Blackened Roast Chicken ala ~DKBB~

Blackened Roast Chicken ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe by Sam Talbot)

Photo from People magazine

1 (2½ to 3 lb.) whole chicken

1 Tbsp. smoked and/or spicy paprika

1 Tbsp. onion powder

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

1 Tbsp. lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

½ bunch fresh thyme sprigs, tied together with kitchen string

¼ cup olive oil

1 small shallot, finely chopped

• Preheat oven to 375° F, or preheat Traeger or grill.
• Remove chicken giblets (save for another use or discard -your choice); rinse chicken off and pat dry with paper towel; place chicken in small roasting pan.
• Stir together paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, lemon zest, and cayenne pepper in medium bowl; cut lemons in fourths and add them and the thyme bundle to the mixture; toss to coat well.
• Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium heat; add shallot and cook, stirring often until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add cooked shallot and oil to seasoning mixture; stir/toss well to combine.
• Remove lemons and thyme bundle and place them in cavity of chicken; rub remaining mixture over chicken and under skin on the breasts.
• Roast chicken until thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh registers 165° F, about 50 to 55 minutes.
• Remove chicken from heat; remove thyme and lemons from cavity; if desired, squeeze lemon over chicken and garnish with untied thyme; let chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Grandmother's Toad in the Hole ala ~DKBB~

Grandmother’s Toad in the Hole ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe by Susan Kieboam on www.tasteofhome.com)

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

½ tsp. salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 12oz pkg. uncooked maple breakfast sausage links

3 Tbsp. olive oil

Butter and maple syrup for serving (optional)

• Preheat oven to 400° F.
• In a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and salt together; add flour to mixture and whisk until well blended. Let stand while you prepare the sausage.
• Cook sausage over medium heat until done, turning often for even cooking; remove cooked sausages from pan and cut each link into 4 or 5 pieces.
• Place oil in 12-inch cast iron skillet; place in oven for 3 to 4 minutes to heat.
• Stir batter and pour into heated skillet; top with sausage pieces.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed.
• Cut into wedges to serve; if desired, serve with butter and maple syrup.*

 * You may find that you don’t really need to butter, but do give the maple syrup a try!

Bacon-Wrapped Pesto Pork Tenderloin ala ~DKBB~

Bacon-Wrapped Pesto Pork Tenderloin ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe by Holly Sander in Feb/Mar 2017 edition of Simple & Delicious)

4-6 bacon strips

½ pork tenderloin (½ lb.)

¼ tsp. cracked pepper

¼ cup prepared pesto

½ cup shredded Italian cheese blend

½ cup fresh baby spinach

• Preheat oven to 425° F.
• Place bacon strips width-wise, overlapping a bit, in foil-lined 15x10x1 pan (or just use a foil pan that size and skip the lining-with-foil part).
• Using ½ of a pre-package pork tenderloin (freeze the other half), cover the meat with plastic wrap and pound it with a meat mallet to ½-inch thickness; remove plastic wrap; place flattened tenderloin centered perpendicularly on the bacon strips.
• Sprinkle pepper over pork, spread on pesto, then add cheese then spinach.
• Close (roll up) tenderloin, wrapping the outside with the bacon strips; tie all with kitchen string (a wrapping method with the string works well…you want to be sure all the bacon is tied around the tenderloin); secure ends with toothpicks if necessary.
• Using a 12-inch skillet, brown the bacon-wrapped tenderloin on all sides (about 8 minutes).
• Return the now-browned bacon-wrapped tenderloin to the roasting pan; roast in the oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the pork reads 145° (17-20 minutes).
• Remove string and toothpicks, let stand 5 minutes before slicing.