Chicken – Page 6 – The Pajama Chef

Pollo alla Poggia Alloro {A Family Farm in Tuscany}

November 1, 2012January 15, 2013 Sarah

A couple months ago, I received an email from Ginny of Cooking With Chopin to participate in a blog tour for Sarah Fioroni’s brand new cookbook, A Family Farm In Tuscany. I immediately said yes because it was a free cookbook… filled with delicious, authentic Italian recipes. Oh how amazing!

The cookbook cover is beautiful, no? Just wait til you get a copy for yourself and can flip through the pages. This cookbook is more than just recipes… it’s the true story of Sarah’s family farm in Tuscany, Fattoria Poggio Alloro, complete with pages and pages of text, images, and recipes of the farm, season by season. I want to make just about everything featured here!

The publisher describes it as: “In A Family Farm in Tuscany, Sarah Fioroni, chef, cooking instructor, sommelier, and manager of her family’s organic farm near historic San Gimignano, shares stories of family traditions and daily life at Fattoria Poggio Alloro. After moving to the farm in the 1950s to work as sharecroppers, the Fioronis later purchased the farm through their hard work and dedication to the land. They transformed the property into a model of integrated, sustainable agriculture that has been visited by government officials from all over the world and featured in numerous publications, including Organic Gardening magazine.” Is it weird to say I loved every page of this cookbook? I literally could not get enough of the Tuscan countryside.

Vista da Poggio Alloro | The Pajama Chef — Photo by Oriano Stefan

I loved getting to hear Sarah’s warmth, beauty, and love of her work really shined in her personal voice throughout the book, as well as in the FAQ section that came with the blogging publicity kit. I would LOVE to go visit the farm in person!!

Sarah Fioroni | The Pajama Chef — Photo by Dario Fusar, Organic Gardening

When did the idea of doing a book on Fattoria Poggio Alloro become something you thought you could do?

The idea of a book was something that I thought about a long time. The initial idea was just to write down the story of the Fioroni family as a gift to the family, especially the three brothers, my father Amico, and my uncles, Umberto and Bernardo. But after I began having cooking classes in the States and at the farm, many people asked me about a cookbook. I always had to explain that I did not have one. One day my good friend, Johnnie Weber, told me that I really should think seriously about the idea and took me to the cookbook section of a bookstore to show me how many wonderful cookbooks there were. So when I returned to the farm, I decided to pursue the dream and began to write the first notes in a note book.

What is your favorite time of year on the farm?

May is one of my favorite months, as you see nature change so fast, and after a couple of days of rain, everything becomes so green and beautiful. Amazing colored flowers grow everywhere and it can get pretty hot, but there is still a breeze. I have to admit that snow in the winter is something that I really love too. It is so magical for me.

It was hard to choose a recipe to feature in this blog post, so I enlisted Ben’s help. Together, we decided that Sarah’s recipe for roasted chicken would be just the thing to make. In the colder months, it has become our tradition to make a roasted chicken on Sunday after we get home from church. Usually we just throw together any ‘ole ingredients like herbs, spices, citrus fruits, etc. to make our chicken flavorful. Not this time! This time, we used Sarah’s recipe which features savory sage and rosemary, salty pancetta, tangy garlic, as well as the deep richness that only a dry white wine can provide. I am never making a roasted chicken another way again!

Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but this was just. So. Very. Good.

So moist [sorry], so flavorful, so tender. Don’t let the dark photos turn you away–I waited too long to put this chicken in the oven, and 7 o’clock sunsets aren’t friendly to photography. 😦

If you’ve never tried roasting your own chicken, do try it using this recipe and method. It is so worth it! I used to be scared of handling lots of raw poultry, but it gets easier each and every time [even though Ben still helps with the hard parts]. The rewards–like those first, hot, burn-your-fingers bits of crispy, salty skin–make it so incredible. This chicken was more aromatic and zesty than our ordinary way, thanks to the method of making a garlic paste using 8 cloves and putting seasoning under the skin of the chicken.

