Please Please Help Inexperienced Cook

Batgirl

Please Please help me!!!

I am pants at cooking anything new but this morning I watched bloomin 'Saturday Cooks' and saw an "Easy" receipe for maramalade chicken as as my OH is away til tomo I thought I would make it for a treat when he gets home. The problem is it says chicken thighs and wings and I have done breast and now have no idea how long to cook it ofr. The timings for thighs etc are 30 minutes covered, and then 15-20mins uncovered, this is for 8 and I am cooking 4 chicked breasts.

Any ideas?

Ps

(WARNING THIS BIT IS VERY LONG AND BORING!!!!!)

This receipe has already done my head in, I live in Cumbria and today have had galeforce winds and I stupidly drove into town in unsafe conditions to get the ingredients, I then put kids to bed to make the marinade. I then realised I forgot the mustard, rang all friends to see if they had any, 1 did but I couldn't get it as I had 2 boys sleeping. Fortunatly my friend is great and she brought it to me. Then I went to the fridge for orange juice ( which we always have) to find I had apple juice :mad: :mad: :mad: I then had to go out in my jamas in the rain and gales to knock on the neighbours doors to eventually find oranges that I have had to squeeze by hand.

SO I AM DESPERATE FOR THIS RECEIPE TO E COOKED RIGHT BECAUSE I WILL CRY IF ITS NOT NICE TOMO.

Thanks in advance for the help, and sorry about moaning and boring you to death.

Batgirl

apple_mint

Don't panic ... most recipes are adaptable. Someone will be along shortly to help you out on timings. I usually buy chicken thighs because they are cheaper .. but they do take a little longer to cook. Chicken breasts can be quite thick so may take the same time? I'm assuming you are cooking them in a liquid (mustard mix and orange juice - in the oven). A total time of 45 -50 minutes sounds fine to me.

Sounds as though it is going to be delish Chicken is very forgiving and as long as it is not allowed to dry out it will be lovely :T

moggins

I would check them frequently after 30 mins if you can, try sticking a fork in, you get more resistance from cooked chicken than from raw when you press down on it with a finger too.

apple_mint

I knew an expert would come along

Carter_2

Sorry Batgirl, nothing helpful to add as I think I am as bad as you with cooking. Just wanted to say you made me laugh with your post and sounds like the kind of thing that would happen to me too.

I hope it goes well but surely it's the thought that counts.

Rikki

Marmalade Chicken
Chef: Antony Worrall Thompson
Category: Poultry
Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes


INGREDIENTS
For the chicken –
• 4 tbsp marmalade
• 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 50ml (2floz) orange juice
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 8 chicken pieces- thighs or legs

For the garnish -
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped

To serve –
• Mashed potato

METHOD:
• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
• In a bowl, combine the marmalade, ginger, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper and orange juice, mix well.
• Add the chicken and toss to coat.
• Line a baking tray with kitchen foil and tip in the chicken and marinade.
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the top foil, baste the chicken with the sticky glaze and bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is nicely browned but beware of burning.
• Add the spring onions near the end of cooking to warm through.
• Season well and serve with mash.


Here is a link to the web site Saturday Cooks

apple_mint

This looks delicious :drool:

lizzyb1812

Baby steps batgirl

If you're starting to learn to cook try to stick to recipes that only have a few ingredients - less to go wrong!

When you've done a few recipes you can start swapping the ingredients around because you'll know by then what the end result you're aiming for should be like.

Always cook chicken until a skewer or sharp knife pushed into the thickest part of the meat leaves clear juices running out of the whole you make with the skewer/knife.

Oh, and have a stand-by. I made loads of mistakes at first and I learnt that it was a good idea to have a substitute meal I could do instead if my experiment failed. Your family isn't expecting a special recipe so if you serve up sausages or burgers they won't know the fancy chicken is in the bin!

lizzyb

Rikki

I would cut the breasts in half so you have your eight pieces. It will keep the cooking times simular. I would cook for the same time covered and then 10 to 15 inutes uncovered. I'd keep an eye on them as they can dry out quite quickly.

I'm assuming the breasts have the skin on.

Batgirl

Thank you thank you thank you for all your help, it is the receipe above and it looked gorgeous on the telly, I let you know how I get on, its been marinating since last night and my hands still stink of garlic !

Batgirl

Sorry my laptop has gone mad and I don't know how to delete them sorry!