Sweet and Sour Chicken

Aaahh I have nothing witty to say tonight. On to the food.

I had two chicken breasts defrosting in the fridge and nothing exciting planned. I needed something quick that could be thrown together after getting home from a late day at work (which usually means walking in the door at 7:30 at the earliest). I found this recipe on EatingWell.com and it fit the bill.

It helped tremendously to have Nate get things started when he got home (thanks, man) so we could brine the chicken and use the grill, but you could easily skip the brining step, use boneless breasts, and either broil or saute them for speed. I just happen to prefer brined* chicken breasts, and I really like to grill.

The chicken recipe originally called for drumsticks, but I used bone-in, skinless breasts and drizzled the dipping sauce over them just before serving. The glaze is sweet and has a subtle hint of mint, and would probably also be really great on grilled shrimp, grilled fruit, or maybe even grilled pork tenderloin.

*a note on brine: I will now grill chicken and shrimp only if they've been brined first. It keeps the meat so moist and juicy, you pretty much can't dry it out, which is always a danger with chicken and shrimp. A 30 minute brine for each is really all you need, and I usually stick with salt and sugar. Sometimes I'll throw in maple syrup, or a lemon, or some chili powder...I don't know if I can actually taste the difference, but it makes things seem fancier.

Menu
Sweet and Sour Chicken Breasts
Corn on the cob
Grilled pineapple
Steamed broccoli
Sliced tomatoes
Grilled Peaches with Honeyed Ricotta

Sweet and Sour Chicken Breasts
adapted from EatingWell.com



Chicken
4c warm water
2 T kosher salt
2 T sugar
2 bone-in, skinless chicken breasts

Glaze
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1. Stir the salt and sugar into the water and dissolve. Place chicken in a bowl, pour the brine over it, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the grill to medium and grill the chicken until done, about 10-15 minutes per side.

3. While the chicken cooks, make the glaze. Whisk together the orange zest and juice, water, honey, 1 T vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and coriander in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1 tsp vinegar and add slowly to the orange juice mixture, whisking constantly until thickened, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in the mint.

4. Slice the chicken and drizzle the glaze over each serving.



Grilled Peaches with Honeyed Ricotta




1 peach, just ripe and still firm, halved and pitted
2 T part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tsp honey
1 tsp chopped mint

1. Mix together the ricotta and the honey and place in the refrigerator.
2. Place the peach halves on the grill, cut side down, for 3-4 minutes or until grill-marks appear.
3. Serve the peaches warm with a dollop of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mint.

I has a hard life.