Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (Page 420)

In this case, Chicken with about 20 cloves of garlic.  I rationalized that doing only three leg/thigh pieces did not need the full 40.

This has to be one of the easiest recipes ever-- for so little effort it tastes great.

Not 40 Cloves of Garlic

You can use a whole chicken, a cut up chicken or just part of a chicken.  I bought a 10 lbs bag of chicken legs and thighs because it is Covid quarantine and why not have a 10 lbs bag of chicken parts on hand.  What I didn't realize is it takes several days for a frozen solid chunk of chicken parts to thaw, so if you go this route give it a couple of days in advance to thaw. I used the remaining chicken to make Tandoori bbq chicken, but sadly I did not use the Joy recipe that calls for Fenugreek leaves. (We did not have them on hand, surprisingly.)

Browning

This couldn't be easier to make. Brown the chicken in oil, add the garlic, (the more the merrier with the garlic)  some seasonings like thyme and sage, put it in the oven.   The recipe calls for turning the oven temperature up midway through with the lid off but you could probably be lazy and not bother and it would be fine. Just make sure you get the chicken cooked all the way through, 165 degrees.

Take the Meat Out and Boil the Juice

As with most things, the gravy is the best part.  After taking it out of the oven be sure to boil it on the stove until it reduces. Be sure to mash up some of the cooked garlic and add to the gravy.  I took the added step of separating the fat out so that it wasn't too greasy.

The Finished Product

Mashed up Garlic for the Sauce (yum)

Ratings: Julie 5/5
Mike 5/5
Ed 10/5 He really liked the gravy.

Turkey Burgers (pg 430), Hamburger Buns (pg 619), Quick Cucumber Pickles (pg 929) and a Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie (pg 770)

We started on our burgers the day before by seasoning our cast iron skillet with a giant chocolate chip cookie yesterday.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Both Em and Jess agree that this was a perfect cookie in taste and texture. Plus smashing dough into a skillet is way faster than measuring out individual balls)

Em had already baked the buns
⭐⭐⭐⭐  (from Jess who thinks they were a little too small for burgers and storing them hot steamed them up to bao texture)

and had quick pickled the cucumbers
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Seriously we're going to pickle EVERYTHING now. These are crunchy with A+ dill and garlic flavor)

So next up was patty making and if you're worried about turkey burgers being dry, fear not...

because Joy includes an option for butter cubes 😍 to be added into the burger mix! A recipe option we, of course, opted into along with the recommended measures of salt, pepper and some yellow onion we had to sub in for green. We also opted-in for chili powder and took the liberty of cooking our patties in the fat left from frying our burger bacon (I am my mother's daughter. Please see her US Senate Bean Soup post)

We topped these guys up with some sharp white cheddar, a little romaine (the only green thing left at the grocery store), that bacon, those pickles and Em's toasted buns. Turned out to be pretty dang decadent but it's quarantine and we deserve it.

Overall Turkey Burger Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (from Jess who could have used a flavor other than bacon in there somewhere. Maybe more pickles next time...)

??? (from Em who is in a butter coma on the couch 🙄