Flash in the Pan

I was in the mood to cook something different and had noticed at a local store some muffins with sliced almonds on top. We had about ten chicken leg and thigh combinations defrosted, so I thought that an almond-crusted chicken, baked like oven-fried types (get rid of the oil) might be good. So I checked online - lots of recipes that seemed to work on the 1) dredge in flour, 2) dip in egg, 3) cover in nuts approach, like you might do for pan-fried chicken. Here's roughly what I did (what, me take measurements?):

Ingredients

• 5 lbs. chicken parts, bones in
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 12 ounces sliced almonds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil (or use a cooking spray on) a large roasting pan, or two pans that will fit the chicken and your oven at the same time.
2. Take three wide containers. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in one. Beat the eggs with milk in the second. Crush almonds with your hands and place into the third.
3. Rinse chicken and pat mostly dry. In turn, dredge each piece in flour, coat with egg mixture, and roll in crushed almonds. Place in pan.
4. Place pan in oven and bake about 40 minutes, or until almond crust is golden brown and chicken cooked through.

I served it with a cream sauce (kicking myself here, because I used milk and not the chicken stock in the fridge that I had made from carcasses) into which I added a couple of handfuls of chopped cilantro.

Labels: chicken, entree, nuts, recipe

Clif Bars sent samples of their new Organic Fruit & Nut Bar line. Each one offers "2 full servings of fruit and nuts," which does leave some question of interpretation. Do you get two servings of each? Two servings combined? There's no wheat, soy, or dairy, for the vegan or ingredient-sensitive, no processed sugars or artificial sweeteners or trans fats for everyone, and 5 to 7 grams of fiber. A bar is 150 to 170 calories, still lower than eating a candy bar, though the price is $1.49, not so cheap for 1.6 ounces (or a suggested price of $14.90 a pound).

As for the taste ... eh. I preferred the cranberry, apricot, and almond to the dark chocolate raspberry because the latter's taste just didn't come up to the standard depth you can fine in a good piece of chocolate. However, it's certainly a better nutritional choice than candy, and not so expensive as to discourage a bit of experimentation.

Labels: bars, chocolate, Clif, fiber, fruit, nuts