Marmalade-Glazed Baked Chicken #FoodBloggers4FL

A little bit sweet with a welcome sharp orange bite, this marmalade-glazed baked chicken tender is on the inside and sticky and more-ish on the outside. You will be licking your fingers and eating the sauce with a spoon.

Even as we planned the Food Bloggers for Texas event week before last, Hurricane Irma started bearing down on the Caribbean and Florida. By the time we posted, she had arrived and wreaked her damage. As a group we all agreed that another recipe post was in order, along with the added links to ways we can all help in the recovery from Irma.

It was easy to choose a recipe to share for the Texas post. After all, I grew up in Houston. I know quite a few Texas recipes, like the Four-Alarm Texas Chili I ended up sharing. For a Florida recipe I turned to my new favorite cookbook, Orange Appeal, written by my friend, Jamie Schler, and photographed by her alter ego, the very talented Ilva Beretta.

Jamie grew up among the Florida citrus groves the state is so rightly proud of and her recently released book is filled with delicious family-friendly recipes using all things orange.

So far, in addition to this fabulous baked chicken, I have tried the orange rosemary boule – a crusty French-style loaf, her rich Chocolate Orange Brownies, the mouthwatering Mediterranean Meatballs and, talk about fresh, the orange salad with sliced fennel, onions and carrots. If you haven’t bought your copy yet, here’s an Amazon affiliate link: http://amzn.to/2fiOKjQ Go buy Orange Appeal. You will not regret it!

Here are some links to organizations who need your help with Irma recovery efforts:

• Volunteer Florida 
• Miami Diaper Bank  
• Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida
• South Florida Wildlife Center 
• Heart of Florida United Way
• All Faiths Food Bank
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
• Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency
• Fondos Unidos
• Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands
• St. John Community Foundation
• Anguilla Beaches

Jamie very kindly gave me permission to share the following gorgeous marmalade-glazed baked chicken recipe with you, in honor of relief efforts in her home state. Thanks, Jamie!

Ingredients - Serves 6
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large shallots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup (120 ml) white wine vinegar
2/3 cup (156 ml) light soy sauce
1 cup (12 1/2 ounces / 350 g) orange marmalade
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large whole chicken, cut into pieces, or 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and legs

Method
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, and cook the shallots over medium heat until soft and golden, 3–5 minutes. Stir in the ginger until dissolved then stir in the vinegar and boil vigorously until reduced by half, 2–3 minutes.

Add the soy sauce, marmalade, salt, and pepper and stir until smooth and the jam has dissolved.

As soon as the marinade comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. (This makes about 1 3/4 cups or 414ml marinade.)

Rinse and pat the chicken pieces dry, removing excess skin and fat pockets. Place chicken in a wide shallow bowl or a large sealable plastic bag. Pour the cooled marinade over the chicken, making sure the pieces are completely submerged. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, or seal the plastic bag tightly. Place in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Prepare a large, shallow baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil, overlapping 2 extra-strong pieces of foil and folding over two or three times then pressing the seam flat. Oil the foil to keep the cooked chicken from sticking.

Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in the pan then spoon the marinade over the pieces. To avoid having too much marinade pooling in the bottom of the pan, spoon some over the chicken and spoon or brush more over the chicken once or twice during baking.

Bake for 35–45 minutes, until cooked through and beautifully glazed and browned. Keep an eye on the chicken toward the end of the baking time, as the marmalade will go from crispy to burned in a matter of minutes.

While the chicken is baking, place the remaining marinade in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until reduced to 1/2 to 2/3 cup (125 to 170 ml) and thickened.

Jamie's end note: For a wonderful variation on this recipe, prepare the marinade as indicated and set aside. Pan fry bone-in pork or lamb chops in olive oil. When the chops are done to your liking, remove them from the skillet to a plate and deglaze the skillet with a couple of tablespoons of sherry or orange juice, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom. Lower the heat under the pan, add the marinade and simmer until reduced and thickened, and then spoon over the chops to serve.

Enjoy!

Check out all of the recipes my fellow food bloggers are sharing today.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons #CreativeCookieExchange

Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons are sweet and chewy and just the slightest bit salty, with loads of flakey coconut, chopped almonds and dark chocolate. You will not be able to resist them! P.S. They are naturally gluten free.

