Chicken

Chicken Pot Pie - Astrid Bear
Pot Pies - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Kung Pao Chicken - Susan Collicot
Chicken and Pistachio Terrine - Helen Connor
Smoked Chicken - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Citrus Chicken - Kyle Lerfald
Poulet aux quarante gousses d'ail, or 40-Garlic Roasted Chicken - Andrew Midkiff
Delia's Guinea Fowl au Vin - Brian Tansey
NY Times Baked Chicken - Susan Wenger
NY Times Chicken with Ginger - Susan Wenger
Coq au Vin I
Coq au Vin II
Cornish Hens with Fruit, Walnuts, and Honey Apple Glaze
Curried Chicken with Apple over Vermicelli
Boka Dushi (Dutch West Indian Chicken Kebabs) from Cooking Light
             Dutch West Indian Peanut Sauce from Cooking Light
Barbecued Chicken - Doug Essinger-Hileman
             What is "spatchcocked"? - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Grilling a Whole Chicken - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Cinzano Chicken - Lois
Foil-Pack Oriental Chicken Dinner
Red Curry Chicken With Basil

Chicken Pot Pie - Astrid Bear
A classic pot pie is chicken meat in a medium thickness broth-based white sauce, with peas, chopped carrots, and maybe some onion, baked in a round pie pan with both a top and bottom crust of the "pie crust" type. Fancier variations can include have only a top crust made of puff pastry -- yum!

Pot Pies - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Many pot pies are nothing more than a savory stew cooked into a pie, usually, in my experience, with both bottom and top crust. However, in Pennsylvania Dutch country (rural, southeast and central PA, particularly, the folk being of German ancestry, and usually of Mennonite or Amish -- Anabaptist descendents -- heritage), the pot pie is nothing more than a chicken "stew" with very thick egg noodles.

Kung Pao Chicken - Susan Collicot
5 tsp soy sauce, divided
5 tsp dry sherry, divided
3 1/2 tsp cornstarch, divided
1/4 tsp salt
3 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsps. chicken broth or water
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3 Tbsps. vegetable oil, divided
1/3 cup salted peanuts
6 to 8 small dried hot peppers
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 green onions, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
For marinade, combine 2 tsp of each soy sauce, sherry and cornstarch and the salt in large bowl; mix well. Add chicken; stir to coat well. Let stand 30 minutes. Combine remaining 3 tsp soy sauce, 3 tsp sherry, the vinegar, chicken broth, sugar and remaining 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch in small bowl; mix well and set aside. Heat 1 Tbsps. of the oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add peanuts and cook until golden. Remove and set aside. Heat remaining 2 Tbsps. oil in wok over medium heat. Add chili peppers and stir-fry until peppers just begin to char, about 1 minute. Increase heat to high. Add chicken and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add ginger; stir-fry until chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute more. Add onions and peanuts to wok; cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens.

Chicken and Pistachio Terrine - Helen Connor
Note from Helen: this is MUCH nicer if you use toasted pine nuts, rather than pistachios or cashews. Tried it both ways, pine nuts are MILES ahead.
You can make this terrine up to 2 days ahead.
You will need to buy moist, thinly sliced, 22cm-long slices of rindless prosciutto. If the prosciutto is about 8cm wide, buy 12 slices. If it is narrower, you will need 14 slices.
Prep: 30 mins.
Cooking: 65 mins.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2 tbs olive oil
2 medium brown onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbs finely chopped fresh rosemary
750g chicken mince (ground up chicken)
140g (half a cup) breadcrumbs, made from 2 day-old bread (crusts included)
75g (half a cup) shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts
(but as I said, better with pine nuts - pine kernels over there?)
2 eggs
2 tbs wholegrain mustard
1 tsp salt
Ground black pepper, to taste
12 - 14 x 22cm-long slices moist prosciutto
2 tsp olive oil, extra
Fresh rosemary sprigs, to garnish
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat and cook the onions for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the onions are very soft. Cool slightly. Combine the onion mixture, chicken mince, breadcrumbs, pistachio nuts (toasted pine nuts), eggs, mustard, salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and use your hands to mix well.
Overlap the long sides of two 50cm lengths of foil by 8cm. Place the prosciutto slices along the centre of the foil in 2 rows end to end, overlapping the long edges by 2cm and the narrow edges by 3cm, to make a 35cm x 40cm rectangle.
Place the chicken mixture lengthways along the centre of the prosciutto over the seam and shape into a 25cm-long log. Bring the prosciutto slices up over the chicken mixture to cover and enclose, then turn back the excess length of the prosciutto in loose folds. Tuck the excess prosciutto underneath at the ends to seal completely. Brush the surface with the extra olive oil. Bring the foil up around the terrine and fold the edges together to seal.
Place the terrine into a baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, pull back the foil and then drain off the juices. Re-cover with the foil and then place the terrine in the fridge until cold. Remove the foil and garnish with rosemary sprigs. Cut into slices and serve.

