Culinaria: recipes, memories ...

[tollbaby]

have to admit, it's the only reason I even buy Special K or Cornflakes, as I hate cold cereal. LOL

I'll try to dig out my chicken cacciatore and chicken parmiggiana recipes, they're both pretty easy. (I usually just eyeball my daily cooking, I rarely follow a recipe).

[Darb]

I prefer 'slow food' over quick and easy recipes, myself (although the latter definitely have their time & place, and advantages). That having been said, I have a slightly labor-intensive recipe for old fashioned southern style "Chicken Stew with Puff Dumplings" that's guaranteed to be a 1-dish show stopper, no matter who you serve it too ... especially professional chefs (who know and appreciate labor intensive "comfort food").

Although it takes about 2 hrs to make it properly (everything from scratch), I *HAVE* optimized the steps, so that you can do all but the final 30 mins of the recipe in advance (or the night before) ... thus rendering it party friendly. That's the same trick Celebrity TV Chefs use when they cut to a five minute commercial break to conceal interim steps that take 20-60 mins.

Anyway, if anyone's feeling adventurous, owns a proper chef knife, isn't afraid to get a little messy, and likes a modest challenge, let me know.

[StefanY]

Brad, you ever tried buzzing Special K cereal with some FRESHLY GRATED (Kraft be damned) Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper for 2 seconds in the food processor? nice and crispy

Oh, I totally agree with the freshly grated. But I was trying to stay with the moderately stocked kitchen part of the request.

[tollbaby]

I love slow-cooked stuff as well, but if it can't be prepared and tossed in the crockpot, I rarely have time for it. I'm a single mom of 2, and I'm going to school part-time. Cooking is not my priority most days Sundays, I'll put in the extra effort cause the kids don't come back from Dad's until 2-3pm

Quick & easy is the only thing that prevents us from having peanut butter sandwiches every night

[Darb]

I don't fix this very often, as saffron is SO expensive,

If you wish, you're welcome to PM me with a postal address (a POB is fine). I think I've still got at least 1/2 oz of compressed Spanish mancha saffron threads laying around (I think the crop year is 2004). I'd be willing to vaccum pack and mail you half of it (1/4 oz), in a standard business envelope. Call it a lucky windfall.

[tollbaby]

realized you can't possibly use that much before it loses its flavor?

[Darb]

It's packed in glass, and in fine condition, so it'll keep for a while yet, even without having to vaccum seal it (to prolong it's lifespan). I can replace it fairly cheap, so 1/4 oz is no big deal.

A quick check of the internet shows mancha going for $36/oz, $37/oz and $500/lb bulk {$31.25/oz} at various different online merchants.

I can get the same stuff for around $16/oz. That's one of the benfits of frequenting local Indo-Pak markets that compete with each other to sell directly to a dozen or so nearby Indian restaurants, at minimal markup. Saffron is one of those easily identifiable benchmarks products that some people judge stores by, so said stores keep the price on such items extra low to make all their other goods seem priced comparably low. Supermarkets sorta do the same thing with their "featured sale items" in weekly circulars.

Say, that reminds me ... I never finished my "Grocery Game" writeup.

/me adds e-reminder.

[Edited several times, to add additional links and comments.]

[Hunter B]

well that depends... how do you like your chicken? Baked? Fried? Casserole? Soup? Salad? Grilled? Stuffed?

My question exactly.

GMTA

Whoops, sorry 'bout that, I always seem to forget that... I think baked would be pretty good, but I'm ok with anything. Just keep in mind that there are six people in this house.

Actually, it doesn't really need to be simple, or fast. I'll usually have 2-4 hours to prepare the meal.

BRAD: I wouldn't mind getting that beer chicken, or the Chicken Stew with Puff Dumplings, if you wouldn't mind posting it that is.

I'll post some recipes of my own when I can. Thanks everyone.



Hunter

[Darb]

Ok. I'll try to get to it tomorrow or monday. Remind me if I forget.

[Darb]

I apologize for the awkward looking formatting - MS Word doesnt convert well to phpBB.

