It's worth scouring garage sales and thrift stores for clay baking vessels. For some reason, people dispose of them after a few years of use. Trust me, when you find one, hold onto it. You may not bake in it every week, but when you use it you'll be in awe of the results.
Chicken
Ceramic Science
Breakfast, Home & Family, Dinner Party Theater, Read
EggSplanation
Home & Family: Egg Labels
Home & Family: Bone Broth
Dairy Free, Dinner, Breakfast, Fall, Drink, Read, Winter
Bone Broth 101
You’ve certainly heard chefs say loudly, “Make your own stock, it’s better than anything you can buy.” And they aren’t wrong. But if you’ve been holding off because you think it’s too labor-intensive, then now is the time to tune in and pay attention. Making stock (or bone broth if you insist on pop-culture terminology) is easy and you should start today.
Dairy Free, Dinner, Fall, Gluten Free, Meat, Winter
Jamaican Stew Chicken
Walk into any Jerk shop in Crown Heights and you'll be overwhelmed with savory scents. Now, you might have opened that door planning to purchase the namesake dish, but let me point your nose in another direction. See that sultry, bubbling, brown tray? That's stew chicken, and I think you should give it a try. Brewed from the devilish flavors that make the Caribbean so intoxicating (lime, allspice, sugar), it is the sort of thing you never knew you needed in the depths of winter.
Home & Family: Muscle Fiber
Ever wonder what makes some muscles darker than others? We've all got a preference when we sit down at the dinner table, some of us are die-hard white meat lovers and some are obsessed with dark meat. Whatever your inclination, here are some things to know about muscle fiber when you get in the kitchen.
Chicken Fat Chili Lime Popcorn
Dinner, Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter
SEARED CHICKEN LEGS
Stop baking chicken breasts and boring your guests. Buy whole legs, learn how to cut them at the joint, and impress your friends with impeccably crisp skin.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 whole Chicken Legs (thigh and drumstick together)
- 2 pounds Cremini Mushrooms
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 6 tablespoons Olive Oil (separated, 2, 2, and 2)
GET BUSY
- Pop the stems out of the mushroom caps and slice the caps. Save the stems for making stock.
- Sauté the sliced mushrooms with 2 tbs oil and a sprinkling of salt until they're reduced by half and tender.
- Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Using your fingers, separate the chicken skin from the meat, all the way down the drumstick.
- Take about 1 tablespoon of the mushrooms and stuff them under the skin of each leg, making sure to get it all the way down the drumstick and across the thigh. Do this with all six legs. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the skin of each leg.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat in two separate oven-safe stainless steel pans. When the oil is rippling in both pans, use tongs to place three chicken legs skin side down in each pan. Sear for 3-5 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Flip the legs so they are facing skin side up and place both pans into the preheated oven. Cook the legs for 25-30 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and let the chicken legs rest a few minutes before serving. Remember, the handles of your skillets will be scalding hot, be careful!