Feta Brined Chicken

I like to lovingly think of this post as the blog post where I show you all that I can do more mature/grown up recipes than cookies or sprinkles-dumped-on-things. Sort of like when Zac Efron did the movie 17 Again, or Harry Potter did that weird play with the horse.



Anyways, let's talk poultry. More specifically, brined poultry.


A brine is a salt+water concoction that will make all your poultry dreams come true. Brines add a little salt and sass to your chicken, and a whole-heck-of-a-lot of tenderness. The most important thing is that you let your chicken brine long enough for the osmosis/science to happen.

I first read about this brine in the New York Times. It was originally inspired by a brine that was made with the discarded liquid from feta cheese. I'm going to go right on ahead and assume that none of you have access to buckets full of feta cheese liquid, so instead, we're going to blend up feta cheese with some water, and seasonings, and let that chicken sit in there for at least 24 hours.

With any brine, you'll still need to season your chicken. For our brine we're going to use salt, pepper, and oregano. We're also going to drizzle olive oil all over, and use chicken with skins. Because it's what's best for everyone. That's why.




My favorite thing about this chicken is that it's pretty versatile. The first time I made it, I threw some chopped up potatoes in the roasting pan. They soaked up some of the juices and had the most amazing flavor. I'm still brainstorming a way to make gravy out of the juices and pair it with some sort of feta mashed potato concoction. I'll get back to you on that one.

This time around, I threw my chicken with some veggies, yogurt, and pita Greek style. The feta is what really ties this chicken altogether.

You can also serve this chicken shredded up on a salad, or maybe even in some sort of Mediterranean sandwich with hummus or whatever. It's a real you-do-you type of situation. Just make sure you have lots of feta on the side. It's the right thing to do.






P.S. Have you been listening to the new Beyonce song? We have been listening to it on repeat over here. And by we, I mean James. And by James, I mean me.



Feta Brined Chicken
Adapted from The New York Times

3-4 chicken breasts, skins on (I've also used thighs or a whole cut up chicken before. The brine will work great no matter what, you'll just have to adjust cooking times accordingly)

2 oz. feta cheese plus more for sprinkling
3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, seperated
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper, seperated
2 tablespoons Oregano, seperated
1 lemon (optional for serving)
Olive Oil

Blend 2 oz. feta, salt, 1 T and water. Don't think you can outsmart the system and just mix the cheese really well, you really need to blend it. Place chicken and brine in large ziploc bag (I recommend putting your zipped up bag in a large bowl to catch any drips). Let sit overnight.

An hour before roasting, remove from brine (discard brine) and let sit on a paper towel+plate for about an hour. This lets the chicken come up to room temp. which will help it cook more evenly and get that glorious skin nice and crispy.

Preheat your oven to 450 F. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and rub with remaining salt, pepper, and oregano. Roast until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Basting at least once. My chicken breasts were a little larger, they took about 25 minutes. Yours may take more or less time depending on size.

Let your chicken rest at least 15 minutes before diving in. Serve with lots of feta. I recommend mixing some feta into the juices that run off and serving that like a sauce. So good.




Poblano and Goat Cheese Cornbread + Apple Cinnamon Honey Butter

I know, I know. That's like a million things in one food item. But hear me out on this one. When James and I lived in Washington DC, one of our favorite places to eat was a little BBQ joint called Fat Pete's. Our first time there, I ordered the poblano and goat cheese hush puppies with apple cinnamon honey butter. Typically in these types of situations, I'm pretty good at sharing food, but not with those dang hush puppies. I remember being so reluctant to let James have even one of them. I went there a few weeks later with my brother, basically just to get the hush puppies. Before even entering the restaurant, I advised him to order himself some hush puppies, and warned him that I would not be sharing any of mine. None of 'em. He was just going to have to deal with it.



That's what those hush puppies turned me into. A monster.

James and I now live on the other side of the country, and as much as I wish I had the money to fly back to Fat Pete's and partake of hush puppies whenever my heart desires, I don't.Which brings us to today's recipe.

Hush puppies are basically fried cornbread. I don't have a deep fat frier, nor do I have the bravery to keep one of those devils in my house. So we're just sticking to the basics. Peppers, cheese, batter, butter. Just your basic cornbread, with a little extra.



I was born and raised in Minnesota, therefore I'm typically afraid of peppers that are any spicier than a bell pepper. But Google promised me that these poblanos were somewhere in between a jalepeno and a bell pepper. Courage, my friends. That's all it takes.

For this cornbread, poblano peppers are roasted and then chopped up. The skins and seeds are removed because I'm pretty sure that's what you are supposed to do. I'm not sure. I was more motivated by fear than by anything else.




Blistery peppers join salty, creamy goat cheese in a slightly sweet cornbread batter. Once baked, the cornbread is slathered with sweet apple cinnamon-y honey butter. Everything makes sense.