Chicken Stew w/Puff Dumplings
Origin: This is loosely based on a recipe from "Reader's Digest Kitchen Secrets". I re-worked it for better flavor, texture & culinary technique, and optimized the steps a bit.
Comments: This is old fashioned, hearty, southern-style comfort food ... perfect for Sunday dinner.
Batch Size: Roughly 4 qts. Generous 1-dish meal for 4-6 adults.
Time: 60-90 mins to prepare mis en place & do preliminary cooking, and then 30 mins to actually assemble & finish.

Reinforced Stock & Tender Flaked Chicken:
Amount Ingredient
2 qts Chicken Broth (canned low-sodium)
5 lbs Chicken Parts & Bones
1 pt Yellow Onions, chopped
1 pt Celery, chopped
(as needed) Oil or Chicken Fat, for sautee

Dumplings:
Amount Ingredient
1 ½ cups AP Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
¼ cup Unsalted Butter, melted (½ stick)
2/3 cup Whole Milk, hot

Assembling the Stew:
Amount Ingredient
(all of it) The Reinforced Broth (see)
1 cup Yellow Onions, ¼" dice
1 cup Celery, ½" bias dice
1 cup Carrots, ½" bias dice
1 ½ tsp Poultry Seasoning
1 tsp Celery Seed (or celery salt)
½ tsp White Pepper, ground
1/8 tsp Saffron Threads, freshly dried & crumbled (opt: pre-steep)
1 cup Whole Milk
½ cup Flour
(to taste) Salt
(all of it) The Flaked Chicken (see)
(all of it) The Dumplings (see)

Directions:
1) Begin heating chicken broth in an 8qt+ stock pot on the back burner.
2) MIS EN PLACE (part 1):
· CHICKEN: Cut chicken (1 lg or 2 sm birds) into pieces. Set aside. Wash cutting board.
· VEGGIES: Chop stock veggies & set aside (1 container). Chop stew veggies & set aside (2nd container).
3) SAUTE & STOCK:
· CHICKEN: Fricasse chicken parts in stages in a heavy SS or CI skillet over high heat, being careful not to burn the fond. Add cooked chicken to stock pot, deglazing as needed with chicken stock. Add water, if needed, to cover.
· VEGGIES (stock): Sweat them over medium heat, until tender and beginning to color. Add to stock pot.
· VEGGIES (stew): Sweat them over medium heat, until tender. Remove from heat & reserve.
· Simmer the stock for 45-50 mins, or until chicken is flakey & tender. During the simmer, finish mis en place ...
4) MIS EN PLACE (part 2, during simmer):
· SPICES: Add all spices to the reserved sauteed stew veggies & set aside.
· THICKENER (stew): Combine flour & milk in small container, shake well, and set aside in fridge.
· DUMPLINGS: Combine dry ingredients in med-lg bowl, mix well & set aside. Combine the cold butter (broken into small chunks) & cold milk in a small saucepan, and set aside in fridge.
· Interim cleanup.
5) STOCK & CHICKEN: Set collander atop 6-8 qt dutch oven, and empty stock pot into it. A pint of ice water can be added, to speed cooling, but be careful not to dilute the stock too much. Pick over, flake & reserve meat, and discard all other solids. Strain & de-fat reinforced stock. Wash up. Stop here until ready for final assembly & service.
6) FINAL ASSEMBLY:
· Return stock to simmer, add reserved stew veggies & seasonings. Simmer 10 mins, until fully tender.
· DAIRY: Re-shake & stir in the milk-flour thickener, and boil 3-5 mins until thickened. In parallel, heat the milk/butter for the dumplings until the butter is melted & the milk is hot, but NOT boiling. Do not boil !
· Add reserved chicken meat to stew & reduce to simmer. Adjust salt to taste.
· DUMPLINGS: fold the hot milk & melted butter into the dry mix with a fork, until it JUST comes together into a soft fluffy, slightly loose biscuit-dough. Using a pair of oiled tablespoons, shape into quenelles & drop one by one into the stew, until they form a single layer. Cover & simmer 8 mins, then turn dumplings over, cover and simmer 8 minutes more.
7) SERVE: Serve in large bowls. Optional garnish - fresh parsley, chopped fine. Wine match - any dry white wine.

