Chicken Marbella

 

I guess I partially owe my son Jack the credit for this family-favorite chicken recipe. It joined our family about the same time that he did. Just a few short weeks after, actually, during those heavenly post-delivery days when we stumbled about bleary-eyed (ok so that part wasn't heavenly) while those around us took care of dinner (HEAVEN!!) I've said it before and I'll say it again: I LOVE RECEIVING MEALS. Sometimes I consider adding members to our family simply to get another round of meals going. Food is my love language - both the giving and receiving of it and a yummy warm meal speaks measures to me.

 

The real credit for this one goes to my friend Katie who introduced us to Chicken Marbella in the form of a meal delivery for the very first time. She and I met at our church's Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group and I always looked up to her. We had an awesome table of ladies that year and we all spent a lot of time laughing but I felt especially drawn to Katie. She was vulnerable and shared the challenges of life and mothering in a way that really drew me in. I'm sure she will laugh when she reads this because I'm sure she, like the rest of us, will say she wasn't feeling her very best in the early throes of motherhood. But her honesty and transparency was something I greatly admired and I wanted to be just like her.

 

I was still struggling immensely with insecurity in friendships at this point in my life and had become quite the expert at keeping others at an arm's length. I never felt good enough or cool enough or stylish enough to be friends with awesome people like Katie. (Katie, I can hear you laughing). So you can imagine my delight when, at the end of that MOPS year, Katie invited me to her 30th birthday party. At HER HOUSE! And let me tell you, her list of invitees was straight up cool kids - no question about it. I wasn't sure why I was on that list but you'd better believe I went, feeling totally unworthy and shaking in my boots. But heck yes, I showed up. I had been invited in and it felt amazing.

 

I looked up to Katie for a lot of practical reasons too. She had two older boys, each just a few months senior to my girls. She had knowledge and experience and I felt a lot of "yeah me toos" when we talked together. And then she welcomed a third baby, a girl, into her family. She was my first friend to have three kids. And she survived. It gave me hope that I could have three children and survive somehow too.

 

We couldn't have lived farther than each other - at the time, Katie lived all the way in Ballard and I was nearly an hour's drive away in my condo in Kirkland. Seeing each other did not happen without some intentional effort but we made it happen on occasion even after MOPS came to an end. When Jack joined our family in the Fall, Katie immediately signed up to bring us a meal and her delivery touched me more than most, partly due to the distance I knew she had to drive to make it happen. And then, not only did she arrive with dinner, but she also brought me lunch to eat right then and there AND two huge tubs of boy clothes for Jack to wear as he grew.

 

Katie, I don't know if I ever sent you a thank you note. Forgive me. I remember very little of those days and weeks following Jack's birth. But I DO remember your meal and I DO remember your visit. So...better late than never, THANK YOU for your delivery that day. It touched me in more ways that you can imagine. :)

 

When I told my husband what I was writing about today, he exclaimed "That's my favorite chicken recipe!" and it's probably the favorite of everyone else in this house as well. It always smells so amazing and the finished product is company-worthy. My picture doesn't do it justice - there are tons of colorful prunes and olives in there (I increased their amounts because I like it that way). Don't let the prunes scare you if you aren't typically a big fan. They really do make the dish - so tender and sweet next to the savory briny punch of the olives. In addition to being a great option for bringing to others, this meal is an excellent make-ahead option. Prepare the chicken in the marinate and leave it overnight to absorb all the flavors. An hour before you are ready to eat, pop it in the oven and it's as easy as that. 

 

Chicken Marbella

(adapted from simplyrecipes.com, thanks to my friend Katie)

 

5 pounds of skin-on chicken thighs and drums

8 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tablespoons dried oregano

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup pitted prunes

16 large pitted Spanish olives, halved

1/4 cup capers plus 2 Tablespoons caper juice

3 bay leaves

Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

 

In a large bowl or gallon-sized zip-lock bag, combine garlic, oregano, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Add chicken and salt and pepper to taste and let marinate in the refrigerator several hours or overnight.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour chicken and marinade into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish along with white wine. Sprinkle with brown sugar.

 

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting occasionally with juices from pan until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees F). Remove from oven and serve.

 

Serves 6



Roast Chicken with Pistachio Salsa, Peppers and Corn

This recipe would probably be more aptly named Our Way to Jazz Up Roast Chicken, but I must give credit where credit is due and at least bid homage to the recipe title in it's entirety. Back in November, I gave y'all a recipe for Perfect Roast Chicken and so I see no need to reinvent the wheel and bore you with yet another way to cook a bird. Especially since I already shared with you a perfect one. Actually, I'm going to go so far as to tell you NOT to roast your own chicken. This recipe (for us) is a means to take a delicious and cheap $4.99 Costco rotisserie chicken and dress it up with fixings that make it both interesting and delicious AND doable on a busy weeknight. You can certainly go the extra mile and cook the chicken yourself but in the summertime I say why bother?

I used to have a really negative relationship with pistachios. They were one of those foods that I couldn't even look at without a wave of nausea and a sudden urge to run to the restroom, lips tightly sealed to prevent the inevitable. I blame Christmas for these intense bodily responses. I was one of four Wilson siblings and my parents did a really good job of making sure healthy foods were served in our home. We weren't deprived of sweets and goodies by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe one could argue that we weren't exposed to them often enough to learn self moderation or maybe we were just kids and it was just a part of the process of growing up, but every time we went to a party or extended family gathering, we would go HOG. WILD. Sweets abounded. There were M&Ms in bowls in our reach. There were cookies and candy and chips and dessert everywhere. And we didn't hold back. We would run around free range, eating and stuffing our faces silly. When the gathering would conclude, late into the evening, my parents would pry us away from our cousins and load us into the car to make the 90 minute drive home. We would usually drive a couple miles, sometimes even a few cities down the freeway before it happened.

"Mom, I think I'm going to throw up."

A little voice broke the silence from the back seat. My dad would swerve off the road and tear open the door to the mini van, knowing he had about a 4 seconds between little voice and event. It was like clock work and it happened every time. Usually it was the older of my younger brothers. He became such a regular at post-party-upchucking that my parents quit getting out the of car to open the door for him. They would veer to the shoulder and he would open the door himself and just lean out. I guess you could say it became holiday tradition.

I remember one such Christmas gathering, the one where I first discovered pistachios. They were salted and in the shell, piled in a bowl right next to the M&Ms on the jigsaw puzzle card table. I was always a party-puzzle-doer and spent a lot of my holiday hours at these tables, mindlessly filling my belly with whatever snacks were in front of me. I'd never had a pistachio before. They seemed foreign in their clam-like shells. And who in their right mind chooses to eat a nut when chocolate is the other option? It was probably peer pressure that led me to give them a try and I quickly found myself hooked. But my new-found pistachio affection was brief. A series of unfortunate events succeeded that first taste, the details of which I no longer recall but I think it's safe to say a lot of chocolate was involved. Let's just say it was my voice pleading for my parents to pull the car over on our drive home that night.

Sorry. I know you weren't expecting to read about puke on a food blog. You are probably all thinking Does she think we are going to WANT to make this recipe after reading all that? Why yes, yes, I do. Now that I've totally grossed you out, let me, like the expert writer that I am, abruptly change the subject and give you the recipe.  I'll suffice it to say that for 20 years, I couldn't even look at a pistachio without growing green in the face. It was really, really tragic, the poor nut left overlooked for so many years. But they say some things get better with age. Nevermind, I don't think that analogy works here. ANYWAY, somehow, for some reason, I decided to give pistachios another chance and this recipe was 50% of the reason why. If that doesn't sell you on it, I don't know will. (But marketing has never really been my thing...)

