Guest Post: Baked Chicken with Apricot Glaze, Sage and Lemon Zest

One thing 2012 seemed to be was the year everyone we knew read the  Fifty Shades trilogy. Amy and her BFF Karen read it at the same time and chatted about it on the phone, in texts, and finally, over their 40th birthday girls' weekend in Vermont, even going so far as to add a vanilla ice cream cone charm on their bestie charm bracelet! In honor of 2012, we've asked Karen to do a guest post inspired by the books. Thanks, Karen! And to everyone, Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

Karen writes:

After spending my summer reading the popular Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy I laughed hysterically when I received for Christmas Fifty Shades of Chicken: A Parody in a Cookbook.  I have to say it has been the perfect gift for a foodie/Christian Grey groupie!  It is told through the eyes of Miss Hen who is being “cooked” by her chef Blades.  The recipes, and stories which accompany them, mirror the steamy books from the first meeting (to the first of many other things) all the way to the happy ending  presented in dishes such as “Plain Vanilla Chicken” and “Popped-Cherry Pullet” to “Roast Me All Night Long Chicken” and “Chicken with Hearts and Flowers.”  No cookbook would be complete without side dishes and this one wouldn’t be complete without “Taters, Baby”!!  So, I now find myself on a quest to cook all 50 chicken recipes (and maybe even some sides)! 

I have chosen to begin with “Baked chicken with apricot glaze, sage and lemon zest.”  As Miss Hen says in describing the dish, “I’m in warm pieces all over the plate.  My own juices mingle with the sticky sweet jam he’s spread all over me.  My skin feels melting and soft.  He ignores the fine silver flatware and picks up a thigh with both hands.  Wow.”  You can see why I chose to start there!

Here is the recipe (serving for 2) with a few minor changes made by me….

Mix 3 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil with 1 ¼ tsp sea salt and ¾ tsp pepper

Place 4 chicken thighs in a plastic storage bag and pour in the oil mixture

Massage the thighs with the mixture then place sprigs of sage on the chicken

Tighten the bag and place it in the refrigerator “until the chicken is begging you for it, about 6 hours or overnight”

Preheat the oven to 400

In a bowl, grate the zest from one lemon, squeeze the juice and add 1/3 of a cup of apricot spread, 1tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1 large clove of garlic minced

Remove the sage from the chicken and spread the sticky jam all over the chicken

Lay the thighs in a 9x13 baking dish “leaving plenty of breathing room between each succulent morsel”

Bake 45-55 minutes “until the skin is alluringly golden and the juices run clear when pricked” 

Enjoy a sweet and juicy dish!

Serve with:

Sage and Marcona Almonds with Rosemary Pesto Pasta

(not in cookbook – just something special for my Bestie!!!)

Pulse in food processor:

10 sage leaves

2 cloves of garlic

½ lemon zest

1tsp lemon juice

1/8 cup Marcona Almonds with Rosemary

2 tblsp Pecan Oil then add Extra Virgin Olive Oil until desired consistency

Toss with pasta

Glamping: The Rest of the Story (with recipes for Chocolate-Orange Campfire Cupcakes and Garlic-Scape Pesto)

We teased you with a quick look at our weekend "glamping" (glamour camping) adventure the other day, but today we'll give you the rest of the story, including two recipes. Amy's idea of camping is staying in a 2-star instead of a 3-star hotel. So when good friends T and J came over for a glass or two of wine a few weeks ago, and the subject of camping came up, Amy and J (girly-girls to the end) decided we'd do it as long as it was glamping. Bug-proof tents, blow-up mattresses, hot showers, flush toilets, and most of all, foodie food.

J and T prep our first glamping dinner

We met T years ago when he was working at Williams-Sonoma, so we knew the foodie food was going to happen. He assured us that he had everything we could ever need to create all types of dishes at a campsite. That promise, and Chris's two-burner propane set-up, was hard to resist. Next thing we knew, we found ourselves, with two cars filled to the brim with "gear," at the Barton Cove Recreation and Camping Area in Gill, Massachusetts. Since it was all about the food, we had decided beforehand which couple would take which meals, and now glamping was a go.

Glamping Meal #1 - Iberian Mussels

For our first glamping meal, T and J created an "Iberian Mussels" dish, served over brown rice, spiced with smoked paprika and chorizo sausage. Dessert was "Glamping S'Mores" - a tortilla stuffed with mini-marshmallows and dark chocolate, wrapped in foil and heated in the campfire. How brilliant is that? Let's just say, it was an incredibly tasty start to the weekend.

Leftovers frittata in a makeshift "oven"

In the morning, Chris made a frittata using the leftovers from the night before. When Amy saw T's camping toaster, she had to giggle. This was some serious stuff! After cleaning up the site, we got a call from (Chef) Lise who had plans the night before but was joining us for the rest of the weekend. While she set up, the two couples set off on a two-hour kayaking tour. Amy and J went in a two-person kayak while the boys set off on their own. Turns out Amy and J aren't that good at kayaking, but we had a fabulous time nevertheless.

Charcuterie for snacking

Hungry from all that paddling, we headed back to camp. Lise put out some cucumber, tomato, and onion sandwiches and Amy made a quick charcuterie platter while we prepped for dinner. At home, we had made a garlic scape pesto (recipe below), and the plan was to make a fresh pea risotto topped with the pesto. Lise sauteed some shrimp to go along with. It was a fantastic meal!

Ingredients for the risotto

Chris making the risotto

Lise added some sauteed shrimp

Dinner number two - Pea risotto with garlic scape pesto and sauteed shrimp

For dessert, Amy, having done a little glamping research beforehand, borrowed an idea from the blog Campfire Chic. It was an interactive dessert - everyone grabbed an orange and hollowed it out (saving the juice for Sunday morning mimosas, naturally). In the meantime, Amy made a dark chocolate cake batter and we filled the oranges with it. We wrapped them in foil and baked them in the campfire. If you love those chocolate oranges, or just the taste of chocolate and orange together, you have to try these!

How to make "Chocolate-Orange Campfire Cupcakes"

Step One: Hollow out an orange (keep the top!)

Step Two: Make a batter from store-bought chocolate cake mix

Step Three: Fill the empty orange about 3/4 of the way full

Step Four: Put the top back on the orange

Step Five: Wrap the orange in aluminum foil

Step Six: Place the oranges in the embers of your campfire

and cook for 20 minutes

Step Seven: Carefully remove, let cool, and serve with a spoon!

The next morning, as we wrapped up our glamping adventure, J made an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs with fried onions, bacon, toast and silver-dollar pancakes. We feasted, broke camp and played a quick game of bocce before heading home. It was a great weekend filled with amazing food and fantastic company. Amy might even consider going glamping again!

Garlic-Scape Pesto

Ingredients:

1 bunch (7-8) garlic scapes

1/4 cup marcona almonds

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon lemon-infused vinegar

olive oil, enough for desired consistency

In a food processor, chop the garlic scapes finely. Add the marcona almonds and continue to process. Add the parmesan cheese and vinegar and continue to process. Finally, drizzle in the olive oil and puree until you've reached your desired consistency.