Molasses Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Potato Mash

The other night I was thinking about our Cuban dinner and was craving those flavors but wanted something quick and simple. So, I did what I normally do in a situation like this... I turned to Williams-Sonoma to hunt down a recipe.


I ended up finding a molasses chicken, which was reminiscent of both the molasses beans and the chicken from our Cuban meal. I decided that it would be fun as a sandwich so Aric grilled the molasses chicken (Gardein chicken for me) then we smothered it between fresh spinach leaves, ranch dressing, red onions, asiago cheese and two toasted pieces of focaccia bread. It not only looked divine, it tasted divine too.


We paired that with the oh so delicious sweet potato mash from Thanksgiving for a twist on the traditional  potato side dish.


A quick and simple dinner that is tasty and looks great - you can't ask for much more than that.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. canola oil
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1 chicken, about 4 lb., cut into 8 pieces
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Make the bourbon-molasses sauce

Prepare a hot fire in a grill.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the ketchup, molasses, vinegar and bourbon and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Grill the chicken

Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper. Lightly oil the grill rack. Place the chicken pieces, skin side down, on the rack over the drip pan, positioning the legs, thighs and wings closest to the heat. Cover the grill and cook, turning the pieces occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh or breast (not touching bone) reads 170°F, about 50 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of grilling, brush the pieces generously with the sauce. Remove from the grill and serve. 

Serves 4. 

Havana Nights!

I am ashamed to say that it took me almost a complete year to really delve into Bobby Flay’s Throw Down cookbook, which Dawn gave me as a Valentine's Day present last year. It had nothing to do with my interest in the recipes inside. Simply, that just about every time I would go on a recipe hunt I used the internet since I wasn’t at my house. But after the smashing success of Bobby’s Mac & Cheese, I decided to see what other recipes intrigued me. It didn’t take me long. Actually, I now have a Throw Down recipe waiting list. In particular, there are several chicken recipes that I want to take a shot at. The ironic thing here is that not more than a year ago, I hated chicken. The only form of chicken I would eat was nugget form. I don’t really have a reason. Maybe I just had some really bad experiences, but I never seemed to find any chicken that I liked. But then like many things, Dawn perked my interest. I can’t remember if it was due to a chicken dish she made me, or if it was her suggestion that I BBQ some chicken, which led to my first original Aric Merrill recipe, Raspberry Chicken (which I will post about after Christmas), but it worked. Chicken is my new favorite food to cook. Let’s get back on track here.

As I was saying, I identified several dishes that I wanted to prepare, but was most interested by Bobby Flay’s Cuban Pork with Sour Orange Sauce. Now some of you may be confused since I spent the whole first paragraph rattling on about chicken, and those of you who know me may be confused because you know I don’t eat pork. Well the marinade and the mojo dipping sauce for this Cuban pork sounded so amazing so decided I had to try it and thought it would go great with Chicken; I was not disappointed. The Cuban pork got me all riled up and I decided that we needed to do a cultural theme so I found a great recipe for a Cuban salad to pair with the chicken. Let’s delve into the salad straight away.

Avocado & Pineapple Salad

The salad itself its incredibly simple. Just combine the following items:

Shredded iceberg lettuce
2 Cups Pineapple Chunks
1 Large Avocado, peeled and cut into cubes
1 Small onion, sliced thin

This recipe did come with its own simple vinaigrette dressing, but I found the following recipe for a Cuban Mango Mojo that sounded to die for, and I figured it would make a wicked good salad dressing.

Cuban Mango Mojo

2 Cups fresh mango
½ Cup fresh lime juice
½ cup fresh orange juice
1 red onion, diced
¼ Cup garlic, chopped
¼ Cup ginger, chopped
1Tbsp. sugar
1 Bunch Cilantro, minced
2 Cups Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

A few points of interest. This is the original recipe. It makes a lot of Mojo. I cut up 2 fresh mangos, used the juice from 2-3 fresh limes, used store bought OJ, used about ½ an onion, used about 4 cloves of garlic, and much closer to 1/8 cup of ginger, and no more than 2/3 cup of olive oil. But play it by ear to see what seems to be working for you.

Directions:

Mix the all the ingredients into a blender and puree. Use the olive oil to get to the consistency you desire. Use the salt & Pepper to season to your preferred taste. Once completed, simply pour over the salad and enjoy.


Bobby Flay’s Cuban Pork (or Chicken) with Sour Orange Sauce

Interestingly enough, Bobby’s recipe differs ever so slightly from the recipe I have posted here, which was found on the internet, to the one he has in his cook book.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups fresh orange juice, divided
1 1/4 cups fresh lime juice, divided
1 orange, zested
1 lime, zested
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh oregano, divided
12 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bone-in pork shoulder (about 4 to 6-pounds), trimmed of excess fat (I used a couple of chicken breasts)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mojo Dipping Sauce, recipe follows

Directions:

Combine 4 cups of the orange juice and 1 cup of the lime juice and zest in a large saucepan over high heat and reduce to 2 cups. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining orange juice and lime juice add a few cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup of the oregano. Let cool to room temperature.

