Zinfandel Orange Chicken

This old Williams Sonoma recipe is my go to poultry dish for the Jewish holidays. The flavors are outrageous, and it’s not difficult at all. My friend, Allison, just went crazy over this chicken at my Rosh Hashanah meal.

*Full disclosure; I’ve posted this before, awhile ago. It’s so good that I wanted to share it again, to those of you who haven’t seen it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup hearty dry red wine, such as Zinfandel

• 1 cup fresh orange juice

• 1/4 cup chopped shallot

• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary

• Zest of 1 orange

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 chickens cut into eighths, with skin

• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

• 3 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

• 1/2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water

• 3 Tbs. unsalted margarine

In a bowl, whisk together the wine, orange juice, shallot, Rosemary, and orange zest. Pour one and a half cups of this mixture over the chicken pieces, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours, turning occasionally. Reserve and refrigerate the extra wine mixture.
20 minutes before putting the chicken in the oven, preheat it to 350. Bake the chicken uncovered for one hour and 10 minutes. Baste the chicken a couple times, and when removing chicken from oven. Change the oven setting to broil (WS grills this but that’s not convenient for me, so I bake then broil to crisp the skin). Broil the chicken for several minutes until the skin gets golden brown and begins to crisp.
While chicken cooks on bake mode, in a saucepan over high heat, combine the reserved wine mixture and the chicken stock. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to a cup, about 25 minutes. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and boil until lightly thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the margarine. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm. Spoon sauce over the chicken pieces to serve. Garnish the platter or plate with a thin orange slice or sprig of fresh rosemary.

Tip** always cook with a wine good enough to drink.