COVID19: Homeburger Dinner

When I was a kid, I could really look down my nose at a lot of really tasty eats, and one of the things I judged particularly harshly was a hamburger served on sliced, white bread.

To my immature sensibilities, a hamburger without a store-bought bun wasn't really a hamburger, and I probably stomped my foot on the floor and said something snotty to my mother about having the unmitigated gall to feed the family such nonsense.

Back in those days, a hamburger with more on it that the aforementioned bun was also not really a hamburger, either. It was a disastrous lie full of icky stuff like onions and mustard and tomato.

I still don't do the tomato part - that's another blog post for another day - but I have overcome my aversion to "homeburgers" (hamburgers on sliced, white bread), and these days I really dress'em up with good stuff. This one has mustard, ketchup, Duke's mayonnaise, sliced onion, and arugula (aka "rocket") we grew ourselves in the little bed below the driveway.

A few nights ago, as Jack and I eagerly talked about what goodness would be in our weekly grocery pick-up, he suggested thawing a pack of ground beef and making burgers. We had ten or so little-bitty potatoes which were easily turned into delicious salad with the addition of some chopped onion, green pepper, and celery. Jack always bakes them with a nice smear of duck fat, a liberal sprinkle of kosher salt, and no foil at 400 degrees, and they are always perfect for both eating hot and using later in salads, soups, or riced into a casserole (instead of hash browns.)

Five eggs took a trip through the Instant Pot and got deviled. I decorated them with little bits of asparagus pickle, olive, and the one radish we've harvested this spring. They were fancy-goofy but delicious.

The snap peas are some of my special garlicky-fermented ones and a great foil for the creamy potatoes and dressy eggs.

Jack and I both cleaned our plates.

Winner, Winner! Chicken Dinner!!

When my birthday rolled around a couple of weeks ago and Jack asked what I wanted to do to celebrate the occasion, I gave his question some serious thought. Eating out is great, and with Nashville becoming America's sweetheart for all the foodie types, we have almost countless options two hours away, but good restaurant food is expensive, and when Jack and  put our kitchen skills together to collaborate on something, we can generally make something spectacular without having to either spend a fortune or four hours in the car.

I gave Cynthia a great cookbook for Christmas. It's from the Cook's Illustrated series and provides a comprehensive mix of recipes and kitchen techniques designed to work simply and consistently. Once I'd had a chance to spend time looking through it, I wanted one. Among my Christmas gifts was an Amazon gift card from Sis, Chris, and the girls, and before I went to bed on Christmas night, I'd ordered my very own Cook's Illustrated book - The Science of Good Cooking.

Unlike many cookbooks, this one doesn't have big, colorful photos of the dishes - every page is filled with the information you need to make the recipes as delicious and well-prepared as possible. Recipes contain notes to explain why certain techniques and ingredients work better than others and positions home cooks to improve almost everything they make from biscuits to hamburgers and beyond.

In the months since Christmas, one particular recipe kept catching my eye - Orange and Honey Glazed Chicken - and with coconut rice and roasted vegetables, it is what I chose for my birthday dinner celebration.

It was surprisingly easy to prepare, and the dish came together exactly as the recipe described.

Jack and I both loved the meal - it was absolutely delicious!!

I've put my own spin on the instructions to stay out of copyright trouble and give full credit to the creator of this recipe --

Orange and Honey Glazed Chicken

2 chicken breasts, bone-in and split along the breast-bone

5 oranges, juiced

1/2 cup white corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 shallot, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375. 

Whisk together 1 and 1/2 cups of the orange juice, the corn syrup, honey, mustard, vinegar, red pepper flakes, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in a medium bowl. Use corn syrup instead of sugar, because it will help the chicken stay moist during baking and is less likely to burn than dry sugar.

Pat chicken dry, and in a shallow dish lightly flour each chicken breast.

Heat oil in an ovensafe 12 inch skillet over medium heat until the oil shimmers. Add chicken, skin side down, and cooking until well-browned, about 12 minutes. Reduce the heat slightly, if the chicken begins to scorch. Flip the chicken breasts and brown the rib side for about five minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter.

Pour off all but about a teaspoon of the fat from the skillet, add shallot, and cook until softened - about two minutes. Increase heat to high and add orange juice mixture. Simmer, stirring frequently until syrupy and reduced to one cup, about 10 - 12 minutes. 

Remove the pan from heat, and using tongs, roll each chicken breast in the glaze until evenly coated. It helps to carefully tilt the pan to pool the glaze on one side of the skillet. Arrange chicken, skin side down, in the skillet, and transfer it to preheated oven. (Rack should be positioned in the middle of the oven.) Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, flipping chicken over to skin side up halfway through the bake.

Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest for five minutes. Carefully return the skillet to high heat - remember the handle will be hot - and cook glaze, stirring constantly, until thick and syrupy, about 1 - 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the remaining orange juice.

Spoon sauce over chicken breasts, and serve. You can reserve part of the sauce for "dipping," if you choose.

The roasted veggies and coconut rice were perfect side dishes for the meal, but I'll save those for a different day.