Category Archives: Poultry

Cajun Drumsticks

 

Cajun Drumsticks

This is a great way to eat chicken. It’s a nice combination of spicy and sweet. 
Ingredients:

Cajun Drumsticks

Pre-heat the oven to 375o.
Start by Frenching the drumsticks. Cut through the skin and tendons about 1 ½ inch from the bottom. I use a serrated steak knife for this. Remove the skin from the lower end and scrape the meat upward with the edge of the knife
.Cajun Drumsticks

Wrap the bone end in aluminum foil and thoroughly coat the meat with Cajun spice mix. Place them on an oiled rack in a roasting pan.
Cajun Drumsticks

Roast for 40 minutes, turning the drumsticks after 20 minutes. Remove and brush the drumsticks with maple syrup and roast for another 10 minutes. Let them cool a bit and serve.
Cajun Drumsticks

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Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers

Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers

Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers

I wish this dish had an interesting name. If I said, “Ma, what’s for dinner.” She’d say, “Sausage and chicken with vinegar peppers,” so that’s what I call it.

Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers

Ingredients:
  • Olive oil for frying
  • ½ lb. Italian sausage (about 3) cut into pieces
  • ½ lb. skinless/boneless chicken thighs (about 3) cut into pieces
  • 2 Idaho potatoes cut into half inch half moons
  • 1 onion cut into wedges
  • 1 cup of sliced vinegar peppers (sweet or hot)
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup liquid from the pepper jar
  • ½ teaspoon thyme
  • Salt and black pepper to taste.
Bring chicken and sausage to room temperature and season the chicken with salt and black pepper. Fry the meat in olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until browned. Don’t crowd the pan or the meat with steam instead of brown. Remove and set aside. Fry the potatoes using more oil if necessary. Season, remove from the pan when almost done and set aside.

Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar PeppersFry meat and potatoes in batches so they brown and don’t steam.

Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers
Fry the onions and when they start to brown, add the peppers. Add a half cup of water and deglaze the pan. Return the potatoes and then the sausage and chicken on top. Pour in the vinegar and pepper liquid, sprinkle on the thyme and cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers

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Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas

After everything is chopped and cut, just put it in the slow cooker and forget it for a few hours. 
 
Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas
Ingredients:
  1. 2 – 16 oz. cans of chickpeas drained and rinsed
  2. 1 – 15 oz. can of plumb or cherry tomatoes drained
  3. 1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
  4. 1 medium red onion chopped
  5. ½ cup golden raisins
  6. 2 tbsp. tomato paste
  7. 2 tbsp. water
  8. 1 tsp. ground cumin
  9. ½ tsp. sweet paprika
  10. ½  tsp. cayenne (optional)
  11. 4 or 5 boneless/skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 in. pieces
  12. 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas

Place ingredients 1 to 5 into the slow cooker.  Mix ingredients 6 to 10 in a bowl, pour into slow cooker and mix well.  Place chicken in an even layer on top.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas

Turn slow cooker on low, cover and cook for 6 hours. Add the peanut butter, mix well and serve with rice or couscous.

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Chicken Picatta

Chicken Picatta

Chicken picatta isn’t something that I grew up with. My mother and aunts made a tremendous array of Italian dishes but no chicken picatta. I sometimes wonder if it’s a real Italian recipe and not something like Fettuccini Alfredo, which was invented in America. It’s a dish that I enjoy and order often when we go out to eat. Chicken with a lemon sauce, what’s not to like? Since I didn’t have a family recipe to go on, I looked through a few online. I put together a combination of things that appealed to me.
Chicken Picatta
Ingredients:
  • 1 ½ lb cutlets
  • Salt and black pepper
  • ¼ cup flour
  • Olive oil for browning
  • 1 tbsp. finely chopped shallot (optional)
  • ½ cup white wine
  • ½  lemon cut into thin wedges
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 2 tbsps. rinsed capers
  • 1 tbsp. chopped parsley
  • 3 tbsps. butterChicken Picatta
Chicken Picatta
If you can’t get cutlets, 3 chicken breasts should give you 9 cutlets. Season the room temperature cutlets with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour. Shake off any excess flour and lightly brown in oil and remove. Cook in batches so you don’t crowd the pan. Pour off chicken fat from pan if any. Add more oil and cook the shallots on low until soft. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
Chicken Picatta
Add the lemon slices and sauté for a few minutes before adding the chicken stock. Simmer for a few minutes and then lower the heat. Add the lemon juice, capers, parsley, and whisk in the butter.  Pour the sauce over the cutlets and serve.Chicken Picatta

