Mamma Mia this was good!  Oh Hi, I got a little side tracked as I was looking at the pictures from last night’s supper.  Before I left for work, I took out some chicken breasts ( bone-in and skinless) for supper.  These big morsels of flesh turned into something…. well AMAZING.

As you know from reading the blog (or not), I am not one to toot my own horn about something really being ridiculously good but I h ave to say the combination of apricots and lemon jazzed up with some fresh ginger made a bland chicken breast SING.  To go along with the chicken, Mrs. Zesty made a trip to the market and snagged some yummy sweet corn and a few sweet potatoes.  A little heavy on the starch but oh my I was happy.

Here is the way this went down.  About 5 minutes to prepare all this stuff and about 20-25 to grill everything off.  I first prepared the glaze for the chicken and lubed up the corn with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts ( Bone-In skinless )
• 2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
• 3 Tbsp. Apricot preserves
• 1/2 Tsp. Grated ginger
• 1/2 Tsp. Black pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon ( grate zest in as well )
• 4 Cobs of corn
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive oil

Method

1. Preheat grill to medium heat
2. In a bowl, combine hoisin sauce, apricot preserves, pepper, ginger and lemon and mix together
3. Place chicken on top of grill and let sear on first side.  Once the grilling has started, I start basting the chicken with the sauce because it is up off the direct heat and will not burn.





4. Turning the chicken once, after about 10-12 minutes, continue to baste the other side, slathering it on.  You can do no harm.



5. For the corn, husk the corn and prepare them for the grill
6. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and place directly on grill.  Stay close as they will brown up quickly.  Once they begin to brown, give them a quarter turn and continue all the way around.  Once they are all golden brown to your liking, place them up top to ensure they cook through.
7. Once chicken and corn are complete – you are ready to roll.
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When cooking chicken on the grill, the best word of advice is cook it up top on the grill or using in direct heat.  Especially if you want to use a glaze with sugar like I did.  Otherwise the outside will burn burn burn and the inside will be undercooked and squawking at you.

On a different front…. check out the new grass. It is coming in excellent after just 4-5 weeks. I already cut it once and it needs to be mowed again. I just had to show you.

I hope you have a great Wednesday. After work I am going to cook with a very “popular” chef for a piece at the annual potato festival. I will fill you in with all the details on Friday.

Take care

zesty

Happy Friday!  As I type this post early on this snowy Friday we are getting geared up for our first snow storm of the year.  Exciting?  No not really but I guess some people like it.  So far. all schools have been canceled but I am still planning on going into work.  We are supposed to get 20 cm today which is not too bad but the wind is supposed to pick up to 80km/hr.  Since we live in a wide open area it will likely feel that there is a hurricane around us.  I am really trying to look for full grown trees to shelter around the house.

Do you think I am crazy for looking at this option?  I am not very patient when it comes to watching trees grow for 20 years before they will block the wind.

On To the Food

The title catches your eye especially if you love chicken and garlic.  This recipe is a spin on a classic roasted chicken but there a couple of techniques that really enhance the flavor compared to your normal run of the mill chicken.

The marinade in this recipe really kicks up the internal flavor of the meat and the double cooking method also forces the flavor to be enhanced.  It really is a great trick if you have never tried this method in the past.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch parsley
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 Head of garlic
• 3 shallots
• 1 Tbsp herbes de provence
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• Small pinch all spice
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 6 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Method

1. Blend all ingredients except the olive oil in food processor then  add 6 tsp olive oil
2. Rub inside and outside chickens and marinate in fridge 2-4 hours.
3. Take the head of garlic and loosen but do not peel, remove papery skins. Coat with oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Roast chicken at 350 degrees in shallow pan for 90 min or till done and for at least 1 hour
5. Add the garlic head, covered with tin foil in own pan to the oven and roast for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. Set chicken aside for at least 30 minutes.
7. Degrease roasting pan, then de-glaze with juices from resting chicken and 1 ½ cups of chicken broth.
8. Separate chicken to pieces, preserving the skin as best able, and place on boiler with skin side up.
9. Place thin slices of ½ lemon over top.
10. Pour juices into broiler pan, but not over the chicken and broil to hot (8min depending on oven).
11. Use ½ lemon remaining and add juice and reduce sauce, by ½ or till thickened, season with salt and pepper and a small amount, 1 tsp or so butter to enrich and smooth sauce.
12. Serve chicken with sauce.



13. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Don’t forget about that roasted garlic.  Serve the roasted garlic with the chicken for the garlic lovers in the house.

Big plans for the weekend?  I am pretty sure I don’t have anything major on the go.  Looks like I may be doing some shoveling for sure.  I better go get a shower and head into the office.  Have a great weekend and let me know if you have any questions about the recipe.

Take care

zesty