Roasted chicken with chipotle

It’s no secret that I love mayonnaise, much to my mustard-loving family’s dismay. But when I was going through my collection of Great-Grandma Blanche’s handwritten recipes, I came across a dish called chicken mayonnaise and realized that this love had just skipped a few generations.

Chicken mayonnaise, as my great-grandma made it, was a concoction that involved, of course, lots of mayonnaise. But it also called for gelatin, nuts and a whole mess of other ingredients that when combined could stretch one small chicken into a feast that could easily serve 20.

“Perfect for that Fourth of July party,” I bet you’re thinking! Perhaps. But I decided to make another type of chicken mayonnaise instead.



Back in March, I had completely sworn off chicken after an encounter with a grocery-store rotisserie chicken left me in bed for three days. I wasn’t happy with this decision, as I adore chicken—be it fried, in tacos, in chicken and dumplings or in sour cream enchiladas. But, well, if you’ve ever suffered through the post-traumatic shock of a bad bout of food poisoning, you know how I felt.

A few weeks ago, however, I was forced to face my fear or go hungry. I was at a rooftop barbecue where a group of Texans were gathered around a smoker waiting for the day’s main event—a beautiful 12-pound slab of brisket. But brisket takes patience and so the host had thrown some chicken—which takes a lot less time to cook—into the pit to keep the guests satisfied as we waited for the brisket to finish.

The chicken came out fragrant with smoke and pepper. Everyone grabbed a piece and started gnawing away. And I decided to take the plunge and take a piece myself. I’m glad that I did—this chicken was a wonderful reintroduction to one of my favorite birds.

Now, about that chicken mayonnaise. While doing research for the book, I came across a recipe that called for a slather of mayonnaise on chicken breasts before baking or grilling as a means to both keep the chicken juicy and impart flavor. Intrigued by the concept, I blended mayonnaise with chipotle chiles, lime zest, cilantro and a pinch of cumin and then spread it on a mess of drumsticks. I baked them for a little under an hour, and they came out moist and spicy—I ate four in one sitting.



So I admit that this chicken mayonnaise may not be my great-grandma’s dish, but it’s still a fine and simple way to serve chicken to lots of guests as the mayonnaise does most of the work. And don’t worry if you’re a mayonnaise hater, you don’t taste it at all, it simply keeps the chicken tender and moist.

Roasted mayonnaise chicken with chipotle
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lime zest
2-4 canned chipotle chiles (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 chicken legs (thighs with drumsticks), skin on or off—your choice
Lime wedges for serving

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a 9x13 pan with foil.

In a blender, mix together the mayonnaise, lime zest, chipotle chiles, cilantro, cumin, cayenne until smooth and slightly pink. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spread mayonnaise on each leg, place in the pan and cook uncovered for 50 minutes or until juices run clear and the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve hot with lime wedges.

Yield: 2-4 servings

Note: I prefer dark meat, but if you want to make this with breasts, I’d cook them for about 35 minutes instead or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

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Grilled stuffed peppers

A couple of weeks ago, my mom told me she was going on vacation and I kindly volunteered to house sit for her in Houston. My initial plan was to take advantage of her spacious air-conditioned kitchen that not only has counters but also a dishwasher and an in-sink disposal. (These are all luxuries not found in my NYC apartment.) Not to mention she’s within driving distance of my two favorite grocery stores: Central Market and Fiesta. Cooking at my mom’s place in Houston was going to be a dream vacation!

Everything was perfect until I tried to start cooking. I’m so used to my tiny kitchen— which is small but has everything I need within reach—that I just couldn’t function properly in my mom’s palatial space. So I decided to not cook at all for a week and instead eat as many different things as I could while I was in Houston.

I admit, eating my way through Texas is not bad work—even when you’re consuming up to eight meals a day. Of course, this was research for my book so I can’t tell you everything that I ate as I want there to be some surprises when the book comes out next fall. But do know that there was a lot of this:



and this:



and this:



and this:



and this:



Towards the end of my stay, I had grown tired of restaurants and was itching to cook again or at least eat a home-cooked meal. So it was a joy when I received a message from Robb Walsh inviting me to his house for lunch and some World Cup watching.

