Roast Chicken Thighs with Fennel and Citrus

Fresh fennel, and lemon and orange slices roasted with chicken thighs deliver a lively, bright, savory meal. Recipe below.

WE COOK WITH FENNEL QUITE A BIT, judging from our archives. The licorice or anise flavor (some stores even call fennel bulbs anise) gets subtle as you cook it and adds a nice freshness to all kinds of dishes. In this simple chicken dish, citrus adds its own brightness, creating a lively, savory dish that belies how easy it is to make. Continue reading “Roast Chicken Thighs with Fennel and Citrus” →

Savoring seasonality: Poulet à la Normande (Normandy Chicken)

This luscious traditional northern French chicken dish, made with apples, apple cider and brandy, is a perfect autumnal meal. Recipe below.

FALL—AND FALL INGREDIENTS—ARE UPON US. For us, it means enjoying being back in the kitchen. This classic French recipe includes both apples and apple cider, true autumnal ingredients. As a bonus, it also calls for turning on the oven, warming the kitchen. Continue reading “Savoring seasonality: Poulet à la Normande (Normandy Chicken)” →

Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange

Black tea, orange zest and a host of aromatics give Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange a satisfyingly complex taste.

WE DON’T GRILL VERY OFTEN. Not sure why—we love grilled foods, and it’s no harder (or easier, for that matter) than other cooking methods. But over the years, we’ve stumbled across some techniques that have been showstoppers. One is the ancient Chinese technique of tea-smoking. Continue reading “Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange” →

Weeknight-quickish Chicken Thighs with Basil and Lemon

Fresh basil, lemon and garlic add bright, lively flavor to easy-to-make roast chicken thighs. Recipe below.

BASIL IS A REGULAR FEATURE IN OUR GARDEN. Easy to grow, it most often sees action in batches of pesto in our kitchen—some consumed the day they’re made as part of a summery pasta, many more batches frozen for enjoying a taste of summer in the dead of winter. Looking for another way to use our bounteous basil, we remembered some chicken thighs lurking in the fridge. Continue reading “Weeknight-quickish Chicken Thighs with Basil and Lemon” →

Greek Grilled Chicken Thighs

Olive oil, lemons, garlic, oregano, paprika and Greek yogurt create a delicious, tenderizing marinade for grilled chicken thighs.

SUMMER IS MADE FOR GRILLING. This summer, though, I’ve glanced guiltily at our grill on the patio countless times when we’ve been working in our garden, but haven’t fired it up even once. So we figured we could at least share one of our favorite grilled chicken recipes for those of you who are grilling this summer. Continue reading “Greek Grilled Chicken Thighs” →

Too hot to cook? Curried Chicken Salad

No-cook Curried Chicken Salad is a lively take on classic chicken salad, perfect for warm summer days. Recipe below.

IN TOO-HOT-TO-COOK SUMMER, this Curried Chicken Salad is an easy, delicious main course. You use leftover cooked chicken (or store-bought rotisserie chicken), so no need to turn on the stove. And you serve it chilled, perfect because summer also provides us with too-hot-to-eat days. Continue reading “Too hot to cook? Curried Chicken Salad” →

Tamarind-Glazed Chicken Thighs

Tamarind paste and fresh orange juice create a lively, sweet/sour, caramelly, smoky glaze for roasted chicken thighs. Recipe below.

TAMARIND’S INTERNATIONAL APPEAL is what caught our eye first. The tamarind tree is native to Africa, but is now grown all over Asia and in Mexico. According to The Spruce Eats, the dark, sour, sticky paste made from its fruit is a common ingredient in Thai, Indian and Mexican cuisines, as well as Vietnamese, Latin, and Caribbean cooking. Here, it teams up with orange juice to bring a bright, citrusy freshness to oven-roasted chicken thighs. Continue reading “Tamarind-Glazed Chicken Thighs” →

Italian Chicken Stew from a women’s writing retreat

IN HONOR OF WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, we’re revisiting a recipe, a cookbook and a place. We first reviewed Hedgebrook Cookbook: Celebrating Radical Hospitality back in 2013. Hedgebrook is a women’s writing retreat on Whidbey Island in Washington state. Since 1988, its six cabins have been home to an impressive list of women writers. Continue reading “Italian Chicken Stew from a women’s writing retreat” →

Miso Gochujang Butter Chicken

A mix of Asian ingredients create roasted chicken that is juicy, slightly spicy, tangy and a little sweet. Recipe below.

LOOK IN OUR FRIDGE AND PANTRY, AND YOU’LL FIND ASIAN INGREDIENTS GALORE. Some esoteric, but mostly basic things we use regularly. This easy chicken recipe calls for three of the latter, all from different parts of Asia. White miso paste from Japan, gochujang paste from Korea, and rice vinegar used throughout East and Southeast Asia—China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam… Which makes perfect sense since it comes from a lovely pan-Asian cookbook. Continue reading “Miso Gochujang Butter Chicken” →

Making the most of fresh cranberries now: Pan-roasted Chicken with Cranberries

THANKS TO THANKSGIVING, FRESH CRANBERRIES ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. BUY THEM. This is a delicious dish that makes the most of them. The signature tartness of fresh cranberries turns pan-roasted chicken, potatoes, shallots and herbs into a complex, company-ready meal. And fortunately, fresh cranberries freeze nicely—future you will thank you. You’ll find the recipe here.