Saturday, March 21, 2020

Spiced Chicken with Shallots and Grapes

What I've fixed was significantly inspired by a recipe in Cooking Light.  I didn't have exactly the ingredients they indicated, and substituted a few things.  Also, the photo is my "reduced for one serving" prep of the recipe; the amounts below will feed at least 4, up to 6.

Ingredients
1-2 T olive oil
s & p
2 lb chicken pieces (about 1½ lb if boneless)
2 C seedless red grapes
1 C shallots, sliced
1 t cardamom
¼ t cumin
1/8  t cayenne
C chicken stock
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T butter
chopped parsley

Directions
Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet; sear chicken until golden brown on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet; if needed, finish cooking chicken (to an internal temperature of 165°F) in the oven, covered.

Add shallots to hot skillet, stirring until soft and translucent. Add grapes; cook, stirring or shaking pan occasionally, until skins are somewhat charred and beginning to burst. Add cardamom, cumin, cayenne, stock and vinegar; cook until reduced by almost half. Add butter; season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Return chicken to skillet - presentation side up - to warm through. Garnish with chopped parslely just before serving.


Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Honey Whole Wheat Bread II

I already have a recipe for a honey-wheat bread, which is delicious. It has three different windows for rising and proofing. This version cuts it down to just two, one of which is only about half an hour. That may not be ideal for great textured bread, but working with students and classes that meet for little more than an hour a day...multiple rising and proofing steps present a challenge to fit into our schedule. So this will likely be the better option for that reason.

Ingredients:
1 T regular active dry yeast
¼ C warm water (105-115°F)
½ C honey
¼ C butter, softened
1 T salt
2½ C very warm water (120-130°F)
4½ C whole wheat flour
3 C AP flour

Directions
Dissolve yeast in ¼ C warm water (105-115°F). Let stand 5 minutes.

Blend in next 4 ingredients (honey, butter, salt, water). Add 3 cups whole wheat flour, stirring (or blending in electric mixer with dough hook attachment) until flour is thoroughly incorporated.

Add remaining whole wheat flour and AP flour a little at a time until dough pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 5-10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Grease a large bowl with non-stick spray or a bit of oil; turn dough in bowl to coat all sides. Cover; let rise in a warm place about 40 minutes, until doubled in size.

Coat 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray. Divide dough in half. Briefly knead to deflate, shaping dough into loaves. Place dough in pans; cover and let rise about 40 minutes again until doubled in size.

Heat oven to 375°F. Bake loaves 30 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350°F; continue baking another 15 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans immediately to cooling racks.