If you ever receive an invitation for a meal from a cookbook writer you’d be a fool not to accept, especially if you like to eat. Why? Because their job is cooking and testing recipes and you’re guaranteed a bounty of food. Take my visit to Robb’s. When I arrived, on his counter was a tall stack of various wrapped meats from the store; I assumed it was his family’s groceries for the week that just hadn’t been put away. Yet as Robb and I talked about the state of Tex-Mex cuisine among other culinary topics, I watched him work his way through that stack of meat, coming up with all sorts of concoctions that would later go on the grill.

Speaking of the grill, you know that he has a new cookbook, right? It’s called The Tex-Mex Grill and Backyard Barbacoa Cookbook. Like all of his books, it’s a collection of Texas food history, anecdotes and recipes—so you can learn a little something while you cook. This time he focuses on outdoor cooking and since I don’t have a grill, I didn’t think that I’d be able to cook from his book. But his stuffed pepper recipe, along with many others, could easily be adapted for the oven.



He made these stuffed green peppers for me, serving them as a side dish to numerous other slabs of meat, though they’re certainly hearty enough to be a main dish as well. And if you took the filling and stuffed it into smaller jalapeño chiles, I bet they would make a fine starter.

Grilled stuffed peppers (from Robb Walsh)
2 tablespoons seasoning blend of your choice
1 teaspoon salt (omit if there is salt in the seasoning mix)
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 pound breakfast sausage meat
1/2 pound ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Cayenne pepper
Ground cumin
Oil, for frying
3 small green bell peppers (four lobes preferred)

Yield: 6 small pepper halves

Mix the seasoning blend, salt, and wine in a small bowl and stir well. Then combine the mixture with all the other ingredients except the oil and peppers in a mixing bowl and mash with your hands until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Put the meat in the refrigerator for an hour or more to allow the flavors to blend.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and place a teaspoon of the meat mixture in the hot oil. Cook, turning frequently, until done on both sides. Taste, and adjust the salt and seasonings in the remaining meat mixture.

Cut the peppers in half through the stem so that they form six half-pepper cups. Fill each half pepper with meat mixture. Mound the meat no more than a 1⁄2 inch over the top edge of each pepper. The stuffed peppers can be made in advance to this point and stored covered in the refrigerator for several days.

To cook on the grill, first light the grill. Cook pepper side down over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until the pepper is charred and soft. Turn the stuffed peppers over and cook on the meat side for 10 minutes. Test for doneness.

To cook in the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the peppers pepper side down in a lightly oiled baking dish. Cook peppers uncovered for 45 minutes. Test for doneness.

Serve immediately with your choice of salsas.

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Honey lavender ice cream

I missed the bluebonnets this year. This makes me sad as I understand it was a banner year for our state flower. But I do have a few trips to Texas planned this summer, so I hope to see some color, such as the fields of lavender found in the Hill Country this time of year. Yep, in that part of Texas as bluebonnets are to spring, lavender is to summer. And while nothing can compare to a blanket of wildflowers, I’d say that the lavender is still pretty stunning.

Lavender is now in season, and if you were to take a drive through the Hill Country you might see row upon row of this light purple flower. But lavender hasn’t always grown in Texas.



Many years ago, Texan photographer Robb Kendrick was on assignment in the Provence region in France. While there, he was struck by the temporal and geographic similarities between the Hill Country and the Provence. He was also struck by the beauty of the lavender. When he and his wife returned to Texas they started the first commercial lavender farm outside Blanco, which spawned a new industry in the Hill Country.

For most of my life, my experience with lavender has been as a pleasant, soothing scent—something found in soaps or lotions. But when someone shared with me some Hill Country lavender honey a few years ago, I realized its potential for edible applications as well.

