Bourbon-Ginger Glazed Chicken

Inspired by the bourbon-ginger chicken wings we enjoyed from the Asia Nine station at the Food & Friends Chef's Best event I wrote about last week, I made these simple chicken thighs served over white rice.

This dish comes together pretty quickly, since boneless-skinless chicken thighs cook much faster than their bone-in/skin-on counterparts. I had considered searing the thighs and then finishing them in the oven, but they cooked just fine on the stove, allowing the sauce to thicken as they finished.

Bourbon-Ginger Glazed Chicken

1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
1 1/2 lb. boneless-skinless chicken thighs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch of ginger, minced
1 or 2 pinches of red chili pepper flakes
2 tbsp. bourbon
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 heaping tbsp. light brown sugar
1 bunch of scallions (about 8), white and light green parts chopped separate from dark green parts
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cooked rice (see recipe for Perfect White Rice)

1. Heat a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced almonds and toast, tossing occasionally until browned. Set aside.

2. Heat vegetable oil and sesame oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Add the chicken thighs and cook until browned on both sides (flipping over after the first side is browed), about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. Lower heat to medium and add the garlic, ginger and chili pepper flakes. Stir to combine with the chicken and cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Add the bourbon, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and white and light green scallions. Season with pepper and stir, continuing to cook over medium heat, until the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear when cut into) and the sauce has thickened. Serve over white rice topped with toasted almond slices and chopped dark green scallions.

Penne with Garlic, Chicken and Sage

Here's the setting for this dish: I was 19 and it was one of my first dates. I was very nervous, as I'm sure many people have experienced. I'd lied to my parents about where I was going that night (I wasn't "out" to them yet). The guy I was with was cute and had seemed nice. Although we had a fun time, he didn't want to have anything to do with me afterwards (unfortunately, something else I'm sure many of us have experienced). Nonetheless, I consider my first date a success not because of the guy, but because it introduced me to this dish.

I was dining at Bastas, an Italian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, that was just 4 years old at the time, but is still around today. The dish I enjoyed was "Pasta Pollo con Salvia." Although it is no longer on the menu, a Facebook post suggests they offer it as a special sometimes. It's a simple dish of penne, chicken breast, garlic, white wine and sage. At the time, I thought it was novel for not including tomatoes, and I loved how garlicky it was (in retrospect, I suppose not a good choice for a date, but remember, I was a dating novice).

For years, I tried to recreate it. I contacted the restaurant to ask for the recipe, but they declined my request (or rather, never responded). This just gave me all the more incentive to figure out what made the dish special on my own. Through the years, I've made many different versions of this dish. The sauce has been a particular challenge. I've tried making it with butter, cream, chicken stock, various dry white wines and combinations of those three things. I've tried thickening it with flour and arrowroot powder. I've made it in a great volume as well as a light coating.

Recently, I finally hit on what I think works best: a simple combination of butter, dry vermouth and pasta cooking water. The cream made the dish too rich. The chicken stock muted the garlic and made it too "chickeny." The butter and pasta water allowed the garlic to really shine, while the starches in the water added a touch of thickening. Perfect.

Penne with Garlic, Chicken and Sage
Inspired by Pasta Pollo con Salvia, Basta Trattoria

1 lb. penne lisce pasta (penne lisce is the style of penne without ridges; the style with ridges, rigate, may also be used)
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
3/4 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
2 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1/3 cup dry vermouth
3/4 cup reserved pasta water (see below)
1/3 grated parmigiano-reggiano, plus more for serving

1. Cook pasta according to package directions 2 minutes short of al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta water. Drain pasta and set aside in the cooking pot.

2. Melt butter in a medium (2 1/2 quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and chili pepper flakes and cook until garlic is fragrant. Increase heat to medium and add chicken. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the sage and vermouth and increase heat to medium-high. Cook for about 2 minutes then add the reserved pasta water. Bring mixture to a boil and cook an additional 2 minutes. Pour sauce over the cooked pasta in the pasta cooking pot and stir to combine. Return to medium heat and stir in the parmesan. Cook for another 2 minutes until the pasta is al dente. Serve in shallow bowls topped with additional grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

Pea, Spinach, Mint and Garlic Scape Soup

Earlier this week, I featured a recipe with green garlic, which are immature garlic plants that resemble scallions. Garlic scapes, in contrast, are the tops of larger garlic plants. The long ropes have a "greener" garlic flavor that, while milder than a raw garlic clove, can still add noticeable garlic flavor to a dish.

