Chicken with Sherry

Most of my meal planning, unless I'm doing a dinner party, is done at an open refrigerator. What do you have for me today? This week I had a couple of chicken breasts, some crimini mushrooms and the normal stuff in the cupboard.

Mushrooms: left the small ones whole and quartered the larger ones. Sauteed them in butter and olive oil, some salt and pepper and at the last 30 seconds tossed in a few cloves of chopped garlic. Damn, that smells good. Removed to a dish.

Chicken breast: sliced them across the grain and flattened the slices. Dredged these in seasoned flour and sauteed in mushroom pan with a bit more olive oil; quickly removing when each was lightly browned.

Cooked some linguine in boiling water until just cooked; drained. Always save a bit of the pasta water. Some restaurants call that "profit."

Finish: deglazed the pan with a bit of chicken broth, added chicken and mushrooms back to pan along with 1/4 cup of creme fraiche, fresh chopped thyme and a good splash of Spanish Sherry. This simmered for a few minutes to blend the flavors. To this add the hot, drained linguine and a bit of the pasta water if the sauce needs thinning.

Serving: into the hot dish I tossed about a half cup of grated Parmesan and topped with chopped fresh Italian parsley and a bit of salt.

I love these flavors together. Chicken, thyme, garlic and sherry. The creme fraiche just makes the sauce milder and very rich. Dredging the chicken in flour adds a bit of thickness to the sauce as well. This dish is loaded with flavors and it is easy to overlook the salt. I feel you really must taste before serving because salt seems to tie all the flavors together.

Question: Do you plan your meals? If so, how far ahead?

House of Moon Chinese Dinner

Most of the food I've been cooking lately is old favorites. I made my chocolate cake for a dinner party last one day last weekend and my green chili quiche for the other so that's why I've not posted much. Here at PBE we are very lucky to be able to rely on each other in times like this.

My task for Thursday, though it's more of a joy, was to cook dinner for our darling friend Sandi and her husband Mike. She's mid-way through her chemo treatment and her friends have insisted we help and she's finally acquiesced. My contribution for dinner was:

Chicken Stir-fry with Bok Choy and Steamed Rice
Baby Broccoli with Lemon Garlic Sauce
Pineapple Buttermilk Meringue Pie (posted by Nicole @ Baking Bites)
I added a very light chicken soup with fresh homemade egg noodles just in case she wanted something less spicy.
I called to make sure they were ready for dinner and my beloved and I made a quick delivery. Sandi called later to thank us and I told her it was done for the "love of it." I wish I could do more, she is a dear sweet lady who is going through a very rough time but she believes in prayer and I think there is someone out there praying for her.
Gotta say something about this pie. It is so easy and so damn good you can't imagine. I always seem to have buttermilk left over from some other recipe and don't know what to do with it. Now I know I'll whip up this beauty. Visit Baking Bites for the recipe and especially the recipe for cooked meringue. Fantastic!

Let's go Dutch

The Dutch I'm speak about is my new found love, Dutch Oven cooking. This is not that chic little Mario Batali number they sell at Crate and Barrel, nope it's the original outdoor cooking pot. They say the West would not have been settled without it. Since we do a lot of camping I decided I'd give it a try.

This will be a method much more than a recipe.

For hardware you need:

• Outdoor Dutch Oven with a flanged lid and bottom legs that allow you to place your coals
• Heavy gloves
• Charcoal and a way to light it, I used the chimney
• Long tongs
• A lid lifter; my darling made mine
• and all the other normal cooking tools

Here's the software:

• three chicken thighs
• three chicken Italian sausages
• fresh thyme
• chopped onion, celery, and garlic
• 1 cup of raw rice
• 2 cups chicken broth

Once I started the coals I put all 21 of them under the pot. This gave me enough heat to brown the mean and saute the vegetables.

I did remove the skin from the chicken thighs as it gets rubbery when cooked. After adding the chicken broth and bringing it to a boil I then redistributed the coals.

When you bake you want more on top than the bottom so 14 on top and 7 on the bottom should keep the pot at about 325/50 degrees.

