FINGER LICKIN': BBQ Rub-Roasted Chicken

I always forget to marinade ahead of time, so when I was watching the Food Network, this BBQ dry rub caught my attention-- especially since I had almost all of the ingredients in my cupboard. I first made it a few months ago (the day after I watched the show), for Chris and my dad after they spent a day putting in our new fence.  The bold, spicy flavors of the rub make for finger-lickin' chicken that has quite a kick.

Things to Note:

-Her full recipe calls for an entire chicken, which I haven't done. When roasting chicken breasts I've just relied on my meat thermometer to adjust the cooking time.

-Brining makes remarkably moist chicken. However, if you don't have the time, I consider it optional-- "bonus" I guess you could say. I've rubbed the mixture straight onto chicken two minutes before baking and grilling on separate occasions, and it's been moist and delicious.

-Being health-conscious I've been afraid of chicken skin and bones for a long time. I only bought boneless, skinless chicken breasts up until recently. I've realized how much flavor I've sacrificed. My perfect "medium" is now buying boneless with the skin still on. I cook the chicken with the skin on for flavor and moisture but usually choose not to eat it. So worth it! If you do cook with the skin, make sure to get some of that rub between the meat and skin :)

-I've made several versions of the rub... I've been out of onion powder at one time, out of garlic powder another, and ran out of cumin and paprika partway through making the mixture a different time. I've also used dried thyme rather than ground thyme. All variations were great.

-Whenever I try a new spicy recipe, I usually tone down the spice that it calls for as a precaution. I did just that, only using half of the cayenne pepper and still found the rub to have a substantial kick. I've never upped the amount since, so you'll notice I modified the recipe below. It's fiery the way I've made it, but if you can't get things hot enough, dare to make the recipe the way it was originally written :)

-I haven't ever used the butter in her recipe. I haven't missed it either.

BBQ RUB-ROASTED CHICKEN

recipe adapted from Sunny Anderson, thefoodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

BRINE:

• 8 cups water
• 1 lemon, juiced and halves reserved
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (7 to 8 pound) whole roaster chicken

RUB:

makes about 3/4 cup

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dried ground thyme
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (2 teaspoons for the original recipe)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 lemon, zested 

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Method:

In a bowl large enough to fit the chicken, combine the water, lemon juice and halves, salt, and sugar. Whisk until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the chicken to the bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight. If the brine does not fully cover the chicken, rotate the chicken halfway through the brining process. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl add half of the BBQ Rub and 1/2 stick unsalted, room temperature butter. Mix until well combined. Refrigerate for a few minutes if the butter begins to melt after mixing. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Use your fingers to gently release the skin from the flesh of the breasts and legs. Spread the butter mixture evenly under the skin and over the breast and legs. Pat the remaining BBQ rub mixture all over the bird. Transfer the chicken to a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack and bake until golden and the juices run clear, basting frequently, for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Baste the chicken thoroughly with the drippings in pan, return to the oven, and let bake until the skin is brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Carve the meat and arrange on a serving platter.

NEW HOME-COOKIN': Classic Lemon Bars

It's been way too long since I sat down to blog...

While I've still been cooking, I've also been working through my first year teaching, as well as finding, buying and moving into our first home. It's been such an exciting few months! We absolutely love our "new" house in San Carlos and are enjoying the cute little town more and more as we continue to explore it. As you can imagine, liking the kitchen was part of our home-buying criteria. Even though it's small in size, it has everything we need with new, high-quality appliances, a nice deep sink, and beautiful warm-colored granite counter tops and coordinating tile back splash. It's also really bright with a window to the front yard, skylight, and light fixtures. When I really started to do a happy dance is when I found out there are two pull-out drawers for pots and pans. Oh baby!


I'm hoping to get back into Mission Delish, writing even more frequently than before... starting with a recipe for Classic Lemon Bars-- something I haven't tried making before. They were inspired by our friendly next door neighbors who generously offered us lemons from their thriving 40 year old tree. I figured if they were going to share with me, I wanted to share something I made with the lemons back :)

As far as the bars went, it was a learning process that turned out more deliciously than beautifully (which is all that really matters in the end). The lemon filling is tart and refreshing, but what really stands out is the perfectly sweet and fragrant vanilla shortcrust. The buttery vanilla smell that filled the house, alone, made it worth the effort. And speaking of effort, don't be alarmed with the lengthy recipe. While you need to plan ahead and allot a good amount of time to make the bars (there is a lot of "do this then chill it" and "bake this then let it cool"), each step was pretty easy. Also, with the exception of getting those fresh lemons, the ingredient list is small and made up of things you probably already have at home.

