Honey Tangerine Glaze

I recently posted a recipe using a whole chicken seasoned with honey, ginger & garlic .  I really like the ease of roasting the bird in its entirety.  I really don’t like the part when dinner is over and there is meat to be pulled away from the carcass and bones.  I guess I don’t mind it so much because I made roasted chicken again, this time using a Honey Tangerine Glaze.  Talk about easy!

This is so simple I could just jot it down here but I’ll stick with  my usual formula for posting a recipe and list the ingredients and directions below.  The tender leftover meat from this version makes a wonderful and spring like chicken salad or add the citrusy chicken to pasta Primavera.

Spring is in the air, or it was in the air.  Temps reached 70* here yesterday and today have fallen into the low 30’s with the chance of a wintry mix.  I’m ready for some lighter meals using fresh fruits and seafood.  How about you?  If you’re in the mood for some lighter fare try this glaze drizzled over a bowl of tossed fruit, brushed on a slab of wild-caught salmon or sprinkled on grilled shrimp.

Enjoy!

Honey Tangerine Glaze

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
1 bunch of green onions, trimmed
Tangerines, sliced
Tangerine zest from 1-2 fruits
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

Heat oven to 350*.  Wash and pat dry chicken.  Rub the outside and inside of the chicken with salt and pepper.  Stuff cavity of the chicken with the green onions and as many tangerines as you can fit in.  Place the bird in a roasting pan on a rack and set it, uncovered in the oven.

Meanwhile mix the grated zest of 1-2 tangerines with 2 tablespoons of honey and juice of 2-3 tangerines.  After the bird has roasted for about 40  minutes remove the cover and brush glaze over bird.  Repeat this process every 10 minutes until the chicken is done and the juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

Remove chicken from oven, brush any remaining glaze over the entire bird and cover loosely for a few minutes.  Carve and serve.

Friday Fun Fact – Cuts & Scrapes

Honey has been known for it’s healing benefits for thousands of years.  Ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Mayans used it and in recent years it’s medicinal value has been confirmed as research demonstrates that the enzymes in honey do indeed have antiseptic and antibacterial properties.

Honey absorbs moisture and discourages the growth of bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms around a cut, scrape or wound.  Think of it as a natural form of Neosporin.

To treat minor cuts, scrapes, or burns clean the area thoroughly with soap and water and dry completely.  For scrapes or burns cover the area with raw honey and cover with a clean dressing.  This can be repeated twice a day as necessary, unit completely healed.  For a cut, after washing, spread a bit of honey on clean dressing and apply this to the cut.  Change the dressing two to three times a day.  Cover scalds or burns directly with honey to prevent blisters.

Please note: These remedies are for minor cuts, scrapes and burns.  Always seek proper medical attention for any serious issue.

Monday’s post is a citrusy and spring-like recipe for Honey Tangerine Glaze.
Enjoy!

Curried Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup

I recently traveled to Rhode Island and New Hampshire for a week of fun with a girlfriend.  We ate, drank, shopped, skied, drank more, watched chick flicks, ate more, shopped more and slept enough.  It was a great time for me.  My adoring hubby on the other hand suffered the effects of eating out most meals for lunch and dinner.  He rarely eats out at lunch as I always prepare enough dinner for him to pack leftovers for his noon day meal.  He is also completely spoiled to home cooked meals most nights.  For the week I was away he apparently missed the “homecookin”.

When I returned home one of the first things he asked me was if I could whip up more soup while winter is still upon us.  Making soup is such a simple task I was happy to oblige his request.  Winter squash is one of his favorites and I knew it would pair well with honey in a soup.  I used a darker honey for roasting the squash and carrots and a lighter wildflower honey to drizzle over the warm soup.

While old man winter is still rearing his frozen head, put on a pot of soup and serve up some homemade goodness.  You just might make someone happy!

Enjoy!

Curried Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds butternut squash, cubed  (I cheat and buy the pre-chopped)
6 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons grape seed oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 tablespoons dark honey
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 1inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce
4 cups vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375*.  

In a large bowl toss the squash and carrots with 2 tablespoons of oil, curry powder, honey, garlic, ginger and chili sauce. Spread the mixture onto a heavy jelly roll pan and roast for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven.

Meanwhile heat the remaining oil in a heavy saucepan or stock pot and add the onion, cook over low heat for about 20 minutes until onion is soft and translucent.

