What's for Dinner Wednesday~Cranberry Baked Chicken with Apple Cider and Quinoa

Today I am back with yet another scrumptious recipe.  This one comes from a cookbook #1 gave her dad for Christmas.  Fifty Shades of Chicken. Yes, you read that right.  My daughter had read all the hype about it and decided to get it for her dad, but not before reading one of the descriptions of a recipe with her sister in Barnes and Noble...most likely turning beet red first, then praying no one was watching them, gasping, and then DYING laughing. 

Y'all this is not a cookbook for the faint of heart, nor those without a serious sense of humor.  I told the girls it was the perfect gift for a newlywed couple (that should tell ya somethin').

Needless to say, her dad and I read one of the recipes Christmas day while the girls looked on...they were dying and so were we...could not stop laughing.

***a word of caution, do not leave this out for your guests to see unless you want to have to do some explaining...just sayin'

We decided to make the Cranberry Baked Chicken with Apple Cider last night and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

1 C apple cider

1/2 C dried cranberries (we used Craisins)

2 TBS apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 cinnamon stick

1-inch piece peeled fresh gingerroot, smashed with the flat side of a knife

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (we used white since I can't have black)

3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts, patted dry with paper towels (we used thighs)

1 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt

2 TBS cold butter, cut into pieces (we use dairy free-Earth Balance)

Cooked with wild rice, quinoa or couscous for serving (we chose quinoa)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Combine the cider, cranberries, vinegar, cinnamon stick, and ginger in a saucepan over medium-high heat. and season with the pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the cranberries are very soft and the liquid is reduced by two-thirds and has a syrupy-consistency, about 20 minutes.  Discard the cinnamon stick and ginger.

2. Season the chicken with the salt.  Lay the parts in a roasting pan, skin side up.  Spoon the cranberry mixture over the parts, then dot with the butter.  Roast until the chicken parts are browned around the edges and cooked through, about 40 minutes.  Serve up with rice, quinoa, or couscous, and enjoy.