Clementine-Soy Chicken Thighs
| January 22, 2012 | Filled under Asian, Chicken and Poultry, Fruit, Light, Winter |
Happy (Chinese) New Year!
For some reason, we always celebrated Chinese New Year when I was a kid. I don’t know why, but I always looked forward to it. It was so fun, and we didn’t eat Chinese nearly as often back then as we do now. Mom would take out the electric wok and cook dinner right on the table – usually a chicken stir fry. The next night, we’d wrap the leftovers in tortillas and eat them as fajitas. Yum.
I made this clementine-soy glazed chicken a few weeks ago and thought it would be the perfect Chinese New Year post. But then I started researching and apparently I had it all wrong. The holiday has all sorts of food traditions, like eating noodles to bring long life and dumplings to bring wealth. And apparently serving a chicken or duck whole represents health, but serving it cut – like these thighs – is the opposite. Oops.
Oh well. This dish is delicious any time of the year, and you should definitely make it (if you’re superstitious or prefer to celebrate the New Year more traditionally, just wait until tomorrow.)
I almost always have a crate of clementines sitting on my counter this time of year, but they go bad quicker than I can eat them so I’ve been trying to come up with ideas for cooking with them. I’ve found that roasting them concentrates their flavor and makes them super juicy! For this dish, I roasted them along with some chicken thighs, then used the juice in an Asian-inspired sauce. The chicken was great, with a perfectly crispy skin stretched over juicy meat, but the sauce was really the highlight of the dish. It was delicate and tangy, with a slight hint of perfume from the citrus. It was delicious spooned over the chicken, but even better mixed into the red quinoa that I served on the side. Thanks to the sauce, I’d say it was some of the best quinoa I’ve ever eaten.
Clementine-Soy Glazed Chicken Thighs
Prep Time: 5 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 (about 1 pound) Bone-In Chicken Thighs
- 1 Tablespoon minced Shallot
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon grated Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 4 Clementines, halved
- 1 Tbs + 1 teaspoon Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Sake or White Wine
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 450*F. Place the chicken thighs in a small baking dish with sides (I used a 9-inch cake pan). Gently slide your fingers between the meat and the skin to separate it. Combine the shallot, garlic and ginger and run it into the meat, beneath the loosened skin. Rub the skin with olive oil and season with black pepper. Tuck the clementines around the chicken, cut sides up. Roast for 20 minutes.
- Pour off any fat that has accumulated in the bottom of the pan. Remove 4 clementine halves from the pan and juice them into a small bowl. Whisk in the soy sauce, brown sugar, and sake. Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs and return to the oven. Roast for another 15 minutes, spooning the sauce over the chicken 2 or 3 times.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and place them on a plate. Tent with foil to keep them warm. Transfer the sauce to a small saucepan set over high heat. Bring to a boil, then let reduce by half – about 5 minutes.
- Serve the chicken thighs with the reduced sauce and a roasted clementine half.
Approx. 275 calories, 17.4 grams fat, 8.5 grams carbohydrates, 0.6 grams fiber, 20 grams protein
Fettuccini with Cauliflower, Prosciutto and Peas
| January 12, 2012 | Italian, Pasta and Noodles, Winter |
Can we talk about cauliflower for a second? It’s a great vegetable with a really unique flavor. I love it and, if you haven’t tried it lately, you really should give it a second chance. But there’s a right way to do cauliflower and a wrong way. The cauliflower “steaks” that food editors seem to have decided should be all the rage this winter? NOT the right way. In fact, it’s a pretty decent way to confirm any suspicion that you may have had that cauliflower is gross.
This pasta, on the other hand, with the some of the cauliflower caramelized in the oven and the rest pureed into a creamy sauce? Even if you think you hate cauliflower, you’ll love this. Read More
Crab and Blackberry Guacamole
| January 8, 2012 | Mexican and Southwestern, Sides, special projects |
Me: Hey Shawn, remember when we went to the Taste of Hartford two years ago and we ate that guacamole with fruit and lobster in it?
Shawn: How the hell do you remember these things?
Me: Because it was awesome.
That guacamole was awesome, but the real reason that I remembered about it was because I’ve been meaning to recreate it at home. I was just waiting for an appropriate opportunity. Like, say, the Avocados from Mexico Guac Off Recipe Contest?
New England Clam Chowder
| January 5, 2012 | Fish and Seafood, Light, One Pan, Soups and Stews, Winter |
Like a lot of people, I re-committed myself* to eating healthier and losing a few pounds in the New Year. Unlike a lot of people, I won’t attempt to live off of cold salads and clear broths. It’s winter, people! I want comfort food – and lots of it.
This milky chowder filled with meaty bites of bacon and the subtle spice of Old Bay and peppery parsnips is what I consider the ultimate winter meal. The combination of smoke and cream reminds me of curling up in front of a fireplace while fat snowflakes fall outside. Close your eyes when you eat it and you can almost hear the bells of a horse-drawn carriage being pulled down the road. Read More
Simply Dressed Giveaway!
| January 3, 2012 | special projects |
The holidays may be over, but the gifts keep on coming!
Over the past month, I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with the new Marzetti Simply Dressed salad dressings line. I used the Ginger-Sesame to make an Asian-inspired chicken wrap that was full of fresh flavor. The Greek Feta made quick work of turning some couscous and zucchini into a healthy side dish. Leftover orange-soy glazed chicken thighs and sautéed bok choy got new life when I served them over romaine dressed with more of the Sesame-Ginger. And I’ve eaten more than my share of baby greens tossed with Pomegranate dressing and crumbled goat cheese.
Now it’s your turn to give Simply Dressed a try! Read More
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