Foodie Chickie

I decided to sneak in two more recipes for Weekend Cookbook Challenge: Nigella Lawson.

I'm tired of winter, though it really wasn't a bad one for NYC. Nonethe less I want more BBQ meat. But not having a BBQ living in an apartment was a problem, however I found the next best thing in Nigella's Maple Chicken and Ribs from Nigella Express. They were super easy to make and pretty tasty.


Maple Chicken'n'ribs
Adapted from Nigella Lawson, Nigella Express
12 pork spare ribs
12 chicken thighs, with skin and bones
1 cup apple juice, as sharp as possible
4 tablespoons/1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, halved
6 unpeeled garlic cloves

Put the ribs and chicken pieces in a couple of large freezer bags or into a dish.
Add all the remaining ingredients, squelching or everything together well before sealing the bag or covering the dish.

Leave to marinade in the refrigerator overnight or up to 2 days.

Take the dish out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 200C/400 degrees F.

Pour the contents of the freezer bag into 1 or 2 large roasting trays (making sure the chicken is skin side up) and place in the preheated oven and cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, by which time everything should be sticky and glossed conker-brown.


The best fried dessert I have tasted were at the Chip Shop. They were mini fried Mounds bars. The fried Oreos I sampled at the Lady of Mt. Carmel festival were mushy instead of melty. I decided to try stick to fried Mounds and made some for dessert using a Nigella Bites recipe. I omitted the pineapple though. They were good, but make sure the oil is pretty hot. I think next time though I will try pancake batter.




Deep-Fried Candy Bars with Pineapple Recipe
Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites

Approximately 2 quarts sunflower or other oil for deep frying
1 ripe pineapple
1 cup self-rising flour
About 1 cup soda water
8 fun-sized Mounds bars (see Note below)

PREPARATION:
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to maximum heat.

Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple, and then quarter it vertically. Trim the woody core off each segment, and then lay it skin-side down, and slice the flesh in half lengthwise, stopping when you feel the skin.
Then cut it across into slices and run the knife between the flesh of the fruit and the outer husk. The pineapple pieces should then come away easily. Squeeze the outer skin of the pineapple over the cut fruit to get every last bit of juice.

Measure the flour into a bowl, and whisk in 3/4 cup of the soda water to make the batter, adding the rest of the water if the consistency is still too thick: you want this just thick enough to adhere easily. The best way to check is to turn a Mounds bar in it: if the batter sticks well enough, it's fine. I just use my fingers for this, but tongs work well, too.

Plunge the batter-blanketed Mounds in the hot oil and fry for about 3 minutes until the batter's puffed and golden. Remove to pieces of paper towel to absorb excess grease, then pile up on a plate to sit on the table alongside the cut-up pineapple.