A Sweet, Sticky Snack

  

But this one borders on gourmet. Kat Ashmore, who wrote the new cookbook Big Bites, came by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her recipe for Sticky Apricot Wings. Chicken Wings that are both sweet and savory and are sure to be a touchdown for your big game party. These are essentially roasted wings with a sauce combination of Apricot Preserves and Worchester Sauce. Kat told Tonia she tosses the wings in both salt and corn starch before roasting them. This mix allows the skin of the wings to dehydrate, so they become crispy. Kat says a lot of her techniques are classic cooking, but she tries to put a more modern spin on the recipes themselves. Listen to the whole interview on the Tonia's Kitchen podcast, wherever you get your podcasts!

Stuffing-Sans the Egg

  

So says Chef Billy from Restaurant Associates. He stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about a little different take on stuffing. This year Billy is making a no-egg, dried fruit stuffing with sourdough, and brioche, chopped apricots, dried cranberries, golden raisins, celery, onions, thyme, sage and chicken stock. He told Tonia you don't need the egg to hold the stuffing together, rather just use less chicken stock, make sure the bread is a little stale, and let the mixture absorb the stock longer. He also adds that using brioche gives the mix a very buttery flavor that really goes well with turkey or any dish! Save the eggs for breakfast!

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

One 1/2 pound of sourdough bread, One 1/2 pound of brioche, slightly stale

3/4 cup mixed chopped dried fruit, such as apricots, cranberries and figs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 large apple, such as Golden Delicious, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery with leaves, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Cut or tear the bread into bite-size pieces. Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets and spread into a single layer. Bake until slightly dry and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.
2. Meanwhile, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the dried fruit, sage, thyme, apple, onion, celery, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl.
3. Add the toasted bread to the onion mixture and toss until evenly moistened.Transfer to the prepared baking dish and evenly spread without packing the stuffing down too much. Bake until the top is crusty, about 40 minutes. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the top. Continue to bake until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Garnish with parsley and thyme.

A Simple Super Bowl Snack

 

But this one borders on gourmet. Kat Ashmore, who wrote the new cookbook Big Bites, came by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her recipe for Sticky Apricot Wings. Chicken Wings that are both sweet and savory and are sure to be a touchdown for your big game party. These are essentially roasted wings with a sauce combination of Apricot Preserves and Worchester Sauce. Kat told Tonia she tosses the wings in both salt and corn starch before roasting them. This mix allows the skin of the wings to dehydrate, so they become crispy. Kat says a lot of her techniques are classic cooking, but she tries to put a more modern spin on the recipes themselves. Listen to the whole interview on the Tonia's Kitchen podcast, wherever you get your podcasts!

A Casserole from Africa

   

To be specific, it's South African in origin.  We're talking about that country's national dish, Bobo-Tie. Judith Finlayson, who wrote The Chile Pepper Bible, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her recipe for Bobo-Tie.  It's a South African ground beef casserole that combines flavors of both the sweet and spicy origin.  Judith told Tonia she takes the spice of curry powder and the sweetness of apricots, raisins and apples to create a wonderfully unique casserole that we think will be at home on many a dinner table.

2 TBS vegetable oil, divided

2 lbs lean ground beef

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBS curry powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ cup dried apricots

1/4 cup raisins

1 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup whipping cream

In a skillet, heat 1 TBS oil over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, stirring often, until meat is no longer pink. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker stoneware. Drain off liquid in pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil to pan. Add onions and cook until soft. Add garlic, curry powder, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add apricots and bread crumbs, combine well and transfer mixture to slow cooker stoneware. Mix to integrate the meat mixture. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until mixture is hot and bubbling.

In a small bowl, combine eggs and cream. Mix well. Pour over meat mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes until top is set.

It's Not Jelly

  

There's many reasons to preserve fruit.  The basic one of course is to make it last longer, that's what people had to do in the old days.  Somewhere along the way, foodies discovered that preserves can be delicious, and you can get creative with this.  Enter Alison Duffy, who wrote the cookbook Preserving with Pomona's Pectin.  She stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about some of her favorite recipes, 

including Brandied Apricot Preserves.  Chef Alison told Tonia she starts with Lemon Peel that she cooks until they're soft.  She then adds fresh apricots (you can use frozen), brandy (of course!), sugar and pectin powder.  It's a not overly sweet preserve that people on low-sugar diets can enjoy.

A Twist on an American Grilled Classic

   

It's time to think about grilling outside...thanks to the weather warming up (at least in some parts of the country.)  Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby, who both wrote the Big Flavor Grill cookbook, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about their Grilled Chicken Thighs with an Apricot Chile Glaze If that sounds like a mouthful, you should try the chicken itself!  The sauce, very popular in Peruvian regions, provides a level of barbecue flavor that is unique to say the least, spanning the spectrum of sweet and spicy.  This chicken dish also has roots in North Africa, so Chris and John told Tonia they recommend serving it with a side of cous-cous. A really special way to fire up that grill this season!

• chicken thighs
• mint
• apple cider vinegar
• apricot preserves
• instant couscous
• sambal