I love a meal that delivers bold flavors without much work! This Mexican-inspired recipe is just that kind of dish: flavorful spice-rubbed chicken thighs served with a chipotle-spiked, garlicky roasted red pepper sauce. Delish!

I didn’t have ground chipotle chile (available in the spice aisle) so I substituted about 1/2 teaspoon of chopped canned chipotle chile (in adobo sauce) and added it to the spice mixture. Once I mixed the chopped chipotle chile in with the spices, I tossed the chicken with oil then rubbed it with the spice mixture. I also used 1 teaspoon of chopped chipotle chile to make the sauce. I chopped the garlic then threw it along with the other sauce ingredients into the food processor. I pureed the sauce until it was smooth. If you like lots of sauce then you might want to double the sauce recipe so you can serve with the chicken and drizzle on rice or roasted potatoes.

Broiled Chicken Thighs with Chipotle Sauce
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine  

Roasted red peppers and spicy, smoky ground chipotle chiles make this sauce a knockout. Serve with roasted potatoes. Serves 4.

1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. packed light brown sugar
3/4 tsp. ground chipotle chile
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Kosher salt
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 13/4 lb.), trimmed
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium clove garlic
1 large or 2 small jarred roasted red peppers, drained
1 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler on high. In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp. of the cumin, the sugar, 1/4 tsp. of the chipotle, the cinnamon, and 1 tsp. salt. In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with 1 Tbs. of the oil, and then toss with the spice mixture.

Arrange the chicken on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil and broil until the chicken browns lightly on top, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and continue to broil until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

Meanwhile, coarsely chop the garlic and sprinkle it with 1/4 tsp. salt. Using the flat side of a chef’s knife, smear and mash the garlic and salt together to form a coarse paste. Transfer the garlic paste to a food processor and add the roasted red pepper, the remaining 2 Tbs. oil, the remaining 1/2 tsp. each of cumin and chipotle, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Purée into a smooth sauce.

Garnish the chicken with the cilantro and serve with the sauce.

Tags: chicken thighs, chipotle chile, chipotle sauce, roasted red peppers

I made these flavorful chicken tacos the other night when we had friends over for dinner. They’re easy, delicious, and the chicken can be made ahead of time and reheated…always a bonus for entertaining!

For the marinade, I substituted 1/2 of a canned chipotle pepper (chopped) and a little of it’s adobo sauce for the jalapeno, and added a bit more OJ to tone down the heat. The chipotles added a nice smoky flavor to the chicken that blended well with the citrus and herb flavors. I offered both flour and corn tortillas for the tacos and served them with a variety of toppings: avocado, sour cream, salsa, etc. YUMM!!!

Citrus & Herb Marinated Chicken Tacos
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine (by Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger)
 
The marinade for the chicken is delicious: citrusy, herby, and fresh tasting. Yields enough for 12 small tacos.

2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice    
2 to 3 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and seeded
7 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. black peppercorns
1 Tbs. salt
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves and stems included (about 1 cup)
2 lb. chicken legs and thighs

In a food processor or blender, combine 1/3 cup of the orange juice, the jalapeños, garlic, peppercorns, and salt. Purée until the peppercorns are completely crushed. Add the cilantro and remaining 1/3 cup orange juice and purée until smooth. In a ceramic or glass ovenproof dish, toss the chicken with the marinade, rubbing it on to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.

Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake the chicken in the pan it was marinated in until the meat easily pulls away from the bone, about 40 min. Set the chicken aside to cool. Pour the juices from the pan into a bowl or cup and reserve. Refrigerate the juices so that the fat rises to the top. When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and shred the meat into bite-size pieces. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.

When ready to serve, skim off the fat that has risen to the top of the reserved cooking juices. Use the remaining liquid to moisten the shredded chicken as you reheat it.

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Tags: chicken thighs, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno chiles, orange juice, peppercorns

Thai food makes me happy! I love all the exotic spices and flavors associated with it. A good curry is a harmony of many different flavors working together to become one. Fortunately for the home cook, many grocery stores now sell Thai curry paste in their Asian food section, which makes it much easier to make a good curry at home. I tried this recipe recently when, Oh joy, I had everything on hand to make the dish. Husband & I loved it!

I wanted more spice and curry flavor so I added a few more tablespoons of red curry paste. I also added mushrooms, celery and broccoli to the simmering curry, although I waited until the end of cooking to add the broccoli and snap peas so they would be bright green and crisp tender. Serve with steamed rice and enjoy!

