Big Daddy's Downtown Roasted Chicken

Thank you again foodnetwork.com! I was watching Food Network a while ago and saw my only ever episode of Big Daddy's House. He did chicken three ways; I tried all three, and they were all delicious! Here is the first way (I will post the other two soon):

Downtown Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
- 5 chipotles
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots, diced
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
- 3 (3 to 4 pound) chickens, trussed -(I used a package of chicken thighs.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the chipotles, adobo sauce, garlic, shallots, lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, salt and pepper into a blender. Pulse the marinade until smooth and emulsified. Rub each chicken liberally with the marinade.

Arrange the chickens on a half sheet pan with a rack. Roast until cooked through, about 60 to 75 minutes (or until chicken temp reads 160 degrees on meat thermometer). Remove from the oven and allow them to rest for about 15 minutes. Carve 1 chicken and arrange it on a serving platter. Serve.

Reserve the remaining chickens for recipes that use roast chicken (which I will post and link up soon).

Sweet Corn and Bacon Empanadas

These are great for two reasons: they are yummy, and you can make them up ahead of time and freeze till ready to bake. Love them for brunch, lunch or dinner parties. They also make great midnight treats!


You Will Need:
- 2 anaheim chile peppers
- 3 strips bacon
- 2 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels
- 1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup diced scallions

-your favorite pie dough, either homemade or store bought

Directions:
Have your pie dough made up and ready to go.
Roast chile peppers over a gas burner or in a hot oven until they're blackened and blistered. Wrap chilies in damp paper-towels for about 10 minutes, until cooled off and skin peals off easily. Peel chilies; discard skin. Slit chilies lengthwise, scrape out and discard seeds, remove stem, and dice chilies. Should yield about 1/2 cup diced chilies.
Fry bacon in a saute pan over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan; add corn; saute over medium-high heat until edges of corn begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in bacon, chilies, cheddar, and scallions. Chill filling thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out pie dough on a work surface, lightly floured if necessary. Using a 3 1/2 " biscuit cutter, cut circles from dough; repeat with remaining dough, rerolling scraps once. Arrange dough rounds on prepared baking sheet.
Place 1 T filling in the center of each round. Fold rounds in half, pinch to seal, then crimp edges with a fork. (Freeze if desired.)
Blend one egg yolk with 1 T water; brush over empanadas. Sprinkle empanadas with smoked paprika; then bake until golden, 15-18 minutes.

BREAKFAST BRUSCHETTA with strawberries and tangy cream

I know my last post was a breakfast recipe, but after all, it's the most important meal of the day. And I don't know about you, but most days a bowl of cereal just isn't gunna cut it for me. I wake up hungry like the wolf (Duran Duran reference).

This recipe is out of my Cuisine at Home magazine, Issue No. 62 from April 2007.

You will need:
- 2 T sugar
- 1/2 t ground cinnamon
- 2 small ciabatta rolls, split, buttered on cut sides, and halved diagonally
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and diced
- 2 T sugar
- 1 T chopped fresh basil leaves
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 T plain or strawberry yogurt
- 2 t honey
- 1/4 t vanilla extract

-optional sprigs of fresh basil to garnish

Directions:
Preheat broiler to high with rack 6" from the heating element.
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a dish. Sprinkle mixture (you wont use it all) on buttered sides of bread, then broil on a baking sheet until toasted, 2-3 minutes.
Toss strawberries with sugar, basil, and lemon juice. Stir sour cream, yogurt, honey, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. To assemble bruschetta, spoon 2 tablespoons berries with juice on each piece of toast; dollop with 1 teaspoon sour cream mixture. Garnish with basil if desired.
Feast.