I should tell you right off the bat that the Pistachio Salsa is not a salsa in the double-as-a-dip-for-your-chip sense. It takes on more of the Spanish definition of the word "salsa" as in a sauce or chutney. It is very forgiving and the pistachios can be evenly chopped or barely even chopped at all and it's still delicious. I will say that it is worth it to find shelled pistachios (Trader Joe's sells these) to save you the laborious process of tearing apart those clam-like nuts that seem to bite you back with each pull. It's hard to believe a 5 ingredient "salsa" could add this much flavor and dimension to a dish but it does, contributing crunch and interest to what ordinarily might just "taste like chicken." I'm sure it would be a delicious accompaniment to other meats in addition to chicken too. Or if pulsed in a food processor, the ingredients would make an instant vegetarian pesto.

I prepare this recipe year round but most often in the summer months when fresh corn and bell peppers are at their finest. The vegetable portion requires a little chopping but I love the combination of sweet corn, crunchy peppers and spicy jalapenos. I scaled back the red pepper flakes and jalapenos called for significantly as my troops are resistant to spice. Feel free to up the quantity if you really want a dish with some kick. The capers also add an element of flavor complexity to the dish that I just love.

So, the next time you pass one of those insanely affordable rotisserie chickens at Costco, throw one in the cart and jazz it up and make this. It's fit for company. I promise.

Roast Chicken with Pistachio Salsa, Peppers and Corn
(adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine)

CHICKEN
1 rotisserie chicken

PEPPERS AND CORN:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons minced capers plus 1 teaspoon caper brine
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
5 cups thinly sliced yellow, orange, and red bell peppers (about 3 large peppers)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, thinly sliced
3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 3 ears)
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

PISTACHIO SALSA
1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

MAKE THE PEPPERS AND CORN Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, capers, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add peppers and jalapenos; season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 10–12 minutes. Stir in caper brine, corn, parsley, and vinegar just before serving.

MAKE THE PISTACHIO SALSA Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Stir in oil. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Let come to room temperature before serving. Serve with chicken, peppers and corn.

Serves 4-6

Oven-Fried Chicken

My husband and I have this little ongoing argument. There was a point in time where our very existence could be credited to the recipes in Cooking Light Magazine. My cooking repertoire consisted solely and exclusively of their recipes. They were my go-to and I was their most faithful subscriber. My obsession started early, so early that when I turned 18 and went off to college, my closet was brimming with piles of their magazines that stood nearly 3 feet tall. These sorts of things happen when you begin subscribing to cooking magazines IN HIGH SCHOOL.

Anyhow, the magazine and I were tight and, though admittedly I cooked a number of flops, their recipes more or less kept us fed and happy. Until my husband discovered The Other Guys, that is. Somehow he got his hands on an issue of Bon Appetit and then none of my "light" goodness was ever good enough. He would argue that butter is better (I agree, mostly) while I stated a firm caveat that a recipe does NOT always have to contain an entire stick to be good. Before I knew it, he was unabashedly judging a book by it's cover, looking down skeptically at any meal known to come from my "health food source."

It was at this point when I took my Cooking Light recipes "under cover." I was bound and determined to prove my right-ness: food could be both good and "light." I would cook up something amazing and delicious from my Secret Source and then sit expectantly awaiting his words of praise. Sometimes if the gushing was not immediate (ok, it rarely was), I would slyly guide the conversation in my detective-like fashion until he professed his love for the meal. Only then would I stab him with the truth: "Ha! It was a Cooking Light recipe!" His face would fall in utter dismay and I would do a not-so-subtle victory dance, like every other humble wife I know. Foiled again!

Where am I going with all this? Well, I bet you can guess. This COOKING LIGHT fried chicken recipe has been a favorite of mine since 2002 when it was first published. Ya'll (I have to say that because for one, the fried chicken is a southern food and for two, I lived in Texas), the recipe dates back to my senior year in high school and it is a keeper for sure! (Who's making fried chicken in high school??!! Me, that's who). My husband could hardly believe it when I revealed to him the source. I adapted the recipe and left the skin on the meat which I know makes it less healthy but it's fried chicken for goodness sake and it must be delicious. The chicken pieces are then breaded in a seasoned flour mixture and then baked at high temperatures in the oven. This results in an end product that is both very good and also not so heavy that you never want to eat ever again.

