by F. L. Fowler
He spreads my thighs out on a plate. Sticky hands and at least five wet napkins. What will the housekeeper think? Who cares?
roasted chicken thighs with sweet-and-sour onions
SERVES 2 TO 4
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry with paper towels
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon plus a pinch of coarse kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper.
2 In a small saucepan, simmer together the onion, wine, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and a pinch of salt until most of the liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. Mix in the honey and butter.
3 Spoon the mixture over the chicken and toss well. Spread the thighs, onion mixture, and any juices onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink and the onions are meltingly tender and caramelized, about 25 minutes.
Chicken Strip Tease
I’ve been prevailed upon in ways I never imagined. I’ve agreed to everything so far, but now it’s my turn. I want more. I want to be dinner, I want to taste like me, I want to be craved. He’s obsessed with his kinky implements, his techniques, his condiments. I prefer to think this is messed up, but I can see it’s the right thing for him. My mind wanders to the fifteen previous Ingredients.
“Your whole control-freak foodie thing, it was because of her, that woman—Mrs. Child.” My mood has darkened.
“Julia opened my eyes to many important things,” he explains. “In fact, I’d still be eating frozen dinners if it weren’t for her.”
Frozen dinners? The thought of my poor, fucked-up foodie eating cold Tater Tots as a boy breaks my heart. Not taters, baby, never again!
All right then. I’ll bet she never taught you this.
“Strip my breasts, Blades,” I command softly. “Now.”
His eyes widen. Craving thickens the air around us like a wine reduction. I can tell he’s thinking what he might do with my ample white flesh. Well, he’s just going to have to think a little longer, because I have to marinate.
So what will it be? Cupped in a warm tortilla? Slicked with vinaigrette? Rubbed up hot with spice?
We won’t need a recipe for what we’re about to do.
chicken breast strips with balsamic and rosemary
SERVES 2 TO 4
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry with paper towels
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 Cut the chicken into ½-inch-thick strips. In a bowl, whisk together the chicken, garlic, balsamic, rosemary, salt, and red pepper flakes. Lay the chicken into the bowl and turn it gently. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oil and turn the mixture again. Wrap the bowl tightly and let the chicken marinate in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
2 Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and heat until it is shimmering. Toss in the chicken strips and sear without moving until the undersides are golden brown. Continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until the chicken is just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
LEARNING THE ROPES
Feel free to project your dinner fantasies onto the naked flesh of these well-seasoned breasts. Here are some ideas: wrap in warm tortillas and top with tomatoes, avocado, and grated cheese; toss with salad greens, shaved fennel, and a lemony vinaigrette; cut into smaller strips and fold into an omelet to serve the morning after; shred into chicken soup.
chicken fingers with brown sugar and bourbon
Sticky Fingers
It’s just around midnight. He’s got me in pieces again, whipping up his latest fancy. Brown sugar and bourbon simmer on the range, smelling juiced up and sloppy. I can’t keep up with his shifting moods—sour this morning, sweet tonight. I blame that harpy, Mrs. Child. A cooking show queen, warping boys of just sixteen. Now poor Shifty can’t even chew gum without some kind of kinky cookery. Finesse: it’s a bitch.
“Is this one of her recipes?” I can’t hide an edge of bitterness in my voice.
“No, Miss Hen, it’s my own preparation. And I wish you’d stop obsessing about Julia. You’re flogging a dead horse. She’s my past. You are my future.”
His future! I let this information soak in. I feel my anger subside slightly and my bones grow warm.
My subconscious is squawking, You’ll get burned again. I hear her knock on her perch, but I ignore her. She’s still got the blues about Mrs. Child and she’s got a point, but we’ve got to move on. How can I resist those deft hands? That godlike mouth and tongue? If the brown sugar doesn’t sway me, the bourbon will. Why does it smell so good?
He palms my breast, his fingertips just brushing the sensitive tip. “You fit my hand perfectly, Miss Hen,” he murmurs. “Just like a young bird should.”
No, I won’t let anything come between me and my Shifty Blades. Wild foxes couldn’t drag me away.
chicken fingers with brown sugar and bourbon
SERVES 6
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry with paper towels
1 teaspoon pure chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon bourbon
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, for drizzling
1 Using a sharp knife, trim the breasts lengthwise into 1-inch-wide fingers.
2 In a medium bowl, combine the chile powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken fingers and mix well until thoroughly coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or longer if you want to make the chicken wait for it.