Smoked Chicken - Doug Essinger-Hileman
[The chicken] was prepared by first giving it a honey cure, then marinating it in barbecue sauce, then smoking it using soaked applewood over a hardwood charcoal fire.
The honey cure and barbecue sauce are easy to make; both are found in Barbecue Bible - sauces, rubs, and marinades, bastes, butters and glazes
by Steven Raichlen.
To make the honey cure, mix together 4 cups cold water, 3/4 cup honey (we used orange blossom), 1/2 cup coarse salt, 4 strips of lemon zest, 10 whole cloves, 10 allspice berries, 10 peppercorns and 2 bay leaves. Pour over chicken. We used whole small chickens (about 4 pounds) that had been spatchcocked. We soaked the chickens overnight.
The barbecue sauce is just as easy to make.
Mix 2/3 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup honey (again, we used orange blossom), 1/2 cup Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup light corn syrup (in the second batch we made, we substituted more of the orange blossom honey, to no apparent detriment), 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp coarse salt, 2 cloves of garlic, minced, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered about 30 minutes until thick.
After we took the chicken out of the honey cure, we brushed the barbecue sauce on the chicken and let it sit for about 3 hours.
We smoked the chicken with the cooking chamber holding a steady temperature between 275 and 300 degrees fahrenheit. Every 30 minutes or so, we basted the chicken with the barbecue sauce.
The results were heavenly. The honey and slight citrus flavor of the cure, which penetrated the flesh, were echoed in the honey and lemon juice of the barbecue sauce. The sweet and sour barbecue sauce mellowed marvelously (so much so, that every one of us preferred not to dip the chicken in barbecue sauce at the table) during the smoking process, and played wonderfully with the applewood smoke.

Citrus Chicken - Kyle Lerfald
1 teaspoon zest of either orange and grapefruit
1/2 cup of orange juice and grapefruit juice
2 Tablespoons honey (preferably light honey over robust dark)
about 1/4 teaspoon crushed 5 pepper blend (or whatever pepper you use)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 cloves garlic
4 chicken breasts (bone-in please)
This works best on a grill (I am a guy after all)
Combine in a bowl garlic (whoops, mince it fine), zest, juice, oil, honey, salt and pepper, and let it sit for about 45 minutes to blend the flavors.
Grill the breasts over a reasonably high heat (center coals work best) and brush the glaze on frequent-like for about 5-8 minutes. Turn and cook brushing with more glaze about 12-15 minutes more (note - all times are guesses, I go by "chicken looks done" - white with clear juices).
In a saucepan (nonreactive and tough, like stainless steel - NOT aluminum, not even calphalon) bring the remaining glaze to a boil - not long, maybe a minute or so) and pour over the chicken.

Poulet aux quarante gousses d'ail, or 40-Garlic Roasted Chicken - Andrew Midkiff
1 chicken (about 4 lbs.)
4 HEADS of garlic
olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
8 red potatoes
2 rosemary sprigs
5 1/2 oz. lemon juice
3 cups chicken stock
two tablespoons chives
1. Rinse and pat dry chicken. Peel garlic cloves and stuff into cavity and under skin.
2. Rub chicken with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place chicken in roasting pan and put into preheated 350 degree (F) oven.
3. While chicken is roasting, wash potatoes and cut them into quarters. Remove all the leaves from the rosemary stem and finely mince. After the chicken has roasted for 30 minutes, add the potatoes and rosemary. Continue to cook until juices from inside cavity of the chicken run clear, about another 30 minutes.
4. Remove the chicken from the oven and place over a burner. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and set aside, keeping warm. Add the lemon juice to the pan and reduce by half. Add the chicken stock and reduce until a smooth consistency is achieved.
5. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with the chopped chives. Bring to the table and carve.

