Fifty Shades of Chicken

This poultry-only lifestyle is getting a bit old.  I try to supplement with seafood when I can, but chicken is just the easier go-to option.  I am throwing turkey in where I can, too, but still...

I almost mugged a guy in the Atlanta airport a few weeks ago for sitting down near me in the gate area and eating a Five Guys burger.  That burger smelled like unicorn tears and angel feathers, and it was all I could do to not launch myself across the seats and snatch it from him like a rabid animal.  I ended up moving to a completely different gate area across the hallway to get away from him.  I was a bit afraid for his life and his burger.

So, whilst wandering around the house and dusting, I spied a cookbook that might help with elevating the humble chicken a bit.  Not that I have been eating totally bland and boring meals, because Prince Charming has been pulling out the stops at dinner to spice things up as he works through a couple of Indian cookbooks, and I am extremely grateful for his generosity.  But that means I've not been cooking much lately, and I feel the need to get back on that track.

Back to the dusting.  I rediscovered a gift from a  previous Christmas called Fifty Shades of Chicken.  Yes, it is a parody of *that* book, and it is absolutely hysterical.  There's a website, http://www.fiftyshadesofchicken.com, with a video that's a hoot, too.  The recipes have names like "Mustard Spanked Chicken,""Extra Virgin Breast," and my favorite title, "Backdoor Beer Can Chicken"...you get the picture.  I've made a couple of things out of the book, and they were good.  The intro to the recipes is the best part.  To be honest, I've not read any of the Fifty Shades books.  I tried...I got to the 3rd or 4th chapter in the first one, and my brain just shut down from the bad writing and horrific lack of depth to the female character.  Don't think I am above reading some racy stuff, because I like a good, well-written, semi-historically accurate bodice ripper or sexy supernatural romancey thing that doesn't devolve into insane menages with men who have hair down to their ankles. (Looking at you, Laurell Hamilton.  You totally ruined the Anita Blake series with your inane attempts at soft porn...just ruined it. Besides, all that hair would totally get in the way.)

I also like that there are pictures of the techniques, as well as the finished recipes.  Pictures like this:

Need I say more?

Next time, adventures in turkey sausage! (hahahahahaha!)

Comfort Food Supreme

It's trying to be January here in the South and not succeeding very well.  Saturday, it was 71 freaking degrees, and has been raining on and off for days, and is going to continue to rain and rain and rain for the next week.  Animals are starting to line up in pairs...

(Although, I did throw out some grass seed this morning to try and cover up a bare spot that seems to be a poodle mud magnet, so I'm pretty sure the rain will immediately cease and desist.  That's what happened every single time last spring when I attempted to cover the bald spots in my yard.)

 During that ill-fated culinary school adventure, I started reading a lot of food blogs, blogs by other crazed culinary students, and food writing in general.  One of the blogs that I stumbled across was Proud Italian Cook.  The blogger lives near Chicago and cooks mainly, you guessed it, Italian.

Her food photography, as well as her recipes, are magazine worthy, and I wish I could wrangle a dinner invite in real life, instead of just through the internet.

Last year, she posted a recipe for Chicken with Fennel and Olives that has been my go-to comfort food for the last year.  Initially, I was a little wary about the fennel, because fennel = licorice/anise flavor = hatred.  But, the picture looked so amazing, I decided to brave the fennel.  Plus, I figured if I didn't like it, I could leave it out if I wanted to make the dish again.  And, there were olives, which could make up for a lot of not liking fennel if necessary.

This dish was amazing.  She suggested serving it with a creamy, cheesy polenta, and I think the first time that I made it, I may have licked all the pans.  The fennel actually has a very delicate flavor and was not overwhelming licorice like.   I used chicken breasts the first time, and if I do it again, I'll whack them in half, crosswise.  They were just too big, and I overcooked them a little bit.

The next couple of times I made it, I used bone-in, skin-on thighs, and that elevated it to an even higher level.  I've always sort of skirted around eating thighs and legs, because I've not been that big of a fan of dark meat.  It tastes kind of strong and gamey to me...unless it's in this dish.  

I've tweaked the recipe a little bit, and I've fed this to several different folks, and it's gotten rave reviews every time.  Here's the recipe, and my edits in are blue.

Chicken with Fennel and Olives

adapted from Proud Italian Cook (prouditaliancook.com)

6 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on (If using breasts, you might want to whack them in half for more even cooking)

1 fennel bulb, sliced

1 onion, sliced

8 cloves of chopped garlic

1 14-oz can of cherry tomatoes (or diced) (I used Publix brand fancy sliced stewed tomatoes, because I couldn't find canned cherry tomatoes in my area, and I used 2 cans.)

Jumbo green pitted olives (I’ve also used a mix of fancy olives from an olive bar.)

Parsley, thyme, oregano and basil (use fresh; a few sprigs of each)

White wine

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.  Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  In a large oven-proof skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat.  Brown chicken until it has a nice deep golden color.  Remove and drain the fat from the pan. 

Drizzle in more olive oil, and sauté the onion and fennel.  Then, deglaze with a generous slug of white wine and throw in the garlic, stirring it around for a minute or so.  (You can put the garlic in with the onions and fennel, but I am always afraid that I will burn it.) Add in the tomatoes, herb sprigs, and salt and pepper to taste, then place the chicken back in the pan, skin side up. Spread your olives all around and put the pan in the oven for around 45 minutes, uncovered.

About 10 minutes before the chicken is done, start the polenta. 

Creamy Polenta

1 1/2 cups of half & half, cream, or milk (I usually use half & half.),

1 1/2 cups of chicken broth

3/4 cup of instant polenta

1 Tablespoon butter

Grated Parmesan (about half a cup, give or take) (I use shredded, because it’s what I normally have)

Chopped fresh basil

In a deep sauce pan, heat your milk and broth until boiling.  Whisk in the polenta until it starts to bubble; it will splatter a little bit, so be careful. Remove the pot from the heat and add in butter, cheese, snipped basil, salt and pepper to taste. if it thickens up, just add more liquid (stock or cream) to loosen it up.  I like mine a little stiffer, more like mashed potatoes, but it's a personal preference.

To serve this dish, I put a generous spoonful of the polenta on a plate, and then put a piece of chicken and the sauce on top of the polenta. I try not to cover the crispy chicken skin completely. Steamed broccoli with a little lemon and salt and pepper is a good accompaniment. 

Just a side note about the tomatoes:  I used 2 14-oz cans of the stewed tomatoes instead of 1.  For some reason, I didn’t think diced work as well, because they seemed to lose flavor and texture. Weird, I know.  Also, using 2 cans gives a little more sauce,which is not a bad thing at all in this recipe.

You cannot help but feel warm and content after consuming this dish, ready to hunker down in your Slanket or Snuggy or Pajama Jeans and hibernate for awhile...or at least until time for dessert.