3 Preheat the broiler. Oil a large baking pan or a broiler pan. In a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, honey, and bourbon to a boil, stirring. Pour half the mixture over the waiting chicken, tossing it gently. Drizzle with oil.
4 Lay the fingers out on the pan without crowding, and broil, turning once, until the chicken is sticky all over and browned around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes.
5 Brush the chicken with more of the sticky glaze for serving, then drizzle with lemon juice.
Thighs Spread Wide
I must have you right now,” he says breathlessly, throwing me down and opening my thighs on the first surface he can find.
“On this?” I ask. “Isn’t this a baking sheet?”
“It’ll have to do.” He practically roasts me with his burning gaze as a low growl issues from his gut.
He looks down at me and slips his fingers between my thighs, spreading them wide. He begins a slow and sensual assault with his hands, scattering capers and lemon everywhere. Because I can’t close my legs, it’s intense, really intense. Oh fucking my…
roasted chicken thighs with mushrooms
SERVES 4 TO 6
1½ pounds boneless, skin-less chicken thighs, patted dry with paper towels
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 teaspoons capers
2 tablespoons white
wine, chicken broth, or water
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for serving
1 Season the chicken with the salt. In a large bowl, combine the oregano, lemon juice, garlic, and pepper. Add the chicken and mushrooms to the bowl and toss to coat. Drizzle in the oil and stir well. If you can bear waiting, let marinate for up to 4 hours in the fridge, or for 15 minutes at room temperature while the oven preheats.
2 Preheat the oven to 500°F.
3 Spread the chicken thighs open in the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking pan. Scatter the mushrooms and capers around and over the chicken. Add the wine, broth, or water to the pan and roast until the chicken is golden around the edges, glistening with juices, and just cooked through, about 25 minutes.
4 Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges, for squeezing.
stir-fried chicken with spinach and peanuts
Chicken Thighs, Stirred Up and Fried Hard
I lie exhausted on a bed of rice. He leans over me, tasting me and savoring the juices that are still dripping from me. Cab Calloway is shimmying away on the stereo. Blades runs a hand through his hair and flashes a grin at me.
“Satisfied, Miss Hen?”
I mumble my assent. Holy cow, where does he get his energy? This is the third time we’ve cooked today. Doesn’t he have some kind of job?
“Is stir-fry like this for everyone? I’m surprised anyone ever goes back.” I smile, remembering.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but it’s damn good with you.” He sucks on another piece of my warm flesh.
But I can tell he’s already thinking of how to top this. He’s layering flavors in his head, mixing textures. He can’t just stop and enjoy, he’s got to find a way to move it to the next level. He’s already made a delicious dish, can’t he be happy with that?
From the stereo, Cab is crooning, “Chicken ain’t nothing but a bird.” Right now I’m hardly even that. Blades can finesse all he likes, I think as I drowse. I need my beauty sleep.
stir-fried chicken with spinach and peanuts
SERVES 4
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry with paper towels
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup low-sodium chicken broth
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1½ teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon honey
1½ tablespoons peanut oil
1½ teaspoons Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1 bunch scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh gingerroot
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups baby spinach
½ cup unsalted roasted peanuts
Cooked rice, for serving
1 Cut the chicken thighs into easy-to-nibble-size pieces; season with the salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and honey.
2 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peanut and sesame oils and let heat for 30 seconds. Stir-fry the chicken hard, fast, and furiously until it’s golden and nearly done, 5 to 7 minutes. Scoop the chicken onto a plate and make it beg you to finish it off.
3 Add the scallion whites, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes to the pan. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and stir-fry for 1 minute longer.
4 Stir the broth mixture into the skillet and gently heat to a raucous simmer. Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and let the sauce bubble until it is thick and velvety, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the peanuts, the waiting chicken, and the scallion greens. Toss until the sauce reaches its desired thickness and the chicken is quite done, 1 to 2 minutes more. Enjoy over rice.
chicken hash with sweet potatoes
Hashing It Out the Morning After
I begin to wonder whether I’m up to the standard of his singular tastes. Lately, finesse seems to require mayonnaise, fish sauce … and this morning there’s a bottle of ketchup waiting next to the Wolf. I know it will displease him, but I have to ask. Here goes nothing.
