Lemon Braised Chicken Thighs

Happy Monday everyone!  How was your weekend?

We didn't do much, I had to work on Saturday so Sunday ended up pretty lazy.  With the exception of getting out to play a game of tennis with some friends.  We got our butts handed to us - I blame it on Andy being my partner.  Hehe.

I've also been working on a re-design of the blog.  Of course, it's not quite finished yet, so I'll just have to keep you in suspense.  I also wanted to get a quick opinion about a possible name change.  I realize Andy can't be my "Fiance" for eternity, but I don't know whether to change the name of the blog or not.  I've already changed it once, and if I do change it again, it'll be for good.

So a couple names I've been playing around with are "Andy Likes It So It Must Be Good" (that way, regardless of what he becomes - i.e. my husband, there's no need for a change) and "Feeding Andy".  Either way, I know I'm going to be changing my URL (because frankly, my current one is a little long and ridiculous - which was bad planning on my part when I first made this blog).  So anyway, any suggestions are welcome so feel free to give me your input!

Ingredients:

Adapted from Tastespotting the Blog's recipe

6 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper, to taste
canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup white wine
3 thai chiles, minced
2 Bay leaves
4 strips of lemon zest
juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon thyme
1 cup chicken stock
small handful of parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 F and set a cooling rack atop a baking sheet.

Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large cast iron skillet (or other oven-proof skillet/pan) under medium high heat.  Add chicken thighs in one layer and cook until browned, about 4-6 minutes.  Turn thighs over and cook an addition 2-3 minutes to sear the meat.  Transfer the chicken to the cooling rack.

Reduce the heat on the cast iron to medium low and add onions.  Cook until they start to soften, about 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and chiles and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pour in the wine and simmer for about 2-3 minutes, or until alcohol has burnt off.  Stir in bay leaves, lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, and chicken stock.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce down to a simmer. 

Transfer skillet to the oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh parsley.

This was definitely one of those feel-good meals.  We served it with a mixture of roasted potatoes and beets.  Of course, it would be outstanding with skin-on chicken thighs, as the skin would crisp up - but we're trying to be a tad healthier over here, so we opted out of that. 

Hope you all have a great Monday and see you back here tomorrow afternoon!

Garlic & Herb Marinated Chicken Thighs

With summer in full swing, the weather is hot, the grills are going... I read about all these fun summer food festivals around the country: Ribfest in Illinois, Pineapple Festival in Hawaii, K-Town BBQ Cook Off & Texas Music Concert in Texas, Food For Thought's Green Cuisine in Michigan, Portland International Beer Festival in Oregon, Jazz & Rib Fest in Ohio, Louisiana Watermelon Festival in Louisiana... why doesn't Louisville have anything exciting like this? Sure, we just had the SoulFood Festival & Taste of Frankfort... but seriously, I think there would be a huge market for more food-related, festival-type activity in Louisville... so let's get on that, okay? Okay.

Speaking of grilling and summer, you could easily sub the chicken thighs for chicken breasts and just cook accordingly, but I'm a fan of the lower cost and juicier outcome of chicken thighs. The marinade is surely interchangeable with other meats as well.


Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
juice from 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients, except for chicken, in a large plastic freezer bag. Make sure they are mixed well and add in chicken thighs. Remove bag of air and seal tightly. Roll the bag up and place into a medium bowl (to prevent any leaking out onto your fridge shelf) in the fridge. Let marinate for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat a grill to medium high. Soak a wad of paper towels with vegetable oil and carefully rub on grill rack to prevent chicken from sticking.

Grill chicken for about 5-7 minutes per side (or if using breasts, a little less than that), or until cooked through.

We served this with a quick ranch pasta salad!

I love the quick cook time of this dish. Yeah, you've got to marinate it overnight, but that's just something you have to throw in a bunch of ingredients in a bag and forget about until the next day. Easy enough, right? Right. Enjoy!

Chili-Ginger Chicken w/ Shiitake Mushrooms & Napa Cabbage

I never knew what a good light kit would do for the appeal of my food. I came home this past Sunday after working until 10:30 to a kitchen that looked like something of a t.v. show set. I called Andy while I was on my way home to have him prep the ingredients for that nights dish, and instead he prepped the kitchen for a show... and I can't say that I'm upset, because the pictures turned out amazing, and so did the dish.


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon asian sesame oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 & 1/4 lb. chicken thighs, cut into 1 & 1/2 inch strips
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and cut into pieces
2 tablespoons minced ginger
3/4 lb. napa cabbage, chopped (4 cups)
3 ounces daikon radish, thinly sliced
2 scallions, thinly sliced

The original recipe I found had miso paste in it, and after searching all over Louisville (not really, I only stopped at Kroger and Whole Foods), with no luck, I decided to substitute the chili paste and black bean sauce to give it more of a subtle spicy flavor.

In a small bowl, mix together chili paste, black bean sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and 1/2 cup of the stock.



Heat vegetable oil in wok and add chicken thighs. Salt and pepper to taste and cook until done, about 5 minutes or so.


Remove from wok with slotted spoon and set aside.

Add mushrooms, ginger (instead of mincing my ginger, I had it in the freezer and grated it instead. The freezing of the ginger root keeps it fresh longer, and it just easily grates so I like it better that way), and remaining chicken stock to wok. Cook until mushrooms are tender.


Add the cabbage and chicken back in. Stir fry for a quick minute and add the savory sauce to the wok.


Allow to simmer and finally add in daikon and scallions.


Mix together and serve! Enjoy!