This weekend my baking performance was less than stellar. The chocolate chip cookie recipe that I can usually work with in my sleep failed. I do not have the faintest idea what went wrong. All I know is that in the end I was working with dough that resembled a glossy, light brown paste. I managed to glob it on to cookie sheets and bake the cookies. The cookies were edible but strange looking. There was no lack of opinions concerning what was to blame for the cookie failure. Thankfully, the cookies managed to disappear. (It’s funny how edible unattractive fare becomes when you are on a boat and hungry!)
Next, I tried my hand at baking a cherry pie from scratch. I often bake cherry pies utilizing canned cherries. This time I pitted 6 – 7 cups of tart Michigan cherries and made the filling myself. My family is perfectly pleased with my own pastry filled with canned cherries and covered with a crumb crust. I just thought it would be fun to try making one from fresh cherries. Besides, I recently purchased this cherry pitter that I was eager to try out.
Well, the result was not the best. The flavor of the cherry pie was terrific. Michigan tart cherries are fabulous. But, the filling was watery. It was a mess to serve and not attractive. I will have to work on this recipe and let you know if I can get better results.
In spite of a variety of culinary failures, I did tweak my Chipotle Chicken recipe and it turned out to be a success. It is easy and delicious.
The Latest Revised and Updated Chipotle Chile Pepper Chicken
Rub Ingredients
- 12 -16 trimmed, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 tbl minced garlic or 4 fresh cloves finely chopped
- 1 tbl ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground kosher salt
Thoroughly coat the trimmed, boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the rub. Refrigerate the chicken and let it sit in the rub for at least one hour.
Chipotle Citrus Sauce
- 4 cups orange juice
- 1/2 cup soy
- 1/2 cup honey
- 4 tablespoons chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce finely chopped (you can purchase these in small cans at most grocery stores, specialty shops, and even WalMart)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Combine 4 cups of orange juice, the honey, soy sauce and chipotle peppers in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil and continue to gently boil for one minute. In the meantime, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining orange juice and slowly add this to the sauce.
Utilize 1/2 - 1 cup of the sauce to baste the chicken breasts in as you are grilling them. Reserve the remaining sauce to serve with the chicken.
Set your grill on medium heat. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and cook, basting and turning the breasts, for about 6 minutes per side. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts and your own personal preference. Do not overcook.
You can vary the spicy flavor of this dish by simply adding or subtracting the amount of chipotle peppers that you utilize.
“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” -Romans 5: 3-4
Thank you so much for posting this Chipotle Chicken recipe. When I grocery shop this weekend, I will be picking up some chipotle peppers. I’m particularly interested in the sauce as it has some of my favorite ingredients (orange juice, soy sauce, and honey!).
This will DEFINITELY be on our menu next week. I think I may add some fresh orange zest or perhaps even some orange marmalade for further texture! I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks again for sharing and since it looks like your blog has lots of recipes and I love to cook, I’ll certainly check back soon.
I’m glad to know even veteran cooks have disasters from time to time. My last awful disaster was supposed to be the desert for a church party. We had to stop and buy pies at Meijer on the way!