Free Esalen Cookbook by Charlie Cascio

She exemplified to the work scholars love and caring for the tasks they performed. She pointed them to the moment-to-moment awareness of washing potatoes, chopping broccoli, or marinating chicken. And she had a Slavic heart that filled the kitchen with her overpowering loving presence.
     
    Serves 4
    ¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup tamari soy sauce
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons honey
1 clove garlic
¼ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 whole chicken, cut in 8 pieces
1 medium yellow onion, cut in ½-rinch dice
     
    Mix the oil, soy sauce, wine, and honey in a small bowl until well blended. Mince the garlic and add it to the marinade along with the ginger, chili flakes, and sesame seeds.
     
    Place a ladleful of the marinade in a baking dish. Don’t use a large baking dish; the chicken should fit in snugly. Lay the chicken pieces in the dish skin-side up, and then ladle the rest of the marinade over the chicken. Marinate at least ½ hour before cooking. It helps to prick the chicken pieces with a meat fork so that the marinade can be absorbed into the meat.
     
    Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour total, covering it only for the first 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove cover, baste, and bake 20 minutes more. Then baste again and sprinkle with chopped onion. Return to oven for final 20 minutes of baking. The chicken will develop its own juice that will blend nicely with the marinade. The meat will turn a beautiful barbecued brown. It is done when the interior temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer.

SOUTHERN BAKED CHICKEN
     
    This is a healthy way to have crisp, crunchy fried chicken without the extra fat from the frying, and the crisp crust clings to the chicken without flaking off like some of the greasier fried chicken recipes. And there is no messy hot fat splattering everywhere!
     
    Serves 4
    1 cup almonds, finely ground
1 cup cashews, finely ground
3 cups Rice Crispies, finely ground
1 cup finely grated Parmesan or Asiago
cheese
2 tablespoons Cajun Spice Blend (see page 117)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon ground fennel seed
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground sage
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
     
    The simplest way to grind the small quantity of nuts and Rice Crispies is in an electric seed grinder or coffee grinder. The cheese can be grated on the fine grate of a hand cheese grater.
     
    Blend the nuts, Rice Crispies, cheese, and all the spices together until they are well mixed. Cover all sides of the chicken pieces with the breading mix, and then place them on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes. The best way I know to test the chicken for doneness is to place a thermometer into the meat. Chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees F interior temperature.
     
    The breading mix makes 5 cups and will keep for several weeks if sealed and refrigerated.

TORINO HAZELNUT POLENTA
     
    The Piedmont region of northern Italy is famous for its hazelnuts. In the forests and orchards around Torino grow a variety of hazelnuts that have an exceptionally rich flavor. The nut has a reddish hue rather than a classical hazel color, and is more oblong than the classical round shape of most hazelnuts. These nuts have a fragrant taste that gives this regional dish its name.
     
    Serves 4
    ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 cups hazelnuts
3 cups vegetable stock or water
3 cups half-and-half or whole milk
1½ teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry basil
2 cups polenta
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 green onions, trimmed and sliced into fine
rounds
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup Parmesan or Asiago cheese, grated
½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
     
    Soak the tomatoes in warm water for 20 minutes. Place in a colander to drain and set aside. Roast the hazelnuts in a