Oven Roasted Chicken with Kumquats

The strong flavor of kumquat takes roasted chicken to another level. I marinated the chicken with kumquats and finished the dish by brushing the poultry with a kumquat glaze. The final product was tender and tasty with a crunchy skin.

I served the chicken as one of the dishes for our buffet-style dinner party. We had about 15 people at the house, so I roasted 3 whole chickens. I carved the chickens and placed them in a chafing dish with the chicken drippings at the bottom of the dish to prevent the chicken from drying out or burning. There were literally only a few wings left, so I think it worked out pretty well. Our tree is absolutely bursting with kumquats, so if you're a fan of the diminutive citrus, stay tuned, because I'll be posting many more recipes in the near future.

Chicken Skewers Glazed with Kiwi Chutney

Kiwi chutney helps bring chicken to life by infusing the meat with sweet, tangy and spicy flavors. It's an exotic and flavorful twist on what could otherwise be a boring chicken dinner. I served the skewers with raita (yogurt sauce) and some more of the sauce made from the kiwi chutney. For the vegetarians in the house, I deep-fried tofu cubes, placed them on skewers and brushed them with kiwi chutney. Everyone got to share almost the "same" meal, which is very rare in my home.

I got the jar of kiwi chutney pictured below from our friend Laura. It's just one product in a long line of lovely creations that she has shared with us. Laura makes an amazing French marmalade, flavored with French vanilla beans. I don't have the recipe for the marmalade, but last year, she was kind enough to share her recipe for making vinegar on Pham Fatale.

If you don't have a friend like Laura, or can't find kiwi chutney at your local market, you can always try using other sweet chutneys such as mango or tamarind. No matter what, you'll have a tasty new chicken dish to share with your family and friends.

Olive Tapenade Chicken Rolls

Olive tapenade is extremely versatile and can be used as a spread or filling in many different dishes. You can also use it in place of more traditional party dips such as hummus, guacamole, salsa or roasted bell pepper spread. In this recipe, I added goat cheese to the tapenade and used the mixture as a filling for chicken rolls. I served the dish with a mildly sweet carrot purée that makes an excellent foil to the savory flavor of the tapenade.

If it's not part of your culinary repertoire yet, you should definitely learn to prepare tapenade. It will open up a whole new world of easy to prepare, delectable dishes.

Com Ga Hai Nam (Hainanese Chicken Rice)

Whenever I have chicken broth leftover from making bún măng gà, literally "bamboo and chicken rice noodle soup", I make chicken rice with it. The dish is called cơm gà Hải Nam; the yellow hue comes from the aromatic chicken broth (in place of water) made from Vietnamese chicken. What is a Vietnamese chicken, you ask? In Vietnam, the gà đi bộ chicken are considered "free-range"; the chickens are "trained" to run and as a result the meat has a totally different texture from the chicken found in American grocery stores. If you want to make a very authentic broth, the choice of chicken is crucial. You can find it at Asian markets; ask for a gà đi bộ, literally a walking chicken.

Traditionally, cơm gà Hải Nam is served with pieces of the boiled gà đi bộ chicken and rau thơm, which translates to fragrant herbs. The herb mixture is usually composed of rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), Vietnamese mint, Thai Basil, ngò (cilantro) and thinly sliced cabbage. Of course, the dish is seasoned with nước mắm (Vietnamese fish sauce), fresh red Thai chiles, pickled shallots and thinly shredded fresh ginger. The overall dish is light and absolutely delicious!

Mushroom and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

Mushroom and cheese stuffed chicken breast is a quick and easy chicken recipe for dinner. I used goat ricotta cheese, shiitake mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and lemon to flavor the meat. Chicken breast can be dry, so I marinated the meat and cooked the chicken for only 15 minutes. It's perhaps more of a roll than a stuffing, but either way, it's delicious.

My mother-in-law is an absolute creature of habit, and when we plan on cooking chicken, her preference is always poulet roti. Contrary to the stereotype, I love my mother-in-law dearly, so don't think I'm complaining, but it takes a miracle to get her to try new things. A couple of nights ago, we had some dinner guests and we had to come up with a main course. We had chicken breasts in the house, but no whole chicken. My mother-in-law was ready to go to the market to get a whole chicken, but I was able to convince her to give this recipe a try.

Given the time crunch, she grudgingly gave in and let me prepare the dish. When she tasted it, she asked me why I haven't made it before! I see a lot of stuffed chicken breasts in my future, and if you try this recipe, I bet you will too!