[Hunter B]

No worries, it's perfectly fine. Thanks Brad, it'll be a great help.

[Darb]

I'll post the beercan chicken recipe next week ... I'm on my way out the door ATM.

The only hitch with the BC recipe is that mine calls for baking it atop a large pre-heated pizza stone - which is one of my tricks for extra crispy skin (the stone throws more even & intensely radiant heat than just the walls of the oven) ... without the stone, the baking time, and the quality of the skin, might be a touch different.

I also include some optional steps involving brining (a trick used by professional rotisserie chicken restaurant chains) and different types of seasoning.

Next week - promise.

p.s. Let me know if you need any of the acronyms or terms in the recipe above explained, and I'll happily elaborate. I often so that in my recipe log.

[Darb]

Ok, where was I ?

Ah yes ... Beer Can Chicken. A dish that's been around for many years, until recently popularized by Steve Raichlin. The recipe is not much different from standard vertical roasting, except in this case, the presence of a half-full can of beer in the chicken's ass works like a steam chamber - it keeps the breast meat moist until the thigh meat is done ... and the improved airflow around a suspended bird makes for much crispier & browner skin (especially if you do this atop a pizza stone).

The entry for this one in my recipe file is formatted especially awkwardly against phpBB conversion, so I'm gonna have to just talk this one out off the cuff, because it's too much to completely re-format it.

* Preheat oven to 425F ... preferrably with a large (full size) pizza stone parked on the lowest rack of your oven. If you've never done vertical roasting before, make sure there's enough room in your oven for a chicken to roast vertically, and if not, re-arrange your oven accordingly beforehand.
* Drink (or pour off) half of an UNCHILLED 'tallboy' can of beer (the type of cans that are extra tall 14-16 oz size, rather than standard 12's). I keep guinness in the house, but you can use swill like "Red Dog" in a pinch, if that's all you have handy. Dont worry about the nitrogen 'widget' inside the can, if it has one - if you do this right the can won't run dry, so you dont have to worry about the plastic melting.
* Using a church key, punch several extra full size steam holes in the top of the can, and rub the outside of the can with whatever vegetable oil you have handy.
* Take a whole chicken of the 3-4 lb size (3 - 3.5 lbs being ideal), rinse it well inside and out, pat it dry (inside and out), season it inside and out as desired (plain kosher salt is fine, with or without some lemon juice and crushed dried rosemary) and slide it down onto the can (which should be sitting vertically on your workboard) until snug, and supported entirely by the can. The legs should hang free, but not reach all the way too the counter - if they do, either the can is too short, the bird is too big, or the can missed the chicken's ass entirely - in which case you either need new glasses, or you need to try again when you're sober. Tuck the wing tips behind the shoulders, and pull the neck flap back over the neck hole (to form a steam chamber over the top of the can) and affix the flap to the skin of the back with a toothpick.

Now, pay attention, because this one's important:
* Drip pan: perch the chicken (still firmly seated on the can) vertically in the center of a SMALL drip pan. By "small" I mean just wide enough so that the drippings will run into the pan. Resist the urge to use, say, a 9" pie tin, which is WAY too wide. Why ? Here's why: If the pan is too wide, the juices will run dry during roasting, and you'll wind up with a layer of liquid chicken fat in the bottom with no layer of juice underneath it to keep it a modest 212F ... if that layer of juice evaporates, the fat will rapidly begin climbing towards the 425F of the oven, and when more juice drips from above, it'll hit the hot fat and begin splattering all over your oven. Not good. With a narrow drip pan (say, not much wider than the chicken's hips), the juice underneath the fat layer won't boil off fast enough to run dry ... and therefore, you guessed it ... NO SPLATTERING. Bingo, give the man a cigar. If you want to be extra careful, place the little pan (holding the can and bird) into the center of a shallow thin-gauge roasting pan, so that if it tips it won't soil your pizza stone - the skin won't get quite a crispy since it'll block part of the infra-red radiance of the heated stone, but it'll be safer.