I simply cannot have enough words of praise for this recipe and this cookbook. I highly suggest you check it out today. I am so grateful for the chance to review it. Thanks again, Ginny! I will certainly blog about some of the other recipes that are now on my “to make” list–an autumn risotto, yogurt cake, mushroom penne, and more! Oh, if you wish, there’s a link-up below the recipe with links to other stops on the blogger book tour. 🙂

Pollo alla Poggia Alloro/Roasted Chicken Poggia Alloro [from A Family Farm in Tuscany: Recipes and Stories from Fattoria Poggio Alloro by Sarah Fioroni]
click to print

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, about 5 pounds
3 thin slices pancetta [I couldn’t find it so I used prosciutto]
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh sage
8 large garlic cloves, ground to a paste using a mortar and pestle or chef’s knife
salt
freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup dry white wine [I used a Chardonnay]
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold running water. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. [Don’t forget to sanitize your sink afterwards!] Place in a large baking pan [a 9×13 will work, I also have a ceramic roaster].

Place the pancetta, half the rosemary, 1 sprig sage, and 1 teaspoon of the garlic inside the chicken. Make six small slits in the skin of the chicken. Mince the remaining herbs and place them inside each slit, along with some salt and pepper. Gently massage herbs and seasoning into the chicken. Cover with the remaining garlic along with more salt and pepper. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour wine in baking dish, then brush olive oil over chicken to lightly coat. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip chicken on breast and bake for another 40 minutes. Then flip chicken again to the back and bake for 30 minutes or until fully cooked. [Meat thermometer reading 170 degrees F/76 degrees C.] Remove from oven and rest for 7 minutes before carving.

Time: 3-4 hours.

Yield: 8 servings.

Check out other blogger’s takes on this cookbook here:

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

October 16, 2012October 19, 2012 Sarah

So, if you’re on Pinterest, you probably have the same problem as the rest of us: you pin about a kazillion things on all your boards but never actually do any of them. Sigh. In order to remedy this, Lisa at The Splattered Apron has started an every other week linkup called Pinteresting Recipes. This is my first time to participate, and I am so excited!!

I love Pinterest and the ability to find great blogs and new ideas, as well as the obviously ability to save and share things for later. However, I absolute hate the way some people discuss the popular pin in the name/comment section. “Some pinner says…” Then they usually talk about how this is the best or most wonderful thing ever. Ugh. Don’t know why, but that just bugs me. And it kinda makes me want to boycott all pins that have those words attached to them, since they’re somehow tainted. Tainted with what? Popularity? I’m weird. But for this post, I decided to suck it up and try one of those popular pins. Because they must be good if they’re so popular, right?

I chose White Chicken Enchiladas from Joyful Mama’s Kitchen.

Here’s a photo of the original:

The pin of this recipe that I then pinned was labeled as “According to many pinners-THE BEST white chicken enchilada recipe ever!! Easy too.” See? Pet peeve right there! But is it worth the hype?

Here’s how mine turned out.

I must say, these White Chicken Enchiladas were pretty tasty and easy. The best? Well, I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, but they were delicious.

We loved how each bite of these enchiladas was full of flavor: tender shredded chicken and sharp cheddar cheese absolutely drenched in a luscious white sauce made with sour cream and sweet green chilies. The original recipe used all white cheese [Monterey Jack], but when I made these my grocery store was completely out, so I had to improvise. I’m sure they would be awesome either way–cheese is cheese, after all!

Will I make them again? Sure thing. They aren’t healthy or authentic Mexican food, but they do provide a good dose of cheesy comfort food. You can never have too many comfort food recipes. 🙂 So thanks to Pinterest for pointing me to this awesome new recipe and blog. On that note, I’ll close with a link to a post I recently read about Pinterest/blogging/internet etiquette. It’s a great read, so I hope you check it out. 🙂

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce [from Joyful Mama’s Kitchen]
click to print

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded cheese [Sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack]
10 soft tortillas [I used wheat]
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
4 ounce can diced green chillies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, stir together chicken and half the cheese. Divide bewteen tortillas, roll up, and place in pan.

Next, make the sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for one minute. Slowly pour in broth and whisk until smooth, then heat until sauce thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and chilies.

Pour sauce over enchiladas, then top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake enchiladas for 22 minutes, then broil for a minute or two until cheese becomes brown and bubbly.

Time: 45 minutes [15 minutes active].

Yield: 5 servings.