Now to keep everything from burning I gave the lid a quarter turn each fifteen minutes and the pot every 30 minutes. After 30 minutes I lifted the lid and gave everything a stir. It was boiling, not simmer so I removed the lid to vent a bit of the heat. After it stopped boiling I replaced the lid for another 15 minutes. After 45 minutes I removed all the coals and let it set while I finished the rest of my dinner. Cast iron retains heat quite well so it stayed nice and warm.

Because I cooked the rice too hot it blew apart and was a bit mushy. I might cut back on the broth, too. Less coals is what was needed and more checking. There is a fine line with the checking; too much and you lose heat.

Chicken, rice and sausage, what was I thinking. It did need a little color and next time I'd add some red pepper or mushrooms and definitely some chopped parsley for a better presentation.

There is a lot of ash from the coals and I should have had a little whisk brush to get rid of them. I'll add that to my list. Also, lifting the lid must be done with care as not to add the ash to dinner. I never tasted any in this go around.

All in all, it was fun and I plan to take it with us next time we go out in the tear drop. I think I'll need more practice before I try making biscuits or rolls or maybe cornbread, though. When camping there were many who tried cakes and desserts. Some were good and other, well I'll have to try before I criticize.

The usual suspects

The weather in Southern California has been interesting this week. Sunday was in the 90s and yesterday it barely broke 70. Today should be somewhere around 90, again. So, what to cook with roller coaster weather like this?

I had planned to BBQ chicken thighs on the grill but I really wanted something to warm us up. Yeah, I know, 70 isn't ice skating weather but when you drop more than twenty degrees it but a body into a tailspin. Here is what I did.

Chicken stew

Drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans. Mash half of them with the back of a spoon.
Brown the seasoned chicken breast in some olive oil then remove from the pan and let cool enough to remove the skin. Next go the onions and celery. There should be enough fat left in the pan. Toss in the mushrooms, don't forget to salt them a bit. When they get a bit limp add the rest of the cast of characters including the mashed beans and add some chicken broth. Reserve the unmashed beans for later. Adjust the seasonings and add the thyme. When I braise I want the liquid not to cover but to leave about a third of the thighs showing. Bring to a simmer, barely, cover and cook for about an hour until the chicken is done and the veggies are tender. Toss in the unmashed beans and stir to heat.

I served this with a mound of rice in the bowl and ladled the stew over top. The mashed beans thicken the broth a bit and add a nice texture. This is most colorful and quite tasty and you can really add whatever fresh veggies you have on hand.

Because I can't cook for only two I'm making soup from what was left. Shred the chicken, add more chicken broth and we've got soup for lunch.

"sun"day dinner

sorry. cheap pun. couldn't resist.

weekend before last, i tried out the solar oven on a "traditional" sunday chicken dinner. i prepared the chicken and put it in the roasting pan, stuffing the cavity with a quartered onion, a few cloves of garlic, some sage leaves and a sprig of rosemary and simply salting and peppering the outside. by the way, this is a koshered chicken, is there any other kind?



after about three and a half hours in the solar oven, this is what it looked like...



check out all those lovely juices in the pan, soon to become gravy!

and, look ma, no salmonella!



i also cooked some potatoes in the other pan (about two hours). just before serving, i quartered the chicken and seared skin side down in a hot pan, then i made some gravy in the pan to go over the potatoes and plated everything up. alas, the vegetables you see on the plate were stir fried not sun cooked.

Creative at 2 below

New challenge, the Deep Freeze Summer Challenge gave me an opportunity to take stock of my freezer. This is what I found, chopped spinach, puff pastry, walnuts, chopped onions and cooked chicken. I also had some frozen sliced cheese and did not know what it was but looked white, maybe Jack.

I did cheat a bit and used some basil but it was from my herb garden, I didn't go to the store.

So, this is what I cooked up from the freezer. Chicken and Spinach Empanadas with Toasted Walnut and Basil Pesto.

I sauteed the onion in olive oil then chopped the chicken quite fine and added that to the skillet. Mean while I toasted some walnuts and made a pesto without the cheese and this I added to the chicken. I then added a few handfuls of the spinach and cooked it all for a few minutes. In goes the cheese, oh look, it's Swiss, didn't matter now. Salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

The puff pastry was defrosted so I floured my board and just rolled them out a bit. Filled half of the square and folded into a triangle. On to a cookie sheet and brushed with olive oil and into a hot 400 oven for about ten minutes. Puffed, and lightly browned. The squares were large so I cut the empanadas in half. Quite tasty was my beloved's assessment and I have to admit it was fun to experiment especially when it turned out so good.