Probably my second favorite candy bar in the whole wide world, right behind the Butterfinger, is an Almond Joy. Unlike its poor relative, the Mounds bar, an Almond Joy has almonds perched atop the sweet coconut before it is coated in chocolate.

Why anyone would want a Mounds when they could have an Almond Joy is beyond me but the Mounds does have one thing going for it. Dark Chocolate. Almond Joy bars are covered with milk chocolate. So, taking the best of both, I’ve made these Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons with dark chocolate and almonds.

Ingredients – to make 3 dozen
2/3 cup or 110g almonds, plus 36 extra (about 45g) for garnish, if desired
Pinch of salt
1 14 oz or 396g bag sweetened flaked coconut
10 oz or 283g bag dark chocolate morsels (or sub chocolate chips)
1 (14 oz or 397g) can sweetened condensed milk

Method
Preheat your oven to 325°F or 163°C and prepare your cookie sheets by lining them with baking parchment.

Toast your almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat, stirring or tossing regularly to make sure they don’t scorch. They should start to smell nutty as they toast and you will see the natural oils come to the surface making the almonds slightly shiny. Lightly sprinkle them with the pinch of salt, stir, then pour them out onto a large cutting board and leave to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, toss together your coconut and dark chocolate morsels.

Set aside 36 almonds to use as garnish, if using, and then chop the rest roughly with a sharp knife.

Add the chopped nuts to the coconut and chocolate and mix. Pour in the condensed milk and mix till fully combined.

Use a tablespoon or a cookie scoop to create 36 almond coconut macaroons, placing 12 at a time of your prepared cookie sheet or sheets. Press one reserved almond in the top of each macaroon.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the coconut starts to brown. (I like mine well toasted so I left these in for 17 minutes.)

Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then remove the macaroons to a wire rack to cool completely.

After they have cooled, keep the macaroons in an airtight container. These freeze particularly well, also in an airtight container.

True confessions: I have eaten a number of them straight from the freezer. Don’t judge me.

Enjoy!

This month my Creative Cookie Exchange group is sharing our favorite gluten free cookies and these Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons fit the bill. They just happen to be naturally gluten free so they are perfect to feed your whole crowd. (Well, the ones without the nut allergies. Entertaining is a challenge these days, isn’t it?)

Check out the link list below:

• Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Flourless Chocolate Cookies from Flours & Frostings
• Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cream and Butter Blog
• Fudgy Cookie Bites from What Smells so Good?
• Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies from The Spiced Life
• Hazelnut Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles from 2 Cookin’ Mamas

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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Spicy Roasted Bacon Tomato Cauliflower

The rich garlicky sun-dried tomato pesto adds a lovely flavor to the cauliflower as it roasts in a little bacon fat. A generous sprinkling of crispy bacon and Parmesan finish this dish to perfection. This one is a side dish that wouldn't mind taking center stage.

Cauliflower is one of my very favorite vegetables as you can see from the many cauliflower recipes on this site. From main dishes like savory cheesy cauliflower cake (it's a beauty!) and curried cauliflower chicken pilaf, great brunch recipes like cauliflower cheese waffles and cauliflower Roquefort tart, to my absolute favorite cauliflower cheese pie with crunchy potato crust (just to name a few!) I think I've featured cauliflower more than any other vegetable.

This particular dish is another favorite. It checks of all of my boxes.

Cheesy. It's got your Parmesan.
Spicy. Fresh chili pepper for the win.
Bacon. You betcha!
Easy. Nothing easier than roasting. Pop it on a pan. Roast!
Cauliflower.  One whole head. That said, this recipe is REALLY easy to double for a bigger crowd.

Check, check, check, check and check. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. And if you are a fan of cauliflower too, you are going to want to scroll on down to see the link list of all the cauliflower recipes my Sunday Supper friends are sharing today.

Spicy Roasted Bacon Tomato Cauliflower

This recipe is adapted from these two recipes from Eggton and Steamy Kitchen.

