Cooking for a Crowd with The Pioneer Woman’s Peach-Whiskey Chicken
We’ve been cooking a lot with peaches this month, plus my son wanted to learn how to can them. He’s planning to take the jars he’s canned up to college for winter-smoothies. Smart boy!
We also enjoyed a fun get-together in our backyard last weekend, as we hosted 15 adults, well, 4 adults and the rest all teens and in their 20s.
Having already fallen in love with The Pioneer Woman’s Peach-Whiskey Chicken (we were served this wonderful dish, while visiting Ree on her ranch) I knew this would be a crowd-pleasing recipe to try on my guests.
So what was my secret cooking for a crowd?
When hosting a large group, cook the recipe the night before to make the next day’s entertaining much easier!
My husband and I doubled the recipe (watch out when you add that whiskey!), and with the exception of adding in the peaches, we allowed it to cool on the kitchen counter. Then we stored it in the refrigerator until the next day, waiting for the final step of adding the peaches and baking it.
A few hours before our guests came, I removed the chicken from the fridge.
Sliced up the peaches, adding them to the mixture; separated out the recipe into two different pans (because of the amount), and then started baking.
I timed the recipe to be finished 1/2 hour after the guests were here, because I knew we’d be having appetizers and enjoying each other’s company for a while before sitting down to eat.
Our meal consisted of:
-Appetizer platters with fresh veggies and fruit; peach chutney, nuts and goat cheese – served with pita chips. Our home-canned zucchini salsa and rice chips.
-A huge green salad; Caprese Salad; watermelon.
-Rice (pressure-cooked with garlic and ginger and cranberries).
-Peach-Whiskey Chicken Thighs (boneless, I used 15 pounds for a crowd this size).
-Wonderful bread served with Meyer Lemon butter.
And dessert … was a surprise. Our guests brought cheesecake with fresh berries. I love surprises!
Here we are, enjoying this amazing meal! Great food, great friends.
I actually made Ree’s recipe from her book, which is slightly different than the recipe here, but either way, it’s a KILLER good recipe and your guests will be HAPPY! :)
Do you think ahead when cooking for a large crowd, about what you can make up the day before?
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I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Did you double the amount of whiskey, or reduce it a bit?
doubled :)
I was lucky enough to be guest where this peach whiskey chicken was served, and boy oh boy was it a huge hit. I’m talking knock it out of the park delicious! She seved it over mashed potatoes with plenty of this sauce . The hostess was so kind and shared a bit of the leftover sauce with me, and I’ve been dipping everything in it! I could drink this stuff…okay, i did…but just once. :-) I plan to serve this to friends we’re having for a weekend visit next month and can hardly wait. When you need a sure fire recipe to impress your guests this is the way to go!
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I love this post! Sandy, you give me so much inspiration! I haven’t tried that PW recipe yet, but if you love it enough to serve to your guests, I know it is a “must try” recipe. I always try to do as much as possible prior to hosting a party. Anything that can be prepped or cooked ahead will save me so much time on the day of the party!
Actually, Sandy, I have never thought of cooking the meal ahead. Gosh do I feel, well, never mind, for not ever having done that before. I’ll bet everything even tastes better. Like leftovers are so much yummier the second day.
Thanks for the awesome simple tip!
I just HAVE to share because it’s all so similar. I just posted a handful of fresh recipes on a recent post AND a couple of them are from Pioneer Woman too! :D Here they are: http://www.mooreminutes.com/2012/08/4-amazing-fresh-peach-recipes.html
BUT…none of them were this chicken and it sounds amazing! I’m adding it to our Labor Day weekend menu. Thank you!
Oh, I *know* that was yummy! I’ve been dreaming of having it again ever since Oklahoma! :)
Urg. “Oddly” enough. Friday fingers!
Two weeks from tomorrow I’ll have ten people at my place for dinner. This weekend, I’m making (dooly enough, from PW’s recipe) a very large beef brisket. It will be sliced, returned to the pan and frozen, to be thawed and reheated for the dinner. I’ve a killer recipe for twice baked potatoes that freezes very well; more than likely I’ll make a huge batch next weekend and pop those in the freezer as well.
While my condo is huge, with the diningroom open to the large livingroom, the kitchen is a small, but efficient, galley style. I need to be sure I’m available for my guests (I’m single) and not spend all the early party minutes in the kitchen with last minute things. The rest of the menu for the dinner will be cold/room temp salads, rolls and one hot vegie. It took a bit, but I’ve a system down.
A “system” really makes a difference, doesn’t it? Thanks for sharing! Sounds like it will be a great time and LOVE beef brisket!