Chicken & Champagne

It was a damned hot summer here, and I grilled out like nobody's business.  I even ran out of propane, and a tank usually lasts me a year.  (Not going to debate the charcoal versus gas thing...yes, I prefer charcoal, but I also like to grill on the spur of the moment, which is hard to do if you are waiting for coals.)  I even grilled so much that I ended up getting a new grill, because the grates on the old one were wearing through.

R., a friend and former co-worker who now lives in Food Central of the Pacific Northwest (and we are jealous!), sent me a marinade recipe for chicken that he had at a cookout.  He said it was so good that his son forsook pork chops in favor of this chicken, which really piqued my interest--pork over chicken?  The heresy!!  He didn't provide a name for it, but I have dubbed it Sake Chicken, because it has sake in it...brilliant, am I not?

Most of us know sake as the drink they serve in sushi bars and, to my palate, may as well be called Asian moonshine...it always tastes very harsh to me.  It come hot, in cute little bottles with cute little cups, or cold in cedar boxes with salt on the rim.  And that's about the extent of the average person's knowledge of sake...and mine too, up until this post.

As it happens, the day I was out looking for ingredients to this marinade, I went to Earth Fare, our newest food market and total bane of my bank account.  While wandering through the amazingly well-stocked cheese and wine section, just past the olive bar of no return, there is a vendor offering sake tastings.  I am intrigued, of course, because who turns down a free drink?  I look at offerings, and the one that really sticks out is a bottle with a pale milky pinkish liquid...is that sake or just the bottle?  No matter, it's pretty, so it must be good!

This sake is Snow Maiden sake, and it gets its name from a breed of koi, which are ornamental carp.  It is a nigorizake, or "cloudy" sake, which is why it appears milky in my little plastic cup.

The vendor starts babbling about how the garden variety sake you get in sushi bars is essentially crap...sounds like she thinks it's one step above paint thinner.  She starts waxing and waning about how to tell "good" sake, that you need to be able to tell the prefecture that it came from, the type of rice it was made from, heck, possibly the color of the master brewer's underwear.  I sort of tune her out, because I'm just here for the free drink, and I think that sake is sake, and it can't be all that different from the sushi bar house sake.  Yeah, you knew I was wrong about that, didn't you?  I was totally surprised by the Snow Maiden. 

It was smooth and creamy, a bit nutty, and not anything at all like the harsher sake that I've had in the past.  I'm acquiring a whole new respect for this stuff, and I might go so far as to actually order it at dinner or buy it for home consumption.  However, I am not using it as a marinade ingredient.  While the Snow Maiden is not horrifically expensive, I think the garden variety Gekkeikan will be just fine...and it might be quite possible to leave it out altogether, but you would need to add something for acidity, I think...maybe a flavored vinegar.  Or, I can lend you a cup, because you know I'm not drinking this stuff.

Sake Chicken

4 lbs of chicken (breasts, thighs, tenderloins--your preference; I used boneless skinless breasts, but I'm sure boneless or bone-in parts are fine)

1/2 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup ketchup (I am a firm believer in Heinz and only Heinz for my ketchup needs)

1/4 cup sake

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 inch or so ginger root (peeled and grated)

1-2 cloves garlic (grated)

1/2 bunch of green onions, chopped

Method

(NOTE:  I made the recipe using the full amount of marinade and only 2 pounds of chicken.  I would suggest doubling the marinade if you use the full amount of chicken...it makes a wonderful dipping sauce.)

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients, including the sugar.  Use a Microplane grater to grate the peeled ginger into the marinade, and then use a garlic press to smash up the garlic and add it, or grate with the Microplane.  Thinly slice the green onions and add to the marinade.

Place the chicken parts in a zippered freezer bag and add the marinade.  Seal and marinate at least 2 hours, up to overnight.  Remove from the marinade, reserving the liquid, and grill until done.  Place the reserved marinade in a small sauce pan and heat until boiling.  Boil for at least 5 minutes to reduce and also make the marinade safe to use as a dipping sauce.  Serve sauce along side the chicken or pour over.

This is some mighty fine, lip-smacking chicken.  I made some rice and steamed a little broccoli to go with it, and it was a fabulous feast. 

I know I'm a little lax in my posting these days (yes, okay, VERY lax!), but honestly, I have not cooked ir eaten anything highly exciting lately...well, wait...there was the Great Pink Champagne Cake experiment.

I was scheduled to have lunch with a group of ladies that I used to work with, and one of them was just coming off of chemo (for the evil breast cancer), and it was also her birthday, so we decided to surprise her with a cake and cards.  So, I volunteered for dessert, because my friends are very good at encouraging me in my efforts (and probably because I can always bring a killer banana pudding if all else fails). Since it was her birthday and the whole Save the Ta-tas theme of pink, I thought I would like to do a Pink Champagne Cake.  Remember the rose-shaped Bundt pan?  From the time I opened that as a gift, I have wanted to do a Pink Champagne Cake.  I've read about them, and they just sound yummy.

So, off to the Internets I go to search out a recipe and maybe some tips and hints.  I found a recipe at GoodThings Catered blog, and it sounded good, and all the commenters were pretty rah-rah about it.  The only thing that is odd is the inclusion of powdered milk.  I hate reconstituted powder milk with a white-hot passion...we used to have it occasionally for lunch at my kindergarten, and I refused to drink it then, and I ain't agonna drink now.  So, any recipes to pass along to use the remainder of the box of powdered milk would be greatly appreciated.  (Yeah, I guess I could have used regular milk, but I wasn't quite sure why it called for powdered milk, and I am such a baking 'fraidy cat that I always make it by the book when making a cake for the first time.)  I make the cake in the Rose pan...after spraying it within an inch of its little Bundt life with some Baker's Joy.  No stickage!!   Whoo hoo!

While the cake cools, I find a recipe for a Champagne Glaze--it's hard to frost a Bundt, much less a rose-shaped Bundt, so I thought a glaze would be good.  It essentially was a simply syrup with champagne and butter.  How bad could that be?  Yeah, pretty bad.  It was like syrupy butter...the smell of the champagne was good, but the taste was almost non-existent.  I added more champagne, but it was just too buttery tasting.  I know, buttery is not usually bad, but in this case it was, because there was no balance.  The butter flavor overwhelmed the glaze.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with the cake, because it's just not what I had in mind when I started this project, and I decide to make another cake, but this time as a regular 2-layer cake.  I know I'm not the world's best baker, and I kind of suck at icing and decorating, but what did I have to lose?  If you slather enough buttercream icing on a cake, people will eat it it, no matter how lumpy it is.

