Crunchy Lemonade Chicken

Yum!  This chicken is really good.  It is the first time I have actually used Panko or Japanese breadcrumbs. I can finally find them in my local grocery stores.  It is so much different tasting than regular old store-bought breadcrumbs and even different from the ones you make yourself.  I read that the only actual difference is that Panko breadcrumbs are made from bread without the crust.  It is hard to imagine that just cutting off the crust before making breadcrumbs would make such a difference.   The Panko breadcrumbs are really more like "flakes" than crumbs. 

Hey, wait a minute, this post is about Crunchy Lemonade Chicken not Panko breadcrumbs so here goes:  the recipe calls for using drumsticks but my family doesn't care for drumsticks.  Nextime I make this recipe I'll substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts or even a whole chicken cut up into parts.  Other than that, I used the recipe "as is".  This is a recipe that both kids and adults will enjoy.  I served it with the Baked Beans with Maple Glazed Bacon that I made and posted about back in early July. 

Crunchy Lemonade Drumsticks

Recipe Courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Cook Time: 1 hr 10 min
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
12 skin-on chicken drumsticks (3 1/2 to 4 1/4 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Olive-oil cooking spray

Directions:

Mix 1 tablespoon lemon zest and the lemon juice in a large bowl. Add 1 cup water and the sugar and whisk to dissolve, then whisk in the buttermilk. Pierce the drumsticks several times with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Toss in the marinade, cover and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring the chicken to room temperature. Put the panko, thyme, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon zest, the cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a large resealable plastic bag and shake to mix. Put the mayonnaise in a bowl. Set a rack on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.

Remove the drumsticks from the marinade, dip in the mayonnaise, then drop into the bag and shake to coat; transfer to the rack.

Mist the chicken with cooking spray. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes; flip and bake until browned and crisp, 35 to 40 more minutes. Cool completely, then pack in an airtight container.


Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

White-Chocolate Blondies with Raspberries by Laurent Schott

In the oven.

All done!

Thank you so much to Laurent Schott for this great recipe!  It is wonderful.  I have seen bunches of blondie recipes that use both white chocolate and raspberries but not the almonds in this recipe.  I think the almonds give it a wonderful taste and texture.  They are not so overpowering as other nuts might be.  This is definitely not the easiest blondie recipe you'll make but it could quite simply be the best.  My other favorite type of blondies are the ones that replicate chocolate chip cookies.  They are very yummy but very different from this blondie recipe.  This one comes from Laurent Schott's Seven Sins of Chocolate cookbook.  I have had this cookbook sitting on my coffee table for a few years now.  I have made and posted about Laurent Schott's Marble Cake probably two years ago.  I am also interested in making the chocolate Madeleines and a few other recipes in the book.  Some of the desserts look wonderful but are way over my head as far as techniques, ingredients and cooking tools.  For instance, I do not own the proper pan to use when making brioche. I had intentions of buying a brioche pan at one time or another but I never did buy it.  Oh well, maybe some day in the future I will own a brioche pan.  Anyway, I finally made this blondie recipe and it was delicious.  Try it for the "yum" factor.  I had to bake the blondies for about 40 minutes so watch them carefully!

White-Chocolate Blondies with Raspberries
by Laurent Schott

Makes 20 Blondies

6 oz white chocolate, chopped
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (2-3/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
5 large eggs
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup chopped natural almonds
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (the bowl must not touch the water).  {I used a double boiler} With the bowl still over the water, add the butter and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, and then the sugar.  Remove the bowl from the saucepan.  Stir in the flour until combined.  Mix in the almonds.

Butter the sides of a rectangular pan -- 13 inches long by 9 inches wide and 1 inch deep -- and line the bottom with baking parchment.  Spread the batter in the pan and sprinkle with the raspberries.  (You can vary the shape of the blondies by using differently shaped cake pans and molds.  For round blondies, spoon batter into unlined, globe-shaped silicone molds with 3-1/4 inch diameters.)

Bake until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes (less if making the round blondies).  Cool in the pan on a wire cake rack.  Invert to unmold the entire blondie, peel off the paper, and cut into 20 pieces.  Garnish with a light sprinkling of confectioners' sugar.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook