Canal House Style Chicken Thighs with Lemon

Good Yard Bird
The kitchen can be the world’s best reality check. The outcome of your endeavors is not always guaranteed—no matter how good a cook you think you are—and for that reason, it is best to always check one’s ego at the door (and keep your instant-read thermometer handy). Just when you think you can totally take on an Iron Chef, karma has its nasty way with you. I need only to look back a couple of weeks to the epic fail that was my attempt to make Pearly Rice Balls with Red Bean Paste in them. Instead of producing lovely round rice balls, I managed to make a gelatinous, shapeless glob that looked like scary fried eggs.

And yet, sometimes (cue the choir of angels), you make something so tasty, so utterly divine that your obvious talent just can’t be denied. (Move over Thomas Keller! I laugh at you and your Michelin stars!) Last night was one of those nights…

To be fair, my genius had some help this time around. (OK. Yes. Most of the time I need help.) Mine came in the form of the book Genius Recipes by Food52 by way of The Canal House. This cookbook has been getting a lot of buzz lately and for very good reason. It is the bomb-diggity. It really is genius. It is also the cookbook we are using for our next cookbook club.

Looking at my copy right now I have at least twenty recipes that I have flagged to try. One of them is Canal House Style Chicken Thighs with Lemon which is what I made for dinner last night à chez moi. My husband told me it was the best chicken I have ever made. I’ve made a lot of chicken, which means either this recipe is just that good or I need to go back to school. Full disclosure, I used preserved lemons. made by a friend, who also happens to be in our cookbook club. It’s possible that they were the secret ingredient because man, they were good.

Do yourselves a favor, go get this book. Or, you can follow along on their blog as Kristin Miglore cooks her way through the book.

And look-y there. The BEST EVER CHICKEN is front and center….

Canal House Style Chicken Thighs with Lemon
Recipe adapted from Food 52 Read more…

Amy’s Roast Chicken

Bird Is The Word

Most years I try to make an effort to put together a traditional dinner for Passover since my husband is technically Jewish—I say technically because while he may have been born into the Jewish faith, he does not practice it. I am more into it than he is; mainly because I love the food and the lore. For dinner I make foods that are in keeping with the traditions. We don’t do the whole Seder.

This year it’s going to be a struggle to do anything, but for a good reason. We’re heading on vacation for spring break. I like a keeping in touch with your roots as much as the next guy but frankly, sand, sun, and pool-side cocktails will trump that every time…so will the amount of laundry I have to get done in order to get everyone packed and ready.

This year’s Passover celebration will be simple. Very simple. I’m going with a roasted chicken. Roasting a chicken is one of the easiest things you can do for dinner, and you can roast multiple chickens on a basic sheet pan. (I always do two. One for dinner, and the other for sandwiches, tacos etc,) Of all the things I have taught my kids about cooking, this recipe is the most important one. As long as they can roast a chicken, they will be able to feed themselves.

I like to rub my chicken with olive oil and chopped fresh herbs, but you can do whatever you want. Rubbing your favorite spice blend all over the chicken is a no-brainer. Sometimes I put a lemon with the ends cut off into the cavity, other times I do the same with a head of garlic that has had the top cut off. The possibilities are limitless. Feel free to experiment as you see fit.

Amy’s Roast Chicken
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Chicken Chow Mein

Gam’s Hey Fat Choi
Lately, I’ve had Chinese food on the brain. The reason is obvious—it happens every year at the start of Chinese New Year.

In honor of the Year of The Ram, and because my family likes it, I have been cooking more meals with an Asian flavor. I’ve never been that good an Asian cook, but I think I’m getting better. I made a Bok Choy Stir Fry the other night and managed to not burn the garlic.

My grandmother, a.k.a. Gam, was my Chinese Food Ambassador when I was a kid. She loved Chinese food but she rarely ordered take out. She usually made it herself. She had a collection of Chinese Cookbooks and old pages from Chinese cooking classes that she had taken over the years. When she passed away, I inherited them. (Okay. inherited might be a strong word. I packed them in a box with her wok, clay pot, bamboo steamer and chop sticks and got them to my house before my sister figured out what was happening. She got the purple water goblets. We’re even.)

I have clear memories from my childhood of Gam, and her wok, and her super-long chopsticks that she always used—whether she was cooking Chinese or not. Because Gam taught my sister and me to cook with her chopsticks, I can eat at a Chinese restaurant without fear of looking like a fool…or worse, asking for a fork. (Gasp!)

In honor of the New Year and Gam’s love of the cuisine, I give you Gam’s recipe for Chicken Chow Mein from her cookbook called Chopsticks, Cleaver and Wok by Jennie Low. You can make this recipe with pan fried noodles (Hong Kong Style) or fresh cooked Chow Mein noodles. The crispy version is listed here but it’s easy to swap for the softer version. (Just don’t pan fry the noodles.) I have also listed Gam’s notes from the pages so you can see her interpretation.

Chicken Chow Mein (Gai Chow Mein)
From Chopsticks, Cleaver and Wok by Jennie Low
Serves 6 Read more…

Spicy Mushroom Tamales

Hot Tamale
We are a pretty non-traditional family when it comes to many things, but most especially when it comes to Valentine’s Day celebrations. We’ve done the giant chocolate chip cookie heart, and of course the heart-shaped pepperoni pizza. Most years, we have the mother of all Make Your Own Ice Cream Sundae Bars so that we can over indulge in creamy iced goodness. This year, my family has gone rogue, again, and it’s weird.

I have been asked to make a Valentine’s Day Thanksgiving. Yup, you read that correctly. The forecast is for the upper 70s this weekend, and I will be roasting a turkey. In all fairness, I did promise back in early December that I would do a Thanksgiving in the new year, because we all agreed that we just didn’t get enough in November. Silly me, I figured we would still be having winter weather in February. It was also before we made our plans for Spring Break. Now I have margaritas, beaches and tacos on the brain.

So, as head chef, I am going to pull rank. We can do the turkey on Sunday and they can just like it. For Valentine’s Day I want a margarita or five, and something hot and spicy (besides the husband…nudge, nudge, wink, wink) and chocolate. Let’s not forget the chocolate.

Tamales are traditionally made and eaten at celebrations, and I think these would be perfect for this weekend. Time consuming, yes, but oh so worth it. Serve them with some tasty beans and a salad and we have our own Fiesta del Amour!

¡Arriba! (I know, just go with it.)

Spicy Mushroom Tamales
Adapted from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen by Rick Bayless
Makes 6 medium-size tamales
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