While the second cake cooked, I surfed the web and checked Facebooks to see what my peeps were up to...probably not at home wrecking their kitchens on a Friday night, that's for sure.  I spy a link in someone's status to this post at inchmark.squarespace.com.  This is a pretty cute cake, and it seems like it should be pretty easy to do...then, I read the blog author used to be senior art director at Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Kids.  Crap.  Oh, well, in for a penny, in for a pound at this point.  It's midnight, and I gotta figure out something for that cake.

And, really, how hard can it be?  It's royal icing piped on wax paper and left to harden overnight.  Famous last words.  Royal icing is a bitch to work with, because that stuff will harden like cement in a matter of minutes.  So, I had to keep it covered while coloring it and piping it.  And, you know, anytime you use food coloring, especially late at night in semi-panic mode, things are going to get wild.  Hollywood, who has a very bad habit of sitting practically on my feet while I am in the kitchen, ended up with a bright pink top knot after I dripped icing on him when I tripped over him...the oven door was similarly coated in the same incident.

And, of course, it took me to the last set of dots to actually get the hang of it and feel good about my dot making. 

The next morning, I get up and stumble into the kitchen, which looked like Barbie exploded in it, not to mention that one of the poodles was still pink.  All in all, we were looking at a qualified success here...snort.  The dots looked pretty good; they held their shape and seemed to have dried okay.  I start peeling them up and poking them onto the cake, and it's working like a charm.  Those Martha Stewart folks really know their stuff.  A couple of the larger dots were a little too flexible and could have used a little more drying time...they cracked just a little, but this was actually turning into a bonafide success story.   Check it out; it looks pretty good for rank ol' amateur me. 

I went ahead and took the rose-shaped cake, too, and dusted it with a little powdered sugar.  I figure it you don't like icing, then you had an option.  I was bit underwhelmed by the actual eating of the cake...maybe I was just pink champagned-caked out, but it was not all that and a bag of fondant.  It tasted okay, but it wasn't fabyooolous by any means.  And, I don't know if it was me or the recipe...I'm willing to go with a little of both, just to save some face here, plus the dots are darned cute.

I will totally try the dot thing again, and I liked Inchmark's suggestion of how to successfully pipe letters for decorating as well.  I think shall work on mastering dots first, then maybe some punctuation, before I try an actual letter.  And, next time, I will give the dots more time to dry.  The leftover dots that dried for about 15 hours were perfect--easy to pick up, no cracking.

Oh, and the poodle is no longer pink.

Le Petite Coq au Vin

Write this down: Anything remotely resembling French cookery will involve a) tons of butter (yay!) and b) every pot and pan in the house (not so yay)...and sometimes bacon (yay again!).

I was catching up on my own blog reading, and whilst reading The Amateur Gourmet, I saw his post about his Top 10 Dishes of 2009. The dishes all looked pretty awesome, and like him, I am a sucker for something braised...especially if I get to use my Le Creuset pots. Which, I am sad to say, are rather underused in my kitchen. When you're cooking for one, it's usually a quick saute here and there. I have been trying to use them more and more, because why else do I have them? But I'm still a little afraid of them. Totally irrational, I know, because they are cast iron, and it would take a whole house nuclear disaster to hurt them...seriously, this is where those indestructible cockroaches will be living after the apocalypse--in cast-iron Le Creuset pot condos. And yet, some people are afraid of spiders, too. (I know, arachnophobia is real...I was just trying to be funny, because I'm not afraid of spiders, but I seem to be afraid of seemingly indestructible cookware. Maybe I should say something along the lines of "...and some people are afraid of dust bunnies." Is that better?)

And that brings us back to the coq au vin. I decided to try Adam's technique and the recipe that he used and see if I could make a smaller version for myself...after eating practically an entire ham left over from New Year's Day luncheon, I am a bit weary of too many leftovers...and ham, dammit. I really like ham, but I am a bit overdosed.

I also am not a big fan of the darker parts of the chicken...yes, Virginia, I know that's where the most flavor is, but I'm just not as thrilled about the taste of those pieces. Although, after braising them in a lot of wine, all the parts will probably taste the same anyway.

So, I set out to make a 2-piece coq au vin, using the bone-in breasts that I had originally bought with a quick chicken soup in mind. (And, to be perfectly honest...the real reason I wanted to make coq au vin was so I could make something with pearl onions. I love those little buggers when you put them in a stew or braised dish--they are like little flavor sponges, soaking up all manner of goodness.)

Also put it out of your head that this is going to be a 30-minute meal. Is braising, people...br-aaaa-zing. Braising is long, slow cooking in a flavorful liquid...operative word being long.

The definition of "coq au vin" is basically "rooster in wine," and supposedly was a way to use an older, tougher bird, but most recipes I've ever seen call for chicken/hen. I found this definition on Wikipedia and thought it amusing:

Coq au vin is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine, lardons (BACON!), mushrooms, and optionally garlic. While the wine is typically Burgundy wine, many regions of France have variants of coq au vin using the local wine, such a coq au vin jaune (Jura), coq au Riesling (Alsace), coc au Champagne, and so on.

Well, at first glance, it's not *that* amusing, but when I tell you the part about my coq au vin should be called "coq au whatever bottle I found in the bottom of the china cabinet and then the stupid cork broke off in it and I had to push it all the way through, AND strain the stupid pieces of cork out," then, it gets amusing.

And, there's the quest to find frozen pearl onions, which seemed to have disappeared from every store but Kroger, which had 4 bags for $5, so I bought 4 to have for future use. (And, Kroger was the 3rd store I went to...at that point, I was ready to even prep fresh ones if I could have found them...did I mention that I decided to do this dish during the Great Southern Blizzard of January 2010? The one where my area closed schools for 2 days on the day before we had even received any snow? The one where there were rabid hordes at the grocery getting bread and milk as if was 2012 and the Mayan calendar had just fallen off the pyramid?)

So, go look at the AG's post--he remembers to post pictures during the important parts--and look at the stages of his coq au vin. Pretty much, mine looked exactly like his, with the exception of cutting the ingredients mostly in half...I made all the onions and mushroom parts! I almost overcooked the breasts, because I should have lowered the temperature of my oven when I flipped them. I cut the cooking time to about 35 minutes, and when I pulled that glorious pot of goodness out, it was boiling merrily away...not simmering, but boiling. Ack!

I also liked the idea that he served his leftovers with buttered egg noodles, so I decided to go straight to that step for the actual first service. The leftovers were still very awesome 3 days later...the chicken was a little overdone after being zapped, but that's usually the case.

This would also be a good casual company dish with mashed potatoes and some sort of green veg--maybe steamed green beans. Next time, though I think I'll use a better bottle of vin and hopefully avoid that whole picking of cork out of my teeth. Hadn't had to do that since college...when one of my neighbors down the hall, who was way more sophisticated than me, smuggled in bottles of Blue Nun, and invariably no one had a corkscrew. We were pretty adept at poking the cork through with a steak knife and drinking around the bits.