When vegetables are ready to come out of the oven, remove and add to the onions.  Add stock and salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 15 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.  Remove pot from burner. Using a handheld blender partially purée the soup, leaving some vegetable chunks for texture.  

Serve the soup with a drizzle of honey, a pinch of chile powder and a twist of fresh ground black pepper.

Honey & Soy Lacquered Ribs

I love Southern Living magazine.  During the move I missed receiving a few copies and looked with urgency daily for one to appear in my mail box.  I finally received the February issue closely followed by the March issue.  As fired up as I was to get a copy when the February issue came I found myself too busy to even peek inside. The cover features a gorgeous photo of a Lemon Lime Pound Cake yet I’ve not cracked open the magazine.  It is on my “to do” list for this week.

Looking for inspiration for last nights dinner I did scan the recipe index of the March issue.  It is a fact that the recipe index is always on the next to last page of the magazine,  making it easy to flip right to it.  I hit the jackpot in this issue.  An entire section devoted to “honey” recipes.

My adoring hubby adores baby back ribs as much as he does me so when I saw Honey & Soy Lacquered Ribs in the list I jumped on it.  I had all the ingredients except for the meat and Asian chili sauce.  My mouth watering, thinking about juicy, succulent ribs for dinner, I went straight to the store to pick up the necessities.

This recipe is easy.  I left the ribs cooking in the oven while I went for a Sunday walk.  I made the sauce earlier in the day and left it as directed, in a bowl on the counter.  Honey and refrigerators are not friends.  I followed Southern Livings recipe to a T except that I finished off my ribs on the grill.  I like that charred, smoky flavor and the meat came out perfectly.  The ribs were tender, falling off the bone as I placed them on our plates.  The sauce is slightly sweet with a nice bite from the Asian chili sauce.  Bold and sticky ribs call for extra napkins so before you prepare these be sure you’ve got plenty on hand.

Coming Wednesday is a recipe for sweetly satisfying and warming Curried Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup.

Enjoy!

HONEY & SOY LACQUERED RIBS

Ingredients:
2 (2- to 2 1/2-lb.) slabs St. Louis-style pork ribs
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Asian chili-garlic sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon butter $
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Preparation Preheat oven to 325°. Rinse slabs, and pat dry. Remove thin membrane from back of slabs by slicing into it and pulling it off. (This will make the ribs more tender.) Sprinkle salt and pepper over slabs; wrap each slab tightly in aluminum foil. Place slabs on a jelly-roll pan, and bake 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until tender and meat pulls away from bone.

 Bring honey and next 6 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 minutes or until reduced by half. Transfer to a bowl. 

Remove slabs from oven.  At this point you can either broil or grill to finish the ribs.

Broiling instructions:  Increase oven temperature to broil on high. Carefully remove slabs from foil; place on a foil-?lined baking sheet. Brush each slab with 3 Tbsp. honey mixture. Broil 5 to 7 minutes or until browned and sticky. Brush with remaining honey mixture.

Grilling instructions:  Remove ribs from foil and place on medium hot grill.  Allow the ribs to char slightly on each side and baste with honey mixture as they finish on the grill.

Southern Living 
MARCH 2014
Photo – Hector Sanchez

Friday Fun Facts – Forager Bees

Honey is a precious commodity to me.  I am selfish in choosing who will or won’t be the lucky recipient of the honey my bees make.  If I know a person is honestly interested in the well-being of bees and truly enjoys a spoonful of the liquid golden elixir I am happy to sell or give a jar of honey to them.  If I’m unsure of a persons interest in honey; for instance I feel that they will take it home shove it to the back of the cupboard, forget about it, then pull it out in a few months, notice it has crystalized, deem it “bad” and toss it out, they are not a likely candidate for the honey of my bees.  That is the individual who should buy their honey at the local big box store.
I would like to encourage respect for bees and the delicious honey they produce by telling you what it takes in bee power to make a single pint of honey.  The average worker bee lives about 6 weeks.  When her life is about half over she ventures outside of the hive and joins the ranks of field bees.  After orienting herself to what her hive looks like and making note of landmarks, so as to find her way back,  she flies away from her home to forage for pollen, nectar, water and propolis.

 A foraging bee will visit 5 million flowers to produce a single pint of honey.  They prefer to forage within a two-to-three mile radius from their hive.  That is equivalent to nearly 6000 acres.  Crazy as this sounds, to make a pound of honey the bees collectively have to fly a distance of about twice around the world or 50,000 miles.

