Monday, March 2, 2009

Giada De Laurentiis... one of my favorites!

If you know anything about me, you know I love the food network - I have my favorites and watch them as much as possible. My two all time favorite chefs are Giada De Laurentiis and Ina Garten. They use basic ingredients, and make delicious meals out of simple everyday and fresh food. I've never had a recipe go wrong with either of them. Giada was born in Rome, she is the granddaughter of the famous film producer Dino De Laurentis, he also had a restaurant where Giada spent a significant amount of time. She studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, but almost everything she makes has her "Italian" flair to it...she even has a recipe for Italian S'mores! She's been on the food network since 2002. I have most of her books but still find additional recipes on the food network website. I recently cooked this delicious and easy chicken meal...and I thought I'd share - I'll be sure to cook it again outside on the grill when it's "grill" weather!
Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

For the balsamic vinegar sauce:

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 pieces chicken (any combination of breast or leg-and-thigh pieces)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the BBQ sauce:
Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the chicken skin side up in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and spoon the BBQ sauce all over the top of the chicken. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. So easy, so delicious and a family favorite! (tip... use non stick aluminum foil to avoid a sticking disaster)! Giada's balsamic BBQ recipe above is also listed as a steak glaze.

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