around the house and I haven't been doing much advance meal planning, not to mention taking the time to photograph my spur-of-the-moment meals... Here is one simple meal that I did take the time to capture.

Potato Leek Soup:

1 large bunch of leeks, bottom parts only, sliced thinly

5 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes

1 large pat of butter for sauteeing the leeks

1 quart of chicken stock

2-3 cups of water

salt

white pepper

First clean the leeks very, very well under running water. They tend to trap a lot of dirt within the many tight layers, so you will need to "unwrap" them before washing.

Then slice the leeks thinly.

Saute them in a heated pan with a large pat of butter. Stir frequently, over medium heat, until the leeks are very soft, about 10-15 minutes.

Peel and wash the potatoes, and slice very thinly. Add to the pot along with the chicken stock and/or water. You can use any combination, all chicken stock, all water, or some of both, but you will need at least 6 cups of liquid to cover the vegetables. Add a pinch of salt and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes.

At the end of 30 minutes, when the potatoes have cooked through, you will need to puree the soup. You can use a blender, immersion blender or a food processor if desired... I used my food mill. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into serving bowls and serve hot. I garnished our soup with a bit of wild green onions that spring up in our backyard; they are kind of like chives.

I bet it would go well with some of that Irish Soda Bread below!

Bon Appetit!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Irish soda bread gets its name from the fact that baking soda, rather than yeast, is used for leavening. This is not the traditional recipe, but I am absolutely in love with it. Bill found this hearty version on the epicurious website: "Noreen Kinney's Irish Soda Bread." Below I posted the recipe ingredients too.

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour or graham flour, plus more for shaping

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup wheat bran

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 cup untoasted wheat germ

2 tablespoons flaxseed

1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 large egg

About 1 3/4 cups buttermilk 

DELICIOUS. This bread accompanied by wild Irish stew was the perfect way to celebrate the day.

Curry with Chickpeas

I love the complex flavors of traditional curry, but am not so fond of the high fat and calorie content. Since I'm always looking for healthy and delicious recipes, this one caught my eye and has been a repeat dish in my repertoire ever since. It has lots of nutrients and fiber, and contains turmeric, whose active ingredient, curcumin, has anti-inflammatory properties in the body (among other health benefits). The spinach, cauliflower, tomatoes, chickpeas, and ginger also promote health in their own amazing ways due to their specific blends of phytonutrients, fiber, and micronutrients.

Any good curry will contain a wonderfully aromatic spice blend called garam masala (cumin, coriander, cardamom, black pepper, clove, mace, and cinnamon). This fragrant concoction is indispensable to N Indian dishes and is good to have on hand. You may either purchase it pre-made or make your own. There are many good recipes online.

Here is the recipe along with a photo from dinner tonight...

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 c chopped onions

1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic

1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups cored, chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 cups baby spinach

3 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups small cauliflowerettes

1/2 tsp garam masala

3 cups cooked brown basmati rice

1. Get your rice started since brown rice takes 45 minutes to cook.

2. Heat the oil in a 4- to 5-quart pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, red-pepper flakes, and salt. Cook 2 minutes, stirring.

3. Stir in the tomatoes an sugar and cook on medium-low heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in the chickpeas, spinach, cauliflower, and garam masala. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 6 servings of 1 cup curry and 1/2 cup rice each

Nutrition Info per Serving: 325 Calories, 5 grams Fat, 10 grams Fiber, 11 grams Protein, 61 grams Carbohydrate

Serve with naan if desired.

The best baguette EVER

About six years ago I discovered what I believe is the most extraordinary bread recipe in existence. It comes from Peter Reinhart's cookbook called "The Bread Baker's Apprentice". I don't make the recipe exactly the way he says anymore; after 6 years I have made various modifications to suit my taste preferences and have altered certain procedures of technique, so the following recipe is sort of "my own", but the underlying principle, the one that makes the end result so amazingly great, is 100% creditable to Peter Reinhart. The idea is that the slow action of yeast on the dough as it rests in a cold environment allows more sugars to develop in the fermenting dough. Then, as the dough is baked at a very high temperature, these sugars caramelize to produce a gorgeously colored and complexly flavored loaf of bread.

To make this bread, first assemble your ingredients:

27 oz. of bread flour

5 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

20 oz. very cold water

Combine the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer to mix with the bread hook.

You may also use a hand mixer with bread hooks if you do not have a stand mixer.

Mix for 8-10 minutes.

The dough should be just wet enough that it cleans the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom of the bowl as you are mixing. If it does not stick to the bottom, add more water a tiny bit at a time until it does stick.

Turn the dough out into a bowl greased with a little oil - I use olive oil but vegetable oil is probably fine as well. Immediately cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator over 2 nights. Through trial and error I have noticed that with just 1 night refrigeration, the flavor is not as developed, but with 3 nights the dough begins to turn sour.

After 2 nights, remove the dough from the refrigerator 3 hours before you wish to bake it, and let it sit at room temperature for those 3 hours.

Look at the wonderful changes that have occurred in your dough!

Once the dough has fully risen, preheat the oven to 500 degrees fahrenheit.

Then, Prepare a work surface by dusting it generously with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl gently and place it on the work surface. Any time you are handling this dough take care to release the gasses inside as little as possible. I took this photo - in a different bowl, I made 2 batches this time - to again show the fabulous changes in the dough while it fermented.

Gently cover the surface of the dough with a light dusting of flour. Then allow the dough to rest for just a moment while you line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a long, very sharp knife, gently cut along the dough to separate the first of 4/5 baguettes that you will make from this batch of dough. Gently stretch the portion of dough holding it by the ends to form a baguette shape and place it on your parchment-lined baking sheet.

Use a lame (shown below - essentially a razor blade on a stick), or a very sharp knife, or even kitchen shears to create shallow slits on an angle down the length of the bread. These will allow steam to escape during baking, preventing large bubbles from forming on the bread.

Here is the cut bread, ready to bake.

Now slide the parchment off of the baking sheet and onto a baking stone. If you don't have a baking stone, and are serious about baking this bread, get one. You can custom size it to exactly fit your oven, and you can leave it in all the time.

After 20-25 minutes, or when your baguettes look like this, remove them from the oven and cool them on a cooling rack.

Look up close to see the fabulous color and texture.

Make enough to share with your friends and family. Overestimate the amount you need. They will all want a loaf for themselves at the end of the night. Any leftovers can be toasted and spread with jam to make a perfect breakfast the next morning.

Bulgur and Vegetable Stuffed Peppers

I love exploring new ways to prepare vegetables, especially as a main course. I also enjoy exploring new grains.

Bulgur, or burghul, is made by cooking whole grains in water, then drying them, then pounding or milling them to remove the bran and germ. Basically, it's the wheat version of parboiled rice and it's quick and easy to prepare in it's pre-made form, which is readily available in most grocery stores. It's also a great source of fiber and micronutrients!

To make bulgur and vegetable stuffed peppers, Preheat oven to 375 degrees, then...

Bring 2/3 cup bulgar to a boil in 1 cup vegetable broth, stirring constantly. Then reduce to simmer and cover for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and place in a large bowl.









Prep the following:
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1/2 cup peeled, shredded carrots
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Cut the tops off the bell peppers and remove the core and seeds. Cut a very thin slice off the bottom so they will stand upright.

Cook the peppers in a large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove and drain, inverted, on paper towels.

Lightly coat an 8-by-8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine the prepped vegetables and bulgar. Add 1 tsp fresh thyme and fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried), 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Divide the mixture among the peppers. Place the peppers upright in the baking dish and bake 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with a salad or other side item of choice and Enjoy!