Veronica Julep

Blood Orange and Rosemary Roasted Chicken Thighs

When it is cold and getting nasty outside. There is not much better in the world then coming home to the smell of something wonderful roasting in the oven. Like  blood oranges and rosemary. They are so beautiful together. Oh, and that smell it just warms you up from deep inside your bones. It’s great for a wonderful pick me up on the coldest of winter days. This recipe is beautiful for company or a family weeknight evening because it is so quick and easy to make.There are only three ingredients blood oranges, chicken thighs and rosemary. Five if you include pink salt and olive oil.

Read on

 

The first ingredient is blood oranges. This citrus fruit is gorgeous in color and wonderfully delicious. Super vibrant and is available in New England from November to late February. They are excellent to cook with because of their sweet flavor and, in the winter, all that vitamin C helps keep you healthy in those dark months.

The second ingredient is rosemary. Rosemary is very hearty. It can grow almost anywhere. I’ve seen it live outside into the beginning of cold of winter. Some people prune it into topiary shapes even.  Rosemary is a great flavor to add to just about anything it’s very versatile. There is something so sweet and almost sharp about it that makes its’ yummy flavor shine through.

The next is boneless skinless chicken thighs. I must admit I’m not the biggest poultry fan but, there is something about chicken thighs that make them the exception. Their dark meat is just really juicy when you roast it. I tend to use chicken thighs for almost all of my chicken dishes. Aside from the deepness of flavor they are also less expensive then their more famous parts of the same bird being the breast.

The first step is to rinse the thighs in cold cold water. Then, pat dry. That will give us the best texture for the thighs.

Next preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit then pour a little over one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch glass pan and roll about to cover the entire bottom of the pan. This adds flavor and keeps the thighs from sticking to the pan.

Line up the nine boneless skinless chicken thighs like this in the pan. It is okay to crowd that are on the sides. They will roast just fine the oven is hot enough.

Next wash your blood oranges. Set aside. We will be leaving the peel on during roasting.

Next trim your rosemary. You will need three stalks between five and six inches long (or the equivalent). Rinse them and gently and ever so gently pat dry.

You’ll need about this much. Left hand for size.

Snip in half.

Arrange like so for even flavor dispersement while roasting. Also, you eat with your eyes first so let’s show them what you’ve got. It’s great when everyone arrives home to show them just how pretty dinner is even before it is in the oven.

Next roll the blood orange on the cutting board pressing down roughly but, not too hard. This will get the juices flowing. Slice the first blood orange in half.

So beautiful. I almost hear a… boom when I pop them open every time.

Then, slice like so.

Cut the two middle quarters in half from pole to pole.

Halve the outside quarters.

Arrange like this in the pan. This arrangement will help the juice distribute evenly.

Slice the second blood orange the same way. Except when you get to this step, this time cut in half pole to pole the middle quarters. Then, set the domed quarters aside.

Add the new halves like this.

Next squeeze the domed quarters over all the thighs in the pan. Roughly to get out all the delicious juice.

Drizzle with a light amount of extra virgin olive oil and a few big pinches of pink salt. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven for 23-28 minutes.

This is about 10 minutes in.

This is done. You will know it is ready when you slice it open and juices run clear.

Once out of oven tent with foil. This helps the juices redistribute themselves inside the meat and the blood oranges. Serve.

I usually serve this with roasted cubed potato (and rosemary) or with rice. This recipe is always a crowd pleaser. The colors are just stunning which makes it quite the feast for the eyes.

Recipe

1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (two times)

9 Rinsed and Dried Chicken Thighs

2 Blood Oranges (medium are fine but large are better)

3 long Sprigs of Rosemary

Pink Salt

Roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 23-28 minutes.

This recipe is simple to make and only uses three ingredients. When blood oranges are something that can’t be come by I substitute clementines but, any citrus would really work. As always, try it, create it but, make it your own.

Panellets Post Halloween Traditional Potato Cookies

Panellet are super delicious and easy to make. They are one of my favorite things to bake. Simple to make with only four ingredients. This sweet could not be any easier or tastier. I love foods that celebrate the seasons. See my apple pie recipe here https://www.veronicajulep.com/classic-homemade-scratch-apple-pie/

Read on

 

Panellets are a Catalonian All Saints Day tradition. They are made all over Spain but, originate in the Catalonian region, which is the northern most right tip of Spain. Different regions have variations on ingredients. Sweet potatoes and chestnuts for example. For mine I will stick with the traditional ingredients white potatoes and pine nuts. Panellets are usually served with sweet sweet wine. The word itself means little bread. With the wine it makes the church ritual bread and wine combination but way tastier. Sweeter because of the attention to the dead on this day is important culturally.

