Sweet and Sticky Oven Baked Chicken Thighs

I was searching the internet the other day looking for something new to try with chicken thighs.  Seems that more and more of my weeknight meals revolve around them and the family is getting a little tired of my normal baked thigh recipes.  Luckily this recipe caught my eye and it is definitely a keeper!!! 
Kristen from Dine and Dish makes these using chicken wings but thighs are what I had.

Sweet and Sticky Oven Baked Chicken Thighs (from Dine and Dish)
Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup ketchup
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 Tablespoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper 
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt 
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon mustard
1 ½ cups brown sugar
8 chicken thighs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the chicken thighs
2. Line metal baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack to elevate the chicken.
3. Pour the barbecue sauce over chicken thighs in a large re-sealable plastic bag. Seal tightly and shake until sauce is well distributed.
4. Arrange chicken thighs on the rack over the aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until crisp and cooked through.

Read more »

Roasted Romanesco

Have you seen this veggie? It seems that some of the crazier looking vegetables are becoming more mainstream. This is the definition of it from Wikipedia - “Romanesco is an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea and a variant form of cauliflower. Romanesco broccoli was first documented in Italy (as broccolo romanesco) in the sixteenth century. It is sometimes called broccoflower, but that name is also applied to green-curded cauliflower cultivars. It is also known as coral broccoli. It is rich in vitamin C, fiber, and carotenoids.”

I did a post on Romanesco last year because I thought it was such and interesting and unique veggie. This year it is popping up all over the place. I have used it in soups, steamed it, and eaten raw. This time I wanted to try roasting it as I had with cauliflower a couple of weeks ago! Turned out delicious and this is all I did…

Roasted Romanesco

Romanesco, trimmed and cleaned as you would broccoli or cauliflower
Olive oil
salt and pepper
sliced garlic
parmesan cheese grated

Preheat oven to 400. In a bowl toss all of the ingredients and roast on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes or until just tender.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine (Slow and Low)

Yesterday was a beautiful day! We got up and the house was nice and cool and seeing it was Sunday we had no commitments until later in the day (I had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese-please shoot me now!!!), we decided to take advantage of the weather and head to the beach for a nice walk. T. had too much to do to spend the day but a walk was great!

For dinner I had decided that I needed something that I could get in the oven and have ready for me while I was gone with minimal babysitting! Kelly over at Sass & Veracity had just the thing. This isn't the first time I made this either. Yes, it's that good!!! I made it when my Mom was here over Christmas and it was a huge hit then as well.

Beef Short Ribs in Wine (I got from Sass & Veracity who adapted it from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook...)

Ingredients:

3 T extra virgin olive oil
8 good-sized short ribs (3" square)
salt & pepper
1 bay leaf
1 T fresh rosemary
1 tsp. fresh thyme
2 sprigs parsley
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 shallots, diced
1 T flour
1 T tomato paste
1/2 c. ruby port
2 c. red wine
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled
3-1/2 c. veal or beef stock
3 c. mushrooms
flat egg noodles (T. made some homemade noodles to go with)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Sprinkle all surfaces of the beef with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven or large lidded, oven proof pot, heat 2 T of the olive oil and brown the short ribs, turning each to make sure a nice, rich color is achieved on each side. Remove the ribs to a bowl as they finish browning before adding the remainder.

After all the ribs have been browned, add the remaining 1 T of olive oil with the carrots, celery, onions, and shallots to the pot. Over medium heat, cook, stirring frequently until veggies have begun to soften, about 8-10 minutes.

Stir in the flour and tomato paste, mixing well for about 1 minute. Add the port and stir, scraping the brown coating from the bottom of the pan. Add the red wine and allow to simmer until the liquid is reduced, 10-15 minutes.

Add the garlic cloves, veal stock, herbs, and short ribs with juices to the pot and return to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, stirring into the mixture, place a lid on the pot and put into the oven for approximately 3 hours until meat is extremely tender.

***This was a delicious meal and I think it is one that will be made again and again. I had never had short ribs before and this made me a true fan...twice!!!

I have also found that I love to braise meat. The flavor is incredible and the secret is in getting that meat nice and browned and using up all those brown bits of heaven that are left on the bottom of the pot and deglazing to get every bit of flavor!!!

Check Kelly's site for some better pictures and step by step ones as well!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

Maple Glazed Pork Steaks with Pumpkin Polenta

Maple Glazed Pork Steak with Pumpkin Polenta and a Side Dish of Roasted Root Vegetables! Crappy picture...I need my lights!!!

I know, I know. I am not following the herd right now. Everything is suppose to be about Thanksgiving!!! Trust me, we are all getting plenty of that and we still have to eat the other 364 days of the year. Do yourself a favor and bookmark this recipe for when you are sick of turkey or have finally run out of leftovers! For a really great site that has a ton of Thanksgiving recipes head over to see Jerry at Cooking...by the seat of my Pants!

Onto the recipe:

I saw this recipe on the Food Network site and it is from their Food Network Kitchens. When I told T. what I was making he was a bit hesitant to say the least. We don't really go in for the whole sweet tasting meat thing. But I convinced him that even that it was maple it didn't have to be really sweet. This dish had so many things going on in it that the maple was just an enhancing flavor.