Things to Note:

• Because of how much time each of the steps takes with all of the chilling and cooling, I suggest making the crust a day ahead if you don't have the time to do it all in one night. The cookbook says you can bake the crust up to 3 days in advance even, making sure to wrap it in plastic and store it at room temperature. It says you can freeze the baked crust for up to a month, as well, if you want to start churning out these lemon bars on a regular basis :)
• Both the crust and lemon bar recipes double just fine. To make sure I was doubling it properly, I scooped the lemon filling with a measuring cup before pouring it onto each of the crusts to make sure each pan got the same amount.
  
• When making dough, it's hard to know just how much water to add or how moist it should be when you're kneading it. I doubled the recipe, and I found the first half pretty crumbly but kept going anyway. I added water to the second half, and it was so much easier to knead and roll out. When in doubt, add water.
• I'm not sure if this was in error or to be expected, but my lemon filling leaked under the crust (loose from the foil after it was separately baked) and pushed it to the top. The lemon bars came out "upside down" with filling on the bottom and crust on the top. Once I pulled the foil out of the pans, I flipped the bars upside down so that the crust landed on the cutting board. I used a spatula to separate the foil from the filling and smoothed the filling over like I was frosting a cake. Pretty? No. Tasty? Yes :) If anyone knows whether that was "supposed" to happen or not, please do tell.
  

CLASSIC LEMON BARS
recipe adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet,
makes 36 squares

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe Vanilla Shortcrust Dough prepared through Step 2 (see below)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup strained freshly squeezed lemon juice (from ~3 lemons)
• powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Equipment:

• 9 inch square cake pan (I used 8 inch)
• silicone/rubber spatula
• cooling rack
• whisk
• medium bowl
• fine-mesh strainer
• serrated knife for cutting the bars
  

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position and oven rack in the center.
2. Line the pan with foil across the bottom and up all four sides, then lightly coat with Crisco (book suggests melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray). With the spatula, scrape the dough into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer across the bottom of the pan. Chill for 30 minutes.
3. Bake the chilled crust for 35-45 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a rack and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
4. Whisk the egges and granulated sugar together in the medium bowl. Whisk in the flour until there are no lumps. While in the lemon juice. Pour the filling over the crust. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling is set and does not jiggle when you tap the side of the pan. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. When cool, refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. To serve, grasp the foil and lift the cookies out of the pan. Set them on a cutting surface. Gently peel back the foil, using the tip of a thin knife or spatula to help separate the bars from the foil if necessary. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares and transfer to a serving plate or storage container. Just before serving, use a fine-mesh strainer to dust powdered sugar over the tops. (Wait until the last minute to do this or the powdered sugar will soak into the filling and look blotchy.)
   

The bars keep well at room temperature for 1 day. For longer storage, keep them airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The bars cannot be frozen, however, because the crust becomes soggy when defrosted.



VANILLA SHORTCRUST DOUGH
recipe adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet
shortened specifically for the Classic Lemon Bars recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 to 3 teaspoons water

Method:
I chose to make this recipe by hand, but you can also use a food processor. Why by hand? Just as easy with less dirty dishes :)

TO MIX DOUGH BY HAND:

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the medium bowl and blend well with the whisk. Add the cold butter pieces and toss until they are lightly coated with the flour. Use a pastry blender or your fingertips to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs or crushed crackers. If at any time during this process the butter softens and becomes warm, place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before continuing. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon water. Add the dry ingredients and toss between your fingertips or with a fork 20 to 30 times to evenly distribute the moisture. The dough will still look very crumbly, but if the mixture is squeezed in your hand, it should hold together. If not, sprinkle another teaspoon of water over the top and toss to blend. Repeat if necessary.
2. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead gently 2 or 3 times, just to finish bringing it together. Shape it into a disk about 6 inches in diameter...