Monday, January 3, 2011

Spiced Chipotle Honey Chicken with Sweet Potatoes


I have been reading the most fabulous book.  In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite is by Melissa Clark, author of "A Good Appetite" for The New York Times.  I already loved her column, so I have been lusting after this book for quite some time.  I snuck it into a Christmas presents Amazon order, and haven't put it down since.  It's actually sort of a cross between a memoir and a cookbook - what a blog would be like if you bound and covered it as a matter of fact.  Before each recipe, she shares a story of how the dish came to be.  Along the way you'll learn about her childhood, career as a food writer, marriage, and her 2 year old daughter, Dahlia. 

So the writing is superb, but the recipes are even better.  As I read through, I mentally bookmarked every.  single.  recipe.  I also really  like the clever way she's divided the book into chapters.  Among my favorites are The Farmers' Market and Me, Learning to Like Fish, It Tastes Like Chicken, Things with Cheese (obviously my favorite), and My Mother's Sandwich Theory of Life. 

I started with the Spiced Chipotle Honey Chicken with Sweet Potatoes.  These are some of my favorite ingredients, so obviously I already had everything I needed in the house to make this for dinner.  It is very quick, quite easy, and reasonably healthy.  All good things for a weeknight dinner.  It is simultaneously sweet, spicy, earthy, and savory.  If you are looking for a healthy dinner to get you back on the healthy eating bandwagon, this is a good one.  It's so flavorful you won't miss the butter, cheese, or cream. 

I've already made a few other recipes from this book, and I can't wait to make and share many more!

One Year Ago:  Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms


Spiced Chipotle Honey Chicken Breasts with Sweet Potatoes
adapted from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite, by Melissa Clark
serves 6
  • 4 sweet potatoes (10 ounces each), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbs honey, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
  • chopped cilantro, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the sweet potatoes in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, chipotles, garlic, honey, vinegar, salt, cumin, and cinnamon.  Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 teaspoons of the paste.  Toss with the sweet potatoes.

Scatter the potatoes on the bottom of a roasting pan, and bake 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, rub the chicken breasts with the remaining paste. 

Stir the potatoes.  Carefully place the chicken on top of the sweet potatoes, and continue to roast until the chicken is just cooked through (registers 165 on an instant read thermometer), about 15-20 minutes longer

Divide the potatoes and chicken evenly among serving plates and drizzle with remaining honey and garnish with cilantro.  Serve.


21 comments:

Blog is the New Black said...

Wow, this sounds incredible!!! Looks beautiful, too. thanks for sharing!

Nikki (Pennies on a Platter) said...

Sounds like a great book! Happy new year, Josie!

Joanne said...

I am totally in love with this cookbook as well! I brought it to the gym with me the other day (oh the irony!) and read it on the stationary bike. All the way through. I couldn't put it down. I couldn't get off the bike. It was truly ideal.

I am definitely off to bookmark this recipe immediately! Double bookmark even. Looks delicious.

Kelsey said...

I'm all over this one, Josie. Thanks so much for sharing it!

Christi said...

That picture is gorgeous! I'm definitely trying this out next week, thanks!

Unknown said...

I've been meaning to check this book out forever, thanks for the reminder. Nice to hear it's such an enjoyable read!

The chicken looks awesome, love the combination of flavors :)

Anonymous said...

Yum! This looks absolutely delicious!

elly said...

This looks delicious! I'll definitely check out that cookbook; being that you and I have virtually identical tastes in food, I'm sure I'll love it. :)

Lauren said...

This meal includes some of my favorite ingredients, as well... I also love that the chicken is cooked right on top of the sweet potatoes. Great dish!

Kate said...

This looks wonderful! I may have to add it to my line up for this week. Thanks for sharing the cookbook resource, always on the look out for new inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Made this tonight for my mom who's in town and it was FANTASTIC! Thanks so much for sharing, it'll definitely get made again at our house!

ljyoung85 said...

I made this for dinner last night and we loved it! Easy and tasty, thanks for posting it! I have a feeling we'll be making this again and again.

Teresa said...

LOVED this dish! i already had all the ingredients, it was super easy, and it was YUMMY. thanks!

Kristine said...

I made this for dinner last week and it was delicious! I love how it is slightly sweet and spicy at the same time. This is a great, easy weeknight meal!

Anonymous said...

Just made this tonight and it was AMAZING!!! I'll be making it again very soon!

Judy D. said...

When you write "paste" in this recipe, what are you referring to? The recipe sounds great and I don't want to mess it up. :-)

Heather @ Camp Slop said...

Made this for the first time tonight - DELICIOUS!! Thank you for sharing!

Diana Lee said...

We has this for dinner tonight, and it was outstanding! Thanks for such a delicious, healthy recipe to add to our menu.

DeShawn said...

This looks really good. However I have children and was wondering if its real spicy?

Josie said...

Hi DeShawn, I don't think it's super spicy. The honey helps tone down the chipotles. If you are worried though, you could always decrease the chipotle a bit. Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

Check out this chipotle paste in a tube, will make this super easy to make!
http://www.amazon.com/Olo-Foods-Olos-Chipotle-Paste/dp/B0097UW3EK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354849255&sr=8-1&keywords=olo%27s+chipotle+paste

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