Here is a bonus. I had two left over pastry squares so I rolled them out into a rectangle, brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled some parmesan cheese. I then cut each into about four long pieces and gave each one a few twists then onto a cookie sheet and into the same hot oven.

Feeding a crowd, or just hungry

Everyone has one of those dishes you make for large parties. Something so tasty that guests talk about long after the party is over. I use Giada De Laurentiis' Chicken Tetrazzini. This is easy to prepare the day before and pop in the oven an hour before the serving.

My only deviation from her wonderful recipe is to reserve the breadcrumb Parmesan cheese topping until right before I put it in the oven. That's something for me to say since I modify every recipe I find, this one is darn near perfect. The recipe states it serves 6-8 but I've found at a buffet or a potluck, when you are serving other dishes, it will feed more like 8-10.

This is also one of the "bullet-proof" casseroles that can be reheated without any problem so next day lunch is most tasty. After a big party the last thing you want to do is cook but reheat, yum.

This is one of my go-tos, what about sharing some of your party pleasers.

Editors note: Pardon this crummy photo. I had ten in the buffet line and forgot to take the beauty shot before I called them to dinner. Never try to come between hungry guest and the food. Sheesh.

Reading about food

A friend brings me the Food Section from her copy of the NY Times. I was real excited (I know, such a shallow life) about a ham salad they featured. Our book club was meeting at my house and I wanted to serve a light, no fuss supper and this would fit that bill. My plan was a few sandwich fillings, a trusty, no-fail salad that could be prepared ahead of time and a light, easy dessert. Here is what I came up with.

Spicy Ham Salad (Paula Deen via the NY Times)
8 ounces cooked cured ham, fat trimmed
1 cup minced celery
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
1 tsp yellow mustard
2 hard cooked eggs, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped hot pickles*
1/2 mayonnaise
salt and pepper

In food processor, pulse ham just until finely chopped but not pasty. Transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Add enough mayo to hold together. Refrigerate up to three days.

I also made two chicken salads, one with a southwest dressing suggested by Doodles.

1/2 cup chipotle mayo
3 tablespoons honey
juice of one lime

Mix this together and pour over your favorite chicken salad. Mine was,
chopped chicken
green onions
celery
chopped green apple

I served these with a selection of breads and rolls. Quite easy.

*Editors note: The hot and sweet pickles are from Del Monte. They are not as good as the Sechler Pickles that Doodles and I found in Indiana but will do.

Tortilla Soup revisited for a Super Day!

Alanna over at A Veggie Venture
has come up with a terrific idea to free us all of that February frigid feeling. For Super Bowl Sunday I was asked to do an instant replay of the tortilla soup. I heartily agreed cause this is easy and tasty.

My love for Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes is well known, I had some leftover chicken breast that I diced up and some of that mean green sauce that Sister moon posted. I chopped up a small onion, added the chicken once the onion was sauted, poured the mean green sauce over the chicken and added a half a container box of low sodium chicken broth.Let that simmer for a bit and added my can of fire roasted tomatoes, added the remainder of the chicken broth and let simmer for about half hour. A can of white hominy, rinsed it well and added that to the pot. Now remember the mean green sauce already has a lot of seasoning so extra is not need. Taste as you go.Once the hominy is heated thru it tends to thinken the soup, so I added another box of chicken broth. Finished it off with tortilla strips lots of em as husband says, slices of avacado, a squeeze or three of a lime and some fresh cilantro.I had made corn muffins earlier and added a can of chopped green chiles to the batter.Find the similar recipe here at the Muir Glen site. Try it if you like spice, adjust it if you don't.

What better way to celebrate the vistory of the Colts!!!

Chicken in every pot

Our lil bird, Maltese Parakeet, and her husband are quite under the weather. Could it be from our Foodie Friend C is for Cooking? Stranger things have happened. None the less he has a good idea for the bug, some fresh OJ.

My feel better recipe is a bit different prescription. I'm sure chicken soup is the real cure.