Ingredients
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (dry, not packed in oil – about 1 1/4 oz or 35g by weight)
4 slices streaky thin cut smoky bacon (about 3 1/8 oz or 90g)
1 head cauliflower (Mine weighed 1 2/3 lbs or 765g)
5 medium garlic cloves
1 hot chili pepper
3/4 oz or 20g grated Parmesan cheese, plus an equal amount for serving
Olive oil

Method
Place your sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl and pour hot water over them. Set aside to soak and plump up.

Chop your bacon into small pieces and spread them around on a large baking pan. Put the pan in the oven and turn it on to preheat to 400°F or 200°C. The bacon will bake and get crispy as the oven preheats so keep an eye on it.

Meanwhile, cut the green leaves off of your cauliflower and break or cut it into florets.

Check on your bacon!

Drain the tomatoes but keep the water. Put the tomatoes, garlic, chili pepper and  Parmesan in the blender or food processor. Add some of the tomato soaking water and process until smooth. If it is too thick, just keep adding the water, a little at a time. This needs to be thick enough to coat the cauliflower yet thin enough to make it into all the little crevices in the florets.

Check on your bacon in the oven. If it’s already crispy, take the pan from the oven and use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon pieces, leaving the bacon fat behind in the pan.

Put your cauliflower in a large bowl and pour the sauce over it.

Stir well to coat the florets.

Put your sauced cauliflower florets in the baking pan, stem side up, and separated so that they can get roasted.  If you make a big pile, they’ll just steam.

Roast for 15-20 minutes in your preheated oven, then turn the cauliflower florets over to roast the other side. Drizzle with a little olive oil or more bacon fat if you have some handy.

Put the pan back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is done to your liking.

To serve, scrape the roasted cauliflower, and all the good, roasted sticky bits from the pan, into a serving bowl. Sprinkle on the crispy bacon pieces and another generous handful of freshly grated Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Check out all the Sunday Supper cauliflower recipes! Many thanks to our host Caroline of Caroline's Cooking and our event manager Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures for all of their behind the scenes work.

Creative Cauliflower Starters and Sides

• Bang Bang Califlower Bites by Sunday Supper Movement
• Cauliflower Bacon Gratin by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• German Cauliflower Salad by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Loaded Cauliflower Casserole by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Loaded Smashed Cauliflower Bites by My Life Cookbook
• Spicy Roasted Bacon Tomato Cauliflower by Food Lust People Love
• Vegetarian Nachos by Simple and Savory

Make My Cauliflower a Main Dish

• Cheesy Cauliflower Soup by Hardly A Goddess
• Low-Carb Cauliflower Rice Pilaf with Ground Beef & Cabbage by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Oven Baked Honey Soy Sesame Cauliflower by Sprinkles and Sprouts
• Roasted Cauliflower and Vegetable Soup by Palatable Pastime
• Roasted Cauliflower Steak with Salsa Verde by Caroline's Cooking
• Salmon with Creamy Cauliflower Farro by Cooking Chat
• Shrimp Stir Fry with Cauli Rice by Our Good Life
• Spicy Cauliflower Tacos by Pies and Plots

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Grilled Tuna Niçoise Salad #FishFridayFoodies

Not the traditional French recipe from Nice, this Grilled Tuna Niçoise Salad is going to be a favorite for folks who aren’t crazy about canned tuna. Lightly grilled fresh tuna brings a lovely freshness to the plate which includes potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, artichokes, olives and mixed greens.

This month my Fish Friday Foodies group is creating recipes with grilled seafood but, frankly, it’s still pretty hot here in Dubai to stand over a scorching charcoal grill. Fortunately, when I asked our organizer and this month's host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm if something cooked on a grill pan would be okay, she responded positively.

This is another one of those salads that makes a whole meal. It will easily served three to four people as a main course, perhaps with warm bread or dessert to fill out the meal, or six to eight as a starter.

Grilled Tuna Niçoise Salad

Ingredients
For the salad:
8-10 quail eggs, boiled, peeled and chilled (This can be done the day before.)
7 oz or 200g fine green beans, stems removed
450g or 1 lb baby potatoes
1 jar small artichokes, well drained (5 2/3 oz or 160g, drained weight)
8.5 oz or 240g fresh tuna steak
1 tablespoon lime juice
Drizzle olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup or 80g kalamata olives, unpitted
Mixed greens (I used baby cos and arugula.)
5 oz or 140g mixed cherry tomatoes

For the mustard vinaigrette: (Makes just under a 1/2 cup or 115ml)
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
5 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1 teaspoon strong Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Method
Put a large pot of water on to boil with a teaspoon or two of the sea salt. Fill a medium sized bowl with ice and water and set aside.

