Ohhhh La La – Balsamic Chicken Drumsticks

In an effort to not spend all my money buying the oh so expensive scallops, I am trying to experiment at least twice a week with chicken. Chicken drumsticks to be exact.

I’ve always been a dark meat girl, going immediately for the leg of the chicken and almost never eating any other part. I do enjoy a good chicken breast depending the recipe (mustard chicken for instance) but ultimately, if there’s a roasted chicken on the table I’m laying claim to the legs as they’re my favorite.

My decision to experiment with chicken drumsticks also lies in the price. As a single person you can get 3 meals for $3 worth of chicken legs, whereas chicken breasts are much more expensive. And if I’m gonna indulge in scallops the way we know I like to, I gotta tighten the purse strings elsewhere.

This week, for reasons I can’t fully explain, I decided to try my hand at making balsamic chicken legs. I used this recipe as my base and then altered it for one person. I also removed the sesame seeds element because I couldn’t find them at the store and ultimately didnt’ think they mattered that much anyway.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 2 chicken drumsticks
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Combine the balsamic, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves, in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar. Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours. I only marinated them for one as I was not about to wait 2 plus hours for my dinner. One hour was enough in my opinion to get the full flavor, but if you have the time, certainly marinate them for longer.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F

Place the chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria). Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes. Reserve.

Use a pastry brush (I didn’t have one so I used a spatula and that worked fine) to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken. Place the chicken on bed of rice (or whatever side you wish). Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Et voila:

Dinner for one – not too shabby

The chicken was perfectly moist and the glaze was a lovely sweet flavor. Definitely a great mid week option.

Although to be honest, while these were quite tasty, they’re not really my preferred flavor palette. They were delicious for sure, but something I would have with less regularity than some of the other dishes I’ve experimented with. I’m more of a vegetable tartine kinda girl in terms of flavor. But I will definitely be making this again as it’s a good option for chicken and packs a whole lotta flavor without fattening it up too much.

Good recipe all around if you’re looking for a solid chicken dish for dinner!

My Favorite Travel Memory of 2011

With the end of the year approaching everyone is reflecting on 2011 – best dinners, best moments, best trips, and my favorite of all categories – best travel memory.

Somehow this year I was able to fit in a substantial amount of travel for someone with no money. All I have to say is thank God for amazing family members and a job in travel and tourism. This year I managed to travel to Montreal, Quebec City, Niagara Falls, London, Brighton, Geneva, Prague (thanks big sister), Paris (thanks Mom), Rouen, Lyon, Nice, Antibes, Aix, Avignon, Vichy, and Brest. It’s exhausting just looking at the list but every trip, however short, was worth it and definitely made my year.

Given all these lovely locations you’d think it would be hard to come up with a favorite travel memory but mine was actually quite obvious and quite simple:

light lunch in Aix en Provence

This picture was taken after a day of work in Aix. After schmoozing with our partners and talking to French language students I found myself finally alone at 4pm having not eaten anything all day and I wandered to a perfect little cafe in a perfectly hidden corner of Aix, and sat down and nursed the best glass of sauvignon blanc and ate the tastiest and simplest strawberry tart. It was a quintessential south of France moment and exactly what I needed in more ways than one. It just goes to prove that it’s the simple things in life that make us the happiest. And no matter how much I sometimes to try to escape it, the pace of life in France and moments like this picture make me truly happy.

And on that note, it looks like I’ll actually be going back to France for a week in March. The work trip to Portugal has now become a work trip to France. The whole point of the trip is to “experience” one of the travel products we offer and I hate to be biased and completely predictable, but the products we offer in France are much sexier to me than the ones we offer in Portugal. Specifically the one in Vichy that offers French lessons in the morning and two spa treatments each afternoon. If I get the green light for that one I’ll not only get to brush up on my French but I’ll actually get to relax. What an amazing concept. It will also put me smack in the middle of France which means I’ll likely be able to go visit some of my nearest and dearest in Lyon and Paris (assuming train prices are on my side, of course).

If Vichy doesn’t work out, I might just head back to Aix in honor of this perfect and most beloved travel moment or go back to Rouen to try out one of our Language and Gourmet food packages which includes trips to Michelin star restaurants and a tour of a Calvados distillery (swoon). Or I could do a week in the Alps and go to Chamonix or Chambery. Decisions, decisions….either way Vichy is my first choice. The town itself isn’t very thrilling, but that spa package screams my name in all it’s French glory so if I can make it happen, I’ll be going there for sure.

So there you have it. France wins for best travel memory – surprise! But who knows what will happen this coming year. With Spain calling my name in February and a trip to California already scheduled for September next year’s favorite could be much less predictable.

Happy New Year!

The John Lennon Wall – Prague

So my weekend in Prague was amazing as expected. Loving family to take care of me, great city, great conversation, good food, good wine, you really don’t get a better mini break than that. I could have stayed there a week and still not cared about returning to Paris. Life in Prague is definitely not so bad. Especially when family is involved.

Beyond the basic touristy things and the expected focus on food and drink during my visit, I actually saw something in Prague I somehow missed during my first visit – the Lennon Wall. Apparently, this particular wall in Prague is a John Lennon inspired wall with his lyrics, pictures, and general peace and love beliefs tattooed all over the wall. It’s been a cultural landmark for many since the 1980s and hasn’t always been so supported by the Czech government during more trying times. However, now it seems to exist as a real hommage to John Lennon the artist, and more importantly the man who believed in spreading the message of love and peace. The wall is always changing and will likely look completely different the next time I see it. And I most definitely intend to see it again.

I found it incredibly inspiring and could have sat and stared at if for hours. Here are a few photos I took of all the graffiti on the wall if you’re interested. It’s a definite must see for cultural history if you’re ever in Prague. We went by at night, and for me that felt like the perfect time to take it all in, but I am sure that at any point in the day it will be just as impressive.

48 Hours in Prague

In an effort to win the sister of the year award, my sister and her lovely husband have decided it would be best to fly me out to Prague for the weekend to see them. Yes, 48 hours in Prague – non work related. That means nothing but food, fun, and family. And I can’t wait.

I am of course not packed, pretending I don’t have a final paper to write by this coming Thursday, and completely unaware of how to actually get to the Charles De Gaulle airport from my apartment in the Marais, but that does not matter. Tomorrow I’m off to Prague. I’ll be doing god knows what for two days and enjoying every second.

The last time I was in Prague was Christmas of 2008, way before my sister lived there, and in the deep of winter. It was freezing, and amazing, and freezing, but still amazing. Erik and I drank vin chaud in the bitter cold, hung out at the Christmas markets, ate things that were very bad for us, and stayed at the amazing Mandarin Oriental, courtesy of  my fabulous sister. This time, it’s summer, not freezing cold, and I get to stay with locals who will show me around town and make Prague even more special than it was the first time.

Needless to say, I am excited. I plan on taking many pictures and discovering all there is to offer in Prague that I had never considered. In a perfect world, I would be getting a 5 star hot stone massage, eating till I burst, and drinking till I can’t see. In a normal world I will be having an amazing weekend with family I don’t see nearly enough.

So to Prague I go this weekend. Next weekend is Normandy for a wedding, and the weekend after that is Lyon to visit a dear friend and the south of France for work.

God bless Europe.