Bacon, Corn and Tomato Chicken Salad

Normally, I am not a chicken salad fan. First of all, it usually includes celery, and celery is an abomination. Second, it’s usually quite heavy on the mayonnaise, and I am only a fan of mayonnaise in very, very limited quantities. Third… I just don’t like it, okay?? Okay.

A few days ago, Crist emailed me a chicken salad recipe that actually looked APPETIZING, wonder of wonders! (First things first: there is no celery, and almost no mayo. SCORE!) Of course, I made a half dozen changes to the original recipe, but it turned out fantastically – to the point that I basically had to physically remove the bowl from my husband’s hands, lest he eat the entire thing in one sitting. I feel confident that this will make frequent appearances in our house – it’s perfect for lunch, a light dinner, or as an appetizer for a party!

Bacon, Corn and Tomato Chicken Salad
makes about 6 sandwiches

1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
6 slices bacon
8 oz corn, drained well
1 T finely chopped chives
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 T whole grain mustard
1 cup 2% plain greek yogurt
2 T mayo*
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Crackers, bread, english muffins – whatever you want to eat the chicken salad with!

*Crist, don’t hit me… but I think next time I would try leaving the mayo out. I’m just not sure it needs it!

1.) Start by cooking your chicken. I typically season it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and then bake it in a covered dish at 350° for about 25-30 minutes. When it’s cooked through, shred it finely (use your stand mixer to shred it, don’t be scared).

2.) While your chicken bakes, fry up your bacon until crisp. Drain it on some paper towels, and then crumble it.

3.) Add all the ingredients, aside from the tomatoes, to a large mixing bowl, and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until everything is well combined.

That’s it! You can spread it on some toasted bread and make a sandwich, spoon it on to some crackers, or just eat it by the spoonful, whatever floats your boat. We chose to eat it on some pita crackers – topping each one with a tomato half! I didn’t want the tomatoes to make the salad watery, or muddy looking, so that’s why I chose to just pile them on top of the chicken salad as we ate.

I think this particular chicken salad has SO MUCH more flavor and texture than a typical chicken salad – and using greek yogurt in place of the mayo keeps it pretty light and healthy, too!

I can’t wait to make this with some fresh summer corn,
Tina

Chicken Piccata

Several weeks ago, I made chicken piccata for the first time. I’ve had it a handful of times over the years (though the last time was probably at least 5 years ago), but for some reason it had never occurred to me to make it myself. One day, it dawned on me that chicken piccata combines two of my very favorite elements in any dish – salt (capers) and acid (lemon juice), and that realization put it at the top of my “to make” list!

Chicken Piccata
serves 4

1.5lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1.5 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 large eggs
1.5 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
3 T salted butter, divided
1 T olive oil
2 lemons
3 T capers, drained
3/4 cup dry white wine
one handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1.) To start, you want to butterfly your chicken breasts into thinner pieces. This will be much easier if your knife is really sharp, so you might want to sharpen it before you start. I butterflied mine into 3 fillets each, and they each ended up being about 1/4″ thick; this gave me about 9 chicken breast fillets. Alternatively, you could pound the chicken breasts out to an even thinness (cover the chicken with saran wrap before you start pounding it, so you don’t end up with tiny raw chicken bits flying all over your kitchen).

2.) Set up your breading station. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper; in the second bowl, whisk the eggs until the whites and yolks are completely blended; in the third bowl, place the seasoned bread crumbs.

3.) Preheat your oven to 250°, and place a rimmed baking sheet with a cooling rack on it in the oven. Place a large skillet over medium heat, and melt one tablespoon each of butter and olive oil. Allow the butter and oil to heat as you bread your first few pieces of chicken. Dredge each piece of chicken in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs – making sure to coat the chicken in each thoroughly, and shake off any excess before moving to the next step.

4.) Gently place as many pieces of chicken into the pan as can comfortably fit, being sure not to crowd them together. The butter and oil should sizzle and bubble up around the chicken as you place it into the pan.

5.) Fry the chicken for about 2 minutes on the first side, until it’s nicely golden brown. Flip, and fry for another 2 minutes on the second side. Keep a close eye on it – since the chicken is thin, it will cook quickly!

6.) When the first batch is cooked, remove it to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil. Then, move the cooked chicken to the baking sheet in the oven, to keep it warm. If needed, add more butter and oil to the pan before adding the second batch of chicken. Keep pan frying in batches (moving the cooked chicken to the warm oven) until all the chicken is done.

7.) When you’re done cooking the chicken, carefully wipe out the pan you used to fry with a paper towel. (Pro tip: if you do not do this carefully, you will drop a clump of HOT oil and bread crumbs on to your hand, and it will burn like hell, and leave a mark. I’m just saying.)

8.) Keep the pan over medium-low heat, and add the wine and capers. When the wine starts to bubble, add the juice of one and a half lemons (reserving the second half of the second lemon to cut into wedges for serving). Additionally, add 2 tablespoons of butter to the sauce, and stir it in until it’s completely melted. Allow the sauce to simmer for just a minute or two, and then remove it from the heat.

9.) Place a couple pieces of chicken on your plate, and spoon the wine sauce and capers over the top. Finish with a sprinkle of parsley, and serve with a wedge of lemon on the side.

My husband and I really, really loved this chicken. Before I made it, he was nervous about the capers, thinking he didn’t like them… but then he tried it and realized that capers are just tiny, delightful bites of salty goodness!

The crispy, golden breading is deliciously buttery and wonderful – but the bright acidity of the lemon and the salty bite of the capers cut through the richness of the butter, and the parsley lends a bit of freshness. Overall, this is a simple and tasty way to dress up some boring old chicken!

