Baked Chicken Recipes

When I lived in California and had a huge supply of lemons, a favorite whole chicken recipe to make was Roasted Chicken with Preserved Lemons. I had completely forgotten about that recipe until it appeared in the LA Times online a few months ago.  This is not a recipe that you can make tomorrow, because it takes weeks to make the preserved lemons.  If you are lucky enough to live where you can get Meyer lemons, I prefer the more mild flavor of these, as the preserved lemon flavor is very intense – but not bitter.

This is one of those oven chicken recipes that I attempted when I was first getting serious about cooking.  It is an exotic  phyllo pastry pie that envelopes almonds, eggs and cooked chicken that is seasoned with cinnamon and saffron and it is dusted with confectioner’s sugar and more cinnamon.  I was so intrigued and I just had to try it.  I must have had almost every pot and pan I owned needing a washing by the time I was done making this.  I had a very complicated recipe.

photo credit: digitalprimate

I throw down the gauntlet to anyone who can come up with a whole chicken recipe that produces a moister, more delicious bird than Beer Can Chicken.  No one seems to know how or when this got started, but I’m sure there must be a fraternity or a campsite involved and I’m sure the can of beer used for the chicken was not the only one open at the time!

photo credit: secretlondon123

One doesn’t normally think of Chimichangas as a healthy chicken recipe, but when it is baked instead of fried and brushed with olive oil while baking – it certainly has become a whole lot healthier than the traditional method.

There are many different versions of the story of the chimichanga.  Apparently, a female chef accidentally dropped a burrito into hot oil.  Since children were within ear shot, she didn’t want to swear, so she just used the Spanish word for “thingamagig” – CHIMICHANGA!  Tucson, Arozona seems to make the strongest case for being the birthplace of the chimichanga, and it is proud to call itself the Mexican Food Capital of the United States.

photo credit: stu_spivack

When I saw that over 7000 people a day search for the chicken gourmet recipe Chicken Makhani or Indian Butter Chicken, I knew that I had to try it.  Although these two versions are not technically a baked chicken recipe, I had to include them because they are both such chicken gourmet delights!

This is one of those great slow cooker chicken recipes that has the house smelling absolutely divine while it is cooking.  Not many people are really sure what a fricassee is.  There are so many variations on a fricassee.  It really is an umbrella under which many stewing recipes fall.  Years ago, many fricassee recipes were made using chickens and rabbits.  One old recipe of mine says, “Skin the rabbits – but not the chickens”.  I don’t even want to think about that.  I used to have a gorgeous lop-eared rabbit named Tiffany.  She was a feisty little critter and she used to chase our St. Bernard around the yard!  …But I digress.  Let’s get back to the subject of slow cooker chicken recipes.

photo credit: stu_spivack

Well boy and girls, the big day is just about here!  If you are having a Super Bowl party, baked chicken recipes can be your friend, since you an be doing lots of other things while the oven does all the work.  No doubt about it – America has gone crazy for chicken wings.  I remember when I was in college, our local grocer used to sell these for 19 cents a pound!  Not so any more, but they are always readily available.  I’ve shared with you Betty White’s sort of Teriyaki wings and my favorite Buffalo wings.  These Super Bowl wings are one of those baked chicken recipes that really go over big with people who don’t care of the heat of the Buffalo wings.

photo credit: From Argentina With Love

Chicken gourmet appetizers are always a hit at parties.  One thing I like about them is that they freeze well, so they can be made well ahead of time and can usually be baked from frozen just before your guests arrive.  Many people who have not made them before are too intimidated to try to make them.  They really are not at all difficult to make.  All an empanada is is a stuffed pastry.  The root word “empanar” simple means to wrap in bread.   Many countries throughout the world have some version of an empanada.  The US has turnovers.  Italians have calzones.  The Brits make their pasties, etc.