Read the recipe closely. The chicken-coating process can get messy. I recommend making two bags of seasoned flour to coat the chicken, because inevitably, you will run out of coating right at that critical moment when your hands are covered in sticky chicken goo. Save yourself the trouble and have a second bag at the ready. You may have extra in the end but you'll be glad not to have to stop and make more mid-process.

Without further adieu, wife-tested, husband approved:  

Oven-Fried Chicken
(Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 pounds)

4 chicken thighs (about 1 pound)

1 cup all-purpose flour, divided

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper, divided

1/2 teaspoon white pepper, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, divided

Cooking spray

In a gallon-sized zip lock bag, combine buttermilk and chicken; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 450°. Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

In an additional 2 gallon-sized zip lock bags, combine half of the flour, salt, peppers, and cumin (each bag should contain ½ cup flour, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ tsp each of ground red pepper, white pepper and cumin). Remove chicken from first bag, discarding marinade. Add chicken, one piece at a time, to one of the bags of flour mixture, shaking bag to coat chicken. Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour; lightly coat each chicken piece with cooking spray. Return chicken, one piece at a time, to flour mixture, transitioning to second bag of flour when the first is too moist to coat the chicken (this will happen due to residual buttermilk on the chicken pieces). Shake bag to coat chicken. Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour.

Place chicken on the prepared baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and then return to oven for an addition 15 minutes or until done. 

Serves 6

Curried Chicken Penne with Fresh Mango Chutney

 

For credibility’s sake, I guess this should have been the first recipe I posted. But, I’ve been holding out on you and keeping my little-known college secret quiet. Now that it's been nearly a decade, I am realizing this might be my only claim to fame so it’s time to bare all. You see, I’ve been published. That’s right, folks! Hold onto your hats and glasses, I’ll be signing autographs later. In truth, when I say I’ve been published, I mean one of my recipes has been published. Yep, if you dig back in the Cooking Light Magazine archives to June 2004, you’ll find a picture of me and a ghastly article (they portrayed me as a complete valley girl!) next to my Curried Chicken Penne with Fresh Mango Chutney. Really, it was sort of a fluke but I must confess the whole ordeal resulted in big day dreams of someday landing a job in the test kitchens of Cooking Light Magazine....I even began researching the state of Alabama (their headquarters), secretly planning my new life in the south.

Obviously, that career didn’t really pan out. I contacted the magazine a couple of times inquiring how I might obtain such a job and they told me to submit a few of my publications. Oh, so like you actually have to be writing to get a job writing for a magazine? Got it. Needless to say, my day dreams came to an abrupt and immediate end.

I told you this whole thing was a bit of a fluke. I’m a rule-follower so I don’t really make up recipes exclusively using my very own brain cells. Friends have often encouraged me to audition for shows like Master Chef where the participant is faced with various cooking challenges requiring them, for instance, to create a delicious dessert incorporating simple ingredients like octopus, marshmallows and thyme. Friends, I can follow a recipe like nobody’s business but to just take what I have in the fridge and "make something?" The idea petrifies me.

The summer before my junior year of college was the exception, I guess. I must have had a uncharacteristic burst of self confidence. Way back then, the US dollar used to go places in Canada, and so on a couple occasions, my parents made the 30+ minute trip north to the beautiful waterfront town of White Rock, British Colombia for a special dinner out. On one such evening, we went to a restaurant, it was called "Sam's" I think, and my mom and my sister and I all ordered the same thing. It was a curried chicken penne dish and it was love a first bite for all of us. 