Sure, it has a floral flavor but it there are also hints of pine, similar to rosemary but not quite as intense. It pairs well with mustard, for a savory sauce. It also makes a nice crust on pork. But I find that my favorite way to use it is in sweets.

Honey lavender ice cream is a cool, refreshing way to experience the flavor of lavender, especially as both the lavender and the honey give it a floral flavor. I like to add some lemon juice as its brightness balances out some of honey’s richness.



Dried Lavender can be found at many farmers markets. You can also get it through Penzey’s and other specialty spice markets. In New York, I found mine at Westside Market. But if you can’t find lavender, don’t fret—you can substitute sage or rosemary.

Have you ever cooked with lavender? What do you make?

Honey lavender ice cream
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups half-and-half
2 tablespoons dried edible lavender flowers
1/2 cup light honey
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:
Cook the half-and-half and cream on medium heat until warm, do not let it come to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the lavender to the pot, cover and let steep for half an hour.

After flours have steeped, strain the liquid and discard the flowers. Add to the liquid the honey and heat on medium low until honey has dissolved. Again, do not let liquid come to a boil!

Beat the egg yolks with the vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Stir into the eggs 1/2 cup of the warm liquid and then add eggs to the pot.

Heat this on medium low for five minutes or until it gets slightly thick. You’ll know it’s ready when it coats the back of your spoon. Cool in the refrigerator for four hours.

Freeze and churn according to your ice-cream maker’s instructions.

Yield: 1 quart

Note: If you taste the custard before churning and find it’s not sweet enough for you, I suggest sweetening it more with sugar rather then honey as honey’s strong flavor can overpower the lavender.

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Deviled ham salad

After a full day in the kitchen, I like to take a walk to clear my head. On a recent stroll, I spotted a friend holding court in a neighborhood Southern restaurant. He had just moved to New York and as I hadn’t seen him in a while, I popped inside and said howdy. We decided to order some light snacks and saw deviled tasso listed on the menu. What’s that, we wondered? We ordered it and after one bite, I realized it was nothing more than a variation on my old favorite, deviled ham.

Deviled ham also made an appearance at a Derby Day party. A friend had found a can of Underwood’s Deviled Ham and brought it to share with the other guests. She’d never eaten it before but was intrigued by the iconic white can with the grinning devil. (Does anyone know what deviled, when applied to food, actually means?) I hadn’t seen that can in years, but I instantly remembered how much I loved deviled ham and pickle sandwiches when I was young. I decided it was time to make a batch of my own.

I didn’t have to look far for a recipe.



At Christmas, my cousin Susan brought her famous ham salad to our family gathering and the big bowl of it was gone in about a minute. We spread it on buttery crackers, a perfect vehicle for the ham salad that was filled with flavors spicy, tangy and sweet.

I asked her for the recipe and she laughed and said she didn’t have one. Of course, she didn’t! That happens so often in my family—we just throw together ingredients and taste until everything is balanced. And I’m not complaining—that’s certainly my favorite way to cook.

She did, however, give me her list of ingredients. And like a detective I took these clues and tried to solve the mystery of her famous ham salad. It actually wasn’t difficult—if you have any experience making protein-based salads such as tuna salad, chicken salad or even pimento cheese, you get a feel for how much of each ingredient should belong. This time, however, I kept notes of just how much I was adding so I could pass it on to you.



Ham salad is versatile as you can stuff it into celery, spread it on crackers, scoop it onto an iceberg wedge or layer it on buttered bread. And while it's perfect for warm days, I find that it's pretty much appreciated at any time of year.

Deviled ham salad
Ingredients:
2 cups ham, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1/4 of a pepper)
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1 large dill pickle, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
3 tablespoons mayo
3 tablespoons mustard
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
In a food processor, mix all the ingredients together until blended but not too smooth as you want a bit of texture. Taste and adjust any seasoning or add more mayonnaise and mustard if you like. A little drizzle of pickle juice is excellent as well.

Yield: About 2 cups. Keeps in the refrigerator for a few days.

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