Here are a few chicken recipes I have made over the last few weeks.  When I want to make something fast but still satisfying, I immediately think of Chicken and Pineapple Skewers.  Chicken, pineapple, on a skewer – sprinkle with salt (or soy sauce) and some toasted sesame oil.  Grill until chicken is cooked through.  The sesame oil adds a terrific flavor, and you only need a little bit.  (Trader Joes carries it for a good price)  These skewers disappear in my house.

Ina Garten has a recipe for Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic in her book, Barefoot in Paris, and I’ve always wanted to make it.  In order to make it Paleo compliant, I left out the Cognac, white wine, flour, and heavy cream.  I was worried that it wouldn’t be as good, but then I had an idea to puree the garlic with the chicken stock, and it turned out incredible.   The gravy had such amazing flavor and my husband didn’t believe that it didn’t have cream in it.  I’m calling it magic gravy.  I will be adding this into my regular rotation of meals.

Chicken with 30 cloves of Garlic with Magic Garlic Gravy

Adapted from Ina Garten

30 peeled cloves of garlic (Trader Joes and Costco sell peeled cloves)

1 4 ½-5 pound chicken, cut into eighths (or whatever combination of chicken pieces you want)

1 T butter (or ghee)

1 T olive oil

1 ½ cups of chicken stock

Season chicken liberally with kosher salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat the butter and oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  In batches, sauté the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3-5 minutes on each side.  Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don’t want to pierce the skin with a fork.  If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium.  Put the chicken pieces on a plate.  Add all of the garlic cloves to the pot.  Lower the heat and sauté for 5-10 minutes turning often, until evenly browned.  Add the chicken stock and return to a boil and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Return the chicken to the pot with the juices.  Cover and summer over low heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken and half the garlic cloves to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.  Raise the heat and cook down the broth just a bit.  Pour broth and garlic from pot either into a blender or use a hand blender to blend together.  Taste to see if it needs more salt or if you want to throw in a few more of those garlic cloves.  You can either pour the sauce over the chicken or you can pass the gravy separately, which is what I did.

*Next time I will double the garlic and chicken stock, just so I can have more gravy.

*You can make this ahead, just refrigerate the chicken with the sauce an reheat over low heat before serving.

We ate a lot of Italian food growing up and one of my favorite things was Chicken Francese: thin chicken breast filets dredged in flour and then dipped in egg and cooked in olive oil – add in some wine and lemon and you’re good to go.  Fast enough for a weeknight meal, but impressive enough for company.

Chicken Francese

2 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about a pound or so)

Flour for dredging (if Paleo, use almond meal)

Salt and Pepper

2 eggs, beaten

olive oil

½ small lemon, with rind, cut into thin rounds

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup dry white wine (skip if Paleo)

½ small lemon, juiced

1 T butter or ghee

chopped parsley

Put chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap on a cutting board.  Pound until they are about ¼ inch thick (to me, pounding away at a chicken breast is very cathartic).  Cut the chicken into more manageable sized pieces.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat some olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Dredge the chicken in the flour or almond meal, dip them into the beaten egg, and add the chicken to the skillet and fry until golden, about 2 minutes on each side.  You will probably need to do this in 2 batches.  Remove the chicken to a platter.

Toss the lemon slices into the pan and cook for a minute or two.  Add the chicken broth (wine if you’re using it) and lemon juice, and simmer for a few minutes to reduce a bit.  Add the butter to the skillet (add a bit of flour to the butter if you want a thicker sauce) and swirl it around.  Reduce the heat and return the chicken to the pan to get warmed through.  Sprinkle parsley on top.  Enjoy.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be making Tandoori chicken (using coconut milk instead of yogurt for marinating), almond crusted chicken tenders, and Buffalo chicken wings.  All Paleo and all delicious.  Although it would be nice to dunk the chicken wings into a rich, thick, blue cheese sauce……mmmmmm……..only a couple more weeks until the return of my beloved cheese.

“A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye.” – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin