Chicken Satay w/Peanut Butter Sauce

Do you know what you need for that beautiful naan you are going to cook? Chicken Satay!  The flavor is all in the marinade!  

The first time I prepared the chicken I grilled it over charcoal.  The smokiness the coals added to the chicken was swoon worthy!  So this time I prepared it on my stove top grill pan.  Still banged!  

You can use chicken chunks or chicken tenders. If you prepare the chicken in the marinade in the morning you can have a quick weeknight winner!  Reserve some of the marinade, before placing the chicken in it, to baste the chicken with while cooking.

Chicken Satay w/Peanut Butter Sauce

What you need:

For the chicken

• 3/4 cup coconut milk (shake it up well before opening)
• 1 Tbs fish sauce
• 2 Tbs lemongrass paste(found in the produce section) or a stalk, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 small shallot, diced
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste
• 1 Tbs coriander
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• About 2 pounds chicken tenders or chunks
• Enough skewers for the chicken (if using wooden skewers, soak them for an hour before use to prevent burning) 
• Non-stick cooking spray 

For the peanut butter sauce

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• 1-2 teaspoons curry powder

What to do:

For the chicken

• In a large bowl add all of the marinade ingredients. Mix well
• Reserve about one cup of the marinade
• Place the chicken in the marinade making sure all of the chicken is covered
• Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 24 hours
• Remove the chicken from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking.
• Spray non-stick cooking spray on your grill pan
• Preheat your grill pan over medium high heat
• While the grill is preheating, thread your chicken onto the skewers
• Place the chicken on the hot grill, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. 
• Baste the chicken with the reserved marinade and allow it to cook for 5-7 minutes before flipping to cook through, basting the other side as well.
• Continue cooking the chicken in batches.
• While the chicken is resting make your peanut butter sauce.

For the peanut butter sauce:

• Pour all of the sauce ingredients into a small sauce pan
• Over medium heat, simmer until mixture is smooth and creamy. About 5-7 minutes.
• Sauce can be used for dipping or drizzled over chicken.

Buttermilk Brined Grilled Chicken

Can y'all tell this is my favorite oven grilling pan? LOL

Just like marinades, brines are also your friend. They add tremendous flavor to meats and make Weeknight Winner meals flavorful. Brines are not just for turkeys at Thanksgiving!

I was going to add some herbs to the brine but at the last minute decided not too. It didn't need anything additional.  Place your chicken in the brine in the morning and oven grill (or charcoal/gas grill) when you get home and viola, delicious dinner.

Buttermilk Brined Grilled Chicken
adapted from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-buttermilk-chicken-10000001010520/

What you need:

• 1 pint buttermilk
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Non-stick cooking spray 
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 4 skinless chicken thighs
• 6 chicken drumsticks

What to do:

• In a large bowl, mix buttermilk, onions, garlic, salt, sugar, cumin, and pepper
• Rinse chicken thighs and drumsticks and pat dry. Trim off excess fat. Submerge chicken pieces in buttermilk brine. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, or up to 1 day
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Take chicken from brine; discard brine. Drain excess brine from chicken
• Spray a grill skillet with non-stick spray. Heat grill skillet over high heat
• Place chicken on grill pan and sear for 3-5 minutes per side. Only flipping once
• Place grill skillet in oven and roast for 30-45 minutes or until juices run clear Be sure to let the chicken rest before eating...gotta let the juices redistribute!

Originally posted June 27, 2011 on my old blog

Yogurt Marinated Chicken



Skinless chicken thighs are so full of awesome flavor with this easy marinade.  I keep saying, marinades are your friend for weeknight meals! I even think the marinade would be fantastic run through a blender and used a salad dressing. It is that tasty.

The same reason I love cooking with chicken thighs is the same reason I hate cooking with them, all that fat...but it cooks down and adds greatness to whatever you are cooking.  I remove the skin and trim most of the fat off to make my waist line feel better.

I like char on my roasted chicken so I placed the chicken under the broiler for a few minutes. Oh, notice there is no salt in this recipe and you really don't miss it. 