One fresh chicken
One pot of fresh cold water to cover
Lots of chopped onion
Fresh coarsely chopped parsley
Maybe a carrot, grated
Liberal amount of salt and pepper
More chopped parsley, fine this time

Cover the chicken with water and simmer skim off all the foamy stuff then add the veggies and seasonings. Cooks Note: the foamy stuff won't hurt you nor will it effect the taste, it just looks better. Foam is just protein being dissolved in the water not unlike the foam you get in the hot tub.

Simmer for about an hour or until the skins shrinks up and the meat is done. Don't Boil
Strain out the broth, remove bones and bits and return the meat to the broth alone with more parsley. Sometimes I add some more finely chopped onions, to. Cook for about another five minutes, longer if there are fresh onions, and serve.

I usually do this in my p.j.s but I bet that has nothing to do with the recipe. I wish I was closer to our lil bird but they'll just have to make-do with wishes for a quick recovery.

Another roast chicken

I noticed that whole roasters are on sale at my local market. I pick up a couple the other day. Found a recipe at America's Test Kitchen. I happened to see the actual cooking on PBS and it just stuck in my mind. For one thing I had never brined anything. I didn't even know if I had anything large enough to brine a chicken. I did have a rubbermaid container that would work woo hoo!!!

Crisp-Skin High-Roast Butterflied Chicken with Potatoes

If you prefer not to brine, use a kosher chicken - it is salted and has a taste and texture similar to a brined bird. For extracrisp skin, after applying the flavored butter let the chicken dry uncovered in the refrigerator 8 to 24 hours. Russet potatoes have the best potato flavor, but Yukon Golds have beautiful color and better retain their shape after cooking. Either works well in this recipe. A food processor makes quick and easy work of slicing the potatoes.Serves 4

1 cup kosher salt (or 1/2 cup table salt), for brine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 whole chicken , 3 1/2 to 4 lbs, preferably free-range or other high-quality chicken such as Bell and Evans, giblets removed and reserved for another use, fat around cavity removed and discarded
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (4 to 5 medium), or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickVegetable cooking spray (nonstick)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon table salt (for potatoes)
Ground black pepper
1. Dissolve salt and sugar in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Immerse chicken and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Line bottom of broiler pan with foil and spray with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Remove chicken from brine and rinse thoroughly under cold running water.

1. Butterfly chicken, flatten breastbone, apply flavored butter (if using), and position chicken on broiler pan rack; thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.
2. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Spread potatoes in even layer in foil-lined broiler pan bottom. Place broiler pan rack with chicken on top. Rub chicken with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with pepper.
3. Roast chicken until spotty brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate pan and continue to roast until skin has crisped and turned a deep brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees in thickest part of breast, 20 to 25 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board. With potholders, remove broiler pan rack; soak up excess grease from potatoes with several sheets paper towels. Remove foil liner with potatoes from broiler pan bottom and invert foil and potatoes onto cookie sheet or second cutting board. Carefully peel back foil, using a metal spatula to help scrape potatoes off foil as needed. With additional paper towels, pat off remaining grease. Cut chicken into serving pieces and serve with potatoes.

Lesson learned: This chicken was very tender, moist and quite tasty. I will definnitely do this again because the brining makes it so good.
BUT the potatoes were another story. Because of the compound butter used on the chicken and also calls for oil on the potatoes, the potatoes get rather greasy, quite bit more than described in the above recipe. I supplied the link to the recipe but their site and photos can be a bit wonky so don't be surprised if the photos don't show up.

My version of Tortilla Soup

Dang this was good. Although a few zantacs were passed around at the completion on the meal.

My love for Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes is well known, I had some leftover chicken breast that I diced up and some of that mean green sauce that moon posted a few days ago.

I chopped up a small onion, added the chicken once the onion was sauted, poured the mean green sauce over the chicken and added a half a container box of low sodium chicken broth.Let that simmer for a bit and added my can of fire roasted tomatoes, added the remainder of the chicken broth and let simmer for about half hour. Had a can of white hominy, rinsed it well and added that to the pot. Now remember the mean green sauce already has a lot of seasoning so extra is not need. Taste as you go.

Once the hominy is heated thru it tends to thinken the soup, so I added another box of chicken broth. Finished it off with tortilla strips lots of em as husband says, slices of avacado, and some fresh cilantro.I had made corn muffins earlier and added a can of chopped green chiles to the batter.Find the similar recipe here at the Muir Glen site. Try it if you like spice, adjust it if you don't.

alert the food cops.....call the media...........