* Roast: Open the pre-heated oven, slide out the rack holding the pizza stone, carefully deposit the pan holding the bird perched on the beer can, and CAREFULLY slide the rack back into the oven and close the door - being careful not to allow the bird to tip over. Roast at 425F for roughly 70 mins, until the skin is crispy golden brown, the legs wiggle freely, and the juices run clear.
* Remove: Carefully slide the rack out (again, being careful not to tip the bird over ... if you do, flip yourself the burd for allowing the bird to flop). and transfer the bird (pan and all) to a trencherboard.
* Dismount: Using a pair of paper towels, grasp the bird by placing one hand under it's tail and the other under it's belly (on either side of the can), lift it a fraction of an inch, and jiggle gently in a twisting motion, until the can drops loose ... then slide the bird the rest of the way off. Deposit on cutting board, and discard can and drippings.
* Serve: Using a chef knife or poultry shears, dismantle the bird and serve immediately, while the skin is still crisp.

More tips on this recipe to follow momentarily ... I'm gonna post what I have so far, so that I dont lose it due to borkage ...

[Darb]

Ok, some optional tips on how to improve things further.

* Brining: most of the birds you encounter in places specializing in 'rotisserie' chicken have been brined before roasting. If you'd like to try it, do it this way: dissolve w/1 cup salt + ¼ cup sugar** in 1 pint of very hot water, then top off with 1 pint of ice, stir until ice melts, and top off again with a quart of cold tap water, and stir again ... that's 2 qts of cold brining solution. Submerge the chicken in it (using an appropriately sized bowl, pot, or plastic bag) and refrigerate 2-8 hours, then rinse, drain, pat dry, let come up towards room temp for 30 mins, and continue as indicated above (skipping the part in which you salt the bird). Brined chickens tend to come out more flavorful, moist and juicy than unbrined birds. If you buy a "kosher" chicken, skip the brining, because the koshering process partially overlaps this method, and brining it again will oversalt the bird. [** Note: the sugar is not really there for flavor - it's there to take advantage of a quirk of cellular osmosis in which the presence of a little dissolved sugar helps the meat stay extra juicy during cooking ... that's a little culinary trick of the trade]

* Rubs and seasonings - if you have a personal recipe or trick involving special rubs or seasonings, or pastes massaged under the skin, go ahead and try it.

* This recipe should also work well in a convection oven, over indirect charcoal heat, or in a smoker ... adjust your cooking times accordingly. In the case of a smoker, which cooks very slowly, you might need to reduce the amount of beer in the can, or preheat it before inserting it up the bird's pooper.

* Some enterprising people out there in internet land have begun selling 1-piece gizmos that replace the notoriously tipsy can & pan setup with a metal tube welded to a small metal pan. The only drawback to them is that they have no other use known to man except making beercan chicken, so although they probably work great, they add to the clutter in your grilling storage area. My space is limited, but if you have the luxury of room for specialized gizmos, they're probably very handy.

BOTTOM LINE: beercan chicken is a simple recipe at it's core ... it's all the little tricks and details that make it a bit complicated the first few times you do it - after which it becomes simple again. In any case, It's better than almost all other roasting methods I've tried, because it keeps the breast meat succulent while also allowing the skin to crisp fully and the inner thighs to cook properly (because they hang free rather than being jammed up against the sides of the bird).

[Aunflin]

Brad, I swear you should write a cook book. You're very good at explaining how to do things--unlike me. I'm only good at showing people how to do things/what I do--I'm *very* bad at explaining, which is why I don't post recipes or really describe what I do at work...

[Darb]

Brad, I swear you should write a cook book

Well, I already have plans to write (among other things) a book on meadmaking at some point. And I've also been toying with the idea of doing either a book on old (early settler) local seafood recipes, or perhaps writing a cookbook inspired by dishes described in fantasy and science fiction literature. The latter could be both fun and somewhat original.

After having read a great book by Roger Welsch (review forthcoming), I can see myself writing a rambling long-winded and highly opinionated book on food philosophy and assorted culinary gimmicks at some point ... with liberal doses of humor tossed in. However, since that sort of thing has already been done, in order to pull that off I'd need to already be published ... another reason why I'll probably develop the ideas mentioned above first.

