I Feel Like Chicken Tonight! Chicken Tonight~

If we are what we eat I bet most people will be chickens, especially chicken breasts. Chicken is both under and overrated. Everyone flocks to the skinless breasts (just like in real life ha!) but the thighs are neglected even though they are juicier and skin is good. I'm obviously more of a leg woman, but that is not to say I hate breasts, they have their own preparations where they shine, I just think that they are heralded for being THE diet protein when thighs aren't that much fattier (still healthier than pork or beef actually).

They both gets subjected to the horrible treatment of overcooking though. When your chicken is stringy IT IS OVERCOOKED!!!

But tahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! There is a way to harmonize both parts to deliciousness. A classic dish, 40 cloves of chicken.


(The boyfriend plated that, if it sucks blame him!)

That's 40, yes 40, cloves of garlic baked with chicken. Served with sauteed watercress and radish with roasted garlic. The dish I technically got from Alton Brown: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/40-cloves-and-a-chicken-recipe/index.html but it's an old dish that a lot of people have made, they all about the same though.

Forty Cloves of Chicken With Sauteed Watercress And Radish With Roasted Garlic
Serves: 4

Ingredients
Chicken - 1 whole
Garlic - 40 cloves
Oil - 150ml (about 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons)
Radish - 400g (about 1 bag if it comes in those small bags)
Watercress - 500g (they come in mini bunches in my supermarket, like 3 bunches will be 300g)
Salt and Pepper - to taste

Instructions

Chicken
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Peel the garlic, it can be pretty tedious. You can press the garlic with your knife and it'll be easier to peel
2. Take apart the chicken, with the breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings (here's a good video on how http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiwHpDtZHOE)
3. Heat pan on medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil
4. Season chicken with alt and pepper, when the oil is hot enough (add a drop of water and it dances), add your chicken to brown the outside. Around 1 minutes on botch sides
5. Put the chicken in a pan with the garlic and add the remaining oil. Cover with tinfoil and put in the oven
6. When the chicken pieces reaches 165 Fahrenheit or when the insides are not pink take them out. Garlic should also be very soft and deliciously roasted and golden brown.

Note: You can tweak the recipe to anyway you like, you can add some spices to your seasoning (but I would add some oil on the chicken first I find that dry spices and hot oil equals burning but for some reason when I add some oil to it, it doesn't) and you can also add some herbs while baking with the oil and garlic. Woody herbs is best because they can withstand the heat. Woody herbs is like rosemary, thyme, and bay leafs. Parsley is unique cause the stems are more durable and you can add those in too but the leafs are very delicate.

Also, the oil from the roasting with the chicken is not very flavorful garlic oil! More about that at the bottom.



Sauteed Watercress And Radish
1. Wash the watercress and dry in a salad spinner (if you don't have one you can lay it out on paper towels and roll them, or just leave them in a colander they don't have to be super dry)
2. Wash radishes and slices them thinly with a knife or ideally, a mandolin, should be 2mm thick about
3. Heat up a large pan to medium, add some of the garlic oil from the chicken dish and when it's hot add the radishes
4. Cook for half a minute, season with a pinch salt and add the watercress, wait another half minute and salt to your liking
5. When the watercress is wilted, add in a couple pieces of the roasted garlic and incorporate with the vegetables
6. Add pepper to your liking

Note: Garlic oil is great but WARNING!!!! garlic contains botulism which can easily be lethal, it is fine when exposed to oxygen but since oil has no oxygen the oil is DANGEROUS the garlic oil MUST be refrigerated and for no longer than 3 weeks but I will throw it out at the 2 week mark just to be safe. So after the oil in the pan cools down a bit, strain the oil and put in the fridge! Store the garlic in the fridge too they are also good eats!

For uses of the garlic and oil. You can use the oil to cook other things or make toast! And garnish with the roasted garlic. You can also add the garlic to mashed potatoes or make garlic mayonnaise (but of course the mayonnaise can't be stored for too long now, but homemade mayonnaise only stay good for like a week)

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