After listening to our rave reviews, my dad suggested I try to recreate it and, because it was just that good, I gave it a go. As luck would have it, I nailed it; the results were spot on. My dad urged me to submit my creation to a magazine and I obliged, just to humor him. Honestly, I thought he was just being my dad and dad's are always supposed to tell their kids what they do is amazing and I figured this was just one of those instances. Imagine my surprise when a month or two later, I got a letter from Cooking Light saying they received my submission and would like to publish it along with an article and picture of me for their Featured Reader segment. Hang on, folks, it gets better! They also told me that, as a token of their thanks for my contribution, they'd be sending me a little something in the mail. It arrived a few weeks later: $50 and a size XXL Cooking Light t-shirt. Ha!

Even though their "payment" for the rights to the recipe left something to be desired, I was elated and enjoyed my publication high for a few years until the excitement faded. It resurfaced again, maybe 3 years back, when my brother-in-law asked for a quick and healthy cookbook for Christmas. As an ever-faithful subscriber to the magazine, I went ahead and grabbed him a copy of one of Cooking Light's Best-Ofs cookbooks. He was paging through the new gift as we sat around the Christmas tree when he suddenly held up a full blown colored picture of a pasta dish and exclaimed "Hey Kelsie! Isn't this your recipe?" Sure enough, there in the pages of a hardcover cookbook was the Curried Chicken Penne with Fresh Mango Chutney recipe of yours truly. And I had no idea! If ever you stumble upon it in the Cooking Light world, you won't find my name attached but I promise it's mine.

The magazine made a couple edits to what I submitted so stick to my version - it's better. :) It's a great protein-starch-and-veg-and-in-one sort of dish though it isn't really a "one pot meal" per se since you need a saucepan to make the mango chutney. But, if you'd prefer to keep clean-up to a minimum, I'll forgive you for using prepared chutney.

Curried Chicken Penne with Fresh Mango Chutney
(original recipe mine, rights given to Cooking Light Magazine in June 2004 - see above)

Mango Chutney:  

2 cups diced peeled ripe mango (about 2 mangos)  
1 cup finely chopped onion  
1/2 cup water  
2 tablespoons brown sugar  
1 tablespoon curry powder  
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice  
1/2 teaspoon black pepper  
1/2 teaspoon chopped peeled fresh ginger  
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chicken: 

1 teaspoon olive oil  
2  garlic cloves, minced  
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces  
1 can light coconut milk  
2 tablespoons sugar  
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste  
2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce  
3 cups broccoli florets  
3 cups cauliflower florets  
16 ounces hot cooked whole wheat penne rigate 
2 tablespoons chopped green onions 

To prepare chutney, combine first 9 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally.

To prepare chicken, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and chicken; sauté 5 minutes. Combine coconut milk and next 4 ingredients (coconut milk through fish sauce), stirring with a whisk. Add coconut mixture to pan; bring to a simmer. Add broccoli and cauliflower; cover and cook 7 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in chutney and pasta; toss well to combine. Sprinkle with green onions, to garnish.

Serves 6

Perfect Roast Chicken

Sort of a bold claim, isn't it? "Perfect Roast Chicken."

A friend once told me “chicken, no matter how it is prepared, always tastes like chicken.” A year or two back, my husband and I were dining at one of our latest favorite Seattle restaurants, The Whale Wins. Against better judgment, we decided to put that chicken theory to the test and ordered the roast chicken, toted by our waitress that evening as being something else. The consensus? Even at a fine restaurant with an amazing chef, I must say it’s true – chicken by any other fancy name, though moist and delicious, still tastes like chicken. 

But even after this experience, this confirmation of theory into fact, there was still something in me, some innate need I suppose to roast a chicken myself. It felt like some sort of right of passage, my initiation into womanhood. I don't entirely know why I felt this so necessary. Buying a whole raw chicken is often exponentially more expensive than buying one from Costco that is roasted and ready (and not to mention delicious), dinner in an instant. But the poultry-whisperer within me could not be silenced and so I got online and started researching chicken. I’m pretty sure the exact search terms I typed into Google read something super specific and exciting like “Perfect Roast Chicken.” So I guess it’s not really surprising that I should stumble upon this recipe with it's audacious title. When it was all said and done, I couldn't really argue though. It was a pretty good chicken. 