“Do we always have to use a condiment?”
He runs his hand through his hair, which still has that amazing just-cooked look from last night. He cocks his head from side to side and frowns.
“Condiments are for your own protection. Some of the other ingredients can be rather strong, and we need to balance the flavors. And it lubricates you.”
“Don’t you ever want to just taste me au naturel?”
He closes his eyes as if searching for strength.
“Your savor is always present, Chicken. I choose flavors to enhance your taste, not cover it.”
“Couldn’t you leave me undressed, just once?” I feel myself gaining the upper hand for once.
“All right, Miss Hen,” he sighs with resignation. “This morning the condiment is optional. You don’t need it anyway.” He adds, “Even if the other Ingredient could use it.”
Other Ingredient? What’s he up to now?
“You’re pairing me?” I ask suspiciously.
“Yeah, baby.” He quirks his lips into a crooked smile. “Taters.”
chicken hash with sweet potatoes
SERVES 4
1¼ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked, diced chicken meat
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 scallions, white and green parts sliced, for garnish (optional)
Fried eggs, for serving (optional)
Ketchup, for serving (optional)
1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the sweet potatoes. Par-cook until halfway done, about 5 minutes. Drain, then spread out on a clean dish towel to dry.
2 Melt half the butter in a large skillet and add the sweet potatoes and half the salt and pepper. Let cook without stirring, until the potatoes brown on one side, then turn and brown well on the other side, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3 Add the remaining butter to the skillet and sauté the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until tender and golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the chicken and crushed red pepper flakes and sauté until the chicken starts to brown. Return the potatoes to the pan and sauté until everything is well mixed and golden, taking care not to crush the potatoes too much.
4 Serve the hash topped with scallions and a fried egg and ketchup on the side, if you like.
sautéed chicken breasts with aromatic brown butter and hazelnuts
Go Get the Butter Breasts
What is this?” I ask, horrified. The machine is sleek and silver and rather beautiful. It has a big gift bow on it. I stare at it blankly. How can this possibly be for me?
He smiles proudly. “This, Miss Hen, is your new in-chamber vacuum sealer.”
Sealer? “I like the packaging I came in,” I say weakly.
“That plastic sack,” he says with distaste, “is an amoeba playground. It’s not safe. I’ve disposed of it. This machine has an anaerobic gas flush that will protect you and keep you from spoiling.”
“I’m perfectly fresh as I am.” I had enough trouble with the fancy spices, and now this? Why is he such a control freak?
“You are quite fresh. But you’ve been looking thin, Miss Hen. You look like you’ve lost five ounces, possibly more, in the last two days. I told you, I need you juicy, and to be juicy you must preserve your water and fat content.”
He thinks I’m scrawny. And maybe even spoiled. My inner goddess flips him the bird. Let him watch his own damn fat content. I know there will be hell to pay, but I cluck audibly.
“No, I can�
�t accept this,” I cluck.
His eyes darken. He looks at me with that intense gaze that makes me feel agonizingly self-conscious. Am I too lean?
“Very well,” he says quietly.
“Don’t be angry with me.”
His expression is hooded, halfway between fury and something else. I long for him to put his hands on me, and I can see him staring hungrily at my breast. My vitals ooze with raw desire.
“You are a most disobedient Ingredient, Miss Hen.” He quirks his mouth into a crooked smile.
He grabs a sheet of foil. Oh yes. I know he won’t let me win that easily, and that what’s coming next will be rough and hot. Longing lubricates my nether parts.
I’m too lean for you? Nothing a stick of butter won’t cure.
sautéed chicken breasts with aromatic brown butter and hazelnuts
SERVES 2 TO 4
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 ounces each), patted dry with paper towels
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
¾ teaspoon finely grated orange zest (from 1 small orange)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped, toasted hazelnuts or almonds
1 Using a mortar and pestle, or the flat side of a knife, crush the coriander seeds and put them into a bowl.
2 Using the side of a rolling pin, gently pound the breasts until they submit, flattening them ¼ inch thick. Put the chicken into the bowl with the coriander and add the salt, orange zest, pepper, and nutmeg and toss to coat. Let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, or better, up to 6 hours.
3 Melt 1½ tablespoons of the butter in a very large skillet over medium-high heat and let it simmer until it turns golden brown and starts to smell nutty. Add the chicken in batches and cook until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm.