Mustard Cranberry Glazed Chicken

June already?

Well this is a recipe I've made since I was first married and there are three things I love about it: first, it's so easy that it goes together in about ten minutes, second it smells wonderful cooking and third, everyone likes it so that I never have to worry about grumpy complaints.

Lately I've gotten extremely tough against that kind of attitude--one complaint about what's for dinner and the offender is "invited" to spend the rest of the meal up in their bedroom--far away from the food that they find so offensive. I find it looks much more appealing after an hour or two of solitary.

But, enough about my heartless childrearing techniques and on with the recipe. There are a lot of fancy mustards out there and most will substitute nicely--next time you're at the grocery store grab one that looks interesting and thrown it in the pot.

1 whole chicken
1 cup honey
1/2 cup cranberry mustard such as Pepperidge Farms
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Rinse then pat the chicken dry. I will often will substitute a package of thighs or breasts should the whim strike me, it just depends on what I have on hand. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir constantly over a medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.

Brush a thin layer of the sauce over the chicken pieces or whole roaster and bake uncovered for one hour. Then pull the chicken out and spoon the rest of the sauce over the bird and roast for another 15 minutes until it's got a lovely golden brown covering. If you have loose pieces of chicken rather than a whole roaster you should decrease the cooking time by 15 minutes: roast for 45 minutes then spoon the sauce and roast for another 15.

Let the chicken sit for five or ten minutes before serving to set the juices then enjoy--I served this most recently with a side of Parmesan polenta (thanks to Kelly at Love Well who's got me hooked on the stuff) and some springy asparagus--which did elicit a few gasps this last time but no complaints thanks to my new "take no prisoners" meal time policy.

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More books to give away! Today I have The Real Deal Guide to Pregnancy by Erika Lenkert. Though the title might suggest otherwise this isn't a guide book about how to get pregnant it's a handbook to help you through the ensuing nine months of pregnancy once you've figured the important part out on your own. Maybe it should be called The Real Deal Guide through Pregnancy but then what do I know?

But regardless of the title it's a helpful little handbook and particularly good for any first-time mothers-to-be that you might know. What sets this book apart from so many pregnancy guides is the readability. Published by DK Books it's full of pictures, lists, insets, things that make reading easier. Then there's the length, with only 255 pages it feels less like a daunting Bible set to cover every question you might have and more the "Cliff Notes" it advertises itself to be.

But probably the best thing is that it highlights other mothers' experiences. Paragraphs of what other women felt and thought and did that bring pregnancy down to earth and make you think that perhaps you too can get happily through it.

There are websites in the back for a nice resource should you want more information and more support, there are recipes to support your cravings and practical talk about things like weight gain and finding good maternity clothes.

All in all not a bad little book. If you'd like to win it simply leave a comment on this post before midnight and I'll draw a winner to be announced in Monday's post.

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