Hot Tub Chicken – Well That Just Sounds Fun!!!

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bundt, Chicken, Fennel, Hot Tub Chicken, Jeff Mauro, marinade, Roasted Vegetables, Sweet potatoes

I never thought I would use my bundt pan this way!!! One of my favorite cooking shows is the Food Network’s “The Kitchen”. A panel of people from cooks to Iron Chef’s discuss various cooking techniques, recipes and tools. One of the regular hosts, Jeff Mauro, demonstrated the recipe for Hot Tub Chicken. Just the name peaked my interest! Who doesn’t love a hot tub!!! It’s not just fun, it also happens to be mighty delicious! This brined chicken with roasted veggies is moist and incredibly flavorful. So grab your bundt pan and let’s get going!!!

Don’t forget to save that chicken carcass to make your own chicken broth once your done carving that chicken.

Hot Tub Chicken With Roasted Fennel and Sweet Potatoes

Marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

4 lemons, zested and juiced

2 cloves garlic, smashed

Chicken and Roasted Vegetables:

One 3- to 4-pound chicken, skin slightly separated from the muscle for marinade penetration

8 red, yellow or orange mini bell peppers, halved

1 medium sweet potato, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

1 medium fennel bulb, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 small yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup white wine

4 cloves garlic, smashed

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Special equipment: a bundt pan

For the marinade: In a bowl, whisk together the oil, salt, paprika, chili powder, lemon zest and juice and garlic.

For the chicken and roasted vegetables: Put the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag, add the marinade and marinate for at least 8 hours and up to overnight.

When ready to roast, position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven (to leave clearance for the bundt pan and chicken) and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the peppers, sweet potatoes and half of the fennel and onions in a bowl with the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables out on a baking sheet, leaving the center clear for the bundt pan.

In the bottom of a bundt pan, add the wine, garlic, rosemary and remaining fennel and onions. Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using a square of foil, cover the hole of the bundt. Stand the chicken upright on the bundt center over the foil. Roast until the chicken registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 50 minutes. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Meanwhile, strain the residual juices in the bundt pan and pour into a medium skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the butter.

Carve the chicken and place over the roasted vegetables on a platter. Pour the pan sauce over the chicken and serve.

Enjoy!!!

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Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe – An Easy to Make Low-fat Dressing/Marinade

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Balasamic Vinegar, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Cooking, Dressing, Easy, Food, healthy, low-fat, marinade, Olive Oil, Quick, salad, Salad Dressing

  
The great thing about making your own foods, rather than buying them, is you know EXACTLY what is in the food. You get fresher, healthier foods with less chemicals. You can also more accurately track the nutritional values of the food.

Today I thought I would share my super-easy to make Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe. It’s so tasty and versatile. In addition to using it on green salads, I’ve used it on my Southwestern Layered Salad (see previous post for recipe) and as a meat marinade on both chicken and beef.

Another great thing about this recipe, is that you can adjust the oil to vinegar ratio to fit your taste or fat content desires. I usually go 50/50, but at times I do use more vinegar to lower the fat content. Balsamic vinegar is such a mild vinegar, you can get away with doing this and still get good flavor.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Note: My recipe is based on the size of my salad dressing container. Adjust quantities to suit your needs.

3/4 cup olive oil

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 crushed and chopped garlic clove (I use my garlic press)

1 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped (can substitute 1 tsp dried basil, but fresh is best!)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Put all ingredients in your container, shake or whisk vigorously and enjoy!

Tip: When dining out, don’t be afraid to bring your own salad dressing. Dressings can be a diet killer! I do this all the time. I just order my salad with no dressing or dressing on the side. I take a little teasing, but hey! They don’t have to wrestle my bod into jeans!!!

Huli Huli Sauce and POG: Aloha! We’re Going Hawaiian Today!

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Cooking, Drink, Food, hawaii, hawaiian, huli huli, ingredients, juice, mai tai, marinade, sauce

Yes, folks! This is a peek inside my house! I swear! Now our whole house doesn’t look like this, just the tiki bar tucked in the corner of our family room. Our family has been blessed with the opportunity to visit Hawaii a few times and we have fallen in love with the culture there! Not only is the landscape gorgeous and the food delicious, but the people are so warm and welcoming. They proudly share their culture with visitors and as they should! They have a lot to be proud of! So as you can see, our family has chosen to insert bits and pieces of that culture into our lives. The flavors of Hawaii are something we incorporate on a very regular basis!

The two products shown in the picture are staples in our house. We were originally introduced to both of these items in Hawaii. As I type this, there are two cartons of POG in our fridge and 5 bottles of Huli Huli sauce in my pantry (Overkill on the sauce, I know, but if you knew my husband’s shopping habits you would understand!).

So what are these tropical delights you ask and where can you get them???

POG

POG is actually an acronym for Passion Fruit, Orange, Guava, the three juices that combined make POG. Our whole family loves this juice, young and old alike! The adults have been known to sneak a little rum in theirs on occasion to make a wonderful mai tai. We live in Northern California and have found POG to be available at Fresh and Easy markets and at the Nob Hill/Raley’s chain stores with the other refrigerated juices. If you can’t find it in your store, ask and maybe they can order it.

Huli Huli

This is a soy sauce based sauce that is very versatile. It can be used with chicken (it’s most well known use!), beef, pork or fish. We use it frequently to marinate chicken prior to barbecuing. You can also use Huli Huli as a stir fry sauce, to make gravy sauce or on baked meats. There are various recipes on the bottle. We used to have to bring the sauce back with us from trips to Hawaii, but then I was in Cost Plus one day and low and behold, there it was!!! Score! Now we’ve had a regular, mainland source for one of our favorite ingredients! If you don’t have Cost Plus markets near you, check with other stores carrying international foods and you might find it there or again just ask at your local market.

I hope you’re able to find these items and give them a try. They are both really delicious and bring a refreshing, tropical spice to life! Aloha!