Spring Chicken

Spring. I so look forward to Spring. It is my favorite season. I love the promise that it holds for a glorious summer. Flowers are blooming, the grass is turning greener, and we get to enjoy so much more sunshine in our day. This also means that sandal weather is here. So, as I was contemplating the color of the nail polish to paint my toes, Mother Nature tossed me a surprise. Bare toes - no, no, no. I had to grab socks and throw on a sweater. Shows what I know... It's cold here!

Nothing is worse than being teased with sunny warm days and then have to regroup with coats and comforters. So on this unusually cold day, I felt the overwhelming urge to have something roasting in the oven. I wanted a warm oven to help heat the house. I wanted to have delicious smells emanate from the oven and fill the house with a toasty warmth. Not to succumb to the pressures of a chilly day, I decided to add a little zest to the dish. The smells of freshly cut lemons and oranges certainly brightened up the day. Mother Nature, beware, I still have summer in my sights!




Garlic Citrus Chicken was the perfect dish to roast. First of all, it is super simple. It's as simple as quartering some fresh citrus, stuffing it into the chicken, roasting, and basting with a yummy citrus marinade. The fresh fruit gives the chicken a very bright flavor. When the chicken comes out of the oven, it is so moist and juicy. It was the perfect comfort food, and it really hit the spot. Brown rice with dried apricots and garlic sauteed spinach with pancetta rounded out supper. It was fantastic.

Garlic and Citrus Chicken
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

1 (5 to 6-pound) whole roasting chicken, neck and giblets discarded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise, plus 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (14-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
Kitchen string or butcher twine

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, and garlic halves. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string to help hold its shape. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
Place a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack in the pan. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting occasionally and adding some chicken broth to the pan, if necessary, to prevent the pan drippings from burning.

Whisk the orange juice, lemon juice, oil, oregano, and chopped garlic in a medium bowl to blend. Brush some of the juice mixture over the chicken, after it has baked 1hour. Continue roasting the chicken until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F, basting occasionally with the juice mixture and adding broth to the pan, about 45 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Tent with foil while making the sauce (do not clean the pan).

Place the same roasting pan over medium-low heat. Whisk in any remaining broth and simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1 cup, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Strain into a 2-cup glass measuring cup and discard the solids. Spoon the fat from the top of the sauce. Serve the chicken with the pan sauce.

Snow...SNOW?!?!

I never thought I would begin with the word Snow. Living in the South gives me very few opportunities to see snowfall. But that is exactly what happened yesterday. In the South, if the weatherman even hints of a winter storm all havoc breaks loose. Schools are closed, work is closed early, and don't forget that the milk and bread disappear from grocers shelves faster than you can shake a stick! I can't even talk about the increase in battery sales to compensate for the fear of losing electricity!! It began earlier in the week, the predictions - that is. "Georgia needed to hunker down for a wintery mix." I must tell you, I wasn't impressed. I didn't give it a second thought. They get it wrong so often...

So, yesterday morning, I awoke to a cloudy day, very overcast, and very cold (for Georgia standards). I made my coffee and settled in for a hard day at work. The weather was pretty uneventful until about 3:30pm. I was deep in thought and barely glanced outside the window, when my eye caught something. Low and behold, to my surprise, it was SNOWING. It was pretty snow. It was light and fluffy with enormous flakes. If I wasn't such a sissy in cold weather, I would have run outside in my barefeet!! So, I grabbed a camera and recorded this event for historical purposes. Here is the proof of the beautiful snow. The snow that fell in Georgia.



The snow continued until about 6:30 pm. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I can almost understand why people live in areas with frequent snowfall...well, almost. The wintery storm came in like a lamb and pretty much left us that way as well. Peaceful.

So, what does this have to do with food?!? Nothing. I just couldn't write about my chicken without talking about the beautiful snow!! Since, I was "snowed in", I had to make due with ingredients on hand. I had some very nice chicken cutlets and didn't want a boring chicken dinner. I mean, I could have just grilled the chicken, but that didn't sound good. So, I made a parmesean breading for my chicken and pan-seared it. I served it with a nice easy green salad. It was a light dinner, but it hit the spot!! I guess you can tell from my plate.




Parmesean Chicken
8 chicken cutlets (you can use 4 chicken breasts as well)
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of grated parmesean cheese
1 cup of Italian fine breadcrumbs (I crushed mine in a mini-food processor)
2 eggs
Splash of milk
salt and pepper

Set up a breading station with flour, then egg wash, then breadcrumbs.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a plate. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs with a splash of milk. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese.
Begin with the flour, coat the chicken breasts on both sides. Then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb parmesean mixture, making sure to coat evenly.

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken cutlets for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more oil and cook the rest of the chicken cutlets.

What to Drink: Well, I must admit, I only drank water. Can you believe it? It is true. In my defense, it was a work night and my hubby has a very bad cold. But, if I were going to pair this with a wine, I would have chosen a very crisp and cool Rombauer Chardonnay. It would have worked well with the parmesean chicken. Sigh.....next time. It makes me want a glass right now.

Until we can visit again, raise a glass and Cheers to You!!