Delia's Guinea Fowl au Vin - Brian Tansey
This is more or less [Delia's] long-loved recipe for Coq au Vin, but made with guinea fowl. As guinea fowl is smaller than chicken, one bird will feed only two people - but what a feast!

Serves 2
1 x 3-1/2 lb (1.6 kg) guinea fowl, jointed into 8 pieces
1 pint (570 ml) red wine
1/2 oz (10 g) butter
1 dessertspoon oil
1 x 130 g pack cubetti pancetta
12 shallots or button onions, peeled
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, crushed
6 oz (175 g) dark-gilled mushrooms
1 heaped teaspoon arrowroot
salt and freshly milled black pepper
You will also need a shallow, flameproof casserole, wide enough to take the joints in one layer, with a well-fitting lid.
First, melt the butter with the oil in the casserole and, keeping the heat fairly high, fry the guinea fowl joints, skin down, until they are a good golden brown. Then turn them over and brown the other side, which should take about 8-10 minutes altogether. You will have to do this in two batches, so, as they brown, remove the joints with a draining spoon and keep to one side.
Now brown the pancetta for 5 minutes, followed by the shallots. Then return the guinea fowl to the casserole, tuck in the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf, then add the crushed garlic. Now season with freshly milled black pepper and just a little salt, then pour in the wine. Put a lid on and simmer over a very gentle heat for 45 minutes. After that, add the mushrooms (whole if they are not too large, otherwise chopped) and continue to cook for another 15 minutes.
Then remove the guinea fowl, pancetta, shallots and mushrooms to a warm serving dish and keep warm. Now discard the herbs, bring the liquid in the casserole up to a fast boil and reduce by about one third. Next, mix the arrowroot to a paste with a little water, then add a little of the hot sauce. Now add all the arrowroot mixture to the rest of the liquid and bring to the boil, whisking all the time until the sauce has thickened. Pour the sauce over the guinea fowl and serve - it's lovely with creamy mashed potatoes.

NY Times Baked Chicken - Susan Wenger
Well, friends, I saw a great way to cook chicken in the NY Times Wednesday. I tried it, it's worthy of sharing with you. Non-cooks may now skip to the next message. They didn't actually give the recipe, just the idea. So the recipe, such as it is, is my own very liberal interpretation.
This is simplicity, can be done with only 3 ingredients (plus butter if you like), tastes great, and a startling, flamboyant presentation.
1. One chicken. Cleaned, of course. Supermarket style, with the innards removed.
2. A can of beer. The brand isn't essential, but it must be a sturdy can, I don't think this would work with Coors. The NY Times said Budweiser, but since they didn't give any recipes, you may use any brand you like. I don't think lite beer would taste good, but I don't think lite beer tastes good straight, so I wouldn't use it in a recipe.
3. Chili powder to taste. This wasn't mentioned in the Times, so you may use any seasoning whatsoever you like. I thought chili powder when I read it, I tried it with chili powder, and loved it.
4. Just about anything else you'd like to add. I think the juice of a lemon would go well, I think garlic would go just fine, I think whatever you like to season chicken with would do just perfectly.
The Times suggested barbecue or smoke over wood chips. I DON'T think that's necessary. So I didn't. I baked in an oven. But go ahead and try bbq or smoker. See if I care.
You rub the chicken with butter (optional). You rub the chicken inside and out with a goodly amount of chili powder. You REMOVE the top of the beer can. This is a tricky part - the lid was too recessed for my electric can opener, and I had to use a manual can opener for this part. You stand the full beer can on an oven pan, and INSERT the whole chicken onto the can. So the chicken looks like it's standing on its head. (Here's another tricky part - if you use a flimsy can, it's going to collapse. If you're barbecuing, you just doused your fire).
Now you bake it, just the way you like to bake chicken. (I go 425 degrees for about 5 minutes, 400 degrees for about half an hour, and 325 degrees until it's done - perhaps another half hour - until it runs clear when you pierce it). The chili and chicken flavors and whatever else you used drip into the beer, the beer is steaming all around, the flavors are mingling. The chicken winds up crispy on the outside, moist and juicy on the inside, and the gravy is
superb.
It makes for a pretty presentation, too. (Of course, you have to remove the hot can from the chicken's rear end), and explain to the family how it got up there.

