Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar & Lemon

Soon I’m going to be posting the cake that I made for Tova’s birthday, but I wanted to get at least one non-dessert recipe up so I don’t have two birthday cake posts back-to-back.

I’ve been horrible about blogging regularly lately, and I’m so sorry about that! I miss it, but for some reason I just haven’t been feeling very inspired lately. I’m hoping that with the longer days, and the spring/summer produce that’s coming into season, I’ll get back into it and start posting more often.

In the meantime I’d like to share this recipe I made a few weeks back, which was absolutely delicious, and made the house smell wonderful.

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

2 red onions, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon sumac

1 lemon, thinly sliced

Scant cup chicken stock or water

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons za’atar

4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In a large bowl or gallon-sized ziptop bag, combine the chicken, onions, garlic, olive oil, allspice, cinnamon, sumac, lemon, stock or water, salt, and pepper. Cover or seal, and marinate in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the chicken skin side up on a large sheet pan, making sure that the chicken pieces are laying flat and are spaced well apart from each other. Add the rest of the ingredients from the bowl/bag in between the chicken pieces, ans sprinkle everything with the za’atar. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

3. Transfer everything to a serving plate, sprinkle with the parsley, and drizzle with olive oil. You can also sprinkle with additional za’atar and/or sumac, if desired.

Makes 4 servings

Adapted from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Pizza with Pears, Goat Cheese & Port-Thyme Caramelized Onions

I love pizza.

I love goat cheese.

I love caramelized onions.

I love cooking with wine.

I somehow managed to combine all of that into one recipe.

And I couldn’t help but sing THIS SONG while making it.

I set aside some pizza dough that I made for dinner to try this with, so the amounts in this recipe are for a small pizza made with 8 oz. of pizza dough, enough for two people (or one, if you’re me).

1 tablespoon olive oil (I used a nonstick pan, you may need more oil for a regular pan)

1 large onion, sliced

Kosher salt & Freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup port wine (probably any red wine would be fine)

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme (or more, to taste)

1/2 pound pizza dough, homemade or store-bought (I love THIS recipe)

Sliced pear (I used small Forelle pears, so I needed 3 of them. If using larger pears you’d probably just need one.)

1 1/2 ounces goat cheese

Cornmeal, for sprinkling

1) Preheat oven to 500°F. If you have a pizza stone, make sure it is in the oven before you turn it on. If you do not have one, you can just bake the pizza on a baking sheet.

2) Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. When hot, add onion and a large pinch of kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden. Add port, and cook until liquid is just about evaporated. Remove from heat and add thyme and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.

3) Since I don’t have a pizza peel, I’ve found that the best way to transfer my pizza onto the pizza stone is to prepare it on a piece of parchment on the back of a baking sheet, and then slide the pizza onto the stone along with the parchment. I then slide the parchment out from underneath the pizza after a few minutes of baking since parchment burns at 500°.

Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper, a pizza peel, or a baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll the pizza dough it very thin (or thick, if that’s your preference), and place on the prepared parchment/peel/baking sheet. Top with the caramelized onions, pears, and goat cheese.

4) Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the crust starts to brown, about 10 minutes. If you use the parchment paper, remember to remove it from underneath the pizza after the first 4-5 minutes!

Strawberry and Strawberry-Cheesecake Ice Pops

Things I love about summer:

1. Not having to set my alarm in the morning. It’s not as if I get to sleep in, since I have a 15-month-old who thinks she has to get up with the sun most days. But I love the (relatively) calmer mornings, with not having to get my two older girls ready and out the door for school.

2. NO HOMEWORK. ‘Nuff said.

3. The longer days. I love waking up when it’s bright out, and I love that I can go out for a run in the evening and it’s still light out.

What do I not love about summer? The heat. Especially since we don’t have air conditioning. While it hasn’t been too hot here yet, I’ve started stocking the freezer with yummy frozen treats, like these ice pops.

We’ve been eating strawberries like crazy, so I figured strawberry ice pops would be a good place to start. I made some plain and some with a cheesecake layer. I even added a little balsamic vinegar to a few of the plain strawberry ones. These are such a simple but delicious treat to make for the long hot summer days ahead!

Strawberry Ice Pops

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 lb. strawberries, stemmed

1. To make the simple syrup, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Purée strawberries in a food processor (or mash with a potato masher) until desired consistency (I like it to be mostly smooth, but with a few chunks).

3. For every cup of puréed fruit, add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the simple syrup. Taste as you go, adding more as needed (keep in mind that when frozen, the pop tends to lose sweetness).

4. PLace olds in a small cookie sheet to catch drips. Pour mixture into molds, add sticks, and freeze.

Makes approximately 10 3-fl. oz. pops

*Adapted from People’s Pops, by David Carrell, Joel Horowitz, and Nathalie Jordi (via InStyle magazine)

NOTES:

1. I used THIS mold for my ice pops.

2. I found that it worked best to freeze the pops for 45 minutes to an hour before adding the sticks. This kept them in place well.

3. If you do not have an ice pop mold you can make these in small paper cups.

For the Cheesecake Layer:

4 ounces cream cheese

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Purée all the ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. Layer with the strawberry mixture in the ice pop molds, and freeze.

Makes enough for 6 layered ice pops

*Adapted from The Novice Chef

Apologies…

I’m sorry I have not been updating my blog very much lately. Chaim was out of town last week, and I did not feel like doing much cooking. I hope to be back tomorrow with a new post.

Already Taking a Break…

I am going to be away until Monday, but I promise I’ll start posting again when I get back, either Monday evening or Tuesday.
Have a great weekend!