Using a paring knife, make small slits over the entire surface of the pork and rub the garlic into the slashes. Whisk together the oil and remaining 1/4 cup of the oregano in a large roasting pan, add the pork and turn to coat, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. I also grilled my chicken on the BBQ. The BBQ season is rapidly coming to an end, so I’m using every excuse in the book to get outside and grill.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue roasting, basting with the marinade during the last 30 minutes of roasting until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 150 degrees F. Remove from the oven, baste with any remaining glaze, tent loosely and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Mojo Dipping Sauce:

8 cloves garlic
1 serrano chile, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
Salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic, serrano, cilantro and a few pinches of salt until it becomes a paste. Add the orange juice, lime juice and oil and stir to combine.

Dawn will be following up with a post explaining the beans you've seen in the photos throughout this post.

Ranch Club Panini

Sometimes when I need some inspiration on what to cook next, instead of turning to a cookbook, I start rummaging through the kitchen to see what gadgets or appliances haven’t been used recently, then find something to make with it. Given the amount of kitchen appliances and the lack of storage space, things tend to get lost in the back recesses of the cupboards, but last week, the Panini press got to see the light of day.

I decided to check out Williams-Sonoma for panini recipes (I know, I know, I sound like a broken record about the place but I really love it!) and was intrigued by the Ranch Club Panini. It was a bit of a twist on just a plain Chicken Club sandwich, plus it had avocado and it had cheese (which is the new chocolate for Aric and I – see his post on the Mac and Cheese). It sounded like a great Friday night dinner.

I used Gardein chick’n for myself (they have wonderful meatless options for us vegetarians) and a thin cut of chicken breast for Aric. If you can’t get your hands on the Williams-Sonoma buttermilk ranch rub, buy a packet of the dry buttermilk ranch dressing at the grocery store and mix in some dried chives, dill, cayenne pepper, garlic salt, and pepper then cover the chicken with that.

Serve with garlic steak fries and enjoy while it’s still warm!

Ingredients:
8 slices country Italian bread, each 1/4 inch thick
Olive oil for brushing
1/4 cup mayonnaise
8 bacon slices, cooked until crisp
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each about 8 oz.
8 tsp. buttermilk ranch rub*
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick
8 slices provolone cheese, about 6 1/2 oz. total

Directions:
Preheat a panini press to 400°F according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Brush one side of each bread slice with olive oil. Turn the slices over and spread with the mayonnaise. Top 4 of the slices with the bacon, dividing evenly.

Butterfly the chicken breasts, cut each one in half and pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Rub each piece with 2 tsp. grilling rub or place rub and chicken in a plastic bag and shake until covered. Place the chicken on the panini press, close the lid and cook, turning once, for 4 minutes. Place 1 chicken piece on each of the bacon-topped bread slices and top with the avocado and cheese, dividing evenly. Cover each sandwich with one of the remaining bread slices, oiled side up.

Place the sandwiches on the panini press, close the lid and cook until the bread is golden and crisp and the cheese is melted, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

PF Chang Lettuce Wraps

While I am not the biggest PF Chang’s fan, Dawn and I do like the lettuce wraps. We often find ourselves sitting with friends and family at an oversized table enjoying a family style dinner. The highlight for us is always the lettuce wraps, so I wanted to give them a whirl. I found 2 recipes online that sounded good. Neither one seemed to be quite right, so I split the difference and mixed and matched as I felt was best, or as my lack of ingredients dictated. As both Dawn and I agreed that the wraps turned out excellent, I’ll try to recreate what I put together.

Before we get into the wraps themselves, we have to make the “special sauce” to pour over the wraps when we’re done. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

- 1/8 Cup Sugar
- ¼ Cup Water
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Ketchup
- 2 tsp Lime Juice
- 2 tsp Oil
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- Less than 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 2 Tbsp Asian Sweet Chili Sauce

These measurements made enough for Dawn and I; if you intend to have more people you will need to increase the recipe. There is nothing special to this sauce, mix it all together, then stick in the refrigerator while you make the rest. I was pretty nervous about it because it smelled a little interesting, but the taste was actually quite good.

We made both a meat and vegetarian version of the wraps, just like PF Chang’s offers. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

- 2Tbsp Oil
- 2 Boneless Chicken Breasts (or some vegetarian Chicken, we did 1 part meat, 1 part vege)
- 1 can Water Chestnuts
- 2-3 Shitake Mushrooms
- ¼ Onion
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 Cup Chopped Roasted Cashews
- Butter Lettuce (we got Boston)
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- ½ tsp White Wine Vinegar

Directions:

Mince the chicken and set aside. Mince the Water Chestnuts, Mushrooms, cashews, Onion and Garlic. Place the chestnuts, mushrooms, onion, cashews, and garlic in a frying pan. Add the oil, soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar and sauté for a minute or 2. Add the chicken and continue to sauté until the chicken is fully cooked. When everything has been fully cooked, scoop into a lettuce leaf, top with the “special sauce” and serve.

Here is the meat version.

Here is the vegetarian version:

This blog posted while listening to Boston.