I still don't know if I can, in good conscience, convince you that a home-roasted chicken is that much better than those tasty birds from Costco. In fact, my husband would tell you without hesitation that our jazzed up Costco version can't be beat (recipe later). However, if you too are hit with inner poultry-whisperings that require attention in the form of a raw bird and a roasting pan then this recipe is for you. 

Ordinarily I shy away from five-ingredient recipes like this one (ok fine, it has 11 ingredients but that includes the salt and pepper!) particular when they consist of basic of ingredients like onion, carrots, garlic and herbs. But this one somehow made magic of such a simple line up. Rest assured, roasting a chicken isn't as scary as it sounds (though digging out those giblets is every bit as frightening!) Once you get through that part of the recipe, it's smooth sailing, I promise (well, except for the carving of the bird - but just assign that job to someone else!) I love how this chicken roasts over a bed of vegetables, making it an easy, one-dish meal. When you pull the pan out of the oven, the dish is a sight to behold, a meal guaranteed to impress. 

Though the old adage "it tastes like chicken" may be true, you haven't truly lived until you've roasted your own bird. Or something.

Perfect Roast Chicken

(adapted from Ina Garten)

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted

1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced

8 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks

1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets and rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat the outside dry with paper towels and discard. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top, breast side up (with drumsticks and wing tips pointing upward).

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Kung Pao Chicken Tacos

Asian tacos? Who knew? The idea of putting stir fry in a taco shell sounded sort of weird to me at first but I'm all about fusion cuisine so when saw this recipe as I flipped through my cooking magazine, I decided to go for it. I don't care for the aftermath on the kitchen floor after I serve rice to the kids so maybe this was my ticket to eating Asian flavors AND a cleaner kitchen? YES! The recipe was delicious and the whole family loved it. I've served this for dinner three times already since we moved in with my in-laws, and the tacos have quickly become my father-in-law's favorite.

 

Coating the chicken pieces in cornstarch creates a crispy-tender yet healthier "crust" reminiscent of the fried version you would find at a Chinese restaurant. The recipe comes together pretty quickly, as long as you remember to toss the chicken in a bag with soy sauce earlier in the day (it's totally fine marinating for longer than 30 minutes, even overnight if you want). I love how this recipe incorporates raw celery and bell pepper with the cooked chicken for added color contrast and crunch.  I like to use Trader's Joe's Corn and Wheat "Tortillas de me Abuela" as I find the addition of wheat to the corn results in a softer tortilla that doesn't leave your mouth feeling like it's stuffed with cotton balls. I usually double the recipe so that we can have leftovers and we like our food spicy so Graham and I scoop extra sambal oelek or Sriracha sauce onto our tacos for added heat. 

 

This recipe reheats wonderfully if you are looking for something you can make ahead and then serve later. I have brought it to friends who have just had babies on numerous occasions and I almost always get asked for the recipe. Just pack up the cooked chicken tossed with the vegetables and sauce into a gallon ziplock. Deliver with the peanuts, limes and tortillas on the side. If you're looking for something new and different, give this recipe a try!

 

Kung Pao Chicken Tacos

(adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

 

6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce, divided

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)

1 large garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup diagonally sliced celery (about 2 stalks)

1/2 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/3 cup sliced green onions

8  (6-inch) corn and wheat tortillas
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts

4 lime wedges

Place chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce to bag; seal. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place 1/4 cup cornstarch in a shallow dish. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt. Add chicken to cornstarch in dish, and toss chicken to thoroughly coat. Shake off excess cornstarch.
 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of coated chicken; sauté for 6 minutes or until done, turning to brown. Remove chicken from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Repeat the procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil and coated chicken.
 

Combine remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, honey, and next 3 ingredients (through sambal oelek) in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Microwave at HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring twice. Stir in garlic. Combine soy sauce mixture, chicken, celery, bell pepper and green onion; toss to coat chicken and vegetables.
 

