Chicken for all ages: at last, a dinner the whole family will like - recipes

Sunset, Sept, 2003 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

Suspicion lurks behind the 10-year-old's question, "What's for dinner?" She's imagining capers in the sauce and arugula in the salad. What parent hasn't despaired of planning dinner that's interesting for the adults and the kids? One simple approach is to start with universally acceptable components--chicken, potatoes, and ice cream, for instance--then make small adjustments to please different tastes.

Just add a green salad to our lively meat-and-potatoes combo--who says you can't please 'em all?

Sesame Drumsticks
with Crusty Oven Hash

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 hour

NOTES: Serve the hot potatoes with
sour cream and chopped chives.

MAKES: 4 servings

    6 cups diced (1/2 in.) peeled thin-skinned
      potatoes (about 2 1/2 lb.
      total)
    1 onion (about 8 oz.), peeled
      and chopped
    1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
      leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
      rosemary
    5 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons
      olive oil
      About 1/2 teaspoon salt
      About 1/2 teaspoon pepper
    2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
      About 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
    8 chicken drumsticks (equal size, about
    2 lb. total), rinsed and patted dry
1 1/2 cups purchased seasoned croutons

1. In a 12- by 17-inch rimmed pan, mix
potatoes, onion, rosemary, 3 tablespoons
olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and
1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread into a single
layer. Bake on upper rack in a 425[degrees] regular
or convection oven for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, oil a 10- by 15-inch
rimmed pan. In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons
soy sauce and 2 teaspoons oil.
Put sesame seeds on a plate. Roll drumsticks
in soy mixture (add more soy if
needed), then in sesame seeds to coat.
Lay drumsticks well apart in pan. When
potato mixture has baked 10 minutes,
place chicken on lower rack in oven and
bake until well browned (180[degrees] in center
of thickest part), 30 to 35 minutes.

3. When potatoes begin to brown at pan
edges, about 10 minutes after adding
chicken, turn with a spatula, moving unbrowned
ones to edges; spread level.
Bake until potatoes are tender when
pierced, 15 to 18 minutes longer.

4. While potatoes cook, put croutons
into a heavy zip-lock plastic bag and
coarsely crush; mix with remaining 2
tablespoons olive oil. When potatoes
are done, mix in crushed croutons and
bake until browned, 5 to 8 minutes.

5. Arrange chicken on a platter with
hash. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Per serving: 802 cal., 48% (387 cal.) from fat; 40 g
protein; 43 g fat (7.9 g sat.); 64 g carbo (8.6 g fiber);
1,106 mg sodium; 97 mg chol.

Flexible Fruit Foster

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 15 minutes

MAKES: 4 servings

  1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter
  1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 tablespoon orange juice
    3 to 4 firm-ripe bananas (about
    1 1/2 lb. total), peeled and cut into
      1-inch-thick slices, or 1 1/2 pounds
      firm-ripe peaches, peeled, pitted,
      and sliced
    1 pint vanilla ice cream
      About 2 tablespoons banana- or
      orange-flavored liqueur
      About 2 tablespoons dark rum

1. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over
high heat, stir butter and brown sugar
until bubbling vigorously. Add cinnamon,
orange juice, and fruit; turn
fruit often with a spatula until sauce is
boiling again and fruit is hot, 1 to 3
minutes.

2. Scoop ice cream equally into four
bowls. For the children, spoon fruit
and sauce over ice cream. Then, for
the adults, pour banana liqueur and
rum over fruit in pan and ignite with
a match (keep away from vents or
flammable materials); shake pan until
flame dies. Spoon fruit and sauce over
ice cream.

Per serving with liquors: 431 cal., 42% (180 cal.)
from fat; 3.6 g protein; 20 g fat (12 g sat.); 58 g carbo
(1.8 g fiber); 181 mg sodium; 61 mg chol.