A Meat-and-Potatoes Kind of Night: Chicken Vesuvio

Another intriguing recipe I found in Cooks' Illustrated "Cooking for Two" collection from 2010 was a dish called "Chicken Vesuvio".  The picture, on which I sometimes rely heavily, showed what looked like seared chicken breasts, peas and roasted potatoes.  Now, you may look at some of the other recipes I have written about and think "why would she pick this one?"  I think it boiled down to simple curiosity.  I've never been much of a "meat and potatoes" kind of person.  While I do love roasted chicken and potatoes, I certainly do not turn it to it often.  I do find that kind of meal composition to be really heavy and sometimes too much for when Marshall and I usually sit down to dinner:  around 7:30 or 8pm, sometimes even close to 9.  I cannot imagine eating a large helping of chicken and potatoes with a mere 2 hours before going to bed.  Anyway, I was curious about this dish, especially since it had an Italian-sounding name.  Turns out this dish originated in Chicago and was simply bone-in chicken with roasted potatoes, covered in a garlicky sauce with peas.  It sounds more English than Italian, if you ask me.

While it might sound like I'm completely bashing this meal, I really was surprised at how it tasted in the end.  Yes, this was a very hearty meal and something I would only think to cook on weekends or in the dead of winter.  You're left feeling very full afterward.  However, the meal itself was very tasty.  I ended up not really pairing this with anything, since I thought the peas in the dish were enough to cover the "vegetable" portion of our dinner.  I really enjoyed the thick gravy on the chicken and potatoes.  The peas did not lend much of their flavor to the dish; I'm thinking that originally it was just to keep the dish from looking too bland.  The flavor, though, wasn't bland at all.  This dish definitely reminded me of meals I had while visiting the mid-west, which definitely brings light to where it originated.  I can easily see this dish being plated up at family dinners in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.  Marshall and I both enjoyed this dish, but agreed it was very filling and something that would be revisited sparingly in the future.

Ya Mon! - Jerk Chicken with Grilled Banana and Onion Salsa

Let's quickly address the rather large pachyderm in the room:  Yes, it has been a while since I last posted.  There, issue addressed; let's move on, shall we?

In the interest of time and preserving my dignity, I will not divulge when this meal was cooked and eaten.  What I will tell you is that it was a delicious meal.  I will, though, apologize for the lack of chicken-prep photos, which were Marshall's responsibility and in the joy of grilling the chicken, he forgot.  We also grilled the chicken a night ahead, due to an even or something.  We have a schedule when we eat.  We are creatures of habit and keeping a "cook Monday and Wednesday; eat leftovers Tuesday and Thursday; figure out something Friday through Sunday" is easy for us to make sure we're eating more at home than coming up short on what to eat and ending up going out.

Anyway, all that aside:  this was exactly how the editors of Cook's Illustrated described this chicken:  easy, as well as being very tasty.  It also wasn't really super spicy, which anything labeled "jerk" tends to be.  The marinade/rub does contain habenero peppers, but they aren't there in the forefront.  What you get is an extremely flavorful and juicy chicken with a very nice warmth, which only suggests the pepper's presence.  What really stands out in this meal is the side dish:  grilled banana and red onion salsa.  We treated this more like a salad, rather than a salsa.  But, it's a great dish and it packs so much flavor and it's a refreshing counterpart to the spicy and warm chicken.  The grilled bananas and red onions are sweet, but not too sticky.  The dressing is minty and with just a spark of rum ties everything together.  Considering I've never been to Jamaica before, I can't say how this stacks up to what you would find on the island, but I can only imagine it holds its own against the authentic birds being fired up on the street.  Is it bad that I wanted to construct my own charcoal grill out of a discarded oil drum and cook my chicken just to get that close to authentic?  :)

Best Grilled Chicken Ever: Thai-Style Chicken with Spicy Sweet and Sour Sauce

I first must apologize for the lack of photos for this entry.  If I remember correctly (which is a horrible thing to say and I should be able to keep up with this thing!), I started preparing this chicken and halfway through realized I needed more limes.  For some odd reason, my local market has been having horrible luck with limes.  They end up being dry and hard as rocks.  I go to use them and I can barely get two drops of juice. This happened while trying to get the spice mixture, which is placed underneath the skin, for the chicken and I ran out of limes to juice.  What was funny, in a sad way, was that Safeway ended up having much better juice-laden limes than my local Italian market.  Anyway, while preparing this chicken, which ended up taking forever due to the marinating time and running out of limes, I said to Marshall, "This better be the best @#!$ing chicken ever, because this is ridiculous!"  Well, my friends, it was.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this chicken as much as I did.  For one thing, the spice mixture contains a good deal of coriander, which my body does not like.  My stomach actually turns at the smell of coriander.  I can take it in small doses, but anything with a strong coriander flavor or contains whole coriander seeds, I cannot eat without feeling sick.  I never cooked much with coriander before, but I remember my mom went through this kick.  She and my dad found this restaurant down the street from them, which is no longer there, called Asian Fusion.  Essentially, it was a restaurant that infused all sorts of Asian cuisines onto one menu.  They had a little Chinese, a little Vietnamese, a little bit of Indian, all rolled into one.  They had a side dish simply called "Coriander Rice".  It was regular white steamed rice, but they threw in a bunch of whole coriander seeds into the rice cooker.  This infused the rice, so you could have a "scented" rice with your main dish.  My mom was all over this.  She even learned to make it at home.  She served it with everything for a while, it seemed, and I just couldn't stomach it at all.  It wasn't the flavor, but more the aroma which just didn't agree with me.  Luckily, this chicken wasn't very CORIANDER-y, but it had an underlying flavor of that spice.  Most of the coriander was in the spice rub, which was cooked with the chicken in such a way that it could be scraped off.  Now, I don't like admitting when I'm a picky eater, but I just had to do this a few times with my chicken.  This being said, though, it really was some awesome grilled chicken.  Having the breast with the skin and bone-in locked in all the juices and the meat remained tender and extremely juicy.  The rub penetrated the meat, so the flavor went past the surface and into the entire piece of chicken.

