kwokj, posts by tag: chicken - LiveJournal

Improvised this tonight in the toaster oven with a new baking dish I bought just to fit it:

3 chicken thighs
4 freestone peaches
guesses:
a little lemon juice
~3 teaspoons dijon mustard
~1 teaspoon rosemary
pinch dried lavender flowers
~3 tablespoons honey (really no idea how much I used. quite likely more.)

Cut an X in the bottom of the peaches then briefly submerge them in boiling water to help the skins peel off. Remove from boiling water and run under cold water. Cut each peach in half and peel off the skins. Toss in a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

Trim fat from chicken thighs, rub with mustard and lay in baking dish.

Throw the rosemary and lavender in the spice grinder and whirl around a bit, then dump in a bowl. Add however much honey you think will be required to glaze the chicken and peaches and stir to combine. Drizzle over chicken. Lay peach halves on top of chicken and drizzle with remaining honey mixture. Poor in the juices from the peaches, because, sure, why not?

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until chicken is done. Baste at some point if you happen to remember (I didn't.)

I didn't grow up cooking much more in the toaster oven than frozen breaded fish, but now that it's just me and Ka Lun, I find it quite convenient. I got tired if wasting tin foil to wrap around the aluminum tray that comes with most toaster ovens so today I picked up a glass baking dish just the right size for the little old toaster oven.

I stick to chickens of roughly 3 lbs, both because that's a nice size to serve, and because I know how long it needs in the oven. I roast the chicken splayed open because it cooks the dark and white meat more evenly.

So:

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Rinse and pat dry the chicken.

Using a boning knife, slice along one side of the spine and cut through the bones with a pair of kitchen shears. Do the same along the other side of the spine and remove it.

Splay out the chicken and season it inside and out. I like salt, white pepper and ground sage.

Flour the chicken all over inside and out, patting it on, and tapping off the excess.
Melt a small quantity of butter and mix in a roughly equal portion of oil.

Put the chicken breast side up, legs pointing outwards on a roasting rack in a roasting pan, and place it in the oven.

Immediately turn the heat down to 350F.

Set the timer for 10 minutes, and baste the chicken with the oil/butter at the end of the 10 minutes.

Return the chicken to the oven and set it for 50 minutes.

Every 15 minutes or so, take the chicken out and baste again (eventually, I use the drippings.) Just leave the timer running while you baste.

When the buzzer goes off, the chicken is done.

My uncle made this last night, and I just had some leftovers for my lunch. So gooooood...

9 (1 kg) chicken thighs
2 tbsp olive oil
2 med. (300 g) onions finely sliced
4 cloves garlic sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup blanched sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

To toast nuts, spread on a cookie sheet and bake in 350° oven for 7 min.

Skin and debone and cut chicken into 3 cm strips. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in pan, add chicken in batches and cook stirring until browned. Drain.

Heat remaining oil in same pan, add onions, garlic and spices, cook stirring until onions are soft.

Return chicken to pan. Add stock and simmer covered for 1 hour. Remove lid and simmer another half hour or until mixture has thickened slightly and chicken is tender. Stir in honey. Serve on rice or couscous with toasted almonds and chopped parsley for sprinking. Serves 6.

Adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Home Library's Middle Eastern: Easy Style Cookery.