I need a goat.
It's Spring! Tra-la, tra-la.
If you stick your head out the window you can actually hear my lawn growing. The big problem with weeding, watering and feeding your lawn is that then it starts growing. Who thought that was a good idea?
When I run errands, it grows. When I write a Crabby post , it grows. When I sleep, it grows. It's relentless. My lawn is the Terminator of Agronomy. There's no where to run to, there's no where to hide. I can only hope the Terminator Salvation movie is about a John Deere Riding Mover going all Christian Bale on some turf farm.
If the weather doesn't cooperate or if I miss a day, the lawn explodes. Within a few days my backyard goes from well kept to resembling a Vietnamese rice paddy. Well, to hell with it. If my yard is going to resemble a southeast Asian landscape, might as well eat that way too. Today's recipe is for Tamarind-Orange Glazed Chicken. I'll warn you, the toughest part of this recipe is finding the tamarind paste, but if you do, you'll end up with a tart, sweet, faintly exotic glaze for your chicken. Enjoy...
from Bon Appetit, September, 2002
1 chicken, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
2 TBSP chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 14-ounce cans low salt chicken broth
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
6 TBSP unsalted butter
2 TBSP tamarind paste
4 teaspoons grated orange peel
4 teaspoons grated, peeled fresh ginger
Place the chicken halves in a large baking dish. Whisk together the olive oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken. Turn to coat, refrigerate and marinade for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight.
For the tamarind glaze, in a large saucepan, whisk together the broth, juice, sugar, 3 tablespoons of butter, tamarind paste, orange peel and grated ginger.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Stirring often, cook until the mixture has reduced to 3/4 cup and the glaze coats the back of a spoon. This step can take anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes, (the glaze can be prepared to this point up to 2 days ahead, cover and chill, when ready to use, re-warm over medium heat, whisking occasionally). Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Adjust the seasoning.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. While the chicken is warming, prepare your grill over medium-high heat. reserve a 1/4 cup of the glaze. Grill the chicken until cooked through, (approximately 45 -60 minutes), turning often and basting with the tamarind glaze.
NOTE: The glaze will burn, so turn the chicken frequently and pay attention to the heat level, you may wish to cook this over medium heat and take a bit more cooking time. Alternatively, consider cooking a whole chicken on the rotisserie, basting frequently.
There you are crablings. Plain old chicken gets a little less plain. Until next time, remember, you can do it, you can cook.
No comments:
Post a Comment