As soon as the sun rises the bees begin their days work.  Forager bees leave the hive, a dangerous task for a little bitty bee.  Some of the hazards they face include moving cars, hungry birds, a frightened human, or unexpected inclement weather.  After the bee reaches the desired foraging area she fills her honey stomach or pollen sacks and returns to the hive to pass off her bounty to a house bee and then makes the trip all over again.  She will do this until dusk or the source runs out.

Think about what you’ve read for a moment.  We all stand to learn something from bees and their work ethics.  They perform their tasks daily strictly for the benefit of the hive – their family.  The honey they make and store in the hive is not created for human pleasure yet we have the ability to “harvest” it and enjoy the bounty of the bee.  Next time you taste a spoonful of honey I hope you’ll have a renewed respect for that succulent, finger-licking golden nectar we call honey.  Roll it around on your tongue, let it slide down the back of your throat, lick your lips and please savor every drop!

Coming up Monday an amazing recipe for Honey – Soy Lacquered Ribs
Enjoy!

Chopped Brussels Sprouts Salad

One of the cool things about picking up and moving across the country is the adventure of meeting new people.  We live in a neighborhood now, totally unlike our home in Texas, which was “out” in the country.  We made a conscious decision to live in a neighborhood where we would be forced to meet people. The thing is we don’t get to choose our neighbors like we  do our friends, but sometimes we get lucky enough to have neighbors that we are happy to call “friends”.

Such is the case of our next door neighbors in Greensboro.  A likable young couple with a precious 23 month old little girl.  Funny they just moved to the neighborhood about a month before us and are in the same boat.  New to the “hood” and new to the Tarheel state.  Mr. W, as we shall call him popped over the first afternoon that my hubby moved in and brought two beers.  Now that’s hospitality!  Mr. W also does the cooking in their household and from what I hear he’s pretty good at it.  Mrs. W prefers veggie dishes but will eat seafood and other meats occasionally.  A couple of weeks ago we invited them over to watch the Super (not really so super) Bowl.  I made a big pot of shrimp gumbo and asked them to bring a salad.  When she texted me to ask if Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad would be well received, I laughed because my hubby will not touch a sprout and I wasn’t sure if our other guests would be on board either.  I apologetically declined.  She understood.  Nice neighbor!

Last week she texted the above picture and told me she had made the Brussel Sprout salad.  When she  offered to bring me over a taste I quickly responded “Yes please!”.  It looked delicious, as I happen to be a fan of Brussel Sprouts.  She found the recipe here Pinch Of Yum.
I ate the entire bowl in one sitting.  I found it addicting; with the crunch and juiciness of the pomegranate arils, more crunch from the almonds and savory, flavorful BACON!  Yes, bacon goes perfectly with those little cabbages. The shaved sprouts lend a whole new and appealing texture to the often dreaded vegetable.  Tender, mild and healthy!  She’s the best because she used my honey in the dressing.  The dressing is flavored with tangy citrus, sweet honey and bound with Greek yogurt.  Yummy!  I warned her it would end up on the blog since she’d used my honey.  If you are a fan of the little sprout do make this salad and share some with a neighbor!

Enjoy!
CHOPPED BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD

Ingredients:
30-40 Brussel Sprouts
6 slices of all natural bacon
1 cup pomegranate arils
1/3 cup almonds
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecornio Romano cheese

Dressing:
1 shallot, chopped
juice of one orange
juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1/3 cup oil
up to 2 tablespoons water

Fry the bacon until crispy.  Drain on paper towels, crumble and set aside

Shred or slice the Brussel sprouts.  Prep the pomegranate seeds.  Place the almonds in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Toss the brussels sprouts, bacon, pomegranate arils, almonds and cheese together.

Place all of the dressing ingredients in a food processor and pulse until creamy.  Add the water as needed for consistency.  Toss the salad with the dressing and serve immediately.