These cookies only came into my life a few years ago. My sister had spent a semester abroad in Spain. I was quite jealous. A few months later, after she came back, she told us one of her school friends was coming to visit. We were excited to meet him. We then learned that he had scheduled his trip to the US over the week of Halloween. When we heard this we were doubly excited to meet him because we would also get to show him the holiday American style. We were in for quite the surprise. They showed up about a half an hour before we were to trick or treat. They came in and we all made introductions. The next thing out of his mouth was him asking if it was okay to use the oven and held up a bag. Inside were the ingredients to make panellets. He explained that it was rude to show up visiting someone’s house and not bring a gift in his country especially if you’ve never met them before. He then apologized for not bring the panellets themselves because they had run out of time but, they would just take a minute and they did. We were all fascinated. Not just by the ingredients but, by how fast they are to make and delicious. We thought they were great so, I asked him for the recipe and a tradition was born. This is my slightly tweaked version of it.  He gave me the recipe in grams and Celsius after all.

To start turn on the oven. The actual time needed to make the dough is very short so, start the oven preheating first to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first ingredient is leftover mashed potatoes. Only one cup. This is something probably in everyone’s fridge. We love mashed potatoes. They are a classic. I have these on hand a lot.

To round out our ingredients we need only white granulated sugar and almond meal. Pine nuts are also needed but, later. The sugar again is something I always have on hand. The almond meal/flour not so much but, it is very easy to come by. Just check a local grocery store in the natural section or a local health food store.

The first to leave this group… *cue aerial shot* is the potatoes.

Measure 1 cup of mashed potatoes. Pressed down and level to be precise. Pour in bowl.

Then add the 2 and 1/2 cups of almond meal/flour.

Next add 2 cups of white granulated sugar.

Stir together with a fork (kind of mashing in the dry ingredients). I have done it this way and it works.

Most honestly though, this recipe, like most good ones work best if you just use your hands. It comes together faster and it is easier to tell if you missed a spot.

When completely mixed together it will look like this.

Now roll up dough balls to put on the cookie sheet. This time I made them big. About half palm sized. Usually panellets are made as smaller cookies than that. They are made to be one bite size.

Next roll up and round up into a panellet.

Just like this.

These are the larger size. This recipe makes 20 big cookies. You will get twice that if you make them smaller.

Pour the some of the pine nuts (about half a cup at a time) in an open but, wide shallow bowl.

The first way I’ll show you is the traditional way. It is to roll the dough in the nuts.

The other (my preference) is to place a bunch on each and smoosh the pine nuts lovingly into each cookie.

The bottom row is the rolled cookies. The rest are the second technique.

For large bake for 18-20 minutes at 400 degrees. For small bake for 8-10 minutes also at 400 degrees. I, however, prefer the rolling method with the smaller cookies. This is what the large panellets look like when they come out.

Once out of the oven give them a minute to cool before you take the off of the cookie sheet. Otherwise they will fall apart. They are supposed to do that so no need to panic.

Recipe

  • 2 1/2 C Almond Meal/Flour (either is fine)
  • 2 C White Granulated Sugar
  • 1 C Leftover Mashed Potatoes
  • 2 1/2 C Pine Nuts for Coating (for large cookies rolled or 1 1/2 C for small cookies rolled)

Bake at 400 degrees for large 18-20 minutes or small 8-10 minutes.

Once panellet is cooled a bit serve with your favorite sweet beverage. Sweet wine or hot tea will pair just fine. I highly recommend these slightly warm. Enjoy. As always in life do your best but, make sure it’s your style.

Witch’s Besom Broom How To

I love October. It’s my very favorite month. Everything that goes with it. The taste. The smells. The leaves changing color. It’s all so wonderful. Last weekend we put away the yard for the year. In my house this is a very important family tradition. When we are finished it’s always apple pie (recipe here https://www.veronicajulep.com/classic-homemade-scratch-apple-pie/ ). As I was collecting fallen sticks it occurred to me I’ve never made a broom.

Read on

 

Besom brooms are traditionally an old British custom made with pieces of their local indigenous trees hazelwood, asch and birch seem to be the most used (from my research). When the practice was more common it was also popular to tie flowers like heather or herbs into the bunch for scent and luck. Most of the best things in life come locally. It’s one of the best things about living in New England. You are never far from nature or a farm. My broom is made from maple and pine.

For my broom I will be using the sticks in my backyard. First step is collecting. I gathered about 25 small diameter sticks. Between 20 and 30 will work. As you can see we have fairly substantial stick pile so, I had choices.

