Mustard Honey Glazed Chicken thighs... and wine tasting.

I'm constantly coming up with new recipes, but there are only so many days full of creativity. I often pick up recipes from friends, family, magazines... The other night we chose a recipe that was on Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn (one of my favorite cooking shows). I made a few changes (out of convenience) but, you can see her original recipe here.

If you know me personally, you know that I'm a wine lover as much as a food lover. I am also starting a wine blog & thought this sounded like the perfect recipe to combine the two. If you're interested in hearing about the wine we tasted check out the wine selection... or just check out our yummy dinner below.

I mentioned that I made a few changes to the recipe... really, I didn't want to go to the store (this happens a lot). What I'm trying to say is that it's not so limiting going gluten free, this recipe could've been made as is... I was just too lazy to go to the store for fresh skin-on chicken thighs, I had most of the other ingredients on hand. Below is my version of the recipe.

For the Chicken...

• 6 chicken thighs (This is where I cheated- I thawed boneless, skinless- but it turned out great anyway)
• some olive oil (maybe more)
• 1 lemon (juiced)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons gf whole-grain mustard 
• 2 tablespoons honey
• some more olive oil
• a little more salt and pepper

How to make the chicken...

Marinate chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and any herbs you like, for at least 1 hour and up to a day in advance (we marinated them about 3 hours, no additional herbs). Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly coat a baking dish with olive oil, place thighs skin side down (for my version, this meant "pretty" side down).

 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and turn skin side up.

Bake for 10 more minutes. (plenty of time to make the glaze)

To make the glaze, add 2 tbsp mustard, 2 tbsp honey, and 1/3 c oil in a bowl in that order, whisk, add salt and pepper, whisk some more.

Apply glaze with brush or spoon and broil for 5 minutes (I needed to leave them in for 10).

Take out, let rest for a minute or two, and make the dressing.

The Salad...

just about any combination of veggies would be good with this dressing... these are the ingredients that I used

• red romaine lettuce (any really leafy green mix will work well)
• thinly sliced green onion
• thinly sliced fennel
• diced tomatoes
• dressing (see below)

Dressing

• 2 tbsp grainy mustard
• a little honey
• some lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Toss all salad ingredients together, a little dressing goes a long way. An easy way to do this is to use tupperware- just put it all in & shake it up! I wanted to have nice pictures for the blog (won't waste my time again).

I'll get better at taking photos... but believe me when I say this was amazing! The wine pairing was great, the chicken tasted so good that I didn't miss the skin(although, I bet it would crisp up even better) we served with rosemary lemon potatoes that I was able to cook in a separate dish along side the chicken. This meal would've been really easy if I wasn't so worried about pictures and notes!

Yummmmm!

Glossary of terms: basic, common, & some of my own...

Common Baking Measurements & Terms
Many of these terms came directly from www.popularcookierecipes.com (They seemed to have the most understandable, simple dictionary & I really dislike typing)

Beat – To combine multiple ingredients to which you combine air by stirring in a circular motion with a whisk, wooden spoon, food processor, or electric mixer

Blend – To combine multiple ingredients until smooth using a spoon, whisk, rubber spatula, or an electric mixer

Boil – To heat a liquid (usually water) until it is hot enough that bubbles begin to appear

Caramelize – To heat sugar to a point where it melts and becomes brown

Combine – To mix together two or more ingredients

Confectioners Sugar – Also referred to as powdered sugar, it is a refined sugar, finely ground into a white, easily dissolved powder

Cream – To beat multiple ingredients (usually butter, sugar, and eggs) until they are smooth and fluffy

Dash – A very small measurement, normally less than 1/8 teaspoon or two pinches

Dice – To cut any given type of food into small cubes

Dust – To sprinkle lightly with a topping such as flour, sugar, cocoa, or cinnamon

Fold-in – The process of combining a heavy ingredient, such as beaten egg whites, with a lighter ingredient, such as whipped cream, without losing any air in the ingredients

Glaze – To coat food with a liquid substance, such as thin icing

Grate – To shred food, either with the use of a food processor or a hand held grater

Knead – To push and fold dough until it has a smooth, elastic texture

Level – To make even and flat, for instance many recipes call for a cup of leveled flour.

Lukewarm – The temperature (normally referring to a liquid) that is neither cold nor hot

Mix – To stir two or more ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined

Proof – To allow the yeast in dough to cause it to rise before baking, or to dissolve yeast in a warm liquid until it becomes bubbly and starts to expand

Pinch- Technically, the amount of a dry ingredient you can pinch between your thumb and index fingers. For a more precise description, approximately 1/16th of a teaspoon- or half of a dash

Rolling Boil – To cook a liquid to the point where it appears to be rolling around the pot (faster than a normal boil)

Room Temperature – Another term for lukewarm, when an ingredient is neither hot nor cold

Score – To cut a slit into food with a knife

Sift – To remove lumps, blend, and aerate ingredients like baking powder, flour, and confectioners sugar

Tablespoon – a measure of volume or amount used in cooking, 1 Tablespoon = 3 Teaspoons, usually comes in a set of multiple measuring spoons

Teaspoon – a measure of volume or amount used in cooking, 3 Teaspoons = 1 Tablespoon

Toss – To combine multiple ingredients using two utensils and a lifting motion

Whip – To beat rapidly and incorporate air into a mixture through the use of a spoon, or electric mixer

Whisk – a utensil used in cooking, made of wire loops for beating and whipping ingredients

Zest - The grated peel of a citrus fruit, such as lemons and oranges



My Measurements
Since I have not been trained in baking and often find my self using terms like "ish," "a dab," "a touch," "some" I thought a glossary of my vocabulary might also be in order. Also, since I feel as though this is a conversation, I may be more casual with my terms than is needed for baking (aka: chemistry) So, here it is... It may not be precise, but at least you have some idea what I'm trying to express. (I'll try to update this soon & as I introduce new words.)



Ish can be used with a measurement of time, amount, distance, volume... it doesn't matter. Ish is a qualifier meaning "or so" or "approximately". Sometimes it's my way of telling you: "you don't have to be exact here"

Some may be used in the following ways... ... ... ... When using the word some, I mean... that the precise measurement is either unknown or not important

more of these terms coming soon (ish)...