When the pot of water comes to the boil, put the green beans in for 2 minutes. Fish them out with a slotted spoon and put them directly into the bowl of ice water.

Carefully add the potatoes to the boiling water (you do not want to splash yourself!) and cook till just tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile make the vinaigrette by adding all of the ingredients into a clean jar and shaking good till they are combined.

Drain the potatoes and put them in a small bowl. Use a sharp knife to cut them into halves, then pour half of the vinaigrette over then, and stir to coat. Set aside to cool.

After you drain the small artichokes, set them upside down on paper towels to absorb even more of the excess water.

As you prepare the rest of the salad, return to the potatoes occasionally and give them another gentle stir. This helps them cool faster as well as making sure that the dressing is being absorbed.

Dry the tuna off with paper towels, then rub it with the lime juice. Drizzle on a little olive oil then season it with a healthy sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat your grill pan over a high heat for a few minutes. It’s ready when a drop of water instantly vaporizes.

Grill the tuna steak for 1 1/2 minutes each side, then just 20 more seconds on the first side. Set it to cool on a clean cutting board.

Use the side of a knife to smash the olives so you can remove the pits.

On a large platter, begin assembling the salad. Start with the greens, then slowly build up.

Try to distribute all the ingredients, except the tuna and quail eggs, evenly around the platter.

Use a very sharp knife to cut the tuna into slices and lay them on the salad.

Use a spoon to drizzle on more of the salad dressing.

Finally, half the quail eggs with a sharp knife and add them to the top. We like our egg yolks runny so I gave these pretty much the same treatment as the green beans with just 2 minutes in boiling water, then an ice water bath to stop the cooking.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lovely grilled seafood dishes we have for you today!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Four Alarm Texas Chili #FoodBloggers4TX

Lots of chilies, cumin and chunks of beef, cooked till tender - that's all you need for the most delicious four alarm Texas chili. A bowl of red and you'll taste the fiery spirit of Texas.

Here’s a little story about Texas chili.

The year was circa 2002 on a hot and humid Houston summer evening. My sister had come over for a visit with a pot of chili with beans in tow. You see, she didn’t want to leave it simmering home alone, so she popped it on my stove and turned the heat to low. Those durn beans still weren’t cooked when it was nearing time for bed, so I cooled the pot off and put it in the refrigerator for the night.

The next morning, I put the chili to simmering again. It was summer so our pace was slower than normal but suddenly I realized it was almost time for tennis camp. Our youngest was spending the morning practicing her tennis stroke and serve with friends at a local club.

We scurried around, gathering equipment, lacing up shoes, applying sun cream and dashed off in the car.

Leaving the chili behind on the stove. Still simmering.

Fast forward an hour or so later to a frantic call from my sister who is the first contact when our home fire alarm goes off at the central station.

“Come home! Your alarm is alarming and the firemen are on the way. I’ll meet you there!”

She lives just half a mile from the house so both she and the firemen beat me home by at least 15 minutes. She unlocked the door to billowing smoke. The first fireman then carried the smoking pot out of the house and into the backyard. (The rest of the house was fine. Thank God.)

As the smoke cleared, he peered into the pot. “What was your sister cooking?” he asked.

“Chili,” she replied, never hinting that it was actually her own pot.

“WITH BEANS?!” he responded at great volume, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.

And, she later informed me in a peal of laughter, that together they both tsk-tsked my absent self. After all, I grew up in Houston. I really should know better.  The nerve.

As I say in my About Me, on this very blog:

“Houston, Texas is my hometown by virtue of sheer years of presence and family still living there: Texas is big and bold and independent and proud. It teaches never give up, never give up, never give up. If you grow up in Houston, Texas, you can go anywhere with confidence.”

As I watch the community efforts and stoic resilience in Houston and all of the affected areas after Hurricane Harvey, I believe that lesson was taught to, and taken to heart by, everyone in Texas.

