Roasted Chicken Thighs with Grapes and Fennel

October 2025

Recipe from Cook's Country, October 2021, available online.

I maintain a list of recipes that I might like to try. It's a pretty long list. This chicken recipe was on the list and it had many appealing features: dark chicken meat, interesting accompaniment, and relatively easy to prepare. I don't remember where I learned about this recipe but I gave it a go. The recipe is for eight bone-in chicken thighs, but I halved it and prepared four thighs (2.2 pounds) which should make two dinners for the two of us. 

Melted butter, dried thyme, and minced garlic were combined in a small bowl. A fennel bulb was cored, sliced thin crosswise, and tossed with some of the butter mixture, salt, and pepper then spread on a quarter sheet pan. Red seedless grapes were tossed with more of the butter mixture and also spread on the sheet pan. These were roasted until the fennel began to soften. While the fennel and grapes cooked the chicken was seasoned with salt and pepper and browned, skin side down, in a skillet. Space was made on the sheet pan for the chicken which was placed skin side ups and brushed with the remaining butter mixture. The chicken was roasted in a 450° oven to a temperature of 175°. The chicken, grapes, and fennel were sprinkled with chopped fennel fronds and served. Prep time for this recipe was 20 minutes, total time 70 minutes.

We enjoyed our two dinners with this recipe. The chicken was very good and easy to prepare. The grapes added a nice sweetness. The fennel wasn't very flavorful itself, perhaps it was overcooked. There are many additional Test Kitchen recipes for roasted chicken thighs, I should try some others in addition to making this one again.

Coconut Cream Pie

 September 2025

Recipe from The Perfect Pie, Americas Test Kitchen, 2019, p. 49 and 334, also available online. 

I recently made a vanilla cream pie and published a blog post about it. The pie was good but I criticized the time needed to make it and the expense of several ingredients. A reader commented on social media that they enjoy coconut cream pie. I had never made a coconut cream pie so I thought I would give it a go. It didn't hurt that it was the next recipe in the pie cookbook after the vanilla cream pie.

For the crust, Nilla Wafer cookies, sweetened flaked coconut, sugar, flour, and salt were ground in the food processor. Melted butter was added and the mixture pulsed to combine the ingredients. The mixture was pressed in a pie plate and baked at 325° until set. Making the "dough" took just 15 minutes, total time was 30 minutes exclusive of cooling.

For the filling, milk, sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt were whisked together. Milk was brought to a simmer and a portion of the hot milk was whisked into the yolk mixture to temper it. The tempered mixture was slowly whisked into the remaining hot milk then cooked until it thickened and bubbled and registered 180°. The filling was strained and sweetened flaked coconut and vanilla extract were stirred in. The filling was poured into the cooled crust and refrigerated until set. Preparing the filling took 50 minutes.

Sweetened flaked coconut was carefully toasted in the microwave to create a garnish. Toasting it for 30 seconds was too long and it burned so, for the second try, it was toasted in 10 second increments. The pie was served with whipped cream and the toasted coconut.

Curiously, we thought the pie was just okay the first time we had it, but after several more days (a pie lasts us four days) it grew on us and we liked it more and more. It was easier and faster to make than the vanilla cream pie and without wasting any ingredients. I might make it again, time will tell. The recipe called for sweetened shredded coconut but all I could find in the supermarket was sweetened flaked coconut. I don't think this had a large effect on the pie.

Onion -Braised Beef Brisket

 September 2025

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

I had a hankering for brisket. I used to smoke brisket on our gas grill but I haven't used the gas grill for several years so I went looking for another recipe. I settled on this onion-braised brisket recipe. Brisket is lean and needs to be cooked for a long time to become tender. This recipe takes two days to complete and makes a gravy/sauce as a bonus.

The recipe is for a 4 to 5 pound brisket, way too much for the two of us. I purchased a 2.1 pound brisket but didn't reduce the quantity of the rest of the ingredients. For braising I used an 11x8-inch dish rather than 13x9 and lined it with two sheets of aluminum foil. The brisket was dried with paper towels, holes poked in the fat cap with a fork, and both sides were seasoned with salt and pepper. The brisket was well browned on the stove then set aside while the braising liquid was prepared. Sliced onions were cooked in some of the rendered beef fat along with some sugar and salt. Minced garlic was added and cooked until fragrant then tomato paste. Paprika and cayenne pepper were added and cooked then flour was sprinkled over the mixture and stirred until well combined. Chicken broth, red wine, bay leaves, and fresh thyme were added and simmered. The sauce and onions were poured into the foil-lined pan under the brisket. The foil was folded over the brisket which then cooked until the brisket was fork tender, 4 hours in a 300° oven. The brisket was placed in a bowl and the sauce was strained over the meat. Discarding bay and thyme, the onions were placed in a second bowl. Both bowls were stored overnight in the refrigerator. Except for the roasting period it took just over an hour to prepare the brisket.

On the second day congealed fat was removed from the brisket and sauce.  The sauce was simmered and the brisket cut into ¼-inch slices; we got 9 slices. The sliced brisket was placed in an 11x8-inch baking dish and covered with the sauce to which the onions and vinegar had been added. This was heated in a 350° oven until heated through then served. The preparation on the second day took 45 minutes.

We had brisket for dinner four times, reheating the meat and sauce together in the microwave. The brisket and gravy and onions were good. The brisket was a little bland, perhaps it should have cooked longer. The sauce did not stay in the aluminum foil and some of it boiled away in the oven but there was enough for our four meals. The sweet braised onions added a nice element to all meals. While good, I don't expect to use this recipe again. The preparation is rather involved and takes two days. There are other recipes for roast beef and gravy that are just as good and take less time and effort.

Almond-Crusted Chicken Cutlets

 September 2025

Recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook, America's Test Kitchen, 2012, p. 154; also available online.

Chicken cutlets make a good, quick dinner; it is probably my favorite way to prepare chicken breasts. The thin breasts cook quickly and generally come out tender and juicy. Rather than use a recipe that I have  used before I looked in a cookbook that has provided several recipes that we now use regularly and I found a new-to-us recipe that looked worth trying.

I bought 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts weighing 1.35 pounds. I cut them into 6 cutlets plus two tenderloins. They were pounded to uniform thickness, or perhaps thinness. A sauce was made whisking together honey and Dijon mustard, omitting the chopped chives that were in the recipe.  Slivered almonds were ground in the food processor and combined with panko bread crumbs. Eggs and Dijon mustard were whisked together. The cutlets were patted dry and seasoned with salt and pepper. They were dredged in the egg mixture then in the panko mixture. (They were supposed to have been dredged in flour then egg then bread crumbs, but I forgot the flour step, although the online recipe omits this step.) The cutlets were fried in oil for 2-3 minutes a side, drained on paper towels, and served with the honey-mustard sauce.  Total time was 50 minutes.

These were good chicken cutlets, tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The honey-mustard sauce was a good addition to the dish. The coating adhered well to the chicken even without the flour layer. The cutlets were also good leftover after re-heating on the stove top in a covered skillet and the sauce was a welcome addition.  We had enough chicken for 3 dinners total.