For other recipe ideas & blogs, check out: Foodie Friday, Finer Things Friday, Friday Favorites, New Friend Friday, It’s A Hodgepodge Friday, Company Girl Coffee.

Thai Red Curry with Chicken & Vegetables
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

This recipe is easily adaptable to serve meat-lovers and vegetarians alike: see the variation below to serve one vegetarian. Serve with jasmine rice. Serves four.
 
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 Tbs. red Thai curry paste
2 cups snap peas, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal
2 large shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 2-inch-long strips
One 13.5- to 14-oz. can coconut milk
6 wild lime leaves (magrut or kaffir lime;optional)
1 Tbs. light brown sugar
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5), cut into 1- to 1-1/2-inch pieces
1 cup loosely packed Thai basil (or regular basil, torn into small pieces)
2 Tbs. fish sauce, more to taste
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. fresh lime juice
Kosher salt
 
Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 20 seconds. Take the pan off of the heat and stir in the snap peas, shallots, pepper, coconut milk, lime leaves (if using), sugar, and 1 cup water. Stir to combine.

Add the chicken, bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the basil, fish sauce, and lime juice. Let rest off the heat for 5 minutes. Season to taste with fish sauce or salt.

Variations:
To serve 1 vegetarian and 3 meat-lovers: After stirring in the vegetables, coconut milk, lime leaves, and water, transfer about 1 cup of the curry mixture to a 2-quart saucepan. To this smaller pan, add 4 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1/4 cup of the basil, and 1 tsp. of the lime juice.

With the remaining curry mixture in the 3-quart saucepan, finish the master recipe above to serve the 3 meat lovers, reducing the amount of chicken to 12 oz.

Tags: chicken thighs, fish sauce, lime, red curry paste, red pepper, shallot, Thai

These Asian-inspired chicken thighs grill up tender and flavorful, and take only minutes to prepare. Chinese five-spice powder is a blend of spices that has the five different flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty. For this recipe, the five-spice (and a few other basic ingredients) are turned into a rub for the chicken. After grilling, the chicken thighs are tossed with a soy sauce and rice vinegar mixture and sprinkled with freshly chopped cilantro. To round out the meal, serve with steamed jasmine rice and some stir-fried veggies or an Asian slaw. Delicious!

For other recipe ideas, check out Foodie Friday.

Grilled Five-Spice Chicken Thighs with Soy-Vinegar Sauce & Cilantro
-recipe by Pamela Anderson for Fine Cooking Magazine
 
Serves four to six.

2 Tbs. Chinese five-spice powder
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2-1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 large, 10 medium, or 12 small), trimmed of excess fat
2 Tbs. vegetable oil; more for the grill
3 Tbs. chopped cilantro

Mix the five-spice powder, the 1 Tbs. sugar, the garlic powder, and the salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1 tsp. sugar.

Put the chicken in a shallow pan, drizzle with the vegetable oil, and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the chicken; toss and rub to coat thoroughly.

Prepare a hot charcoal fire or heat a gas grill with all burners on medium high for 10 min. Clean the hot grate with a wire brush and then lubricate it with an oil-soaked paper towel. Put the chicken on the grate and grill (covered on a gas grill or uncovered over a charcoal fire) until one side has dark grill marks, 5 to 6 min. for large thighs or 4 to 5 min. for medium and small thighs. Turn and continue to grill until well marked on the other sides and cooked through, 5 to 6 min. longer for large thighs or 4 to 5 min. for medium and small thighs.

Move the thighs to a serving dish. Drizzle with about half of the soy mixture, sprinkle with the cilantro, and toss to coat. Let rest 4 to 5 min., tossing once or twice. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, with the remaining soy mixture passed at the table.

Variations:
To prepare as kebabs: Trim the thighs and then slice them lengthwise into 1-1/2- to 2-inch-wide strips. Toss with the flavorings; then thread the chicken onto six 8- or 12-inch skewers (soak wood skewers in water for at least 20 min. first), folding each strip in half as you skewer it. If some strips are very thick, cut them in half crosswise rather than folding them so that all the pieces of chicken are roughly the same size. Grill the kebabs, turning them every 4 to 5 min. as dark grill marks form, until cooked through, 12 to 15 min. total.

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Tags: chicken thighs, Chinese five-spice, crushed red pepper flakes, Grilling/BBQ, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce