Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

I was browsing around looking for a chicken recipe. I wanted something that was pretty simple to make but sort of homey and rib-sticking. This worked well. Not the best picture in the world - basically it's chicken Caramel Chicken (Adapted from Epicurious ). 2 T oil salt/pepper 3lb whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces 8 garlic cloves, peeled 1/2 c water 1/3 c brown sugar 1/4 c rice vinegar 2 1/4"-thick slices peeled ginger 1 c chicken stock 1/4  soy sauce 2 scallions, thinly sliced white rice (for serving) Salt/pepper chicken. Heat oil in dutch oven and brown chicken in batches (each side about 6-8 minutes). Set chicken aside. Pour off some of the fat and heat garlic until lightly browned (about 2 minutes). Deglaze pan with water (scraping up the fond) over high heat. Add brown sugar and stir until thickened and dark (about 4 minutes). Add vinegar, ginger, chicken stock, and soy sauce. Add chicken back to pot. Bring to boil, lower and simmer 20-25 minutes until...

I sort of left you hanging with that cut up chicken before Christmas and nothing to do with it. Well here's something to do with it:  I've had this recipe for a long time. My Mom used to make it (what is with this nostalgia thing??). It is quite simple and makes an easy meal for a cold day. This was in the day when fresh herbs were not readily available and the garden herbs long used up but the recipe still holds up pretty well. Baked Parmesan Chicken 1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces 1/4 c olive oil 1 t dried basil 1 t dried garlic 1 t paprika 1 t salt 1/2 t pepper 1 T dried oregano 1 T dried onion 5 T grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 c white wine Place chicken in a 13x9 pan. Pour oil over the chicken. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1/3 of the herb mixture on chicken and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Turn chicken and sprinkle with 1/2 of the remaining herb mixture. Return to oven for another 25 minutes. Turn chicken over and sprinkle with the rema...

Many people do not know how to cut up a whole chicken. It is a very easy thing to do once you learn how (and cheaper). As a bonus you get to keep the backs and wing tips for making chicken stock. Here's a simple way to cut up a chicken into 8 pieces or an optional 10. Lay the chicken on the cutting board breast side up. You can either remove the wings or legs first it is up to you. This time I removed the legs first. Cut the legs at the joint like this:

There is nothing more tasty than a roasted chicken. Besides the whole house warms up and smells great. One way to roast a chicken is in a cast iron frying pan. Honey Soy Roasted Chicken 1/4 c honey 1/4 c butter (1/2 stick) 2 T soy sauce 1 small onion 1 stalk celery 3lb whole chicken Salt Melt butter, add honey, and soy sauce. Dry chicken and place in cast iron frying pan. Salt chicken cavity.  Place onion and celery inside cavity. Brush sauce on chicken. Put in 350 oven and baste chicken every 20 minutes. Cook for approximately 60 minutes or until chicken is done. You could also put some lemons inside the cavity and I think that would go nicely with the soy and honey flavors. I made a little extra of the sauce and basted a sliced acorn squash. I cooked it for about 30-40 minutes in the oven with the chicken. It was quite tasty as well but wasn't much to look at (so no pics).