Not that I've looked for Blue Nun in about 20 years or so, but she's still around...and has gone high tech with the website and other offerings. Now, I'm going to have to seek out the ol' gal and see how she's changed with the times. I'll report back for the good of the Republic and let you all know. After all, if she was good enough for Elvis... Cheers!


Besides, I'm going to need something to do with myself as we begin the Rickety Fat Dog Tumor Watch 2010. Yep, it looks like the mass in his mouth is making a resurgence, and we are going to have to be aggressive, be! be! aggressive! with it. Which means a trip to a veterinary dentist/oral surgeon who has experience with this sort of stuff...and then, there's still no guarantee. The last few years have really sucked, and for once, it would be nice if Fate would deal me, if not a winning hand, a hand that allows me to stay in the game. Hand me that corkscrew...I need a medicinal dose.

I mean, how can you not want to throw your all your worldly possession into saving this little face?

Home and Cooking

Looks like I'll be off the road for a little while, so I can actually totally unpack the suitcase and possibly dust. Fun. I love dusting.

Fall seems to be creeping up on us here in the South...after that 2+ week hell monsoon season...so I'm thinking more about comfort foods, especially dishes that you can make in one pot, like soups, stews, casseroles. Casseroles are nice in the cooler months, because you can heat the house with the oven as you cook, but we're not quite there yet.

So, how about a casserole of sorts on the stovetop? And, let's make it semi-healthy! Yes, I'm feeling the urge to try and get into some sort of shape before I go on my Thanksgiving holiday. I've worked out at least once this week (yes, I *know* it's only Tuesday, but give me a break...one has to work into these things), and I've been trying to watch what I'm putting in my mouth before I actually put it in there.

Perusing the cookbook shelves, I am suprised to find the American Heart Association's One-Dish Meals. How the hell did that get there? Probably during some other fit of "get healthy." And look, the binding doesn't even look cracked...ha!

Of course, it's high on chicken, which is okay, because I like chicken...mostly fried or roasted with skin on, but I am trying to go healthier, so boneless, skinless it is! And, it looks like these recipes actually have some flavor/spices. They still seem to be undersalted, but I figure I can remedy that, tableside!

Chicken and rice are pretty much universal comfort combos, and this one is perked up a bit with the addition of some poblano chile peppers. I like poblanos, because they have just enough oomph to wake up your taste buds without ruining your sense of taste for hours, like habaneros. They are from opposite ends of the spectrum, but I fully believe food shouldn't cause you pain.

Poblano Chicken and Rice

2 poblano peppers

Vegetable oil spray

2 medium onions, chopped

2 medium ribs of celery, sliced thin

2 cups chicken broth (use low sodium if you really are counting sodium intake)

3/4 cup uncooked rice

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

12-16 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 to 1/4 crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Remove stems from the peppers. Cut peppers in half, lengthwise. Holding the peppers under running water, remove seeds and ribs. Shake off excess water, and cut peppers into thin strips.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and spray with vegetable oil spray; use caution if using gas flame for cooking. (I cheated here and used this new Land O' Lakes butter and olive oil blend that I got on sale...about a tablespoon was enough.) Cook the onions, peppers, and celery for 8-10 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften and gain color, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the broth, rice, and turmeric. Increase heat and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 12-15 minutes.

Uncover and stir in the chicken. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, the rice is cooked, and most of the liquid is absorbed. (I actually had to add a little liquid, more broth if you have it, but water is fine, when I added the chicken.)

Remove from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. (Again, I went off the reservation. I put in about half the cheese to mixture in the pan, then I used the remainder on my actual serving. It seemed a little more decadent that way!) Makes 4 servings.

If you make it strictly by the book, the nutritionals are as follows: 337 calories per serving; 5.0 grams fat; 526 mg sodium ; 40 grams carbs; 3 grams fiber; 7 grams sugar; and 31 grams protein.

It was pretty tasty...and I did add more salt than called for originally. I seasoned the chicken bits with salt and pepper and then added a little more at the end of cooking. I compromised by drinking a large glass of water with my meal, reasoning that it might help flush out the extra salt!

I would also add another poblano to the mix, since this batch was so mild, to boost the flavor a little more. All in all, I thought it turned out pretty well...I'll have time to re-evaluate it a little more, since it's going to be leftovers for the next couple of days.

The Salsaman's Final Dance

It is with a heavy, heavy heart that I write this post. A good friend of mine went gently into the good night, and my life and others were indeed richer from his friendship, as well as his culinary skills.

We worked at two companies together, sharing offices, bitching sessions, the occasional smoke break, and a great love of all types of food. About 12 years ago, in our first job together, I worked out a payment plan with him where he brought me lunch 2-3 times a week from the family leftovers. This was the best lunch deal ever, because I got home-cooked meals that I didn't have to cook myself, and they were way better than whatever fast-food crap was available. And, I was perfectly willing to be experimented on, too.

He was diabetic, which meant he was trying to cook healthier, which I figured was to my benefit as well. He introduced me to roasted root vegetables, which I really had no idea that you could actually "roast" a vegetable, being a sort of culinary neophyte at the time...and 'twas the only time I ever had a beet and liked it...years and years later, I can still remember that meal of roasted pork with the roasted root vegetables--beets, parsnips, carrots, and potatoes...the beets were slightly charred and caramelized and were wonderful. I've never been able to duplicate them, and I've never had them done as well since then.

My most favorite lunch meal was "Almond Chicken," and I would have been perfectly happy if he'd made that every week. Not the ubiquitous Almond Chicken of American Chinese restaurants, but a Mexican version, gleaned from an old Sunset cookbook...for which I have searched eBay and scoured flea markets and library book sales for years to find my own copy, to no avail. I have some tattered photocopies that I've lugged around for the last hundred years, and I guess putting the recipe down here in tribute to Johns will at least give me a way to keep the recipe alive.

I remember when I made this recipe for the first time for myself...it was the first time I had ever roasted a pepper, and I was amazed at how easy it was to do it, thanks to some coaching from Johns.

Almond Chicken (Pollo Almendrado)

1/2 cup blanched almonds

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

1/4 cup finely chopped white onion

1 fresh Anaheim or poblano chile, roasted, peeled,
seeded, de-veined, finely chopped

1 small tomato, seeded and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup chicken stock or broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Tomato wedge
(garnish)
Fresh cilantro sprig (garnish)

Process almonds, about 1/4 at a time, with on/off pulses in electric spice grinder or food processor, to a fairly fine powder. Dredge chicken in almonds on small plate to coat all sides; reserve remaining almonds.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil and the butter in deep 10-inch skillet over medium heat until foam subsides. Add as many breasts as will fit in single layer without crowding. Cook until chicken is light brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, reducing heat if almonds get too dark; remove to plate. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding 1 tablespoon oil, if needed.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the onion to skillet; sauté over medium heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add chile, chopped tomato and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add stock, salt and reserved almonds; heat over high heat to boiling. Add chicken to skillet; reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove chicken to serving dish; cover and keep warm.