Don’t fear the capers,
Tina

Garlic, Rosemary and Citrus Roast Chicken

I really, seriously wish that I could somehow share the overwhelmingly delicious scent of this roast chicken with you. This chicken smelled SO amazing while it was roasting, it was all I could do to keep myself from tearing into it on the spot. Lucky for me, it tasted every bit as delicious as it smelled, and it was easy to make, too!

Garlic, Rosemary and Citrus Roast Chicken
serves 3-4

4-5 lb whole chicken
one lemon, zested and quartered
one orange, zested and quartered
one bulb of garlic, cut in half (so you’re cutting through the cloves crosswise)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 sprigs rosemary (leave 2 intact, mince the leaves of the other 2)
1 stick of salted butter, softened
4-5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into large chunks
2 medium onions, peeled and cut into large chunks
kosher salt and pepper
1.5 cups chicken stock

1.) Preheat your oven to 400°. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, lemon zest, orange zest, and minced rosemary. Separate the butter mixture into two equal batches, and add the minced garlic to one of the two batches.

2.) Discard the neck and giblets from inside the chicken. Clean up the chicken as best you can, cutting any excess skin or cartilage from around the cavity.

3.) Stuff the cavity with the lemons, oranges, halved garlic bulb, and rosemary sprigs (I could only fit about half my lemon and orange wedges in the cavity of the chicken I had, so I just made sure I had equal amounts of both in there).

4.) In a roasting pan suitable for your chicken (or a high-sided baking dish), spread your onions and carrots out so they create an even bed for the chicken to rest on. Place the chicken (breast side up) on top of the vegetables, and tuck the wings underneath the bird.

5.) Use your hands to gently loosen the skin from the breast meat of the chicken. Take the butter mixture that has the minced garlic in it, and evenly spread it between the breast meat and the skin. Sprinkle the chicken with kosher salt and pepper, and place the baking dish in the oven.

6.) After 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven, and baste it with the remaining butter mixture. Additionally, pour the chicken stock into the bottom of the pan to keep the onions and carrots moist. Baste again after another 30 minutes, then after another 15. Cook for 15 minutes after the final basting, for a total of 90 minutes.

7.) Once you remove the chicken from the oven, loosely tent the pan with foil, and allow the bird to rest for about 8-10 minutes before carving.

8.) While the chicken is resting, go ahead and google “how to carve a roast chicken”, so that you don’t butcher yours the way I did mine. It still tasted good, but it wasn’t all that pretty, I can’t lie.

Serve with sides of your choice – we went with a basic (but delicious) side of mashed potatoes (recipe forthcoming), and green beans with whole grain mustard vinaigrette. And make sure each serving of chicken comes with a bit of the delicious, crispy skin!

It’s kind of gross to stick your hand into the back end of a dead bird, but the end result is worth it,
Tina

Sticky Balsamic and Honey Chicken

Rather than waxing poetic about this chicken recipe for half an hour, let me just say this: holy CRAP, is it good. Like, “I want to eat myself sick, this is so delicious”, good… and seriously, who says that about CHICKEN? I do, apparently. I hardly know myself anymore!

This recipe is fairly quick and easy (though it does require a bit of attention during the cooking process), and is made up of ingredients you likely already have you in your kitchen. So, swing by the store on your way home, pick up some chicken legs, and get cooking!

Sticky Balsamic and Honey Chicken
serves 3-4
recipe adapted from here

1.5 lbs chicken legs with skin (about 6 drumsticks)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 t black pepper
5 cloves of garlic (mince three, and just smash the last 2)
1″ piece of ginger, minced
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of minced fresh parsley

1.) In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, balsamic, brown sugar, honey, and black pepper. Pour half of the mixture into a one-gallon ziploc bag, and reserve the rest. Add the minced garlic and ginger to the ziploc bag, and put the crushed garlic cloves in with the remaining marinade in the bowl.

2.) Add the chicken legs to the ziploc bag, squeeze all the air out, and seal it. Place the chicken in the fridge and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours, or as long as 12. (Don’t forget to put the second half of the marinade in the fridge, too!)

3.) When the chicken is ready, preheat your oven to 400°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and place a wire rack on the sheet. Remove the drumsticks from the marinade, and space out evenly on the rack. Discard the marinade.

4.) Once the chicken goes into the oven, pour the second half of the marinade (along with the crushed garlic cloves) into a small sauce pan and place it over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, whisking often. When the mixture has thickened just slightly, remove it from the heat (it will thicken considerably once it begins to cool, so you want to stop reducing when it’s thickened up just a little bit).

5.) When the chicken has been cooking for about 25 minutes, baste all the pieces (both sides) with the glaze, and put it back in the oven. Baste again 10 minutes later, and again 5 minutes after that. Allow the chicken to cook for another 5 minutes after the last basting, then remove from the oven.

6.) Glaze the chicken one more time, and then sprinkle each piece with sesame seeds and chopped parsley. Serve immediately!

Oh man. This chicken is sweet and juicy and a little bit tangy, and just PERFECT. It’s incredible how much juicier chicken cooked on the bone is! I served it with some green beans cooked with whole grain mustard and shallots (recipe forthcoming), and mustard-roasted potatoes and onions, and it was seriously the most delicious and satisfying meal I’ve made in quite a while. I will definitely be making this chicken again soon… and often.

As a side note, you could use this same marinade/glaze on a whole, cut up chicken, if you didn’t want to do just drumsticks; just be sure to allow the bigger pieces enough time to cook through.

Don’t be scared of dark meat chicken, Crist,
Tina