Orange Cinnamon Chicken

A wee while back, I ran into the Alligator at the Market.

We waxed poetic about getting together and cooking dinner or something, but alas, circumstances conspired against us, and the deed was never done. Now we are separated by an ocean, but I'm sure that day will come.

Meanwhile, it's important to point out one thing: The Alligator is a real, bonafide chef, as opposed to me who is just a weekend foodie with a macro lens. I was therefore at serious risk of being shown up as a sad charlatan in the kitchen. Accordingly, I decided I had to do something drastic:

Practice.

I thought that if I was going to make something to feed to a real chef, it had better be delicious and original, and I wasn't going to take any chances. I made up a recipe and gave it a trial run.

Turns out I would've been OK just going with the flow like I always do. And as it was, the Alligator never got to chomp my chicken anyway.

So here it is, Alligator. I offer up my Orange Cinnamon Chicken for you to take away and make better, to make...professional.

Then send me a drumstick.
Orange Cinnamon Chicken

(Serves 3)

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Thighs, Skinned & Seasoned
2 Oranges
12 Cloves
Freshly Ground Pepper and Salt
Olive Oil
Semolina flour for Dusting
1 Cinnamon Quill
1 Whole Nutmeg
2 Bay Leaves
1 Onion, wedged
1 Carrot, peeled and sliced
1/3 Cup Red Wine
1/3 Cup Boiling Water
Juice 1 orange. Grate the zest from the other orange. Reserve the wedges of orange flesh, broken in half.

To the juice, add 6 cloves, salt and pepper, the orange rind and 2T olive oil. Stir it all up and sit for a few minutes to extract the flavour from the cloves. Strain the juice, reserving, and press the wet orange rind into the chicken thighs.
Sprinkle with semolina flour and drizzle with olive oil.
In a large pan, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom to a depth of 1mm. When the oil is hot, add the cinnamon quill, halved, the nutmeg, 6 cloves, and the bay leaves. Fry until fragrant and smoking.
Push the spices to the edge of the pan and add the chicken. Shake constantly, browning both sides to seal the meat.
Layer the onion and carrot in an oven dish that will fit the chicken snugly. Place the seared chicken on top of the veges.
Press the orange wedges around the chicken and drizzle the juice over top.

Cover and bake at 220C for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add the red wine and water to the dish, pouring around the bottom of the chicken, not over top of it. Reduce heat to 200C and cook for a further 1/2 hour.
Dish up with couscous and fresh veges, layering the chicken on top of the cooked carrots, onions and oranges.

Orange-Stuffed Chicken

Here you are, my poor neglected blog!

It seems that between work and family and building playhouses I have had no time at all for keeping this site up-to-date. Considering that the recipe I have here was something I made about 3 weeks ago, that might give you an idea of just how busy I've been. Last weekend DadDad John helped Uncle B and I assemble the frames for the two playhouses, and chopped us up a carload of firewood. I never thought I'd see the day when I was putting my Dad to work for the weekend, instead of the other way round. Such a curious universe.

I also started a Facebook Group called Fans of Urban Driftwood. Inside of a week, this group already has almost 60 members, which is amazing since we've only sold one copy. There are a total of nine copies in existence at time of publishing this post, and since I possess four of those, that's an awful lot of Fans for the remaining five copies. Go Facebook! I'll be registering the newly minted copies with the ISBN to the National Library Archives this week.

We have officially moved Isaac out of his cot and into his big bed. He thinks this is great. I can tell by the way he's banging on the walls in sheer delight. It's going to be a long night.

I rushed around the Hutt River Market today, keenly anticipating swinging by the Lamb Van, only to find that they had sold clean out for the day. Big Ups, Wai-Ora Farm. Stink for us, though. Anyway, since Dessert Chef C had a long night last night and we've got to go out doing family stuff tomorrow for Pretty Penny's birthday, I'd better divulge my top secret Orange-Stuffed Chicken Recipe. It's time like this that I'm glad I make notes!

Orange-Stuffed Chicken (Slow-Cooker Recipe)

Serves 4

In a bowl, mix up the following:
4 sprigs of oregano, leaves washed and roughly chopped;
1/4 kumera, chopped small (into 1/4" cubes);
1/2 onion, finely chopped;
Zest from 1/4 of an orange;
Freshly Ground Salt and Pepper to season;
Olive oil to adjust consistency.

Mix until the ingredients hold together. Stuff the cavity of a whole chicken with the mixture. Truss.
Toss the chicken in Salt and Pepper and the zest from 1/4 of the orange (or more if you want an intense orangey flavour).

In the bottom of your Slow Cooker, pour the juice from the orange, the other half of your onion, chopped, another 1/4 of a chopped kumera, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and just a light splash of water.

Place the chicken in the slow cooker and turn on High for 5 hours.
Prepare some roast veges to go with the chicken. When the bird is done, remove for carving (this is hardly necessary as the bones will just fall apart anyway). Strain the fat from the liquid in the bottom of the cooker and blend up what's left, adding chicken stock if necessary, to make a sweet and tangy gravy.