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Pollo alla Potentina

Pollo alla Potentina

Pollo alla Potentina is a stewed chicken dish from the Basilicata region of Italy. My father’s parents were born there in a town called Laurenzana. The cuisine of Basilicata is typically highly spiced. You can use more than 3 chilis or leave then out. It’s up to you.Pollo alla Potentina
Ingredients:

• 1 chicken cut into 10 pieces
• 3 tsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1large onion, sliced
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 3 bird’s eye or Calabrese chilis, seeded and minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 28 oz. canned whole tomatoes roughly crushed
• 2 tbsp chopped basil
• 2tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Juice of 1 lemon

Brown the chicken in a pot with the butter and oil and remove.
Pollo alla Potentina
Add the onion to the pot and cook until it’s slightly browned. Next, pour in the wine and deglaze the pan. Add the minced pepper, tomato, and salt. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour, adding water if liquid gets too low.
Stir in basil, parsley and lemon juice and serve.

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Chicken Vesuvio

Chicken Vesuvio

Chicken Vesuvio is a standard in Chicago Italian restaurants but I got this recipe from a friend who owns a pizzeria in New York. He calls it Chicken and Potatoes but served in a Chicago tratoria it becomes Chicken Vesuvio.  I used boneless, skinless thighs but you can use any parts that you like.

Chicken Vesuvio

Ingredients:

2 large russet potatoes cut into wedges
5 tbs. olive oil divided
1 ½ tsp. dried oregano divided
5 or 6 chicken thighs
4 tbs. butter
3 thinly sliced garlic cloves
1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup dry white wine
1 can of peas
Salt and black pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
Chopped parsley

Set oven to 425 degrees.
Toss the potatoes  with salt, pepper, ½ tsp. oregano, and 3 tbs. oil until they’re well coated. Spread them out evenly in a baking dish and roast for 30 minutes, turning halfway.Chicken Vesuvio
While the potatoes are cooking, season the chicken with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp. of oregano. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and without crowding the pan, lightly brown the chicken on both sides (about 10 minutes) and remove to a plate. The chicken will continue cooking later in the oven.Chicken Vesuvio
Add the butter to the pan on medium heat. Lightly sauté the garlic (about 3 minutes) and then add the stock and wine to the pan. Simmer and cook for about 5-8 minutes while deglazing the pan.
Pour the butter/garlic mixture over the potatoes in the baking dish and place the chicken over the top of the potatoes. Roast about 20-25 minutes. Add the peas and finish cooking under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.Chicken Vesuvio
Arrange the potatoes and chicken in a serving dish and pour the pan juices over it through a strainer to remove the sliced garlic (skip the strainer if you  love garlic). Squeeze the lemon and sprinkle the parsley over the dish and serve.

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Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables is a fairly simple recipe and it’s a whole meal in one pan. I used thighs but you can use any parts you like.

Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients:
  1. Juice of 1 lemon
  2. ¼ cup olive oil
  3. ½ tsp. oregano
  4. ½ tsp. black pepper
  5. 2 sliced garlic cloves
  6. Turnip, Beet, Butternut Squash cut into ¾ in pieces
  7. Olive oil
  8. Salt and black pepper
Marinate the chicken in the first 5 ingredients for at least 3 hours:
Place the vegetables in a bowl and coat with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables
Pre-heat oven to 425o
Make a layer of vegetables in a roasting pan. Place the chicken skin side up on top of the vegetables. Roast until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 170°-175° and vegetables are just tender, about 40 minutes.
Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables

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Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

