It Takes a Strong Man to Make a Tender Chicken

One time while in Liquor Land in Boston, I was telling the story to a whiskey rep about how I got made fun of for adding ice to my bourbon. He told me, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken."

While I was on Martha's Vineyard, Sami gave me some lavender. I'm hoping for more so Noel and I can use it in this year's Christmas Spirit. At first I was thinking I'd infuse my own olive oil with this batch. By the time I got off the ferry in Falmouth, I had come up with a meal that was blog quality: lemon lavender chicken. Monday I was in Melrose, talking to one of my favorite foodies, Rebecca, at Becon Hill Wine and Gorumet. She mentioned how she had just sold out of a lemon olive oil she sells. As I drove away, I couldn't get the oil out of my mind and it came to me: infuse my own lemon olive oil. It was pretty easy, and I really feel it made this meal more gourmet, and I get bragging rights that I took the time to infuse the oil.

Tuesday night I made the oil.
THE OIL:
First you need the zest of two lemons (about a cup give or take). I don't have a zest tool (WTF I don't have something? Don't worry it's now on the list near the top!) so I used a cheese grater. In a sauce pan I added one cup oil, the lemon and cooked it on low for 15 minutes making sure to stir every few minutes. Then I let it sit for two hours. About 10 minutes into the resting I decided to add a tablespoon lavender, I wish I had thought about this before I started. After the two hours I poured the oil into my oil holder, it's a dark red ceramic jar, perfect so no sun light can cause the lemon oil to go bad. So easy, so much fun and I will do this over and over again.

THE CHICKEN:
So after the oil was done I took two tablespoons of the lemon/lavender mix and added a tablespoon fresh lavender, a teaspoon pink peppercorns and half teaspoon sea salt (I added the fresh items to the mortar and crushed them up a little). I put them all in a ziplock bag with a 1/4 cup infused olive oil and four chicken thighs and marinated them over night.

All day I had chicken on the brain, I could't wait to make this meal that I have been thinking about since Sunday. When I started dinner pre-heated the oven to 400. I stuck a meat thermometer in one of thighs (I don't like going off time I rather know my meat is done especially chicken! Thighs need to be at 175F.) and stuck it in the oven. After the temperature got to around 80F (it started at 55F) I dropped the heat down to 350F and covered the chicken with tin foil. Right after that was done I started the wild rice. I love wild rice it goes so well with everything and makes it feel more special of a meal. When the chicken got to 150F I uncovered the chicken. By that time the rice was done and I started the summer squash. I cut the squash with the mandolin and pan fried them in the lemon oil, three minutes a side. They came great and had a small hint of caramel. The whole meal came out better than I could have ever imagined. The chicken was little more lemon and less lavender than I had hoped for but cooked wise it was PERFECT! Tender and juicy, just perfect!!

The wine tonight was harder than I thought. Right away I wanted to drink a Gamay with it. Gamay is famous for being the only grape from Beaujolais. It's a weird grape, similarish to Pinot Noir, well kinda. They can be very fragrant, fruit forward and fresh, floral esters. When young they can be tart and are not a grape that is known for aging. I myself am not a huge fan of the wines of Beaujolais but the Gamay from the Lorie Valley can be more lively and tarter. So I went out looking for a Lorie Valley Gamay. None of the stores that I visited or called had one. I was real disappointed until I found a bottle of Cinsault at the Wine Emporium on Columbus Ave. I have never seen a bottle of single varietal Cinsault before and Laura the wine buyer was sure the wine would go with the meal. I was more than excited to try this one, Domaine Des Terres Falmet. It's a very simple yet delightful wine. It has a very nice floral nose with hints of lavender and spice and the palate has wonderful cherries, herbs and pepper. It went awesome with the meal and was a great addition to my off the beaten path wines.