Add whipping cream to cooking liquid; heat over medium-high heat to boiling. Cook and stir until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes; pour over chicken. Garnish with tomato wedge and cilantro. As accompaniments to this meal, he always made a jicama salad and these little zucchini boats stuffed with zucchini, corn, and cheese. We figured out that it was just as easy to chop up the zucchini completely, add the corn and cheese, and bake it like a casserole, rather than make boats! Although, the boats were nice for company. : )

Johns was an amazing person...a hippie from way back, with a wry sense of humor and air of comfort about himself and with himself that I will always envy. He was the most gentle person I've ever known, as well as one of the most courageous. He and his family packed up a few years ago, chucked the consumer lifestyle, and moved to Costa Rica to live a life of adventure and new experiences, including opening a vegetarian restaurant, Tia's Garden, which made me rather envious. We would get the occasional email with the most gorgeous pictures of sunsets, fresh fruit, and the smiling faces of his family. And each time, he would invite everyone on the email list to come and visit them. I always meant to go, and I will someday.

My heart goes out to his wife and daughters, and I wish I could do something to help ease their pain and sorrow of this time. I will miss him greatly, and I know I was a better person for having known him.

With some fava beans...

...and a nice Chianti.

Well, I subbed in chardonnay, because that was what I had on hand, but we did have the fava beans. First time I have ever tried them, and you know what? They tasted a lot like lima or butter beans…just browner, if that makes sense.

I had this can of them knocking around in the pantry, just waiting for the perfect dish, and seeing as how I hate liver, it wasn’t going to be that dish.

I decided to use the fava beans along with some canellini (white kidney) beans in this recipe--Tuscan-Style Chicken with Italian Sautéed Beans, which I swiped from the Publix Aprons recipes and made a few minor adjustments.

Tuscan-Style Chicken

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded to an even thickness.
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1 bag fresh baby spinach leaves (5–6 oz)
1 cup fresh pre-sliced mushrooms (rinsed)
1 (14.5-ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes (undrained)
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese


Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place chicken between 2 pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap and gently pound to an even thickness.

2. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Place oil in pan; swirl to coat. Arrange chicken in pan; cook 3–4 minutes on one side or until lightly browned.

4. Remove chicken to an ovenproof dish and place in oven to finish cooking. Sauté mushrooms until browned, and add remaining ingredients to pan (except cheese). Cover and cook 4–5 minutes or until spinach wilts. Meanwhile, slice mozzarella thinly.

5. Add chicken back to pan, and remove pan from heat. Top chicken with cheese slices; cover and let stand 2–3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Italian Sautéed Beans

Ingredients

1/2 cup roasted red peppers
5 fresh garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans (drained and rinsed), (or a combination of beans—white and dark red kidney or fava)
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 fresh basil leaves (rinsed)

Procedure

1. Cut peppers into 1/4-inch slices. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Chop garlic coarsely.

2. Place oil in pan; swirl to coat. Add garlic, peppers, and remaining ingredients (except basil); cook 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until beans are thoroughly heated. While beans cook, stack basil leaves and roll tightly; slice thinly into fine ribbons (chiffonade).

3. Stir in basil; cook 1–2 more minutes or until fragrant. Serve.

The original recipe called for using chicken cutlets and sort of cooking the chicken and other ingredients all together. I had the breasts on hand, so I pounded them out, but I still felt they were too thick to completely cook in the pan...possible pan overcrowding, but hey, why not use the oven to finish? It wasn't busy...

This dish also got better the next day, because we had it for leftovers with a salad, plus I had a portion the day after that for lunch. The flavors really melded together well, and even though I'm not a big lima bean fan, the favas weren't bad. And, you know you've always been curious about them since you saw Silence of the Lambs. I thought this was an interesting tidbit from the SotL Trivia section on IMDB:

Note Lecter's mention of having consumed a victim's liver with, specifically, fava beans and chianti. Liver, fava beans, and wine all contain a substance called tyramine, which can kill you if you're talking a certain class of antidepressant drugs known as MAO inhibitors. MAO inhibitors were the first antidepressant drugs developed, and were used primarily on patients in mental institutions... and Lecter both worked in, and was committed to, a mental institution.

Nothing like eating things that can kill you, or at least drive you crazy. All the creepy stuff aside, try this dish--it's quick and tasty, and best of all, it can be served to census takers!

“I do wish we could blog longer, but... I'm having an old friend for dinner.”

The Butterfly Chicken Dance

Lately, I've not really been cooking in a challenging way. I've been slacking off in meal preparation, preferring to take the easy route and do the bare minimum. Which, of course, gives me NO blog fodder at all, so I guess I'd better step back up to the plate or at least to the cutting board.

The February issue of Bon Appétit appeared in my mailbox, and I finally get around to perusing through it. (Look--it's the "Green Issue"! but, we're going to pack it with some "feel good" food as well. I'm still getting used to the new, "hipper" format of the magazine, so I'm not going to pass judgement on that for a couple more issues. As long as they keep the RSVP column, where readers request restaurant recipes, I'll be happy. Plus, this issue has Pierce Brosnan on the back page. Now, that is what I call "yumm-o"!)

"The Earth Friendly Dinner Party" sort of catches my eye, but the pictures of Fennel and Turnip Crudites with Fennel Salt, Butternut Squash and Sage Soup with Sage Breadcrumbs turn me right off. Seriously, who the hell has time to make something with 15 words in the title? And, it's just the first course.

The Sautéed Kale with Smoked Paprika does catch my eye, because I'm always looking for ways to use that smoked paprika that I lurve so much. That might be a good thing, so I dog-ear that page.

I think no more about this dinner article until I get to a new section, entitled Prep School. The first illustration is of how to properly butterfly a whole chicken. Hmm, I think to myself, *this* is interesting...I'd never thought about butterflying a whole chicken for roasting...not that it's a totally uncommon thing, but it really had never crossed my little pea brain. I read a little more and discover that this technique goes with the Roast Chicken with Rosemary-Garlic Paste from the Earth Friendly Dinner...which I had totally missed, because the recipe was tucked away on the inner colum of the page, close to the staple.

Flipping back to page 98, I read the recipe, which involves making a paste of fresh rosemary, garlic, and olive oil and rubbing under the skin and over the entire chicken. Well now, not sure why this is "earth friendly," but it sounds pretty Poodlevania friendly.

