Cecilia Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Put the onions, olives, chiles and bay leaves on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut 1 orange half into wedges and add to the baking sheet.
• Evenly space the chicken thighs, skin-side up, on the baking sheet on top of the other ingredients. Drizzle with the olive oil and squeeze the juice from the remaining orange half on top. Season with salt.
• Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp and golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Serve the chicken with the onions, olives, oranges and pan juices.

Steps:

• Place chicken in baking dish.
• Spread mayonnaise evenly over chicken.
• Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• Bake uncovered at 400°F for 50 minutes.

Steps:

• Rub the chicken inside and out with salt, half of the soy sauce and half of the wine. Set aside for at least one hour.
• Meanwhile, put the mushrooms in a small mixing bowl and add warm water to cover. Let stand half an hour or until the caps are softened. Drain and squeeze to extract and discard excess moisture. Cut off and discard the tough stems. Cut the caps into thin slivers and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut the preserved vegetable into thin slivers. If it has been packed in a shredded state, shred it further. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a wok or skillet and add the pork. Cook, stirring rapidly, until it loses its raw look. Add the mushrooms, preserved vegetable and bamboo shoots. Add the remaining soy sauce, remaining wine, salt and sugar. Cook, stirring, one minute. Set aside to cool.
• Stuff the mixture inside the chicken.
• Fold the wing tips under the chicken. Truss the chicken as neatly as possible with string.
• Lay out a large rectangle of aluminum foil on a flat surface. Place the chicken in the center. Wrap the chicken as compactly as possible inside the foil.
• Gather together a large handful of the clay. Flatten this handful to a thickness of about one inch and apply it to one outside section of the foil-wrapped chicken. Place another flattened handful of clay slightly overlapping and press to seal the two pieces together. Continue applying handfuls of clay, pressing as you work, until the chicken is completely and compactly covered with clay. Smooth the clay over as you work. You may bake the chicken at this point or you may ''sculpt'' the product with additional pieces of clay, shaping it to resemble a whole bird with beak, feet, eyes, tail feathers and so on.
• Place in the oven and bake 45 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. As the clay bakes, it may develop cracks. As these are noticed, seal the cracks by smearing on a little more clay.
• Continue baking the chicken for 30 minutes. If desired, you may then paint the clay with poster paint or watercolors.
• To serve, crack the clay, remove the chicken and peel away and discard the foil. Carve the chicken and serve with the preserved-vegetable stuffing.

Steps:

• Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap and pound each breast half to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or heavy skillet.
• Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in flour.
• Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
• Add wine; cook 1 minute.
• Add olives and the next 4 ingredients (through tomatoes); bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until chicken is done.
• Sprinkle with basil.

Steps:

• In a medium-size bowl, combine grated onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat well. Cover and set aside to marinate for about 1 hour.
• In a large bowl, stir together chili paste, ketchup, sugar, sesame seeds and lemon juice. Taste and adjust flavors to get a spicy-sweet-tangy finish. Set aside.
• Pour oil into a large heavy pot to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Heat to 350 degrees. Combine flour and cornstarch in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Working in batches to avoid crowding, lift chicken from marinade, dredge lightly in seasoned flour and cornstarch, gently drop into oil and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken, checking oil temperature between batches.
• For wings only, when all pieces are done, increase oil temperature to 375 degrees and refry in batches for 30 to 60 seconds, until very crisp. Drain once more on paper towels. While chicken is still hot, brush thickly with chili sauce. Serve hot, sprinkled with sesame seeds.