If you don’t have a yard or fancy stick pile this is the perfect time to go for a walk in the woods. It’s very important to keep your eyes peeled for the actual broomstick. You’ll know it when you see it. It will be just the right size and length and shape. Trust your eyes. Mine is just a hair shy of 2 1/2 feet long. Exact precise measurements will take away from the real charm of this craft, just get close. That will really make it yours.

The best plan with this is to head outside with a towel. I grabbed a dish towel that I use for craft clean up. Nothing fancy. Just something to place the sticks on top of for easy transport.

The first thing is to hold a few sticks up next to the handle. Look for the one with the perfect visual length. This will be your guide stick. Mine measures 20 inches. This way you’ll have an easy time making sure they’re all about the same size. It will save you a lot of work later and that way when it’s time for assembly things will be well set up. Good prep is key. Make sure the bristles all are not perfectly straight and exactly the same length just close.When you are choosing sticks clean them up as you go. Take the small branches off the main sticks. This will make your broom come together rather than turn into a tangled mess.

As with pretty much all my craft projects I use my go to scissors. They were Christmas present from DB a couple years ago they are Leatherman Raptors. Originally made for paramedics so, when they hop on the scene they are ready to cut seat belts or break through car windows. They’re pretty serious. I like them because they can basically cut through anything and the grip is really good, big and substantial so you’re not having them slip around on you while you’re trying to make cuts.

This photo is my broom handle being groomed. Just a few simple cuts.

My pile of sticks (bristles). About 25 and all the same length.

The towel in action for the easy commute to my work area.

These are the things you will need. On the left is my broomstick measuring approximately 2 1/2 feet. My magic scissors. Twine. I used conventional cotton kitchen twine. Since it’s generally use for trusting chickens I figured it’s perfect for the job. A white candle and matches to light it. Nothing fancy. Just things I had around the house.


Once everything is gathered dig through your broom bristle pile and pick out the sticks that are the very thickest. Set everything else aside. Cut a 15 inch piece of twine.

Lay down the twine. 3 inches then place the first big stick.

Wrap the twine over.

Then around.

Place the next stick about 2 1/2 inches over from the now wrapped stick and do the same. Then the third sick and so on and so forth until all of them are wrapped. Like so.

Pull slightly tight. Place the broom stick handle in the middle on top of the bristles. 1 foot deep past the twine line. So only 21 inches of the handle sticks out. Putting this much of the handle inside the broom makes it very sturdy.


The next step is to tie it as tight as you can. Wiggle and pull the string so it will get as tight as possible. Double knot. This is the base of the bristles so it needs to be very strong and very tight.

Place on craft mat for ease of cleanup then, cut the strings. This will alleviate some of the underneath bulk and give a tighter grip on the broom stick.

Next light the candle and drip wax all over all of the twine. This will seal and secure it. Start with the knot first.


Go all the way around over the twine and let cool while you are assembling the next step.

Gather about 1/2 of the sticks you have in the set aside pile.

Divide into fourths.

Cut 7 inches of twine and tie each quarter.

Now cut 15 inches of twine and lay out on your mat. Place the first bunch in the middle of your craft mat. Then place broom on top of that centered. Lining up the twine.

Place two more bunches, one on each side of the establishing broomstick.

Put the last one on top and tighten. Before tying off it might make sure to adjust one or all of the new bunches so they are together in a broom-like shape. The shape of the sticks and how they lay together really make this project. Wrap around the twine as tight as you can and give one final pull. Then tie it off with a double knot.

It will look like this.


Next, wax the twine as before. This time some of the wax will drop through the cracks and make the inside wax warm again so it’s good after this step to leave it for a minute to cool down. Otherwise the sticks might shift.


Take the rest of the sticks you have set aside, dividing the four and tie as before but the twine binding these (being the more outside sections) need to be waxed for tightness.

Cut another section of cut another 15 inch section of the twine place. Place on your craft mat.This next part is similar to the other procedure except we are going to place these for in between the last four. Imagine the bundles the four cardinal directions. The first four are north, south, east and west. This new four need to be placed between then at northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest. They go right in that gap I’m pointing out. Then wrap the twine around crisscross a couple times and tie as tight as possible.


Next cut a 12 foot piece of twine and fold it into quarters. This is our outermost top layer. Wrap this crisscross around over all of the previous layers of twine then tie as absolutely tight as you can. Yank, pull, then pull tighter to get the outside of the broom together.

Next is a double layer of wax. The first one I put on super thick and let it sit for 5 minutes then went over it again with a second thick layer to make sure it’s secure.

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