Garlic scapes

Some people like to use garlic scapes raw in salads or pesto. I find they're a little too potent for that (and this from a self-avowed garlic lover), so I like to cook them to mellow their flavor a bit. Last year, I roasted them for pesto, this year I sautéed them for this soup with peas, spinach and mint.

I adapted this recipe from the Dinner with Julie blog by Canadian food writer Julie Van Rosendaal. I modified Julie's recipe a bit by omitting the cream and adding a little fresh mint.

Pea, Spinach, Mint and Garlic Scape Soup
Adapted from a recipe by Dinner with Julie

Serves 4

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 sweet onion, diced
4 garlic scapes, chopped
Salt, to taste
1 bag frozen peas
3 cups packed fresh baby spinach
4 cups chicken broth (may use vegetable broth)
2 tbsp. chopped chives, plus more for garnish
2 tbsp. chopped mint, plus a few sprigs for garnish
Fresh-ground white pepper

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven or deep-sided saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic scapes, season with salt and continue cooking a few more minutes until the scapes are also softened.

2. Add the peas and spinach and cook until the spinach wilts. Add the broth, chives and mint, bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

3. Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth (alternatively, transfer in batches to a blender). Season with fresh-ground white pepper. Ladle soup into shallow bowls and garnish with chives and a mint sprig.

Pasta with Roasted Garlic Scape Pesto, Tomatoes and Pea Shoots

About a year ago I made garlic scape pesto for the first time. I saw the scapes at the farmers market and had never heard of them before. A little online research revealed that people 1) get really excited about garlic scapes, which are available at farmers markets for a limited time and 2) generally make pesto with them.

So I took the plunge and made the most beautiful bright green garlic scape pesto. And after tossing it with some pasta and eating it, the next day I realized that sometimes the "you are what you eat" maxim can get a little too literal. It was really intense. Too much so actually. I oozed garlic. I tasted garlic for days. I'm pretty sure my DNA temporarily converted to that of garlic.

This may seem like a lot of pea shoots, but they are pretty delicate and wilt quickly.

Nonetheless, when the garlic scapes showed up at the market this year, I bought them again. This time would be different though, and I had a plan.

Roasting garlic mellows out its flavor, turning those hard, pungent cloves into something soft and buttery. Could roasting be the key to making a garlic scape pesto that wouldn't make everyone avoid me this next day?

So far so good. The pesto wasn't as bright green, but it was pleasingly garlicky, just not overwhelmingly so. It paired nicely with the tomatoes and the fresh ricotta which, when mixed into the pasta, combined with the cooked tomatoes to make a thick sauce. A little pasta water might help give the sauce some more body.

Pasta with Roasted Garlic Scape Pesto, Tomatoes and Pea Shoots

1 lb. stubby pasta such as penne or rotini
1 tbsp. olive oil
2-4 large tomatoes, chopped
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
2 cups of pea shoots, roughly chopped
3/4 lb. hand-dipped (fresh) ricotta cheese
Roasted garlic scape pesto (recipe below)
Fresh snipped chives (optional garnish)

1. Bring a large salted pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside in the pot, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water if you want to add it to the sauce later.

2. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook until softened, about 12-15 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add pea shoots and stir until wilted.

3. Add tomato-pea shoot sauce and ricotta to the pot of cooked pasta (and pasta water if using), stir until pasta is coated. Serve in a shallow bowl topped with a generous couple tablespoons of garlic scape pesto and a sprinkling of chives.

Roasted Garlic Scape Pesto

10 garlic scapes, chopped, thinnest part discarded
2 tsp. olive oil
Sea salt
2 tbsp. pine nuts
12-15 basil leaves
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Place garlic scapes in a 9 x 9 roasting pan, toss with olive and season with a little salt. Roast for 20-30 minutes until fragrant and just starting to brown. Set aside to cool.

3. Add garlic scapes, pine nuts, basil and red pepper flakes to the bowl of a food processor. Process until well combined. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil through the feed tube in a stream. Add additional oil until desire consistency is achieved (at this point, you can freeze any pesto that won't be used right away). Stir in parmigiano-reggiano before serving.