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes, Rice, Sides

Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Pineapple Black Bean Rice

July 19, 2012July 18, 2012 Sarah

Let me start off with a huge disclaimer: this jerk chicken is not authentic. Just wanted to get that out in the open. I mean, it’s cooked in a crock pot and not smoked in a pit… so that’s a pretty big difference. And furthermore, traditional jerk seasoning has a lot of heat to compliment the sweet, smoky flavor of the myraid of spices [primarily allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg] that make up the jerk seasoning blend. Or at least, that’s what my cookbook said. 🙂 My jerk seasoning blend has more sweetness than heat, but that departure from the norm isn’t bad… it just means you can enjoy what’s there instead of burning your mouth to bits.

Now that we have established that my version has been adapted, shall we say… let’s get on with it. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, let’s focus on what we do: this Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Rice is amazing. It’s sweet and smoky with a little bit of jalapeno-induced kick. Plus, this crock pot cooking method does not require traditional overnight marinating that most jerk chicken recipes do… meaning you can whip this up on a whim, no planning required! Though if you are thinking ahead, I bet marinating the meat would take an already fantastic dish absolutely over-the-top!

If I do say so myself though, the marinating to take things over-the-top-bit might not even be necessary. I got you covered on that over-the-topness. Instead of serving this pulled meat [almost type “slow cooked” meat… you remember how I feel about that!] on boring rice or a sandwich bun, I decided to fancify my regular white rice with some Caribbean-inspired ingredients like more allspice, crushed pineapple, black beans, and cilantro. The rice was undoubtedly my favorite part of this dinner [and the chicken Ben’s, but he’s a meatloving man so that’s not surprising].

I mean, how fantastic does this look? Sweet, smoky, fresh, substantial rice paired with sweet-hot pulled chicken. What else would you want? If you figure it out, please do let me know because I don’t have a clue. 🙂 Enjoy!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Pineapple Black Bean Rice [chicken adapted from Slow Cooker Classics from Around the World by Victoria Shearer, rice is a TPC original!]
click to print

Ingredients:

for chicken

1 cup chopped sweet onion
4 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
sprinkle salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 jalapenos, sliced [deseed if you wish–I did]
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
4 pounds cut up chicken pieces, bones and skins removed

for rice

1 1/2 cups white rice
3 cups liquid [drained pineapple juice + water or chicken broth]
1 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained [1 15 ounce can]
1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple [fruit + juice]
~3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

Place all ingredients for chicken in large crockpot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily.

About thirty minutes before eating, prepare rice. Drain pineapple, catching liquid in a large measuring cup or bowl. Add extra water or chicken broth to make 3 cups liquid, then add liquid and rice to a large pot set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until rice has absorbed liquid. Stir in black beans, reserved pineapple, allspice, and cayenne pepper. Just before serving stir in cilantro.

Serve shredded chicken over rice, or on sandwich buns.

Time: 5 hours.

Yield: alot of food!

Notes: This recipe can be halved and cooked for 3 1/2-4 hours in the crock pot. I did make the full amount of rice so if you’re cooking for a crowd, the rice may need to be doubled or tripled.

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes

Orange-Glazed Chicken Stir-Fry

June 11, 2012June 8, 2012 Sarah

So I enjoy Chinese takeout about as much as anyone else… but not as much as Ben. If he had it his way, he’d be chowing down on pseudo-Asian food every other night, with a healthy dose of meat and potatoes on the other night. Why doesn’t this happen in our house? Well, let’s see… salt, salt, MSG, salt, salt, lack of veggies, salt, salt… I think you get the picture. Oh, and I like to cook, not just get takeout. So what’s my compromise? Making takeout at home! [I bet you never saw that one coming. Ha!]

My latest attempt is a play off the ‘ole [un]authentic orange chicken. Instead of a gloopy, fake-colored sauce coating a few sad vegetables and the classic “little chicken/lots of breading,” sauted chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, and water chestnuts are tossed with a sweet-spicy orange glaze. The orange glaze is made with orange juice and [gasp!] a whole real orange. It’s amped up with fresh ginger and garlic, honey, sesame oil, soy sauce, and two kinds of pepper. Can it get any better than this?

