A Wonderful Way To Use Chicken

A few weeks ago I received a mystery cookbook in the mail.  I do get quite a few cookbooks in the mail, but this was one I didn’t remember reading anything about, or ordering.  Alas, it was a Good Cook order, and I’d forgotten to reply that I didn’t want the book.   I looked online to see what book it actually was in the box, and then set it on the counter to ponder whether it was a keeper or not.  This random book put me in a tough position, because this is the time of year when I don’t buy cookbooks- Andy’s not working, so I can’t be spending money on frivolous cookbooks.  But the time went by, the book didn’t leave my counter, and finally, I thought, how could this book be bad?

Turns out, I was completely right.  The Bon Appetit Fresh, Fast and Easy Cookbook is the perfect example of what Rachael Ray wishes she could be.  The recipes are simple, meaning there aren’t a few pages of ingredients, and many of the called for ingredients are usually already on hand.  The book also takes into account seasonality, and doesn’t pair snow peas with turnips, for example.  But best of all, I’ve already made two dishes out of the book and both are keepers.  A third chilled in the fridge overnight.  The fact that the book has been on my shelf for, oh, four days, and I’ve already made three recipes out of it says a lot.  This is a great book to give you quick weeknight ideas, and today I want to tell you about the chicken I made the other night.

As I’ve been trying really hard to use up some older things in the freezer, I was struggling to come up with an idea to utilize five frozen bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.   I don’t know why they were stumping me, but they were.  They just kept hanging out in the freezer, teasing me.  But flipping through this book, I found a recipe for Orange and Ginger Chicken that looked perfect.  It called for boneless, but skin-on chicken.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t buy boneless chicken breasts with skin.  So I defrosted the chicken breasts and deboned them myself.  It was way easier than I thought it was going to be, and was a lot like filleting a fish, actually.  In the end I had five nice chicken breasts with the skin.

The actual recipe was so easy.  It’s a fairly basic pan chicken.  The chicken is browned, and then a sauce is made, and the chicken is finished in the sauce.   Now, you probably could do this without the skin, but I’ll tell you that  the skin really seemed to contribute to the flavor of the chicken, as well as keeping it incredibly moist.  However, it wasn’t crispy in the least, and was a little tough to eat.  I think I’d go back and forth as to whether or not to leave the skin on or off.  Considering though, that the bone-in breasts are like half the price of the more convenient boneless, skinless, taking them off the bone myself is a certainty, and now that I know how to do it, I’ll be doing it more often.

The flavors in this sauce were clean, fresh and so simple.  Orange juice, ginger, and green onions combine to really make plain old chicken taste fantastic.  A bed of rice to help soak of the sauce is highly recommended, as it was quite delicious.

Orange and Ginger Chicken

4                     boneless chicken breast halves with skin

All purpose flour

2        tablespoons  butter — (1/4 stick)

1         tablespoon  olive oil

4          teaspoons  minced peeled fresh ginger

2        tablespoons  brown sugar

1           teaspoon  dry mustard

2               cups  orange juice

2          teaspoons  grated orange peel

3/4           cup  thinly sliced green onions

Directions:
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; dust with flour.

Melt butter with oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate.

Add ginger to skillet; stir 1 minute. Add brown sugar and mustard and stir to blend into drippings. Add orange juice and orange peel.

Simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet. Simmer 3 minutes.

Turn chicken over and add green onions. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thick enough to coat spoon, about 3 minutes longer. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken and sauce to platter.

Serves 4.