For all my angst over cutting up a whole chicken, butterflying one gave me no problems. Got out the handy dandy kitchen shears and followed the directions:

Butterflying a Chicken

1. Put the chicken, breast side down, on your cutting board. Starting at one end, cut down one side of the backbone, staying as close to the bone as possible. It may take a little effort to cut through the ribs, so good kitchen shears are essential. Don't try this with a regular chef knife, because I sense that method to be just fraught, fraught I tell you, with danger. A trip to the emergency room would possibly be in your future.

2. Cut along the other side of the back bone and remove it. You could do the responsible thing and freeze it to use at another time for soup or stock...which is what I'm doing with the best of intentions of actually using it, but it may not happen. And, I'm okay with that.

3. Splay (don't you just love that word!) the chicken open like a book, and then flip it over so that it is skin side up.

4. Flatten the chicken with the heels of both hands, using your body weight to bear down on the breastbone and ribs.


Pretty darn easy, if I do say so myself. This technique should allow the chicken to cook faster and more evenly. I whipped up the rosemary-garlic paste...which I modified somewhat, because I had no juniper berries, and I added some fresh thyme, because I had it. And doubled the garlic, because...well, why not? A little extra garlic never hurt a roasted chicken.

(Here's a link to a YouTube video on butterflying or spatchcocking (another great word!) a whole chicken The guy doing the demo goes into a little more depth with his butterflying than I did--I didn't remove that cartilage piece or tuck the wings and it worked out just fine.)

I decided to serve it with some skin-on mashed potatoes and the Sautéed Kale with Smoked Paprika. The chicken cooked in about 5o minutes, which is less time than it normally takes, so that was good. And, all of the skin got crispy, which is most definitely a good thing. Unfortunately, we were pretty hungry, so I forgot to take a picture of it when it came out of the oven. It was a thing of poultry beauty, though.

The Sautéed Kale with Smoked Paprika rocked! It was the star of the meal and stole the show from the chicken. Heating up the smoked paprika unleashed even more of its smoky goodness, which is never a bad thing. I highly recommend finding some if you can. If you can't, let me know and maybe I can score some for you. : )

The Rosemary-Garlic paste for the chicken had a little too much rosemary for my taste. And, that was probably my fault, because I just stripped leaves until I thought I had the amount that the recipe listed. Rosemary is one of those herbs that can be a little overpowering to my palate, and a little goes a long way. I added some fresh thyme to the mix as well, and I'm thinking that when I do this again (and I most definitely will), I'll forego the rosemary and just use thyme. That's what's cool about about this type of recipe--the tweakability of it. Rosemary, no rosemary. Add some thyme, use all thyme. This would be great as the the 40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken, too.

Sautéed Kale with Smoked Paprika
(adapted from Bon Appétit, February 2008)

8 cups (packed) kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped (from about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sweet or hot smoked paprika*
Generous pinch of dried crushed red pepper

Procedure:

1. Cook kale in large pot of boiling salted water until wilted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to colander and drain.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika and crushed red pepper; sprinkle with salt. Add kale and sauté until heated through, about 4 minutes.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more smoked paprika, if desired. Transfer to serving bowl; drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and serve.

Now, go forth and cook something!

Not dead...yet

Long time, no blog.

I know, I know, I suck!! I’ve just been waylaid by too many things lately, which have gotten in the way of blogging, and I apologize profusely!!

The good news is that I have been cooking some, and I’ve tried some new things and revisited an old friend, so to speak.

A few weeks ago on Slashfood, I saw a link to Smitten Kitchen’s version of Ratatouille’s Ratatouille…if you have not seen this movie, STOP right now and go see it. I’ll wait. It’s a wonderful movie, and it really does give you a little glimpse into the craziness that is back of the house. (Horst, the sous chef, has the best line…”I killed a man…with this thumb.” That just sent me and The Man into spasms, and we went around for days pointing our thumbs at each other…you had to be there.)

Anyway, The Man mentioned that he had never had ratatouille before, and if I remember correctly, the Cutest Chiclet and I had made a pretty good one in our Regional Cooking class, so when I saw Smitten’s version, I just had to do it.

(And, I totally agree with her about making a dish that a cartoon rat makes is probably right off the scale on the geek-o-meter, but what the hey! Cooking is all about expanding your horizons…while expanding your waistline, of course. And, come on, don't YOU want to try the lightning-struck mushroom and cheese thingy? What, you haven't seen the movie yet? What am I going to do with you?!)

I don’t think mine was as pretty as hers…need, need, need a mandoline!!…but, I think it was pretty impressive in its own right. I used some cute little Indian eggplants that I got at a farmer’s market, and they were the perfect size for the layering when sliced. The important thing was that The Man liked it…and it was similar to this Italian dish I had attempted to make a few months before, called tiela, which is basically ratatouille with potatoes and cheese. (And, I hated it. The tiela. And, we know how much I love the cheese. Go figure.)

Remy’s ratatouille was a snap to make…the work is in the slicing…and since it has it’s roots with Thomas Keller, I felt a little more “cheffy” while preparing it. (Snort.)

From Thomas Wolfe’s “You Can’t Go Home Again” Department: A bunch of years or so ago (no need to worry about the exact number! especially since I have birthday coming up soon), I used to hang out on a regular basis with some friends who were really starting to get into cooking. We’d hook up on Saturdays, drink wine, and experiment with new and different things. The first real cookbook I remember buying for myself was from the Silver Palate ladies, Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, called The New Basics Cookbook . I remember thinking that this cookbook was not like any cookbook I’d ever seen before…it had funky illustrations, a lot of how to’s, no color pictures, and some very strange and exotic sounding ingredients, like Italian (flat-leaf) parsley (remember, this was the early 90s!).

Who knew there was any other type of parsley other than that curly stuff that garnished the fried fish plate at Red Lobster? Much less that you could actually eat the stuff, both the curly and flat-leaf? I think I’ve come a long way, baby, for sure! (Actually, there are references to things way more exotic than Italian parsley, but as I flipped through the book, I was remembering that it was the first place where I had actually ever seen Italian parsley in a recipe.)

Anyway, on our road to becoming sophisticated gourmet cooks, we stumbled across the recipe for Spring Stuffed Chicken Breasts. This recipe involved way more techniques at one time than we’d every done before, including flattening, blanching, and trussing, which had me promptly renaming the dish “Bondage Chicken.” And, it had two “exotic” ingredients—Italian parsley (!) and leeks. Leeks? What the hell were leeks, really? I knew they looked vaguely like giant scallions, but at the time, I had no clue what to do with them. (It's not like they were a staple in our household, and I'm betting that you can ask any member of my extended family that I remember from childhood if they've ever eaten leeks, and I'm betting the answer is no.)