There’s more than one way to fry a chicken. Some people pan fry and others deep fry. This is a deep fried chicken method.Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
  • 1 chicken – 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs & 2  breasts cut in half
  • Brine
  • 1 ½ cups of flour
  • ½  tsp. salt
  • 1 tbsp. paprika
  • 1 tbsp. black pepper
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • Light oil for frying
Brine – Bring a quart of water to a boil. Stir in a ¼ cup of sugar and a ¼ cup salt and let it come to room temperature.
Equipment – A frying thermometer & a wire rack.
Preparation:
Put the chicken in a zip-lock bag, Pour in the cooled brine and refrigerate for 10 hours or overnight. Remove the chicken and let it dry slightly.
Pour the buttermilk into a bowl. In a large dish.mix the flour with the salt, paprika, and black pepper.Fried ChickenCoat the chicken with the flour. Shake off excess and then dip it in the buttermilk. Let excess buttermilk drip off and then coat the chicken with flour again. Place it on a wire rack and let dry for half an hour.

Fried ChickenHeat the oil to 350°. When you add the chicken pieces the temperature will fluctuate a bit. Try to keep it around 300-325°. Don’t crowd the pot. Cook the pieces for 5 minutes on one side, turn over and 8 minutes on the other side. A little longer for dark meat legs and thighs. Use a fork to turn them and be careful not to scrape off the coating. After you make this a few times you can judge doneness by color.
Drain chicken on a wire rack. Allow it to cool before serving.
It’s just right as it is but if you want to add a spark try some Nashville Hot Sauce on your chicken.Fried ChickenMix all of the ingredients together while the oil is hot and apply it to the chicken pieces with a pastry brush.

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The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook

The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook

 

The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook

The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook

Hailed as “One of the year’s more engaging cookbooks...” by the New York Times, the book has sold well over 100,000 copies. 

“…a one of a kind collection of heartwarming stories and authentic recipes that you’ll want to have for your cooking library…these recipes recall special memories of far away lands or of dearly loved relatives…much more than a recipe compilation, it is a personal journey with stories and reminiscences that will touch your heart.” ~ Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book Club


Arroz Con Pollo – adapted from the Ellis Island Immigrant Cook Book

The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook

Ingredients:
  • 3 lbs. of chicken pieces (I used breasts and thighs cut into smaller pieces)
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 green pepper sliced thinly
  • 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded & chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley
  • 2 cups uncooked rice
  • 3 cups hot chicken broth divided
  • juice of ½ a lemon
  • 1 tsp. saffron
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp. salt
Equipment – You’ll need a large oven proof pan with a cover for this. Mine is 15 inches. If you don’t have one that big, cut the recipe in half.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 325°. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the chicken until golden brown. Do same to pork and remove.
Sauté the pepper and onion in the drippings until the onions are transparent. Add tomato, parsley, garlic and bay leaf. Mix well and cook until soft. Set skillet aside.
Add the chicken and pork to the pan with the vegetables. Take 1 cup of broth and dissolve the saffron in it. Add the wine and lemon juice to the broth and pour this mixture into the skillet over the chicken and pork. Cover and cook over medium heat about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning.The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook
Add the rice between the chicken pieces. Add the remaining 2 cups of broth. Stir carefully. Bring to a boil. Cover and place in the preheated 325° oven for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is done.  Remove, let stand 15 minutes covered.The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook

Purchase a copy of The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook here

The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook


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The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook

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Chicken with Vinegar, Raisins and Onions

 

Chicken with Vinegar, Raisins, and Onions

Chicken with Vinegar, Raisins, and Onions  – An interesting combination of flavors – with kind of a sweet and sour finish.

Chicken with Vinegar, Raisins, and Onions
Boil the onions in salted water for about 5 minutes. Remove and place them in a bowl. Fry the pancetta in a pot until it browns. Remove and place it in a separate bowl.   
Add the boiled onions to same pot with the pancetta fat and cook until they begin to brown. Add garlic and cook for about 3 minutes. Transfer onions and garlic to bowl with pancetta.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add the chicken to pot starting skin side down and cook, turning, until browned. Transfer to bowl with onions.

Pour off the fat from pot and return to medium-high heat. Add both vinegars to the pot and bring to a boil and deglaze. Add broth, raisins, bay leaves, browned chicken thighs, pancetta, onions, and garlic to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is fork-tender, 25 – 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken and onions to a platter.  Continue cooking the sauce for another few minutes so it reduces. Spoon the sauce over chicken and onions and serve with pasta or rice.

Chicken with Vinegar, Raisins, and Onions

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