NY Times Chicken with Ginger - Susan Wenger
1/2 pound ginger, the fresher the better
1 tablespoon sugar, optional
1 tablespoon sesame, peanut or olive oil
1 3-pound chicken, cut into pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
Chopped cilantro for garnish, optional.
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Peel ginger, and mince 1 tablespoon; set aside. Thinly slice remaining ginger. (If ginger is extremely fibrous, put it in a small saucepan with sugar and 2 cups water, and bring to boil; simmer 10 minutes, then drain.)
2. Put oil in an ovenproof nonstick skillet large enough to hold all the chicken, and place on a stove burner over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook, rotating pieces and adjusting heat as necessary, until chicken is well-browned on one side, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then scatter sliced ginger around pieces; turn and season again. Transfer pan to oven; cook 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until all pieces are cooked through. (Breasts will be done about 5 minutes before thighs.)
3. Return skillet to top of stove, drain off any excess fat and add stock or water along with soy sauce. Cook over medium-high heat until sauce is slightly reduced, then stir in lime juice and minced ginger. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Garnish and serve.
Time: 40 minutes Yield: 4 servings.
Susan's Tips: In the article accompanying the recipe in the newspaper but not on the newspaper recipe page, the author said he could never get enough ginger, and the idea of this recipe was to feature the ginger - the chicken is almost a side-dish. He also stated that the purpose of using the whole chicken is that the ginger would overpower chicken breasts, but the dark-meat chicken legs are more flavorful than breasts and the combo would stand up better. On the other hand, mixing breasts and legs result in mixed cooking times, so you'd save the effort of taking the breasts out earlier if you just used breasts.
I didn't bother to pre-boil the ginger - I just chopped it up, and the little pieces weren't too tough. The only change I would make for the next time I do this is, I'd use less ginger in the early stages, and more towards the end - probably half and half instead of just reserving a spoonful for the finish.

Coq au Vin I
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces small cremini or white mushrooms
1-3/4 ounces package garlic-and-herb salad-dressing mix (such as Good Seasons)
1 cup frozen small onions (such as Birds Eye), thawed
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup canned chicken broth (such as Swanson Natural Goodness)
1 2-pound cooked chicken breast (such as Tyson) or 1 chicken cooked and cut into 2 breasts and 2 legs (discard backbone)
Heat the oil in a large oven-safe casserole over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the salad-dressing mix and onions and toss to coat evenly. Stir in the wine and broth and cook until blended. Add the chicken. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes, turning pieces halfway through. Remove the chicken and vegetables. Increase heat to high and boil the sauce until reduced and slightly thickened. Pour over the chicken.

Coq au Vin II
The wine in coq au vin mellows into a luxuriously rich, velvety sauce, punctuated by smoky bacon and earthy mushrooms, that envelopes each piece of tender chicken.
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6.
4 chicken thighs
4 chicken legs
2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
8 ounces slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, if needed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
10 white pearl onions, peeled
1/2 pound small cremini mushrooms
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons Cognac
1 chicken liver, coarsely chopped
bay leaves
5 fresh thyme sprigs
Directions
1. Place chicken in a large bowl, and add wine. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove chicken from wine, and pat dry; reserve wine. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat until crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate, leaving drippings in pot. (You should have 3 tablespoons; you may need to add oil.)
4. Raise heat to medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken, flipping once, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add onion to pot, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook 2 minutes. Add pearl onions and mushrooms, and cook until brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste, and cook 2 minutes. Add Cognac, and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
5. Return bacon and chicken to pot. Pour in reserved wine, and add chicken liver and herbs. Bring to a simmer. Cover, and place in oven until chicken has cooked through and vegetables are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Discard herbs, and skim fat from surface.

Cornish Hens with Fruit, Walnuts, and Honey Apple Glaze from Food & Wine Magazine
Dried fruits, fresh apples, and nuts make a delightful dressing for these roasted Cornish hens. The dish seems perfect for a chilly fall evening, but it can certainly be served any time of the year.
2 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and diced
2/3 cup dried apricots, cut into thin slices
2/3 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Cornish hens (about 1 1/4 pounds each), halved
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1. Heat the oven to 425F. In a roasting pan, combine the apples, apricots, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, and butter. Spread the mixture over the bottom of the pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine the apple juice, honey, thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt to make a glaze. Sprinkle the Cornish hens with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper and set them breast-side down on top of the fruit-and-nut mixture. Brush the hens with some of the glaze and then cook for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Stir the fruit-and-nut mixture and turn the hens over. Brush them with more of the glaze, return the pan to the oven, and cook until just done, about 15 minutes longer. Glaze the hens one final time and serve them with the fruit-and-nut dressing.
Menu Suggestions: Earthy wild rice or bulgar pilaf will balance the sweet fruit dressing here.
Wine Recommendation: The fruits and nuts in this dish will pair well with the rich texture and flavor of a Tokay Pinot Gris, a white from Alsace in France. A red wine with plenty of fruit flavor, such as a grenache from California, would be another good match.

