2 Legged

ANNABEL COHEN

Special to the Jewish News

Favorite

hen you can't
think of any-
thing else to
eat, there's
always chicken. It's easy to
cook and most people like it.
Chicken isn't pricey, rela-
tively speaking, and is the
utility player of the food
world — it plays every posi-
tion as needed. It's the buffet
standard for those who don't
eat beef or fish.
If all else fails, there's
always chicken. A new,
good chicken recipe is
shared and passed around
like a good book. With the
ever-growing popularity of
boneless and skinless chick-
en breasts, it's easy to find
giant bags of quick-frozen breasts that
need only be thawed, in short order,
before they're grilled, chopped, shred-
ded, sauteed and broiled into easy
entrées.
The most important thing to
remember about cooking boneless and
skinless chicken breasts is that over-
cooking is chicken's enemy. The safe
temperature of the meat is 170-180F
or until the juices run clear. That's
only about 4-5 minutes on each side
for a five-ounce boneless and skinless
chicken breast on a medium-hot grill.
Any way you cook it, the following
recipes will combine different and new
ways of serving up this favorite meat.

CORNMEAL CRUSTED CHICKEN
WITH ORANGE CORN SALSA
Salsa:
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 fresh or frozen corn, thawed
1 cup chopped orange (peel removed)
grated peel of 1 orange
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 T. olive oil
1 T. red hot pepper sauce
salt and pepper to taste

The many

cooking options

with chicken

make it

highly popular.

Chicken:
3 pounds boneless and skinless chick-
en breasts (small breasts, about 5 oz.
each)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 t. granulated garlic
salt and pepper to taste
3 T. vegetable oil
Make salsa: Combine all ingredients
in a bowl and toss well. Chill until
ready to use, up to three days ahead.
Preheat oven to 250F. Using a meat
mallet, pound chicken breasts until
they are of uniform thickness (this
will flatten the breasts and make them
appear larger).
Stir together cornmeal and garlic in a
shallow bowl. Season chicken with salt
and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet
over medium-high heat. Dredge chicken
in cornmeal mixture, patting each breast
to remove excess cornmeal.
Cook the breasts in batches (as many
breasts as you can fit in the skillet) until
golden on each side, reducing heat if the
chicken browns too quickly. Transfer
chicken to a baking dish or cookie sheet
to keep warm while you finish cooking
remaining chicken.
Serve the breasts hot or at room tem-

perature, alone or as a sandwich, topped
with salsa. Makes 8 servings.

PASTA WITH GRILLED CHICKEN,
ARTICHOKES, CAPERS AND SUN-
DRIED TOMATOES
2 pounds boneless and skinless chick-
en breasts, trimmed of fat
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. olive oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 t. minced garlic
1 cup chopped scallions
2 T. capers, drained
1 can (about 15 oz.) artichoke hearts,
drained and quartered
1/2 cup oil-packed sundried toma-
toes, drained and chopped
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
12 oz. fresh spaghetti, fettuccine or
linguine, cooked al dente, according
to package directions
Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush
chicken breasts with olive oil and season
with salt and pepper. Grill chicken on
both sides until done, about 8-10 min-
utes. Cut the chicken into long, thin
strips, crosswise (into thin "fingers").
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to

boil over high heat. Add fresh pasta and
cook until al dente, according to pack-
age directions.
Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.
Place the hoi pasta, chicken and
remaining ingredients in a large bowl
and toss well. Adjust salt and pepper
to taste and serve the pasta hot. Makes
6 servings.

ROASTED CHICKEN BREASTS
WITH LEMON AND ROSEMARY
3 lemons, sliced thin
3 pounds boneless and skinless chick-
en breasts, trimmed of fat (about 8-10
breast halves)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T. dried rosemary or 3 T. fresh rose-
mary leaves
1/4 cup whole garlic doves, peeled
and sliced thin
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
2 T. capers, drained
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 400F. Arrange the
lemon slices over the bottom of a large
baking dish. Arrange chicken breasts
over the lemon slices. Drizzle the

v,kg

4/ 19
2002

91