Volume 8, Issue 078 - April 20, 2005

Hello Recipe Club,

I love to grill chicken. I usually brine my chicken prior to grilling or baking for that matter. A simple brine consists of 1 quart of water, 1/4 cup of Kosher salt and 1/8 cup each of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Mix until dry ingredients are thoroughly dissolved. Use just enough to cover your pieces. I will brine a whole bird for up to 4 hours and pieces for about 2 hours. Be very sure to rinse the meat very thoroughly before cooking. Brines can be enhanced with herbs and spices like rosemary and pepper. This brine recipe will also work well with pork chops.

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Cathy is an above-average cook and recipe collector from Texas. Over the years, she has compiled well over 2,000,000 recipes and has released her first CD with 35 categories that include a total of 35,206 recipes! Chef2Chef.net and Cathy would like to offer this CD for a limited time only at the price of $19.95, plus a small S&H charge. This amazing collection comes with searching capabilities and makes wonderful gifts. Click Here to Purchase An Amazing 35,206 Recipes On One CD! $2.00 from every sale goes toward the Chef2Chef Culinary Scholarship Fund.

Thai Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

6 coriander (cilantro) sprigs, with stems
1/2 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce or chili flakes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 boneless chicken breasts, with skin
1 head leaf lettuce
coriander
mint springs
3 green onions, slivered

Tart Sweet Dipping Sauce:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese chili sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup carrot, shredded

Preparation:

In a blender or by hand, combine coriander, chili sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic and sugar. Spread on chicken and marinate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat broiler or barbecue. Broil chicken skin side down for 4 minutes. Turn and broil 4 minutes longer until skin is crispy and chicken is cooked through. Cut chicken in 1/2-inch strips.

Place lettuce leaves on platter and arrange chicken on top. Garnish with coriander, mint sprigs and green onions.

To eat in the Thai manner, roll chicken in lettuce leaves along with herbs and onions. Dip into dipping sauce. Alternatively, serve lettuce, chicken and garnishes together.

Tart Sweet Dipping Sauce:

Combine sugar, water and vinegar. Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, fish sauce and chili sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes. Cook and add lime juice and shredded carrot.

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Chicken Enchiladas Banderas

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
2 cups canned tomatoes, mashed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
corn tortillas
oil
Salsa Colorado (recipe below)
Salsa Verde (recipe below)
sour cream

Salsa Colorado:

24 mild red chilies, dried
4 tablespoons oil
10 garlic cloves, minced
salt to taste
6 tablespoons flour

Salsa Verde:

4 pounds tomatillos, peeled
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

Preparation:

In large pot, boil chicken in water to cover until tender, reserve 2 cups broth. Bone and dice chicken. Add chicken, tomatoes, onion, salt and garlic to reserved broth, boil for 10 minutes or until reduced enough for enchilada filling. Strain.

Heat a bit of oil in a small skillet, press each tortillas into the hot oil a few seconds to soften them and make them more pliable to roll. Stuff with chicken filling.

Roll filled tortillas and place in baking dish. Cover one-third of the enchiladas (long ways) with Salsa Verde, the center third with the sour cream, and the final third with Salsa Colorado. The result should resemble the Mexican flag. Bake at 375 degrees until thoroughly heated, for about 25 minutes.

Salsa Colorado:

Wash chilies, stem and seed. Cook in boiling water to cover well for 10 minutes or until soft. Remove and drain. Reserve liquid. Place chilies in blender with reserved water, and whirl until you achieve a pasty consistency.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic and flour and cook, stirring until flour browns. Add chili paste slowly to mix well with flour until a smooth paste is achieved. When all the chili paste is added, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook until it thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Thin with water to a thick, saucy consistency.

Salsa Verde:

Boil tomatillos in small amount of water until tender, blend in food processor. In skillet, sauté onions in oil. Add puréed tomatillos, salt and garlic.

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Chicken in Spicy Orange Sauce

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, each piece cut into 4
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup orange juice
1 green or red pepper, cut into strips
grated rind of one orange
1/4 teaspoon red pepper, crushed
1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
1/2 teaspoon oregano, dried
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
4 thin slices orange for garnish
chopped parsley for garnish

Preparation:

Skin and bone chicken. Heat oil in heavy skillet.

Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika and roll chicken in mixture. Reserve excess flour. Brown chicken in oil, transfer to small baking dish.

In same oil, sauté onion and garlic until soft. Sprinkle in any of the flour left over from coating the chicken and stir to blend. Cook for 4 minutes over medium low heat. Stir in the chicken stock and orange juice. Add green or red pepper, orange rind, red peppers, cumin, oregano, lemon juice and parsley. Cook till sauce is thick and smooth. Pour over chicken.

Bake, covered at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Garnish with sliced oranges and parsley.