Almost your Birthday Puff Pastry Chicken

Happy Birthday M.! This is a favorite- you can add any flavors you like to the spread- or try a combination of cream cheese with herbs. Just make sure you use enough in each packet to keep the chicken moist.


Chicken in Puff Pastry

Preheat oven to 400-


~Mix together:
3/4 cup chopped green onion (opt)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbls lemon juice
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
3/4 tsp dry tarragon

~Roll 1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets* out on a floured board
till it’s about 12” x 16” – cut into 6 equal pieces

~To make packets:
place 1 tbls of mayonnaise on each section
top with 1 boneless skinless chicken breast lightly salt and peppered
fold meat around about 2 more tbls of mayonnaise mixture
fold the pastry over the chicken stuff to form a closed packet-
use 1 egg beaten with 1 tbls of water as ‘glue’ and to wash top of packets
~Place seam side down in a shallow roasting pan

~Bake until toasty brown-(45 mins) and let rest 5 minutes before serving


Serves 4-6 .

*Allow time to defrost the pastry- in gets wrecked if you try to microwave it- You might also need to turn down the oven part way through cooking to prevent pastry from browning too fast- but it’s important to start it in a hot oven to crisp the packets.

Beer Butt Chicken

This is our friend CM's recipe, and marked my official re-entry into chicken-eatingness.

Insert a 3/4 full can of beer (we prefer Pabst Blue Ribbon) in a whole chicken, standing upright on a pie plate or broiling pan.

Make a spice rub out using about 1 tbsp olive oil, a splash of beer, and equal parts:

garlic powder
salt and pepper
chili powder
onion powder
paprika
oregano

Rub the entire chicken with the spice mixture, and put anything leftover in the beer can itself. Cook on the bar-b-que on high (or in the oven at 425) for 45-60 minutes or until the wings pull off easily.

You can do all different versions of this one--we like to do a Mexican take using Chalula sauce and Mexican seasoning in the rub.

Wosle

This is a family favorite at the M's house. Christmas time = wosle time.

Put everything in one of those metal coffee percolators like you see in the break room. We bought one at Target for like $20. We only use it once a year (to make wosle) but it's worth having around.

2 quarts apple cider
1 quart orange juice
1 quart cranberry juice
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp whole allspice
6 whole cinnamon sticks
6 black tea bags
6 cups water

Let simmer for about an hour. Add your favorite brandy or rum for a tasty hot holiday treat.

Spicy Persimmons

This is a new recipe that a friend brought to a potluck at our house. I'd never actually eaten a persimmon before trying this dish, and it was one of the loveliest things I've ever tasted. They are hard to find in our small town, and you have to be sure to get the right kind of persimmon--apparently there are two and one is sweet and mushy (those are the ones you DON'T want) while the other is more firm and tart.

* 10 Fuyu Persimmons
* juice of 2 large limes
* 1/4-1/2 tsp sea or himalayan salt
* black pepper to taste
* spicy red pepper to taste or hot sauce by the drop
* 1 Tbsp oil--flax or olive or...
* handful cilantro chopped
* Agave or honey if lime juice too sour

Cut leaves and all yukky spots off persimmons, then cut into thin wedges
Marinate in lime juice mixture overnight in the fridge