Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts

Monday, March 12, 2012

Cornish Hen (Small Chicken)

We're trying to eat lighter dinners...and keep down the leftovers.  Here's my attempt at Cornish Hens.  I put some lemon wedges in the bird before wrapping it in bacon and trussing.  It's laying on a bed of aromatics that really add value to the pan drippings.

Before


After


One little glitch...it acted done...but wasn't.  This was about the third roast that wasn't finished in an appropriate time.  A couple of nights ago, I made homemade pizza and after 10 minutes on 450...not much was happening.  So then I went to reset the temperature and when I did it showed it was down at 315 degrees.  So I went to the broiler and that didn't come on!  Needless to say GE is coming in the AM.

Happy Eating!


Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Adobo Chicken and Rice

I really have to post each day...that helps to get the blog indexed more often by Google.  I'll take suggestions...;)

Chicken and Rice in the latino community is a staple and every cook has their own version.  Well, with my oven on the fritz, I had to go stove top.  This one sounded good and was delish!  There is a bit of prep involved.  I didn't use the chicken breasts, only the thighs which I did half.  I halved everything else but the spice rub...which is what makes the whole dish.  I also left out the olives.

If you make, send me pics!  rickwoodland8@gmail.com

via www.foodnetwork.com
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons granulated onion
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
  • 4 chicken thighs, with skin, cut in 1/2
  • 4 chicken breasts, with skin, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large Spanish onion, finely diced
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
  • About 1/3 cup tomato powder or 1 to 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 cups long-grain rice
  • 4 3/4 cups homemade chicken stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
  • 3/4 cup pimento stuffed green olives
  • 3/4 cup pitted picholine olives
  • Freshly chopped cilantro leaves
  • Freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
  • Squeeze lime juice

Directions

Mix together the salt, granulated garlic, cumin, granulated onion, paprika, black pepper, turmeric and oregano in a small bowl. Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and then season with the adobo seasoning mixture.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Place the chicken in the oil skin side down, in batches, if necessary, and saute until golden brown. Turn the chicken over and cook until the second side is golden brown. Transfer the chicken to into a separate pot with all cooking juices, cover and allow to cook through over medium heat. Keep warm.

Place the browning pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil back over high heat. Add the onions, green and red peppers and cook until soft. Add the tomato powder, garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the rice to the pan, stir to coat the rice in the mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir well, cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes add the peas to the pot, cover and continue cooking until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and let sit 5 minutes covered. Remove the lid, fluff the rice and gently fold in the olives, cilantro, parsley, oregano and squeeze of lime juice. Add the chicken and stir to combine.

It was a lot of labor but the result was awesome.  Here are some pics from the different stages:

Mis en place...very important in this dish.  There are so many ingredients.

Here are the thigh pieces with the rub on them.
Parts in the pot.  Don't crowd!
Once again, I forgot to take the beauty shot...leftovers instead


A little bit of work, but totally worth it.

Happy Eating!