I fried chicken...........well I started out small. I fried two chicken breasts per my sister's explicit instructions. I read her post and I thought now why can't I fry chicken? I can do just bout everything else with reasonable success - but I have always bombed frying chicken. I now know why - if you know me at all you will understand when I use the word IMPATIENT..........yep that's me. And I know better. So read and re-read moon's post on frying chicken and I thought bingo I can do this I just must practice patience and not rush it. I think that is the secrect to a lot of good cooking. And since my full time retirement I have figured all that......took me long enough huh!?!?!!! Let's see what Norm says. So here's my minor accomplishment. I might be cooking a whole chicken someday. Thanks sister.
stay tuna'd.................

Chicken Stew.............

While on the phone with my sister friday............she was cooking preparing for company and I was just starting to prepare this Chicken Stew that I saw being made by Giada De Laurentiis.
Oh my..............very tasty. Norm wanted more and regretfully I only made enough for two large bowls. I served it with good crusty bread and a yummy Zinfandel.

I tweaked the recipe just a teensy bit...........instead of kidney beans I used Cannellini Beans
(canned and rinsed) I also added a pinch of red pepper flakes. Dang it was good!!!

Try this you will enjoy the rich flavor.

And yes I was on the phone with my seester cooking - we had each other on speaker phone while sauteing and chopping. She was cooking a chicken something too - so I am anxious to hear how hers turned out. I might also mention I have never taken a photo of food I have prepared but my niece inspired me to do so and it's kinda neat.

stay tuna'd...........................

Shicken is on our family crest

Because everyone always thinks their mother made it better than them I'm giving a combination of all my relative's methods for making fried chicken. Notice I didn't say recipe because it's more of a method than anything else.

One whole chicken washed and trimmed of the heavy pieces of fat cut into pieces.
Soak pieces in salted water for about an hour until the chicken comes to close to room temperature.
About a 10 to 12 inch pan with lid. Iron skillet or anything else but non-stick. I use a old Farberware skillet that I've had for more than 25 years.
Heat Crisco in pan, about half inch. When all the chicken is in the pan it should only come up a third of the way. Don't drown the poor bird in grease. You can add Crisco if you do it slowly. You don't want to "cool" the pan down too quickly.

Put about a cup of flour in a plastic bag or paper sack. I don't season the flour. Shake the excess water from the chicken pieces and toss in the bag with flour to coat. Only do a few at a time and start with the largest pieces. Lay them carefully into the hot Crisco. The Crisco should be hot enough to bubble/sizzle the chicken but not smoking. When all are in I salt and pepper the top side of the chicken.

You are looking to brown the chicken in this first step so keep the oil hot. When one side is golden brown the top of the chicken will start to sweat. Dust a bit of the flour on the pieces before you turn them over, then salt and pepper the browned side. Keep the pan hot until the second side starts to brown, then turn the heat down to med low and cover the chicken with a lid. It shouldn't be a tight fitting lid, let a bit of steam escape. The chicken should bubble but not burn on the bottom. It must be watched carefully.

This is the cooking part. Take the lid off from time to time and move the pieces around especially the legs so they get an even cooking. If everything is getting too dark, turn down the heat. I'm always adjusting the fire under the chicken.

When the juices are clear, no blood, maybe about twenty minutes, take the lid off, turn up the heat to do a final browning/crisping and as the pieces are done, remove them to a plate with paper towels. Do not crowd the pieces.

If you want to make milk gravy, pour off all but about two tablespoons of grease and add two tablespoons of flour. Make a roux and cook this for a minute or two scrapping the bottom of the pan to get the "crispies." Add milk and or chicken broth to the make a gravy, maybe one cup or so. Cook until bubbly and thick. You can serve this over the mashed potatoes you've already made.

Now my grandmother, Pruce, loved the boney pieces and she always fried the neck for herself. She'd share the livers and gizzards but the neck was hers. Now skin on the neck gets so crispy and tasty that it is hard to resist so throw caution and your diet to the wind and try it.

Liver Warning. If you cook the liver be careful because it will explode. It is full of blood and will expand in the hot oil. I've many times finished the chicken with an icecube on a hot oil burn. If you poke, poke, poke the liver it will not explode, hopefully.