And I'll definitely have to include a chapter on old fashioned infused liquors. I like rediscovering old techniques and showing them to friends.

[tollbaby]

Brad, it's funny that you said you were toying with the idea of writing a cookbook featuring recipes discussed in Fantasy/sci-fi literature....

What always struck me most about Brian Jacques' Redwall books was how detailed he went into his descriptions of the food they ate!!! And it always sounded so good, I've been playing with recipes ever since I read the first book, trying to come up with some that would match what he described

[Kvetch]

that boi a gurt oidea sorrr.

/me gives up on attempting a mole accent

I agree about Jacques - the feasts are the best parts, IMHO


As to brad's cookbooks, the sound quite fun - especially the sci-fi/fantasy one.

[Hunter B]

Sounds really good. (Both recipes and the cookbook idea)


Thanks for the recipes Brad, and, I wish you the best of luck on the cookbooks.

[Aunflin]

Well, I'm not Brad but I like to marinate my salmon in a combination of olive oil, fresh minced ginger and garlic, lemon juice, dill (fresh or dry--fresh is MUCH better), a little brown sugar and soya sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. It always turns out quite yummy--especially when it's smoked or grilled. Sometimes I substitute melted butter for the olive oil.

[Aunflin]

Sounds yummy, Brad. I'll have to try that out.

[Darb]

I like to marinate my salmon in a combination of olive oil, fresh minced ginger and garlic, lemon juice, dill (fresh or dry--fresh is MUCH better), a little brown sugar and soya sauce, and salt and pepper to taste

Sounds excellent to me. Unfortunately for me, neither my wife (nor her Mother, who was present) can eat garlic or olive oil. Also, dill tends to get lost in smoke-based cooking.

And what's with this "I'm not Brad" hogwash ? Gimme a break. I only talk like a "food snob" - my culinary home turf is basically global "peasant cuisine". I don't garnish my plates with glorified lawn clippings and pipetted sauces, or serve teensy-weensy portions ala French Nouveau, or plate things with an air towards food photography and pretentious 'verticality'. Horror !

I may talk white collar techniques here and there, and I like to wax poetic about wine and beer and exotic flavors, but I basically cook blue collar.

[Aunflin]

I know, Brad. But laurie's question was directed at you. So...

But I know what you mean about "cooking blue-collar." That's what I grew up eating. I love to cook and I love to eat. I like my food to look appealing...but forget those puny portions--and it seems the fancier (looking) the food and the smaller the portions, the more they charge you for it. I can go down the street and get excellent Mexican cuisine (by real mexicans) and only pay $7 or $8 for enough food for two people!

Anyway, the only time I eat out is when I'm too worn out after cooking all day, though I try to go to different restaurants to sample their cuisine. There's much you can learn just from sampling others cooking--especially the cuisine of different cultures.

[Darb]

Ok, I lied ... I *have* occasionally pipetted a sauce {re: pan-seared scallops with lemon remoulade} ... but I was just Hellmans mayo mixed with a little lemon juice & grated zest, and squeezed out of the snipped corner of a glad sandwich baggie. It only SOUNDS white collar. It was a 30 sec moment of weakness that soon passed, honest !

I'll never do it again !

[Aunflin]

Why not? Sounds quite tasty!

I don't think there's anything wrong with high-end food or overly extravagent dishes. (And I've found that if you know what you're doing, you can do things much more simply than a recipe calls for.) I just hate small portions: when I'm hungry I'm ready to EAT! I can eat enough for two people, though I haven't put on an ounce in years. But that's what happens when you work hard.

However, I was surprised by the portion sizes in LA when I went there for vacation last year: the place that seems to promote the rest of the world to be skinny had gigantic portions at their restaurants. No wonder the Stars need to diet! (Unless the huge portions are to make up for people not being able to smoke inside [in LA], though I found that all the outdoor patios and etc. were more packed with smokers than the interiors were filled with non-smokers...--I really need to quit smoking. But my excuse is: its the only way I can ever get a break at work. Otherwise, I'd work eight to twelve hours non-stop...)