Of course you could just use normal butter and honey. But let me say a few words about this honey butter.This honey butter is fall. Move over pumpkin spice latte. Move over crunchy leaves. Move over Pinterest quotes about boots and hoodies.

Tart apples are softened up with some sugar, and spiced up with some cinnamon. Then you add honey to the mix because you are a decent human being. Then everything is whipped into butter. Naturally. This apple cinnamon honey butter is just begging you to spread it all over every complex carbohydrate in existence. Banana bread. Toast. Bagels. Croissants. Sweet potatoes. Live your dreams. Live them.





Poblano and Goat Cheese Corn Bread

*This recipe makes enough bread for an 8x8 or 9x9inch pan, I increased this recipe by 1 1/2 to fit into the skillet

2 Poblano peppers
4 Oz Goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda


To roast the peppers:
Wash the peppers and rub lightly with olive oil. Place under broiler for 5-10 minutes on each side until skin blisters and blackens slightly. Let peppers cool. Remove skins and seeds. Finely chop. Be sure to wash your hands after. If you have really sensitive skin, you may need gloves, but I didn't have any problems.

For the bread:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt your butter in your pan in the preheating oven. Once butter is melted whisk in sugar, eggs, and buttermilk (I just mix these right in the pan because I'm lazy, but it can get messy, you can certainly mix everything up in a separate bowl.)  Mix together cornmeal, salt, flour, baking soda and mix into liquid mixture until combined. Pour into pan. gently stir in peppers and goat cheese, making sure they are spread evenly throughout.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until top is golden brown or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly.


Apple Cinnamon Honey Butter:

1 granny smith apple, roughly peeled and loosely chopped
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tablespoons honey
1 cup (2 sticks) butter

In a saucepan, cook apple, brown sugar, and cinnamon over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and apples are very soft. Set aside.

In food processor or with a hand or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, cream ingredients together. If you aren't using a hand mixer, I recommend finely dicing the apple before cooking.

Cover and keep refrigerated. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Party Trick: White Chocolate Covered Potato Chips


I have a serious lack of self-control and a serious love of anything that combines sweet and salty. I also have a serious need for a hearty dose of salad and a walk, but that's another story. 

These potato chips are everything that my relentless sweet tooth has dreamed of. I was two seconds away from calling them "Unicorn Snacks" because really, I don't know. I'm also not entirely sure of an appropriate event to bring these to. Maybe a 3-year-old's birthday party? Again, I don't know. But, you guys. Seriously.

These beauties are stupidly easy, stupidly addictive, and stupidly all eaten already. They are sweet and salty and crunchy. They kind of remind me of a better version of those pink and white animal crackers your mom refused to buy you as a kid. 


All you need are potato chips, white chocolate, and sprinkles of your choice. If you aren't a fan of sprinkles/shrapnel it's totally cool. You can leave them off. But the chips are already crunchy, so the sprinkles fit right in. If you are more of a milk or dark chocolate fan, I say go for it. Want to add some pretzels and peanuts and Chex cereal into the chocolate mix and make it a party? I'm in. 


Before you get going, can we have a heart to heart for a second? There are two methods for making these, and both work great. but they'll give you slightly different results. 

The first method is drizzling, like I did. It's quick and easy, but the chocolate may crumble slightly and things will get a tiny bit messy at the bottom of your serving bowl. This method is more ideal if you want to throw something together quickly that's going to be devoured just as quickly.

The other method is to dip the chips about halfway into the chocolate. This method takes a little longer, but the chocolate sticks pretty dang well. I recommend this if you are planning on giving these as a gift, or bringing these to a fancier party, such as a formal 3-year-old's birthday party.

A third unrecommended option is sitting on the couch with a bowl of melted chocolate and using the chips as spoons while you watch Spanish soap operas on Netflix. 

Are we all on the same page? Good. 



White Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

1 bag ruffled or wavy potato chips
1 bag white chocolate chips
Sprinkles (of your choice)

Lay out your potato chips in a single layer (try not to let any chips overlap and leave a little space in between each chip) over wax or parchment paper inside of a cookie sheet with a rim (unless you want to spend an afternoon vacuuming sprinkles off of the floor before your husband gets home.) 

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave your white chocolate chips in 30 second intervals until melted. Stirring with each interval

To Dip: Simply dip your chip, let the excess chocolate drip off, and set on wax or parchment paper, add sprinkles and let dry (about 1 hour).

Fo' Drizzle: Transfer melted chocolate to small ziploc bag. Zip shut and twist one end of the bag so that the chocolate all ends up in one of the bottom corners. With scissors, snip off a tiny corner of your bag. Pipe onto chips in a zig zag motion, one chip at a time (resist the urge to pipe all the way across the pan). When you are finished piping, add sprinkles. Let dry completely, about 1 hour. Gently break apart chips and transfer to serving bowl.

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