Curried Chicken with Apple over Vermicelli from Food & Wine Magazine
Here is a curry that can be made at home without a special trip for hard-to-find ingredients. We tested it using both coconut milk and cream; the results were equally tasty.
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
3/4 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/3 pounds in all), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 apple, preferably Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and diced
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk or heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
1/2 pound vermicelli
1. In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and jalapeño and cook, stirring, for 1 minute longer. Stir in the curry powder and then the chicken broth. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Stir in the cubed chicken, cover the pan, and remove it from the heat. Let the chicken steam in the hot broth until almost done, about 5 minutes. Add the apple, tomatoes, coconut milk, salt, and the cilantro, if using. Simmer gently until the sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the vermicelli until just done, about 9 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the curry sauce.
Wine Recommendation: This example of fusion cuisine (Indian-Thai-Italian) pairs well with a kabinett riesling from Germany's Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region. Don't be put off by the wine's slight residual sugar--it's a perfect foil for the flavors of the dish.

Boka Dushi (Dutch West Indian Chicken Kebabs) from Cooking Light
This is the Dutch West Indian version of the classic Indonesian saté. Boka means "mouth" and dushi means "sweet" in Papamiento, the musical dialect that blends Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and West African languages. Kejap manis, the ancestor of modern ketchup, is a thick, sweet soy sauce; you can substitute equal parts soy sauce and molasses. Sambal ulek is a fiery paste made of red peppers. Look for both in Asian markets.
Yield 6 servings (serving size: 3 kebabs and 2 tablespoons dutch west indian peanut sauce)
Ingredients
1/4 cup kejap manis or 2 tablespoons soy sauce plus 2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sambal ulek or Thai chile paste
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1-1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips, or 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
Cooking spray
Dutch West Indian Peanut Sauce (recipe follows)
Preparation
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.
Prepare grill.
Remove chicken from bag, and discard marinade. Thread chicken strips onto 18 (8-inch) skewers.
Place kebabs on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 2 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with Dutch West Indian Peanut Sauce.

Dutch West Indian Peanut Sauce from Cooking Light
This recipe goes with Boka Dushi (Dutch West Indian Chicken Kebabs)
1/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato
2 tablespoons minced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced seeded Thai chile
1 teaspoon honey
1 garlic clove, crushed
Combine broth and peanut butter in a small saucepan; cook over low heat 5 minutes or until smooth, stirring with a whisk. Pour peanut butter mixture into a bowl; stir in the remaining ingredients. Serve at room temperature.

Barbecued Chicken - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Today my wife and children prepared the Fathers' Day menu I had requested: grilled chicken, roasted corn and tomato salad, fresh green beans with cheese sauce, and fresh fruit over shortcake for dessert.
Well, the chicken was so delectable it could have been dessert! It was prepared by first giving it a honey cure, then marinating it in barbecue sauce, then smoking it using soaked applewood over a hardwood charcoal fire.
The honey cure and barbecue sauce are easy to make; both are found in Barbecue Bible: Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes by Steven Raichlen.
To make the honey cure, mix together
4 cups cold water
3/4 cup honey (we used orange blossom)
1/2 cup coarse salt
4 strips of lemon zest
10 whole cloves
10 allspice berries
10 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Pour over chicken.
We used whole small chickens (about 4 pounds) that had been spatchcocked. We soaked the chickens overnight.
The barbecue sauce is just as easy to make.
Mix
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup honey (again, we used orange blossom)
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup light corn syrup (in the second batch we made, we substituted more of the orange blossom honey, to no apparent detriment)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp coarse salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered about 30 minutes until thick.
After we took the chicken out of the honey cure, we brushed the barbecue sauce on the chicken and let it sit for about 3 hours.
We smoked the chicken with the cooking chamber holding a steady temperature between 275 and 300 degrees fahrenheit. Every 30 minutes or so, we basted the chicken with the barbecue sauce.
The results were heavenly. The honey and slight citrus flavor of the cure, which penetrated the flesh, were echoed in the honey and lemon juice of the barbecue sauce. The sweet and sour barbecue sauce mellowed marvelously (so much so, that every one of us preferred not to dip the chicken in barbecue sauce at the table) during the smoking process, and played wonderfully with the applewood smoke.
The whole meal was set off nicely by a bottle of Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet, 1999 vintage.

