Tried and True

I should thank this recession because I’ve discovered that cooking with chicken thighs is not only economical, but also recipe friendly. One of the few things I have refused to cut back during this recession (besides my shoe wardrobe) is cooking magazines, especially Fine Cooking. While looking for a new way to prepare chicken thighs, I was happy to see that Fine Cooking came to the rescue with their recipe for a chipotle cinnamon broiled chicken thighs. The combination of ingredients of cinnamon, sugar, cumin and chipotle was intriguing and so flavorful. Add the red pepper sauce and serve with roasted potatoes and onions and you have one heck of a dinner.

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CHIPOTLE CINNAMON BROILED CHICKEN THIGHS

Recipe adapted from FineCooking.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. packed light brown sugar
3/4 tsp. ground chipotle chile (you can reduce it to 1/2 tsp. if you need to)
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Kosher salt
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 tbs. olive oil
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
1 large or 2 small jarred roasted red peppers, drained
1 tbs. coarsely chopped cilantro (I ran out of this ingredient sadly)

Directions:

Position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler on high.
In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp. of the cumin, sugar, 1/4 tsp. of the chipotle, cinnamon, and 1 tsp. of salt.
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with 1 tbs. olive oil, then toss with the spice mixture.
Arrange the chicken on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Broil until the chicken browns lightly on top, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and continue to broil until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
Meanwhile, coarsely chop the garlic and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt. Using the flat side of the chef’s knife, smear and mash the garlic and salt together to form a coarse paste.
Transfer the garlic paste to a food processor and add the roasted red pepper, remaining 2 tbs. olive oil, and remaining 1/2 tsp. of cumin and chipotle, and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Puree into a smooth sauce.
Garnish the chicken with the cilantro and serve with the sauce.