Cat Cora's Cinnamon Chicken

So I haven't bought meat to cook for about a year now.  The reasoning could be a whole series of posts, so I'll just say it's for environmental/economic reasons; I still eat meat, but I don't when I can avoid it.  This is a dish I made once before I stopped cooking meat and it's probably the first thing I will do when I buy chicken again.  But even better: my family does eat meat and really prefer not to constantly eat vegetarian food like I do.  My mom said we should make a simple chicken dish last week, and I recommended this, since it is one of my favorites.  As many people know (and I've probably mentioned more than a few times), I really love cinnamon.  So I'm just going to copy the recipe, I didn't make any modifications this time.  But my grad student I don't want to deal with chicken way of making it last time was using boneless skinless chicken breasts, I think I used 3 when I did it that way.  I think it's awesome served with broccoli, but that's usually my go to green vegetable too.  And it's really easy to plate nicely. Then again, my parents' plates make everything look a little nicer than mine.  So I'm just going to copy the recipe, I feel bad not giving you any of my own touches, but like I said, it's probably my favorite chicken dish, so I thought it was worthwhile to share.  It comes from Cat Cora via the Oprah website.  Oh, I guess my one note is that I didn't think 2 1/2 tsp was enough rub, so I made a lot more, mostly by adding extra cinnamon (go figure).

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients

Greek Cinnamon Stewed Chicken

• 1 chicken (2 1/2 to 3 pounds), cut into 8 pieces (legs, breast and thighs)
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cloves garlic , peeled and minced
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion , peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 cups water
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. dried Italian herb seasoning
• 1 cup orzo , cooked according to package directions
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preboil water with sea salt.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. A wet chicken will cause the oil to splatter while the chicken is sautéing. Mix the cinnamon, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the chicken pieces on all sides with the seasoning.

Heat the olive oil in a large, nonreactive, deep skillet over high heat. A 12-inch skillet with sides about 2 1/2 to 3 inches high will allow you to brown all the chicken at once. If you don't have a skillet large enough, brown them in two batches using 1/2 the oil for each batch. What's important is that the chicken isn't overcrowded, which would cause them to steam rather than brown.

Add the chicken to the oil and brown for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn the pieces using a metal spatula, as they have a tendency to stick to the pan. Remove the pieces when they are well browned on all sides.

Mince three of the garlic cloves. Lower the heat to medium-high, and add the onions and minced garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onions have softened and are a rich golden brown. Add about 1/2 cup of the water and scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula or spoon to deglaze the pan, loosening any particles stuck on the bottom.

When the water has evaporated, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water, tomato paste, Italian seasoning and remaining 2 garlic cloves, minced.

Return the chicken to the pan. The liquid should cover about 3/4 of the chicken pieces. Cover the pot and simmer over medium-high heat for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. If the sauce becomes too thick, it can be thinned with a little more water. Season the finished sauce with kosher salt and pepper to taste. Serve over orzo, cooked according to package directions, and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Cookies

So I took my second qual on Friday and it didn't go so well. What is the easy solution to a bad mood? Baking of course! So I called a friend and we decided to make some cookies for our friends at Case to welcome them back the school year. They are two recipes I've been meaning to make, but haven't really had a reason to make 3 dozen cookies. Because if I had 3 dozen cookies in my apartment, I would eat them in about 3 days, which probably isn't healthy.


Black Forest Cookies

These might give a run for my favorite cookies except for the fact that the chocolate chunks melted a little too much and you couldn't tell they were in there. Maybe we overbaked them a little? I usually bake my cookies a little less than the suggested time so they are still kind of goopy and half crumbly, but we had to bake the full time since they are traveling cookies. Oh well, they are chocolatey with a the tartness of dried cherries and I just love that.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 package (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks
• 1 1/2 cups dried cherries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder; and salt; set aside.
2. Place chopped chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; whisk in sugars, then eggs, until smooth.
3. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Fold in chocolate chunks and dried cherries; press plastic wrap directly onto surface of dough, and refrigerate until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.
4. Drop mounds of dough (equal to 2 level tablespoons) about 2 inches apart onto prepared sheets. Bake just until edges are firm (but not darkening), 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Swirl Cookies

These did not turn out well, but they taste good. They just look bad. My friend may have forgotten some flour because the dough was extremely sticky and then didn't hold together when they baked. Also my recommendation for these is to either do it in a cool place, or stick the dough in the fridge after you put the crumblies on top, immediately before you roll it. It's easier to roll when it is cold (roll the parchment, not just the dough). Then refridgerate it (or even freeze it a little) before cutting it, and use a sharp knife. I did this and mine turned out better than my friend's. Also, you might want to make more filling, I didn't feel like there was enough. The picture shows the goopy messiness. But like I said, tasty. And you can definitely taste the orange, so you might want to put a little less in so it is more subtle.

• FOR THE DOUGH
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
• 2 large eggs
• FOR THE FILLING
• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (1 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Make the dough: Sift flour, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Beat butter, sugar, and orange zest with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture gradually, and beat until just combined. Divide dough in half, wrap each half in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour (or overnight).
2. Turn half the dough onto floured parchment. Roll into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle, then trim edges straight. Repeat with remaining half of dough. Transfer rectangles on parchment to a baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm but pliable, about 10 minutes.
3. Make the filling: Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Crumble mixture evenly over rectangles. Starting on a long side, roll 1 rectangle into a log, and wrap it in the parchment. Repeat with remaining rectangle. Refrigerate logs for 1 hour (or overnight).
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each log crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake until edges are golden brown, about 19 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for these, I got them from "The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" in an article at Christmas time featuring less traditional Christmas cookies (the chocolate raspberry raviolis were a huge hit at our family Christmas party, as well). We were going to make them, bought all the ingredients and then lost the recipe. I managed to find it online and saved the recipe to my computer. These might be the best cookies I've ever made. Okay, I love the standard Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe, probably more than anything. One of the best excluding those (I mean, come on, as much as I love them, they are kind of boring). These are very good, a great chocolate flavor with a little more interest than just that. Without further ado:

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

5 ounces bittersweet (60% to 70%) chocolate, coarsely chopped

¾ cup flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Dash of black pepper

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 ¼ cups sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, room temperature

1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place chocolate in a small glass bowl; microwave on high (100% power) 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Set aside.

In small bowl, combine flour and seasonings and stir to combine. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat sugar and butter with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended, about 5 minutes. Add egg and beat well. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; beat just until blended. Add reserved flour mixture; stir until combined.

Drop dough by level teaspoons 2 inches apart on cookie sheets coated with vegetable oil spray. Bake in preheated oven 6 to 8 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until set. Remove from pans; cool completely on a wire rack.