Warm tortillas in the microwave or under the broiler. Place 2 tortillas on each of 4 plates; divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas. Top each taco with chopped peanuts; serve with lime wedges and hot sauce, if desired.

 

Serves 4

Spicy Chicken Thighs with Rhubarb-Cucumber Salsa

My favorite produce stand, the Yakima Fruit Market and Nursery, finally opened for the season and
we've been filling our fridge drawers to literally overflowing every week. Last week I spotted their first crop of rhubarb and immediately thought of this dish. It's a perfect meal for either spring or summer and comes together quickly with just a little chopping. The cool salsa is a great contrast to the spicy sauce on the chicken. I've always loved the nice kick the habanero chile gives the sauce. Tonight I didn't have any habernos handy so I just used a jalapeno instead. I'm pretty sure my girls said a silent prayer of thanks (they are always requesting I make things "less spicy next time"). The jalapeno version turned out much milder which was great for the kids but personally I missed the heat so I'd say go for the habanero or a few jalapenos if you're like me and think spice is nice. It's rhubarb season which probably means a pie post is soon to follow!

Spicy Chicken Thighs with Rhubarb-Cucumber Salsa
(From Bon Appetit Magazine)

1 habanero, Scotch bonnet, or Thai chile, with seeds, stemmed (or 1 jalapeno if you don't want much kick)

2 garlic cloves

2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts divided

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

6 large skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

Kosher salt

1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch cubes rhubarb

1 cup 1/4-inch cubes unpeeled seeded English hothouse cucumber

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 500°. Line a baking sheet with foil. Pulse chile, garlic, and white parts of scallions in a food processor until finely chopped. With machine running, drizzle in soy sauce, then olive oil; process until emulsion forms. Transfer sauce to a bowl.

Place chicken thighs, skin side up, on a work surface and slash each crosswise at 3/4-inch intervals down to the bone. Season lightly with salt. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush with sauce. Bake until skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°, 20–25 minutes. Broil on high for an additional 2–3 minutes for crisper skin, if desired. Let rest for 5–10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss rhubarb, next 5 ingredients, and green parts of scallions in a medium bowl to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let stand for at least 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Serve chicken with rhubarb salsa alongside.

 

Serves 4

Chinese Chicken Salad

After a rather indulgent December, a couple of us were feeling the need for some hearty main-dish salads around here. It just so happened that I had everything but a head of napa cabbage on hand to throw this one together tonight. I'd forgotten how completely delicious and easy it is! The original recipe came from our friend Lacey who delivered it to us after Emma was born. Ironically, she was the salad's biggest fan tonight, dishing up sevenths and even eighths - a first for any of my kids which ordinarily rarely touch salad! I think it was the sweet dressing that won her over. It probably helped that she just received a handmade bunny blanket and I told her bunnies like cabbage....

I made a couple of minor adaptions to the recipe and next time I think I'll throw in a dash or two of sesame oil for a more savory flavor but I was all out tonight. I served the salad with Nutmeg and Fresh Black Pepper Popovers (totally random and not Chinese whatsoever but I've had the recipe lying around waiting to be tried for ages and an all-salad dinner seemed like the perfect opportunity...) The whole meal was a hit with everyone. Enjoy!

Chinese Chicken Salad

 

Dressing:

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Topping:

2 Tablespoon butter

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2 package dried ramen noodles, crushed

Salad:

1 head napa cabbage, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

3 mandarin oranges, peeled and broken into segments

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken (I used rotisserie from a meal earlier this week)

2 Tablespoon sesame seeds

To prepare dressing, combine ingredients (sugar through soy sauce) in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool.

To prepare topping, melt butter over medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Add almonds, sunflower seeds and ramen and saute until golden brown.

To prepare salad, combine cabbage, green onions, oranges and chicken in a large bowl. Add topping and toss with dressing. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.