I’m sorry, but this sweet-spicy citrus glaze has flavors that the corner Chinese place just cannot achieve! I know those places aren’t authentic, and in no way do I think my version is either. But I do know it’s good. So good in fact, that we both wanted the leftovers… a rareity in this house! Now, if only I could make brown rice as soft and pillowy as that Chinese place can…

Orange-Glazed Chicken Stir-Fry [adapted from Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai]
click to print

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
1 3/4 cup orange juice, divided
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon red chile pepper flakes
zest of 1 orange + 1 orange, peel removed and fruit chopped into bite size pieces
3/4 pound chicken breasts, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
3 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
8 ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained
hot cooked brown rice, for serving

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute, stirring continually, for 60 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in 1 1/2 cups orange juice, honey, soy sauce, cayenne, red chile pepper flakes, and orange zest. Zest Simmer gently until sauce is thick and syrupy, approximately 20 minutes.

Next, heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in an electric wok at 350 degrees. Add chicken and toss to stir-fry, cooking until all sides are golden, approximately 3-4 minutes total. Then add broccoli, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and orange chunks. Pour remaining 1/2 cup orange juice over everything, then cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until hot. [Alternatively, you could cook everything in a large skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat.

Pour in orange sauce and toss to coat. Serve over hot cooked brown rice.

Time: 30 minutes.

Yield: 4-5 servings.

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes, Rice, Sauces, Sides

Best Burrito Bowls Ever

April 11, 2012April 10, 2012 Sarah

So, the internet is filled with a plethora of copycat recipes for everyone’s favorite chain burrito restaurant. I’ve even made my own version before. Those were good. But these… these are better. Mucho better.

Dare I say… even better than Chipotle? Different, for sure. But better? It depends on what you’re after. [Let me tell you now… you want to be after this.]

If you’re after light, fluffy, airy brown cilantro-lime rice, then stick around. Yes,brown cilantro-lime rice!! This rice is prepared in a slightly different fashion than regular brown rice so it isn’t thick and gummy. It’s boiled, then steamed. A little butter, cilantro, lime juice, and garlic stirred in makes a knockoff winner.

If you’re after the typical burrito bowl mix-ins like spicy chicken, filling black beans, salsa, cheese, and sour cream, then stick around. You can have them! I promise. I know they’re a necessity. If chicken isn’t your thing, sub beef or pork or tofu, or even add extra black beans instead. Don’t limit yourself to the norm though. Try some corn, red bell pepper, avocado, and baby spring mix in there too–they won’t bite.

And lastly… if you want to top this full bowl with a bit of cilantro, be my guest.

As long as it is cilantro chutney, aka my new favorite way to enjoy cilantro, that is! Cilantro chutney can be whipped up in a couple minutes and is an out of this world dressing delight. It’s smooth, tangy, and spicy all at once. A savory and unconventional condiment to which I am now fully addicted. I may or may not have consumed nearly a quarter of the batch by the spoonful. Whoops.

I know this post might be overwhelming. The recipe might be long. The rice may be cooked in a new way. But please, do yourself a favor, and enjoy this for dinner at your earliest convenience. [That should be now.]

Don’t you see? Sometimes different is better. Right? Yes, right.

The end. 🙂

Best Burrito Bowls Ever
click to print

Ingredients:

for cilantro-lime rice [adapted slightly from with a Side of Sneakers]

1 cup brown rice
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic powder

for cilantro chutney [adapted slightly from Genesis Winter‘s comment on this post]

1 1/2 cups packed cilantro leaves, rinsed
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup lime juice
pinch cayenne pepper
2 pinches garlic salt

for chicken

olive oil
1 pound chicken breasts, chopped in small cubes
2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning

for serving

baby spring mix
perfect black beans
corn
chopped avocado
chopped red bell pepper
shredded pepperjack cheese
salsa
sour cream

Directions:

Begin by making the rice. Bring a large stockpot to boil. Then add rice and boil, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Yes, you read that right. While the rice is boiling, make the chutney.

Combine cilantro, onion, and lime juice in a food processor or blender. Pulse until well combined. Then remove to jar or small bowl and stir in cayenne pepper and garlic salt. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Next, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and taco seasoning and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Turn off heat, then cover and set aside.

When the rice has cooked for 40 minutes, turn off heat and drain rice [don’t worry about draining all the water, but get most of it out]. Return rice to pot, add butter, then cover and let sit off heat for 10 minutes to steam. Stir in cilantro, lime juice, and garlic powder.

Serve up! I layered baby spring mix, rice, black beans, chicken, corn, avocado, red bell pepper, and pepperjack cheese, then topped with a little salsa and sour cream, and a lot of cilantro chutney. Amazing!

Time: 60 minutes [20 minutes active].

Yield: 4 servings.