Today a group of food bloggers is getting together to share Texas recipes, along with a list of possible places to donate time and/or money to help the recovery after Hurricane Harvey. These particular organizations have high scores (85-100 out of a possible 100) on Charity Navigator, which means most of the donations go to helpful services, instead of overhead or soliciting more funds. Or, by all means, give to the charity of your choice! Just check them out on Charity Navigator first.

• Greater Houston Community Foundation 
• Houston Food Bank 
• United Way of Greater Houston 
• South Texas Blood and Tissue Center 
• Food Bank of Corpus Christi 
• L.G.B.T.Q. Disaster Relief Fund 
• Houston Humane Society

Even more are listed in this NPR article: Looking to Help Those Affected by Harvey.

I've made traditional Texas chili - of course, completely beanless, for the occasion.

Four Alarm Texas Chili

Original Texas chili not only does not have beans, it doesn’t have tomatoes either. Yep, that’s right, no tomatoes either. It’s made with chunks of beef, simmered in blend of hot peppers, until tender. Another essential, at least as far as I am concerned, is cumin. I like to use whole cumin near the beginning, then add some ground cumin nearer the end. I call this four alarm Texas chili because it’s got four kinds of peppers, not because it’ll bring the firemen out. (Just don’t leave it home on the stove alone.) We like things spicy! I don’t even remove the seeds, but you surely can if you want to.

Ingredients
2 dried morita chilies, stems removed
2 small hot dried chilies like Arbol or Cascabel, stems removed
2 whole rich fruity dried chilies like Ancho, Mulatto, Negro, or Pasilla, seeds removed
2 whole Chipotle chilies canned in adobo sauce, plus 2 tablespoons sauce, seeds removed
1 kg or 2.2 lbs pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess gristle and fat (reserve the fat and cut into small pieces)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter (or more as needed)
1 large onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons corn masa - this is the fine precooked corn meal that is used to make tortillas and tamales

To serve: grated cheese, minced onion, saltine crackers

Method
Crush the dried chilies up a little with your hands and put them in a measuring jug. Add boiling water up to the 1 cup or 240ml mark. Cover and set aside to soak.

Cut the beef into bite-sized pieces and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Small pile of chopped fat to the left. 

In a large pot, add the butter and the reserved, chopped fat. Render the fat over a low fire, until it starts frying and turns into liquid plus little crispy bits. Remove the crispy bits with a slotted spoon. (If you are feeling particularly devil-may-care about your heart health, sprinkle them with a little salt and eat them.)

Fry the beef in the rendered fat in at least three batches, until it is well browned on one side. Remove to a deep plate with the slotted spoon.

Sauté the chopped onion until softened in the fat, adding a little more butter if needed. Add in the whole cumin seeds and cook, stirring until they release their fragrance. Ah, smell that? Now we are cooking chili.

Add the chipotle peppers to the measuring jug and use a hand blender to puree all of the peppers into a smooth sauce. (Or put it all in a proper blender, if you don’t have a hand blender.)

Gorgeous color, right? 

Pour the pepper sauce into the onion pot and stir. Cook for a few minutes then add the meat back in. Stir well to coat the meat with the sauce.

Add 1 cup or 240ml water to the pot and bring it to a simmer.

Cover and simmer for 2 hours, checking the water level and stirring occasionally. You do not want it to dry out. Add more water, if necessary.

Sprinkle in the cumin powder, stir and simmer for another 30 minutes or so, still covered.

To thicken the chili, whisk your two tablespoons of masa into about 1/4 cup or 60ml cold water in a small bowl. Use a ladle to add about 3/4 cup or 180ml thin chili gravy (leave the meat behind) to the bowl, whisking as each ladle is added.

After two small ladles. 

Pour the masa mixture into the chili pot. Cook over a medium low heat until the chili thickens, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt to taste and serve.

Enjoy!

And let me also say, this was organized before Hurricane Irma swept in to devastate as she did. Another similar event is being planned to bring attention to those needs and the organizations that are trying hard to meet them.

Check out all of the great Texas recipes we are sharing today!

An InLinkz Link-up

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