Honey Baked Chicken II

My husband is obsessed with condiments. He loves ketchup, and he even eats it on his spaghetti. And, yes, it totally grosses me out even though it shouldn't because, well, it's tomatoes. But still. He adores syrup so we buy the lite or sugar-free kind so that when a craving hits he can drink it with a straw. Just kidding about that straw part, well, as far as I know I'm kidding because I haven't actually seen him use a straw. Yet. But his absolute, most-favorite condiment in the world would have to be honey-mustard dressing. He's partial to the Ken's Steakhouse brand, but in a pinch he'll take whatever you've got on hand. We keep it stocked in the pantry so he never runs out, and my mom even keeps it in the fridge for him.

When I saw this recipe it of course jumped off the page, er, screen, at me. Chicken? Honey? Mustard? Sounds like dinner to me.



I like ketchup okay - there were many, many years when I wouldn't touch the stuff, but that all changed when I went to England and I needed to add some taste to my food. (No offense to any of you English readers, but so much of my restaurant food was bland and mushy. I'm sure what you serve in your own homes is much more flavorful!) And I like honey-mustard dressing okay, but I'm more of a ranch or bleu-cheese kinda gal. This was different - I wanted to try it - because it had honey in it. And I do love honey. I love the jars it comes in. I love to chew on the honeycomb. I love to think about the busy little bees making it. And I've loved every beekeeper I've ever met. They have a distinct personality, and, let's face it. You'd have to have a certain kind of personality - calm, cool and collected - to work with bees because bees can hurt you if you're not their friend!



This recipe called for a whole chicken, cut up, and if that's your style by all means go for it. For me, however, it was a bit more work than I wanted to go for so I used my favorite cut of chicken: the thigh. Breasts would work, but they're so less flavorful and so much more expensive. If you're going for cost-conscious eating you should definitely choose a whole chicken - your best bet - or thighs/legs - your second best bet. Most kids prefer legs and thighs, too. And I'd definitely call this a kid-friendly meal. It's been added to our recipe repertoire, and I hope you guys will enjoy it, too! (I served it with steamed veggies and Trader Joe's Israeli Couscous/Harvest Grains Blend. Good stuff, that couscous is.)

Honey Baked Chicken II / AllRecipes / Submitted by B Spradley
Printer-friendly version

Ingredients

1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan, skin side up. Combine the melted butter or margarine, honey, mustard, salt and curry powder and pour the mixture over the chicken. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours (75 minutes), basting every 15 minutes with pan drippings, until the chicken is nicely browned and tender and the juices run clear.

One year ago: I was baking a baby, but that's about all!
Two years ago: Bee Lian's Rich Orange Cake

Blondies with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts

Do you know the difference between blondies and brownies? I do: Blondies are a blond color and brownies are a brown color. Makes sense, right? Right. And how would you describe the texture of brownies? I'd call them chewy.* And blondies? They're chewy, too. So, dear husband of mine, blondies are not chewies because brownies are chewy, too.

Sorry to get you guys involved in our little marital dispute, but my husband's insistence on calling blondies chewies drives me bonkers. Every time I make these, which is pretty often, he calls them chewies and I say no! They're brownies! And ... sorry, there I go again.

If I had to choose I'd choose brownies, but sometimes I want a sweet, chewy dessert with a hint of chocolate, which is exactly where blondies come in. I love their brown-sugary, buttery taste with a bite of chocolate here and there. They're a lot like chocolate-chip cookies, honestly, but more dense. And they're obviously much quicker because there isn't all that scooping and baking sheet by sheet.

So how about you? Brownies or blondies? Or a little of both?

Recipe was originally found in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, Sept. 2007.

*Okay, okay. I give in to the fact that brownies are also often cakey or fudgy or dense. But they're still chewy no matter what! That's why I like them.

1 Year Ago: Cooking, but not much...
2 Years Ago: Carrot Cake III

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin Breakfast Sandwiches

Today is the second anniversary of Confabulation in the Kitchen. Although posting has been sporadic during the past two years - I have in fact kept this place clean and somewhat clear of cobwebs. I find that amazing, and I'm so happy to have you guys as 'Net friends. Food bloggers are some of the nicest people anywhere, and I've been welcomed into the food-blogging community with open arms. And with that I offer you this: Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin Breakfast Sandwiches. As in let's keep it Southern, y'all, like it always has been around here. You see pork tenderloin for dinner, and I see Sunday brunch - with biscuits, fried eggs and some of the most out-of-this-world mustard ever. Oh! And a side of grits, of course.

If you ask me, and we'll pretend you did, pork is hard to cook. In chop form it dries out very easily. In stir-fry form it's easily made chewy. And although smoked pork makes fabulous barbecue, it's also easy to make it hard. So, really, pork and I aren't the best of friends - that is unless you're making it for me, and putting it on a biscuit for breakfast. Pork-tenderloin biscuits are easily my favorite kind - and I can tell you who in town makes the best! Now this pork didn't start out this way - I clearly countrified it, if you know what I mean. Southerners love to fry things, and I'm no exception (just ask my hips), but that doesn't mean it has to be deep-fried (although that's good, too). I pan-fried this pork tenderloin, but that was the second step to its becoming biscuit-worthy. The first step can indeed be dinner the night before, but I knew all along that it was destined for breakfast.



Roasted pork tenderloin is a breeze to make. This recipe involves an easy marinade, a bit of time in the fridge, and minimal time in the oven. Seriously - it couldn't be much simpler - and it's better than takeout, I promise. It's cheaper, too, and as this year will be a much more frugal one for many of us this is a great meal to make. Although pork tenderloin may seem expensive when you're buying it, it really goes far, and if you're a member of Costco - as am I - you'll find really great deals on it all the time. Buy and freeze, I always say, and the groan of my deep freezer in the basement can attest to that fact. I buy and freeze everything these days. (The longer I live in my grandmother's home the more I become like her. Is it the genes? Or is it the beams?)

We've become accustomed to sleeping in on the weekends, and when we hear The Boy stirring we bring him into the bed with us. We play awhile, slowly waking up together, reveling in his smile, and then we shuffle to the kitchen. We turn on the news shows and we crank up the oven. Mornings with my family have become some of the most precious of times for me, and there is nothing better than sharing a good, old-fashioned, Southern breakfast with them. This fits the bill nicely. I hope you'll start the year off with a homemade breakfast with your loved ones, too.

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin
Adapted from Allrecipes
Printer-friendly version

Ingredients
5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
2 (1 pound) pork tenderloins

Directions
1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients; add pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Drain and discard marinade. Place the tenderloins in an 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees F for 25-35 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with pan drippings.

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin Breakfast Biscuits
By Confabulation in the Kitchen

Printer-friendly version

1. Follow directions above for marinated tenderloin, or marinate and cook pork with recipe of your choice. You can also simply cut up raw pork tenderloin and follow the rest of these directions, but you'll have to adjust your cooking times.
2. In a clean bowl, crack two eggs and beat them well. In another clean bowl, add 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Season flour with spices of your choice. (I simply use about 2 teaspoons of Lawry's Season Salt. We're plain jane around here.)
3. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil. (I use vegetable oil so there is no taste, but you can easily use olive oil or another kind of your choice.)
4. Slice cooked pork into inch-thick pieces. Dip each slice in to the egg mixture, then into the flour mixture, coating well. Put in pan and cook until well-browned, about a minute or so, then flip and cook until other side is also well-browned.
5. Serve with biscuits, fried eggs and grits.