Grilled Wings with Thai Curry Dipping Sauce →

Not your average grilled chicken wings recipe, the wings marinate overnight in a delicious coconut milk curry sauce before grilling them. The results are exceptionally succulent wings with beautifully caramelized skin, and the mildly sweet and spicy dipping sauce will be a winner with anyone who loves Thai curry. Serve with rice or an orzo salad to soak up every drop of the delicious coconut curry dipping sauce.

Grilled Chicken Wings with Thai Curry Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• ½ cup finely chopped shallots (2 large)

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

• 2 large garlic cloves, minced

• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

• 2-3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (2 tablespoons makes a mildly spicy sauce)

• 2 (14-oz) cans of unsweetened coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen brand)

• 1 ½ teaspoons packed light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce

• 24 chicken wings separated at the joints; wingtips discarded (6 pieces per person)

• Garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs or fresh basil.

Preparation:

1. Cook the shallots in oil in a wide 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. (4 to 5 minutes)

2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally. (2 minutes)

3. Add the curry paste and cook, mixing the paste with the oil and garlic; stirring constantly for about 3 minutes.

4. Add the coconut milk, brown sugar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups. (approximately 25 to 30 minutes)

5. Remove from heat, stir in the fish sauce, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. (about 30 minutes)

6. Reserve 1 ½ cups of curry sauce in a bowl for serving. Cover and chill in the fridge.

7. Separate each wing at the joints so you have a wingette, a drummette, and a wingtip. Discard the wingtips.

8. Coat the wing pieces with the remaining curry sauce in a large bowl or large ziplock bag. Place in the fridge and marinate for at least 12 and up to 24 hours.

9. Let the wings stand at room temperature 30 minutes before grilling.

10. Preheat your grill and oil the grates lightly. You want a medium-hot grill.

11. Remove the wings from the marinade, shaking off excess, and transfer to a large platter. Discard the marinade.

12. Grill the wings, turning every 2-3 minutes to prevent burning until the skin is caramelized and the wing is cooked through about 12 minutes total. *Note: depending on your grill adjust the heat under the wings to prevent burning.

13. Heat the reserved curry sauce in a small saucepan, stirring over moderate heat until hot. Serve the wings with the curry sauce.

14. Garnish with cilantro or fresh basil.

Wine pairing: a Chenin Blanc, Vouvray, Viognier, Dry Riesling, or Rosé

Adapted from https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-cornish-hens-with-coconut-curry-sauce-232153

Ischia-style Rabbit →

Ischia is an island off of Naples, Italy. With an abundance of wild rabbits, the island is famous for its rabbit dishes. This recipe is adapted from chef Andrea Migliaccio’s recipe for Ischia-style Rabbit. It would also work well substituting chicken legs and thighs for the rabbit. This is an easy delicious recipe that epitomizes the magic created when you combine simple ingredients like fresh herbs, shallots, garlic, broth, and white wine. Buon Appetito!

Ischia-style Rabbit
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 2 rabbits cut into pieces (or one chicken leg and thigh per person)

• 1 bulb of garlic, cut in half

• 1 ¾ cup of shallots, sliced

• 1 chili, cut in half length-ways (I used ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes)

• 2 cups + 3 tablespoons of white wine

• 2 cups + 3 tablespoons of chicken or vegetable stock

• 1 cup of tomatoes (about 3-4 plumb tomatoes quartered)

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

• 1 bunch of basil, roughly chopped (reserve a few leaves whole for garnish)

• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
1. Using a cleaver or heavy butcher knife, cut the rabbits into pieces: the shoulders, ribs, loins, and hind legs. Discard the liver, heart, and other organs or save them for another use. Season all of the pieces with salt and pepper and dust lightly with a little flour.

2. Working in batches, sauté the rabbit pieces with a little olive oil in a skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat, adding more oil as necessary until all the pieces are golden brown. When all the pieces are browned, tent and set the rabbit to one side and discard the oil from the pan.

3. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and add the garlic, shallots, and chili (red pepper flakes). Cook, stirring occasionally for a few minutes over medium-high heat until the shallots are golden. Don’t burn the pan.

4. Deglaze the pan with the white wine scraping up the browned pieces in the pan. After about 2-3 minutes, add the tomatoes and the chicken/vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat.