What is "spatchcocked"? - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Cut down the backbone and "unfold" the chicken so that it lies flat. But by spatchcocking the chicken and laying it out flat, one allows the sauce and smoking to penetrate much more of the chicken. And portioning becomes easier, too. When cooked, simply cut the bird in half down the breastbone, then cut each half in half. Voile -- four right nice servings!

Grilling a Whole Chicken - Doug Essinger-Hileman
The key to keeping the chicken moist is to brine it and cook it using indirect heat. For the brine, we use 1/2 cup of salt and sweet (sometimes brown sugar, sometimes maple syrup, sometimes honey) per gallon of brine, and use enough brine to cover the bird. We usually add some citrus (a couple of oranges or lemons, usually), and then some herbs (this time thyme). The bird is soaked in this mixture overnight.
The key to rich flavor is to layer the flavors. The brine provides a subtle first layer. We then use either a spritz (apple cider, whiskey and a bit of Worcestershire makes an excellent one; when we use this, we reduce the water, eliminate the citrus, and replace them both with apple cider) or a baste -- without sugar, in order to eliminate anything which might scorch -- during grilling. Then we finish off the bird with a barbecue sauce during the last five minutes of cooking.
The final layer of flavor is given by the real hardwood charcoal we use, combined with some sort of green wood, usually applewood, but sometimes grapevines, and occasionally hickory, to create the smoke.

Cinzano Chicken - Lois
Put some butter and oil in a "real" pan - not one of those teflon-lined things. High heat. Not high enough to burn, but high enough to brown.
Brown some onions and mushrooms, along with some garlic. Take them out of the pan. Put them on a plate. Then pan-brown the chicken in the remaining oil and butter. Put that on the plate.
Heat up the pan, and add some Cinzano White Extra Dry Vermouth. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to mix the pan scrapings with the Cinzano as it cooks. Put back the onions and mushrooms, mix in with the Cinzano pan juices. Move the top half of the onion to the edge. Put in the meat, on top of the onions in the middle. Move the rest of the onions over to sandwich the meat between the onions. Cover and heat up just until ready to eat. Don't overcook. Turn off the heat. Let it rest a minute or two or five. Then eat. Quick, casual stuff. Maybe with mashed potatoes or some kind of pasta.

Foil-Pack Oriental Chicken Dinner
Ingredients
1/2 cup Kraft or Bull's-Eye Original Barbecue Sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
2 tsp. soy sauce
3 cups cooked rice
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), 1/2 inch thick
3 cups frozen oriental mixed vegetables, thawed
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400F. Mix barbecue sauce, peanut butter, water and soy sauce until well blended. Spoon 1/2 cup of the rice onto center of each of 6 large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil; top each with 1 chicken breast and 1/2 cup vegetables. Drizzle evenly with the barbecue sauce mixture.
Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place packets in single layer in 15x10x1-inch baking pan.
Bake 30 to 35 min. or until chicken is cooked through (170F). Remove packets from oven; let stand 5 min. Place 1 packet on each of 6 dinner plates. Cut slits in foil with sharp knife to release steam before opening.

Red Curry Chicken With Basil
Serve this classic curry over jasmine rice for a traditional Thai meal.
Yield: Serves 4 as a main dish
Time:
10 minutes to chop ingredients
15 minutes to cook
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/2 Tbsp Red Curry Base
1 can Coconut Milk, shaken
1 -1/2 lbs (750 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into bite size pieces
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Fish Sauce
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
10 large basil leaves, chopped
Equipment: A large frying pan, which works much better than a wok!
Directions:
Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the curry base and simmer for 2 minutes, so that it is dissolved and foaming. Stir in the can of the coconut milk. Cook over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the sliced chicken. Simmer for 4 minutes.
Stir in the sugar, fish sauce and bell pepper. Simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 3 minutes more. Add the chopped basil. Season to taste with more sugar or seasoning sauce as desired. Serve over rice.