Essentially, you flatten some chicken breasts and blanch some leeks. Then, you layer them, along with some prosciutto (we used ordinary deli ham at the time, because you couldn’t find prosciutto in our neck of the woods), Monterey Jack cheese, and some mushrooms sauteed in butter, along with a little gremolata of Italian parsley and lemon zest, on top of the chicken breasts. You roll up the breasts, truss them with kitchen twine, pop them in a roasting pan, add some marsala, and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? And looks pretty, although it is a pain in the patootie to get all that stuff rolled up in a chicken breast, flattened though it may be. I remembered this dish as one of the crowning achievements of our dinner parties, so it was with great anticipation that I whipped out this old chestnut for The Man.

And, it was nothing like I remembered it. It was rather bland and way too much work for the end product. As I made it, I thought the recipe was not really long on seasoning, with the salt content seemingly derived solely from the prosciutto, and pepper was the only other spice addition. I should have tossed in some minced garlic with the lemon zest and parsley, which would have helped immensely I seasoned my chicken well, with both salt and freshly ground black pepper, along with tossing a little seasoning in the mushroom mixture, but it was still pretty damn bland. It was decorative, with the leeks and the lemon zest, but pretty is as pretty does, I guess.

I thought, being as how I have so much more experience than I had way back then, that if anything, I would have improved upon the original, so it was a crushing blow of sorts when it wasn’t the best damn thing I’d ever made. It wasn’t inedible by any means, but it was just so blah for all the work that went into it. Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a whirl yourself, and let me know if you have better results…and confirm that I really do suck!!

Spring-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins (with my comments and paraphrasing)

6 whole boneless chicken breasts
4 leeks (white part and 1 inch green), halved lengthwise and well rinsed
7 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
12 ounces fresh white mushrooms, sliced lengthwise
3/4 cup coarsley chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 2 teaspoons crumbled dried
Grated zest of 2 lemons
12 thin slices prosciutto
12 thin slices (~2.5x1 inches) Monterey Jack cheese
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup Madeira or dry sherry (or chicken or vegetable stock)
Kitchen string and shears

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

1. Rinse chicken pieces and trim away any excess fat. Pat dry. Place breasts on cutting surface, skin side down (where the skin used to be attached). Remove fillets (that weird little finger-size piece on the underside) and reserve for another use. Place a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap over each breast, and pound with a mallet until thin. Set chicken aside.

2. Bring saucepan of water to boil, add leeks, and simmer for 1 minute. Drain, separate, and pat dry. Set aside.

3. Melt 4 Tbs butter in a skillet and saute mushrooms over medium heat until just tender; about 5 minutes. Drain well, and set aside.

4. Combine parsley, rosemary, and lemon zest in a bowl; mix well.

5. To assemble rolls, lay chicken breasts flat, skin side down. Place 2 slices of prosciutto lengthwise on each side of the breast (NOTE: the actual directions seem to want you to put a piece of prosciutto on each side of the chicken; tried that, bad results when trying to roll and truss.) Divide leeks evenly among the breasts, laying the leaves lengthwise. Arrange mushrooms down the center of each breast. Sprinkle gremolata over all and top with 2 slices of cheese, lengthwise. Sprinkle with pepper.

6. Starting on one long side (I did it from the end because my breasts weren't big enough, I guess...first time I've ever had that problem!), roll breasts carefully, making about 3 turns, to form a tight roll. Tie roll together with kitchen string.

7. Line a shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil, and place chicken rolls in pan, seam side down. Sprinkle chicken with pepper, and place 1 1/2 teaspoons of remaining butter on top of each roll. Pour Madeira into pan.

8. Bake, basting frequently, until golden, about 35-45 minutes.

9. To serve, slice rolls into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Arrange decoratively on dinner plates and spoon some of the pan juices over them.

Makes 6 portions

(See, doesn't it sound like it should be good for all the work you put into it? Maybe it's just me...it probably is me, so that's why I'm letting you judge for yourself.) As I entered the recipe and looked at the book again, I kept thinking that a lot of the recipes were awfully labor-intensive and maybe a little pretentious...this was from the late 80s-early 90s, so I guess that's to be expected. However, as I mentioned earlier, there's a ton of extremely helpful hints, some not so crazy menu ideas, and instructions/illustrations of techniques. And, then there's things like Turnip and Pear Saute. Enough said. If you see this book at a garage sale or in a used book store, it might be fun to pick it up on the cheap.

Oh, on the cooking class horizon, I’ve signed up to take a seafood workshop at Fine Technical College in August, which should be great fun…and probably chock full of bloggable events!

See you next post!

Ali Baba and the 40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken

Typical afternoon drive time conversation:

Me: Hey! How's your day going?

The Man: Fine; how's yours?

Me: Fine. What do you want for dinner?

The Man: I don't know...do you want anything in particular?

Me: No.

[crickets]

Me: How about I stop at Publix on the way home and rustle something up?

The Man: Fine. Whatever you want to make.

See--I do have it very lucky that he's not a picky eater, and some weeks, I actually plan out menus, so I don't have to ask that question. Yesterday, however was not one of those days, but I actually had an answer to the what's for dinner question. "I'll make Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic," I say, as I get off at the exit before ours, and head to Publix.

This is the easiest chicken recipe ever...wait, you say, how can that be? Someone's got to peel those 40 cloves, don't they? Ah, Grasshopper, have you learned nothing? There's a perfectly acceptable method/short cut. Behold, I give you Christopher Ranch Peeled Garlic! In your grocer's produce section!

Yeah, yeah, it's pre-packaged and costs more, but damn, the convenience of it all!! Peel off the protective plastic seal, open the lid, and dump. What more could a girl ask for? (Well, I actually have a list, but that's a whole 'nother post.)

And, it makes this easy recipe even easier...and these days, I'm all about the easy!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
(adapted from a recipe sent to me by Cheryl, who got it heaven knows where!)

Serves 4
Time: ~1 hour

1 3-4 lb. Chicken cut into serving pieces (with the skin! Live with it! Take it off later, if you must)

40 cloves fresh garlic (3-4 large heads or use the small pre-peeled container by Christopher Ranch in produce section)

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 Tbs fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried

2 Tbs. fresh basil leaves or 2 tsp dried

6 sprigs minced parsley or 2 Tbs dried

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Black pepper to taste

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Place chicken in shallow glass baking dish, skin side up. Using the back of your knife, slightly smash/mash the cloves. Scatter the garlic around and under the pieces of chicken.

2. Pour the white wine over the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, the herbs, and cayenne.

3. Cut zest from lemon and sprinkle onto the chicken, and then squeeze the juice over the chicken. Cover the pan tightly with lid or aluminum foil.

4. Bake chicken in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes. Remove the covering, and brush the tops of the chicken pieces with olive oil. Then, crank up the temp to 425 degrees F, and continue cooking until the chicken skin is a crisp golden brown, the meat is thoroughly done and tender, and the juices run clear—about 10-15 more minutes.