Pork Chops (Food Network Kitchens)

Ingredients:

• 4 (5-ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops (I used bone in pork steaks)
  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup chicken broth, low-sodium canned

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dry the pork chops well and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Lay the chops in the pan and cook until lightly browned on the first side, about 4 minutes. Turn the chops and cook until the second side is browned and the chops are cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the chops to a platter.

Pour off the excess oil from the pan. Add the vinegar, and return the pan to the heat and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits that cling to the pan. Stir in the mustard, maple syrup, and chicken broth, along with any juices from the pork chops. Cook over high heat until the mixture is syrupy, about 5 minutes. Season to taste.

Pumpkin Polenta (Food Network Kitchens)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups 1 percent milk
• 2/3 cup quick-cooking polenta
• 1 1/2 cups canned pure pumpkin (or homemade roasted pumpkin puree)
  
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the sage to the oil and cook until the sage is slightly crisped, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside. Meanwhile, put the broth and milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Slowly whisk in the polenta, reduce the heat to low, and cook, whisking occasionally, until the polenta is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Pull the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the pumpkin, sage with the oil, cheese, salt, and pepper. Hold in a warm place.

Serve the pork chop or steak over the pumpkin polenta with some roasted root vegetables on the side. This was a great meal for a cold night! Not too sweet either just as I told T. it would be!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

Grass Fed Arm Roast Slow Cooked

Over the weekend I saw a post on Kelly's blog Sass & Veracity and just new I had to try it. I had planned to try it on Sunday but I ended up with a migraine and the last thing on my mind was food. I knew that the girls were home on Monday and I had planned a morning at the beach for them but I knew that I would be home early enough in the afternoon to start this baby cooking!!!

This arm roast is one that we got when we purchased the portion of our cow over the summer. We are lucky enough, through our CSA (Worden Farms), to be able to opt in on a free range, grass fed cow purchase (happy meat)...Get this...local meat!!!!! This meat is delicious. Our only problem is that we didn;t get enough!!! Oh well lesson learned.

Anyway, this roast turned out incredible. I have had major issues in the past with pot roasts so I was really afraid to try braising for the first time without a back up plan for dinner, but I jumped right in a did it. I am so glad that I did. Kelly and her helpful hints did the trick and dinner was a huge success!!!

Beef Chuck with Vegetables in Red Wine (February 08 Issue of Bon Appetit.)

1-4 lb. boneless beef chuck roast, tied
2 tsp. fresh thyme
2 tsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. black pepper, coarsely ground
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. brown sugar
6 pieces smoked bacon, chopped
2 c. dry red wine
1/2 c. chicken broth
small pkg. pearl onions
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
1 head garlic, cloves peeled
3 bay leaves
4 lg. carrots, peeled and chunked
3 med. parsnips, peeled and chunked
1 small celery root, peeled and cut into large cubes
10-12 small red potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix thyme, paprika, salt, pepper, mustard and brown sugar in a small bowl. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and rub the spice blend over the entire surface of the roast.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, fry the bacon pieces over medium heat until well browned. Remove from the pan, and reserve in a small container leaving the fat in the bottom to brown the meat. If you have more than a couple of tablespoons, pour it off.

Turn the heat up and brown the meat on all sides until rich in color and beginning to crust, about 10 minutes in all. Transfer the meat to a platter and pour in the red wine, scraping the browned bits from the pan as it deglazes. Continue to cook until it's reduced to about 1/2 cup then add the broth and bacon. Set the beef on top and place the garlic, onions and bay leaves all around the roast.

Cover the pan and place in the center of the oven. Cook for 1 hour.

Remove from oven, turn the roast over, and stir the onions, cover and cook for 1 hour more. Check occasionally to make sure the pan doesn't become dry by adding water 1/4 cup at a time.

Add the rest of the vegetables around the roast, stir and cook for an additional 45 minutes until all are tender.

Remove the roast and veggies from the pan and keep warm. Spoon off any fat on the surface of the sauce and correct seasonings. Serve over slices of beef and veggies.

***T. does not like carrots so I skipped them. I did take Kelly's advice and use celery root. What a surprise that was. Love it! I also had no pearl onions so I cut up cooking onions and used regular potatoes instead of tiny red skins (I had them).

This was truly an incredible experience for me. First time braising, deglazing (to this extent) and having a roast that was edible!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

My new found love of brussel sprouts...

Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts

How weird is it that something you thought you have hated for your whole life is becomming one of you favorite things ever. I'm talking about brussel sprouts. Now maybe I have never had fresh ones before or maybe they were just over cooked or under seasoned? Well whatever the reason it's not how it is now. I mean, I LOVE these things!

Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts (adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh brussel sprouts, quartered and trimmed
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
about a handful of pine nuts (lightly toasted in a hot skillet)

Directions:

• Toss the brussel sprouts and onion with the olive oil and the balsamic.
• Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cook for about 20 minutes, tossing midway through, or until they are cooked through and starting to turn a nice golden brown.
• Remove from oven and place in a bowl. Top with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Everyone liked these. My oldest one even asked for seconds. You can't beat that!!!

Read more »