Yogurt Marinated Chicken
adapted from: http://www.livinglou.com/2010/07/lous-authentic-chicken-thighs.html

What you need:

• 4-6 skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• Juice and zest from one small lemon
• 1 tsp hot sauce, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• Half green onion, diced
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• Freshly cracked pepper to taste

What to do:

• Poke several holes into the thighs and set aside
• Whisk together the remaining ingredients, check for flavor
• Place chicken in a large freezer bag and pour marinade over the chicken
• Marinate the poultry for at least 30 minutes (I marinate mine overnight or up to two days)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade
• Place in a baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes or until juices run clear
• Be sure to let your chicken rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into it

Originally posted June 1, 2011 on my old blog

BBQ Roasted Wings

I heart a good roasted chicken wing.  I roast my wings the same way no matter what flavor combination I use. A high heat roast or low/high broil yields a good crispy skin and juicy meat.
What you need:

• 18-20 wing pieces
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3-4 Tbs of your favorite seasoned salt (I used my own homemade taco/chili seasoning recipe because I wanted a bit of a smoky flavor)
• 1-2 Tbs brown sugar

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Rinse and pat chicken dry (the rub will stick to the chicken better if it is not too wet). Set aside.
• In a bowl mix the oil, seasoned salt and brown sugar together to form a paste. Check flavor and adjust as necessary.
• Evenly coat chicken with the rub
• Place on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes broil on high.

Chermoula Spiced Chicken

While Autumn introduces new dishes in our regular menu rotation, I have gotten bored with our regular menu rotation.  So I've been revisiting some recipes I've tagged in various magazines, cookbooks, or websites that I have yet to make.

This really easy chicken recipe is one of them. It is full of really good for you spices, like tumeric and cumin and really doesn't take a lot of time to come together. Oh and once you read over the ingredients list you'll see there is NO SALT and you won't even miss it!

Chermoula Spiced Chicken
Adapted from http://blog.seasonwithspice.com/2011/11/charmoula-spice-roasted-chicken-recipe.html

What you need:

• 4 pieces of chicken leg (thigh & drumstick) or 6 pieces of chicken thighs
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried or fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• dash of cayenne or red chili flakes, optional
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest, optional
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

What to do:

• Blend the chopped onion, garlic and fresh herbs using a food processor
• In a bowl, combine the blended mixture with all the spices.
• Then add the olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix well until you obtain a yellow paste.
• Make 2-3 light scores on each chicken piece. This will allow the chermoula marinade to get all up in the chicken! Rub them thoroughly with the chermoula paste. Marinate for one hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Place the marinated chicken on baking sheet and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Roast for 40-50 minutes.
• Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the chicken before serving, optional.
• Be sure to let the chicken rest for a few minutes to allow the juices to redistribute!
  
  
  
  

  

  
  

Curry Roasted Wings

So Babe and her Dad had a come to Jesus talk with me a few weeks ago. They ever so gently (snort) told me that I am wasting my talents serving them the same rotation of meals every week O_o See how they gang up on me??  Well to that end, I was on the hunt for "new and exciting" dishes to serve the troops. So for the next couple of weeks I will be cooking that "new, new ish"

Today I made these wings! Bay-bey!!!!! These wings right here were all of THAT and easy to prep to boot.  You can use any curry powder you choose. I used a generic McCor.mick brand and a bit of garam marsala. I completely eliminated the salt (of course) because it truly did not need it. The melted apple jelly set this wings off. There was nothing but lip smacking and finger licking at the table. Um, yes we did have Southern fried okra with this Indian style dish! LOL

Curry Roasted Wings
Adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue 57 June 2008

What you need:

• 1/8 cup of your favorite curry powder
• 1/8 cup garam marsala
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 16 chicken wing pieces
• 1/4 cup oil (you need enough oil to evenly coat the wings)
• 1/2 - 1 cup apple jelly

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Combine the curry powder, garam marsala, pepper flakes and pepper in a resealable plastic bag; reserve 1 Tbs of mixture
• In a medium bowl add the chicken and the oil; using your hands evenly coat the chicken
• Add the chicken, seal the bag and shake to coat
• On a baking sheet place the wings in a single layer and roast for 30 minutes or until cooked through
• In a medium skillet add the reserved spice mix along with the apple jelly; warm just enough to melt the jelly. Place the cooked chicken in the apple jelly mixture and gently stir to coat.

Originally posted August 22, 2011 from my old blog at www.threefoodwords.blogspot.com