If you've got that ubiquitous loaf of crusty bread around, it's nice to spread the cooked garlic on it and eat. Make sure ALL your dinner guests eat some, for the halitosis counterbalance, you know.

Anyway, I stopped at the Publix with high hopes of running in, grabbing a few things, and running out. And, imagine the shock, the chagrin, not to mention the wailing and gnashing of teeth when I discovered that there was no pre-peeled garlic to be had! Only that chopped stuff. So not what I wanted!!

So, I gainfully gather up 3-4 heads and drag them home, like a good little culinary student.

And, yes, I peeled and smashed 40 (I counted!) cloves of garlic, which was about 3 and a half heads. About halfway through the second head, I realized that maybe I should have worn some gloves, because all my vampire friends would not want to play with me later and would run screaming from the smell of my hands. (Why don't vampires like garlic? And, what the hell do Italian/Mediterranean vampires do? Do they have to move to countries (like Iceland) that don't have a large garlic-eating populace? Things to think about...)

What did I learn from my garlic peeling? Well, and I added this to the recipe procedure above, I think the garlic works better if you smash it before you scatter it around. The chicken seemed to be more garlicky this time, and that's a good thing. So, even if I take the shortcut way with the pre-peeled, I'll whack them a little bit to help them release their garlicky personalities.

And, guess what? I have an answer to tonight's dinner question, too! It's something I don't ever cook, but The Man likes, so this should be fun, yes? I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out. Wish me luck!

(I'm a happy garlic miser!)

Update: I meant to mention this earlier during the post, but I forgot...garlic fumes, I guess. For the white wine portion of the program, I usually buy the little picnic four-pack of some chardonnay or pinot grigio. We don't drink a lot of white wine at our house, and rather than open up a new bottle for a recipe, I use the little ones. You get about 1 - 1 1/4 cups of wine, depending on the size of the mini bottle, and it's perfect for those recipes where a little bit of wine does a body good. You could drink the rest of it, or put it in the fridge and use it again within the next week or so, and it should be fine.

A Brining We Shall Go, A Brining...

I've babbled on several times about the joys of brining pork chops, and how The Man has made his preference known that he would absolutely prefer it if I brined pork chops every time. (I think his exact words were something along the lines of "never cook pork chops again unless you brine them!")

After the last go round of brining was a fond memory, I grilled some chicken breasts, and while they were okay, they were a little dry...which might be a result of my fear of underdone chicken and telling myself that it's okay, nay even best, to err on the side of caution and overcook the chicken a wee bit.

Bah! There's got to be a better way to do this, and as The Man is chomping on his slightly dry chicken, he says, "can you brine chicken?" This sort of stopped me in mid-grind, and my first thought was "no," but then I remembered the old Good Eats Turkey. (Don't worry, I'm not cranking the oven up to 500 degrees and inviting the local fire department this time--I save that for important holidays.)

The Good Eats Turkey brine is rather involved...flavorful, but involved, and I since I wasn't going to be brining chicken parts for as long as I brined the turkey, I figured I could go a little simpler.

I wandered around on the wide open Internet and found several different methodologys and recipes and just cobbled together a simple sugar-salt-black pepper brine...no need to get too fancy. I got a package of chicken breast--on the bone and with skin.

(Let's just face up to it now--it's hard to beat a roasted chicken with the crispy skin for sheer simple goodness. You know you like the skin...I like the skin...we just never want to admit we like the skin, because somewhere in the Fat-Free Dark Ages (known as the late 80s/early 90s), it was deemed bad with a capital B, and it stuck in our subconcious little craws even after we found out that fat (in moderation of course) was good for you.) (Like Snackwells were ever good for anyone!)

Brine:

3/4 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper
2 cups boiling water
1 gallon of cold water

Combine the salt, sugar, pepper in large plastic or glass container and add boiling water. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add 1 gallon of cold water--I cheated and substituted 32 oz of ice cubes for 1 quart of the water to help cool the brine down. (What--you think I made the brine in advance and let it cool overnight in the fridge? Riiiight. I got home from work approximately 30 minutes before I started this little experiment in terror, so I need a little "assistance.")

Take chicken parts and submerse them in the brine, making sure they are completely covered by the brining solution. You can set a plate on top to help weight them down if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and place in the refrigerator for about 1.5 hours.

To cook, remove chicken from brining solution, discarding brine. Rinse thoroughly, pat dry, and cook. I'm putting these babies on the grill, and I'll report back later this evening on how they turned out.

Okay...this was an interesting experiment...and I mean interesting in the not bad way...not as a backhanded derogatory statement (like "that screaming lime green velour jumpsuit looks very interesting on you"), but more as a puzzlement.

The chicken was berry, berry juicy, but as for extreme flavor transformation a la the pork chops...how you say--not so much. There wasn't any real excitement to the chicken breast other than they were juicy. The Good Eats turkey was a juicy and flavorful turkey, so I know the culprit in this case is the brine. I went simple with it to err on the side of caution, but I should have added a little somethin' somethin' to it for flavor.

The good news is that when I used the leftovers in a chicken recipe the next night, they didn't dry out and were still moist and juicy. I used this one from the (shhh, don't tell) Rachael Ray Magazine's April/May 2006 issue. Love her/Hate her/I do, but I still like some of her recipes. The biggest problem I have with this one is she tells you to use a rotisserie chicken from the market. Why would you want to take a lovely golden (not to mention expensive) roasted chicken and shred it up for a casserole? Instead, do what I did and cook a few extra pieces on the grill and pull them for this dish.

Chicken Biscuits ‘n’ Gravy Casserole
Rachael Ray Everyday, April/May 2006

4 servings

One medium to large rotisserie chicken (or 3-4 leftover grilled chicken parts)
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the dish
8 ounces white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese


1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Butter a large casserole dish. Pull the meat off the chicken, shredding it with your fingers or a fork into the baking dish.

2. In a large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over high heat. Add the mushrooms, onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned, about 6 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, sprinkle the flour into the skillet and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup of the milk and simmer for 1 minute more. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the lemon juice, and add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the gravy over the chicken in the baking dish. (Okay, this is where I did a radical departure and upped the gravy makin' ingredients by half. I'd made this recipe before, and I didn't think it had enough liquid--the casserole seemed too dry, which is a definite no-no with a casserole.)

3. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter with the garlic.

4. Stir together the baking mix, the remaining 2/3 cup of milk and the cheese. Drop tablespoonfuls of the biscuit mixture on top of the casserole and brush with half of the garlic butter. Bake until the biscuits are golden brown, about 25 minutes, brushing them once or twice with the remaining garlic butter. (Which I did at the end of the baking time.)

Generally, this is a good winter dish, but it worked out for a late spring evening as well...and the leftovers are good for breakfast, too!