Dinner for 2: Chicken with Orange and Shallots

(plus Mini Basque cheesecakes!)

Hi friends! A sunny welcome to you all and to new subscribers. We chat about California Cuisine every Friday and I’m so glad you found your way here.

February brings the Dinner for 2 series! Each Friday features a meal recipe that’s perfect for you and a dining companion. That person might be your spouse or significant other. But it might be a son-in-law, a gym buddy, or a new friend.

It’s just you and someone you want to spend time with, tête-à-tête as they say, enjoying a meal and good conversation.

Some weeks include cocktails for two, or like this week, a dessert (yes, perfectly portioned just for two!).

New Podcast Episode

A new episode of the Betty Eatz Podcast dropped this week! I had the pleasure of chatting with Martin Sorge, recipe developer, food writer, home baker, and winner of The Great American Baking Show!

Photo courtesy of Martin Sorge

A confessed “baking nerd,” Martin shares his insight into spotting good baking recipes, using kitchen scales, experimenting with alternative flours, and exploring the glories of German bread. Included is one of his tried-and-true bread recipes: Lovely Lazy Loaf!

You will love hearing his story and the baking tips he shares. Subscribe to his newsletter here:

Listen to the podcast with the link here or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Citrus Season

Winter is citrus season in California, so my trees are heavy with fruit. While yields vary each year, I can count on at least one of my four trees to produce a bounty that needs to be used. This year it’s the sour orange tree that was previously a lime tree.

I feel I should explain.

When we first planted our citrus trees, I wanted lemon, lime, grapefruit, and orange because I love citrus and use it liberally in recipes and drinks. They are so delicious!

Each of the trees has had its own journey of great years and not-so-great years. But the lime tree became my problem child. For many years, it consistently produced beautiful limes. But that changed a year or two ago. The limes morphed into little orange balls that were incredibly sour and inedible.

What happened?

Sour orange is frequently used as a rootstock to which other citrus is grafted because it is resistant to fungal diseases and can help produce high yields. However, if rootstock suckers are left unchecked and untrimmed, they can take over whatever has been grafted onto them. And I think that is what happened here.

So, I have a former lime tree that now produces sour oranges. While on vacation in Greece last year, I learned that these types of oranges are great tucked into meat dishes and make wonderful orange marmalade.

Today’s recipes for Chicken with Orange and Shallots (and the Mini Basque Cheesecakes!) are for paid and founding subscribers. Want to become one? It’s easy.