5. Add the chopped parsley and basil and continue to cook over med-high heat for 10 minutes.

6. Add the reserved pieces of rabbit in a single layer to a roasting pan, pour the sauce over the rabbit, and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes. The sauce will thicken and the rabbit will turn golden brown.

7. Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste and serve garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Note: this dish pairs well with buttered potatoes and parsley and green beans sauteed with garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest.

Wine pairing: full-bodied white wines like Verdicchio or Tiberio Pecorino; White Burgundy, or White Rhone wines; a dry Riesling would also work; lighter red wines like Beaujolais or Dolcetto di Alba are also a good match.

Adapted from: https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/recipes/rabbit-ischia-style-recipe
Andrea Migliaccio

Grilled Chicken with Raspberry Sauce →

It’s summer and the fresh farm produce is coming on strong including fresh raspberries. Friends picked five pounds of the luscious berries and gifted us a good size bowl of the beauties. After gorging on the delightful red juicy morsels, there were enough left for me to try this savory sweet-and-tart raspberry sauce to pair with summer-time grilled chicken or Cornish Hen. It would also work with grilled pork tenderloin. Grill-on!

Grilled Chicken or Cornish Hen with Raspberry Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1 small chicken split in half or 2 Cornish Hens split

• Chicken Marinade

• Savory Raspberry Sauce

  Steps:

  1. Make the marinade and marinate the chicken for 4 hours or more.

  Chicken Marinade:

• ¼ cup Sherry Vinegar

• ¼ cup soy sauce

• ½ cup olive oil

• 1 teaspoon ground dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon ground dried rosemary

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or more to taste)
  

  2. Make the raspberry sauce

  Raspberry Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 cup raspberries (preferably fresh, but frozen will work)

• ¾ cup chicken broth

• ¼ cup Sherry Vinegar

• 1 tablespoon minced shallot

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or a heaping ½ teaspoon dried thyme)

• 2 tablespoons honey (divided)

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)

  Preparation:

  1. In a small saucepan, saute the shallot until just translucent (before it begins to brown)

  2. Add the chicken stock, vinegar, raspberries, thyme, and 1 tablespoon of honey and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a hot simmer and reduce by 2/3.

  3. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve to remove the solids.

  4. Return the reduced liquid to the saucepan over low-heat. Adjust the sweetness if needed by adding the reserved 1 tablespoon of honey.

  5. If the sauce is too thin, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water or chicken stock and add the slurry to the hot liquid while stirring.

  6. Add a pinch of salt and pepper if desired.

  7. Set aside. You can rewarm the sauce just before serving it with the chicken.

  3. Grill the chicken

• preheat the grill to hot

• remove the chicken from the marinade and wipe with a paper towel. This will help prevent flare-ups on the grill and will produce a crispier skin.

• With the grill top open, reduce the heat to medium and sear the chicken skin side down for 2 minutes; turn over and repeat.

• Close the grill and reduce the heat to low and cook for about 25-30 minutes turning twice.

• Remove the bird to a plate and tent

  *Note: grill time will vary depending on the size of your bird. Use an insta-read thermometer to check the final temperature at 165 F.

  4. Reheat the sauce, plate, and serve

• Rewarm the sauce

• If you cooked a chicken, cut the chicken halves in half again so you have four servings. You don’t have to cut Cornish Hens in half again unless you want to.

• Plate the chicken and pour sauce around the pieces. You might want to put a small bowl of sauce on the table to spoon extra sauce over the chicken.

• Garnish with fresh raspberries. (optional)

  
  Serve with a fresh summer salad, or Gingery Grilled Vegetables, and rice.

  Wine pair: a refreshing chilled rosé, a white wine from the Rhone Valley, Chablis, White Burgundy, or not too oaky Chardonnay will pair nicely.

Chicken Marsala →

Marsala wine is a fortified wine made in Sicily that is most commonly used in cooking to create nutty, rich caramelized sauces. It’s an amazing addition to the chef’s kitchen. This Chicken Marsala is an elegant, easy to make dish with a sauce that combines mushrooms in a creamy sauce flavored with shallots, dry Marsala wine and fresh sage. The slightly bitter, nutty flavor of the sage combines nicely with the nutty, fruitiness of the Marsala. A dash of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of lemon zest just before serving brighten the dish. Serve over rice or egg noodles with green beans or sugar snap peas.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced

• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 lb total)

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry Marsala wine

• 2/3 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

• ½ teaspoon lemon zest

• 4-6 large sage leaves toasted and crumbled as a garnish (optional)

Preparation:

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.