Friday Fun Fact – Hangover Cure

I’ve recently been thinking about honey on a daily basis.  My choice to post recipes using honey this year has much  to do with my obsession of honey and it’s uses.  I’ve a couple of thoughtful friends who consistently send me links to articles touting the benefits of honey, recipes and its many uses.  Often times its old news to me but I’m taken with the idea that others are also interested in “honey”!  Based on this thought I’ve decided to make an addition to The Orange Bee by adding a weekly post on Fridays.  I’m calling it “Friday Fun Fact”.  Every Friday you can expect a short post with information about the life of bees or the sweet liquid and it’s multitude of uses. My hope is that you will discover an improved appreciation for bees or a new use or benefit of honey to incorporate into your life.  I’m open to any news or suggestions from you, my readers, that could help me with this idea.  If you have something for me please leave me a comment in the comments section and I’ll be sure to check it out.  I just love new challenges!

Today’s fun fact happens to be one I’ve known of since I was about 19 years of age.  Honey as a “hangover cure“.  Living in the big city, working and playing.  Of course playing at that time included nights out on the town with friends, usually in a bar and usually involving large consumptions of alcohol.  Don’t ask me if we called for a cab at the end of the evening back in those days!  I feel blessed to have made it home on numerous occasions, with a generous amount of alcohol running through my body.  Today I would call a cab if I though my blood alcohol level was in the danger zone. Truthfully at my age I’ve learned not to consume so much alcohol as to leave me waking with a major hangover the following morning.

Back in the day the idea was, upon waking with a headache or queasy stomach, take 2 tylenol with a glass of water followed by a spoonful of honey.  If I remember correctly that remedy probably did work for me on occasion.  A hangover is caused by the body’s production of ethanal from a consumption of “too much” alcohol.  Honey provides our bodies with sodium, potassium and fructose, which aid in recovery.  Honey is high in carbohydrates and natural glucose  so it delivers energy quickly to our bodies.  It is easily absorbed and gentle on our internal organs.  The fructose sugars help the liver to break down the alcohol and speed up the metabolism of the alcohol, thereby acting as a sobering agent.

A recent article in The Huffington Post suggests adding the honey to a cup of tea to cure a hangover.  The thought behind this is that our body also needs the hydration that the tea can provide.  Since a hangover causes our blood sugar levels to drop consuming plain carbs helps to increase these levels and settle a queasy stomach.  Simply spreading honey on a piece of plain toast will help you get back on track.  My last suggestion for you today is to make a sweet smoothie using honey, a banana and a glass of milk.  This power smoothie will nourish you with potassium, soothe your stomach, rehydrate your body and help clear your aching head.

Be sure to drink responsibly and always designate a driver or call a cab if you find yourself away from home having consumed too much alcohol!

Rio Grande Grill & Cantina***

Friday night has become our “date ” night.  My man Dan and I choose a new place more often than not.  If you are a regular reader you know we recently moved to Greensboro and so I admit most restaurants are new to us.  There are many to try and a few we’ve already discovered to be our favorites.

The quest for some Mexican food has been a bit of a challenge.  When a co-worker of my hubby’s suggested we try Rio Grande Grill & Cantina, he assured us they make the best Margaritas in town.  That was all we needed to know to head on over last Friday night.
 Upon entering the front door we were met with colorful decor, live music and a bustling business.  We were cheerfully greeted and seated right away.  Dan immediately asked for **** the bartender who he was told makes “the best” margarita.  I won’t say it was the best I’ve imbibed, but I did drink two.  The first had a bit too much agave nectar and not enough alcohol.  Upon my request the second came with less sweet and more tequila.  Still not the best, but I could taste the tequila on the second go round.  I consider an alcoholic beverage good if I can taste the booze.  I mean that is what I’m paying for!

Chips and salsa were brought to the table right away.  The salsa was pretty good.  Chunky, with onion, cilantro and fresh tomatoes.  The chips were a bit stale and had that slight “old grease” flavor.  Not good!  Next we ordered my hubby’s favorite, Bean and Cheese Nachos with a side of fresh sliced jalapeño peppers.  The cheese was white, I’m ok with that, but when I tasted it I knew it was not cheddar or mexican queso.  We were famished this evening so we polished off all but one nacho before I took a photo.  I was disappointed to learn that the cheese was American!  Really?
I ordered my entree from the “combination” section of the menu.  The menu is fairly extensive with a selection of burgers and vegetarian choices as well.  Here are the choices for combo plates; Taco, Enchilada, Burrito, Chile Relleno, Chalupa, Tostada, Quesadilla, Tamale.  I chose a Cheese and Onion Enchilada and Shrimp Chile Relleno with sides of Black Beans and Spanish Rice. I was surprised by the size of the Chile Relleno!  It was small, yet stuffed with an abundance of shrimp.  I would have enjoyed more pepper to go with all those shrimp.  The enchilada, once again, made with American cheese. The saving grace was the grilled onions piled inside.  The rice and beans were acceptable, nothing to write home about.
 Here is the thing I disliked most.  Salt.  Too much salt in the food.  I have a hankering’ that the American cheese was a main player in the saltiness of the nachos and my enchilada.  All in all our experience was good.  The friendly staff, could be a bit more on the ball.  The live music was pleasant and the painted velvet art on the walls was entertaining.  Authentic decor to be sure.  We decided to give Rio Grande another try.  On our next visit I’ll be sure to order items not containing American cheese and hope for a killer Mexican dinner.

