Spiced Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs and the ‘Little Dipper’

This past Saturday was the monthly get together of our local blogger group; we vary between coming to my home to break bread or going out for brunch at a local restaurant. Although originally started as a way to discover other locals that share the commonality of food blogging, the truth is that after a bit more than a year it’s been the source for some real friendships and we all really enjoy getting together.

This month I scheduled our meeting at my home so that we could meet a member’s new baby daughter Maggie. Her mom Sara is the blogger behind Saucy Dipper and sweet Maggie has already been tagged ‘The Little Dipper’ by Karen Harris (we missed you Karen but you were here in spirit). I think this might stick and am already imagining Dip and Dipster as she gets older. Maggie is only 3 months old but see that adorableness? She didn’t fuss all morning but gave all of us cute smiles when given attention and she smelled just like a baby should which can only be described as perfect. Everyone was smitten and we are looking forward to seeing her again. I loved that she let us hold her and didn’t fuss; OK, she made sure to hone in on where mom was, but still we all got a dose of cuteness up close and personal. Soon she will have a baby blogger companion when Charmaine has her baby in a couple of months. Talk about teaching them young…forget Toddlers and Tiaras, I’m already imagining Toddlers with Toques!

I love how we always have such a mixture of things to eat when we get together even though we have one steadfast rule. Bring what you can if you can. We love getting together to chat and eat but it’s important no one feels pressured because of a dish; if anyone has had a hard week or a crazy morning…come empty handed but come; we will always have plenty of great food!

On this particular morning, Andrea from Fork Fingers Chopsticks was frying eggs and serving them with black beans and salsa, and Sara brought some fabulous local cinnamon rolls. Anne Marie made a gorgeous blueberry and cream cheese stuffed French toast as well as showed up hauling 3 huge carriers filled with fish and game that she had to get rid of before a move.  Charmaine with Speakeasy Kitchen brought a gorgeous fresh fruit salad and some eggs for me from her laying hens. I can not wait to try them and share the experience; especially to compare the flavors of the different color eggs laid from different types of hens. Jane with No Plain Jane’s Kitchen brought some delicious flatbread that was perfect with the eggs.

A new member of our group, Ansh, is from India. Her blog Spice Roots encompasses a wonderful and wide range of dishes and she shared one with us on Saturday morning, Chicken 65. It was fabulous…and fiery. And gone; not a leftover bite in sight! I’m sure that dish was on my mind when I decided to peruse the cookbook I had just received from my friends Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein. I got to know Mark and Bruce last year during the month long Goaterie challenge that Rachael at La Fuji Mama and I held. They are the authors of the book ‘Goat‘ and were not only huge inspiration for all of us but wonderful sources of information (and we’re doing it again in July of this year!).

When Mark asked if I would like to check out their latest cookbook, ‘Cooking Light’ ‘The Complete Quick Cook’ I readily agreed. I’ve come to respect not only their cooking chops but their friendly and down to earth demeanor and that is so readily evident in this cookbook. Filled with dishes that are both easy for the home cook to prepare and tasty too it is also peppered with lots of tips to make everyday cooking easier; for newer and seasoned cooks alike.

It was almost prophetic that the dish I first spotted was for Spiced, Honey Brushed Chicken Wings. I was longing for some more of that spice and these delivered perfectly. Maybe not quite so hot as Ansh’s dish but for a family dish I could see that as a plus. But I’ll tell you this, it had to have been one of the simplest and yet tastiest chicken dishes I think I’ve ever made. I had two packages of boneless chicken thighs that equated to doing about one and one-half times the given recipe and I was wondering if a serving could be considered one package of six pieces. Yes…I really could have!

Mark and Bruce were kind enough to provide me with a copy of the cookbook to peruse and offer another one for one of my readers too. You know the drill…check out the specs after the recipe and promise me something. Make this chicken. Then be honest about whether you could have eaten 3 servings too. I know the answer.

Congrats to Dara Michalski with the www.cookincanuck.com website. She’s the winner of this cookbook!

Now for the Sweepstakes to win the cookbook:

How to win?

1. Main Entry [Required] – Leave a comment below and let me know; are you familiar with Cooking Light cookbooks?

Want an extra entry?

Each item you do will get you ONE chance to win for a total of 2 chances. If you are already doing this it does count, just make note of that in your comment. You MUST leave each entry as a separate comment or only one comment will count!

1. Follow @creativculinary & @MarkScarbrough on Twitter and tweet the following statement then come back to this post and tell us you tweeted – I just entered to win The Complete Quick Cook’ cookbook fm @creativculinary & @MarkScarbrough http://su.pr/2nd4hu #giveaway

Important Details:

• This giveaway is open to USA residents only and will run until Monday, February 27, 2012 at 11:59 pm MTN time.
• Winner will be generated via random.org and will be notified via the email provided on the comment form information.
• Winner will have until midnight, March 2, 2012 to claim the cookbook or we will choose another winner.
• Winner will receive one Cooking Light ‘The Complete Quick Cook.’ Product will be shipped directly to the winner by the publisher.

Note: I was provided one copy of Cooking Light ‘The Complete Quick Cook’ to review and keep but I was not compensated for writing this post and all opinions are mine. I have provided links to Amazon.com for those who might be interested in purchasing this book; these are not affiliate links.