2. Bring broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat, then boil, uncovered, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes.

3. Cook the shallot in 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until the shallot begins to turn golden (about 1 minute). Add the mushrooms, sage, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their liquid and they begin to brown (6 to 8 minutes). Remove from heat.

4. Gently pound the chicken to 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using the flat side of a meat pounder or a rolling pin.

5. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, 1 piece at a time, shaking off excess. Transfer to sheets of wax paper, arranging the chicken in 1 layer.

6. Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté half the chicken, turning over once, until nicely golden and just cooked through (about 4 minutes). Transfer the cooked chicken to a large heatproof platter, arranging in 1 layer, tent and put the platter in a warm oven. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels and cook the remaining chicken in the same manner. Transfer to the warm oven arranging the cutlets in 1 layer.

7. Add 1/2 cup Marsala to the skillet and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits for about 30 seconds. Add reduced broth, cream, and mushrooms, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened (6 to 8 minutes). Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and remaining 2 tablespoons wine.

8. Serve the chicken topped with sauce. Garnish with toasted sage (optional).

Some wines that would stand up to the creamy richness and pair well with this dish are white Burgundy, or a Viognier or Marsanne based white wine from the Rhône region of France. Other options would be Pouilly Fume or a not-overly oaked California Chardonnay. Avoid overly minerally and acidic whites.

Source: Gourmet Magazine June 2005, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chicken-marsala-232152

Tarragon Chicken with Mushrooms →

Another French inspired chicken dish with a luscious, creamy sauce and a hint of anise from the tarragon. Serve it with egg noodles and a colorful steamed or sauteed vegetable, and/or a leafy, green salad. Bon appetit!

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 small-medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts or two large breasts cut in half, trimmed of fat (1-1 1/4 pounds total) (or 4 boneless, skinless thighs)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

• 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil, divided

• 6 ounces of stemmed sliced cremini or shiitake mushrooms

• 1 medium shallot finely chopped (approximately 3-4 tablespoons finely chopped shallots)

• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 2 tablespoons brandy (optional)

• 1-2 tablespoons. reduced-fat sour cream, or crème fraiche (optional)

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon (you can also substitute thyme and/or rosemary)

• a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice (optional)

Preparation:

1. Place each chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper and use a kitchen mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken to a uniform thickness of about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Season chicken on both sides with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Dust the skinless chicken lightly with flour.

2. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee the sliced mushrooms until they have given off their water and begun to brown. Remove from heat and reserve.

3. Add the chicken and cook until well browned, about 3 minutes per side. After browning the first side squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the browned chicken. After browning the second side, transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add shallots; cook, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. At this point you can add the 2 tablespoons of brandy and reduce until almost evaporated. (optional)

5. Add broth and wine and bring to a simmer. Cook until reduced by half, about 3-5 minutes. Stir the reserved mushrooms, mustard (optional), sour cream (or crème fraiche), and tarragon into sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan; spoon the sauce over the chicken and reduce heat to low. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes.

7. Plate and spoon the sauce over the chicken.

*Notes:

If you are not concerned about the extra fat, and you want optimum flavor, choose air-chilled chicken breasts or thighs with bone-in and skin, and skip dusting with flour.

If you choose not to thicken the sauce with the sour cream and mustard (classic French cooking), you can squeeze a little lemon juice over the chicken while you brown it and thicken the sauce with flour like a roux or gravy. (Mix 2 teaspoons flour with 2 tablespoons of melted butter until smooth and slowly add to reduced wine/broth stock, whisking constantly to avoid clumps.)

If you don’t have fresh tarragon, you can add 2 teaspoons of dried tarragon to the stock as it reduces.

It helps to pound the chicken breasts between plastic wrap to an even thickness….this avoids overcooking and helps tenderize the breasts. Or, you can use chicken tenders.

As with all recipes, experiment and make it your own.

Adapted from a recipe in EatingWell Magazine