Enjoy!
Rio Grande Grill and Cantina Rating
*** 3 stars

Honey Balsamic Reduction

I am beside myself intoxicated with this recipe.  Honey alone is intoxicating, yet blending it with white balsamic and fennel pollen transforms it to an intoxicatingly, heavenly sauce that I drizzled over roasted red beets.

Reduction concentrates the flavors and the thickens the sauce. The syrupy sauce, having a bit of body, drizzles nicely over what I am contemplating could be many vegetables.  Root vegetables particularly would be honored for a drizzle of this heavenly sauce.  The biggest flavor secret is a pinch of fennel pollen.  Every time I experiment with these golden granules I am pleasantly surprised.  Again, it did not disappoint.

Enjoy!

 

HONEY BALSAMIC REDUCTION

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons raw honey
Pinch of fennel pollen (to your taste)
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Using a small saucepan or sauté pan add the vinegar and honey and cook over medium high heat until it reaches a boil.  After the reduction boils down about 3/4 of the way add the fennel pollen, salt and pepper.  Continue a low boil until reduction has reached the desired consistency.  

 

 

Honey, Ginger & Garlic Roasted Chicken

This past weekend I got my act together and managed to roast a chicken early in the morning, photograph it, refrigerate it and then serve steak for dinner.  My mission was to be able to share this recipe with you but I wanted a photograph.  Here are the reasons I worked it out this way.  #1, my adoring husband doesn’t want to wait while I photograph our dinner, most of you can relate to this phenomenon of being a food blogger, and #2, it gets dark way too early to photograph dinner in January. I felt completely accomplished.  A beautiful, juicy, roasted chicken stored for another night’s meal, a photo to accompany my post and we still had some serious steaks for dinner.

This recipe is the perfect way to discover how honey can be incorporated into foods that are not dessert.  The health benefits of honey are numerable.  Here’s one you may find useful during the winter months, Spicy Honey Cider Syrup.  Soothing and healing with no restrictions on how often you can down a spoonful.  

Back to the chicken, moist and flavorful with bites of aromatic ginger and pungent garlic sprinkled with orange zest and of course a slight sweetness from the honey.  As I worked on this recipe my mind kept drifting to sesame oil and soy sauce which seemed a natural addition to the flavors I was using.  Don’t get me wrong I love “Asian” foods and flavors, still I wanted the challenge of not going that route which is ever so predictable.  I am quite happy with the roasted chicken which turned out juicy, tender and delicious.

Next up is my balsamic, honey reduction with a surprise ingredient drizzled over roasted beets.  Trust me you won’t want to miss this recipe!

Enjoy!

HONEY, GINGER & GARLIC ROASTED CHICKEN

Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, sliced thinly
Zest of 1 orange, orange wedges
3 tablespoons peeled ginger, minced
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons avocado oil
Juice of 1 orange
5 tablespoons raw honey
1 roasting chicken, 3-5 pounds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*F.  Zest the orange into a small bowl, add minced ginger and garlic.  To this mixture add salt and pepper to taste.  Rub this mixture thoroughly in the cavity and rub any extra on the outside of the bird.  Place the orange quarters inside the cavity.  Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan.  Using the same bowl combine avocado oil, orange juice, and honey.  Mix well. ( if the honey is very thick; about 10 seconds in the microwave will liquidize it a bit for easier mixing).

Baste the chicken with the honey mixture then place the chicken in the oven and roast, basting with honey mixture about 4 times during roasting.  Roast until the juices run clear when pierced with a knife, about an hour.

Transfer to a serving dish and let rest for 10-15 minutes.  Garnish with orange sections.