The spicy sweet and sour dipping sauce was an excellent addition and added an almost refreshing flavor contrast to the aromatic chicken.  The spicy red pepper flakes were perfect, too, adding just enough heat to compliment all the other flavors in the spice rub.  I took advantage of the side dish recipe, provided with the chicken:  Sesame Noodles with Sweet Peppers and Cucumbers.  I didn't get any pictures of the side dish, quite simply because it wasn't photogenic.  Although it tasted great, it didn't look all that lovely.  I think it was the brown dressing, which made the dish look like a big bowl of chunky peanut butter.  However, the flavors were wonderful and the meal as a whole was delicious.

Carbo-Loading (2 of 2): Penne with Chicken and Broccoli

During the week leading up to our triathlon, which was the first Sunday in May (yes, I know I'm behind...), I tried to come up with dishes with healthy carbohydrates and lean protein.  Marshall had something similar in mind and told me he was interested in some kind of pasta dish with chicken and maybe broccoli.  Well, he just named 3 of some of my very favorite things, so it was easy to come up with a dish that would definitely satisfy.  However, my history has demonstrated that I'm not the greatest when it comes to thinking up dishes.  My sister is actually really good at just throwing things in a pot and coming up with something really yummy; my mom is the same way.  I suppose it comes from experience, but I am much more comfortable going along with a recipe.  In any case, I took on the challenge and actually came up with a really tasty pasta dish that I will try to replicate again.  I wasn't taking notes when I was cooking (I was, and still am, a horrible note-taker), so I'll do my best to explain how I made this dish.

I went to the store and picked out the main ingredients:  chicken breast (2, boneless/skinless), broccoli (about 3 crowns), and a box of penne (yes, I realize I could've made an even healthier dish with whole wheat pasta, but part of me really loves that plain semolina pasta flavor).  I decided to pick up a lemon or two, thinking lemon goes great with chicken no matter what.  The rest of the ingredients I had at home:  red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and olive oil.  Oh yeah, you can't forget the cheese, but I always have cheese in the house.  The day I made this dish, I was working from home, so I took advantage of the extra time and decided to marinate the chicken.  I seasoned the chicken, which I had cut up into bite-sized pieces (about 1-2" big) with salt and pepper, then placed it in a tupperware container.  I liberally sprinkled the Italian herb seasoning (definitely the no-salt kind; I shouldn't have to tell you that) on top, then added some smashed garlic cloves.  Over-top I drizzled a liberally helping of olive oil and then took the juice of one lemon and poured that on for the final flourish.  I put on the top of the container, shook well, then placed in the fridge for about 45 minutes.  When it came to cooking the chicken, I took a very simple approach.  I heated up some olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat, and added some more crushed garlic.  After about a minute, I sprinkled a healthy dose of red pepper flakes and cooked those a bit with the garlic.  Then I threw in the chicken with its juice, and cooked until opaque.  As I was prepping the broccoli, I noticed a jar in the back of our fridge.  A coworker of mine, had Marshall and I over for dinner a few weeks prior and gave us a jar of preserved Meyer lemons.  I had looked for a few recipes using it, but until then had not come up with anything to use these lemons.  Then I thought, "hmm, you know, these might work here...".  Preserved lemons have a much softer peel and Meyer lemons are known for their thin layer of pith and tender skin.  You can easily cut them up into small pieces and cook them and they're great to eat skin and all.  I did the same here:  I took a half of a preserved lemon, cut it into small pieces and threw them into the pan with the chicken.  You could replicate this flavor by adding some chopped pieces of peeled lemon or by simply sprinkling some lemon juice over the chicken while it cooks.  What came out was a delicious dish with a bright lemony flavor.  Plus, it had broccoli in it, which, in my book, is always a plus!

Lemony Chicken and Broccoli with Penne Pasta

Serves about 4

2 Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into 1"-2" pieces

6 Cloves of Garlic, crushed and divided

1-1/2 Teaspoons of Italian Seasoning

1 Lemon, juiced

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

1-2 Teaspoons of Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)

1/2 Preserved Meyer Lemon, cut into small pieces (optional) -OR- 1/2 Lemon, juiced

2-3 Crowns of Broccoli, cut into florettes

1/2-3/4 Pounds of Penne Pasta (or any other shape pasta you like)

1.  Add the chicken, 3 cloves of crushed garlic, Italian seasoning, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a tupperware container or bowl, mix well, and cover.  Place in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes.

2.  Start a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add the pasta.  Cook about three-quarters of the way (according to the package instructions) and add broccoli to the water.  Finish cooking pasta, in that time the broccoli should be adequately cooked, as well.  Drain well and set aside.

3.  Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the remaining crushed garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add red pepper flakes and sauté for an additional minute.  Add in the marinated chicken pieces, plus the marinade, into the pan and cook until opaque (roughly 10 minutes, if that). If using, add in the Meyer lemon pieces and heat through.

4.  Toss chicken with pasta and broccoli and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

bon appetit!