Chicken Stew

This is a perfect stew to make during the in-between time of summer and autumn, when it's getting cold enough that you want to sit down in a pair of warm pajama bottoms with a bowl of hot stew, but still have the last of the fresh basil to finish from the garden. It's that time in Seattle already.


I love stew. Just saying the word can sometimes make me hungry. It connotes something warm, filling, and delicious, a concoction of all the things I like to eat. This is the first time I've ever tried making chicken stew, as I usually go for beef stew, but something about chicken stew called out to me, so I had to make it.


In my mind, I wasn't thinking the stew would have a tomatoey base, but this was a very highly rated recipe by Giada De Laurentiis -- and now I know why. It's fantastic, and hit just the right spot. I used chicken leg quarters instead of breasts as the original recipe called for, and I wasn't sorry at all. The only thing about the recipe is that it calls for fresh basil, which is a bit odd for a stew. Not that it's not good, but basil is a summer herb for most people and stew isn't usually something people crave when the sun's beating down on them during those hot summer months. In the wintertime, unless you have an indoor herb garden you'll probably have to make do with store-bought basil, or simply leave it out.

Chicken Stew (recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 large carrot, or 2 small, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 14.5oz can chopped tomatoes and diced green chilies
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 3 chicken leg quarters, skin on
• 1 15oz can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (or other heavy pot) over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion and saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken; press to submerge.
3. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes.
4. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
5. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
6. Discard the skin and bones from the chicken legs. Shred or cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew, then bring the stew just to a simmer. Ladle in bowls and serve.

Oven-Fried Paprika Chicken

Some might say that I'm obsessed with finding the perfect oven-fried chicken recipe. It comes from loving fried chicken ... like, a lot. The last time I tried this was in January, with Pat and Gina's Oven-Fried Chicken.


I'm back with another recipe, this time from Tomatilla. This one uses seasoned breadcrumbs instead of panko, and uses buttermilk to keep the chicken moist (which is also Alton Brown's method of making traditional fried chicken). It's definitely one of the best oven-fried chicken I've eaten.


Making seasoned breadcrumbs is quick and easy, and helps you use the last of that old bread that's not much good for anything else -- but you can also use prepared breadcrumbs if you like. But it should be noted that for the purpose of making oven-fried chicken it never tastes as good as fresh breadcrumbs, partly because the prepared kind is usually too evenly ground and pulverized to be interesting.


As with the Pat and Gina recipe, this one calls for removing the skin from the chicken. I (reluctantly) did so -- and was pleasantly surprised that the buttermilk did, in fact, help keep the chicken moist. The chicken is scored and seasoned, so that when you bite into it, your mouth is full of flavor.


Coat each chicken piece generously. Do it as quickly as you can, because you don't want the breadcrumbs to get too soggy. Be sure you oil both the pan and the tops of the chicken, to help it attain a crispy texture in the oven.

Oven-Fried Paprika Chicken (adapted from Tomatilla)

Ingredients

• 1/4 of a loaf of dried-out old bread
• 2 tbsp herbs de provence
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground pepper
• 1 chicken (3-4lbs), cut into 8 pieces, or 8 pieces of assorted chicken parts
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup buttermilk

Method

1. Tear the bread into chunks, then pulverize in a food processor to get coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in the herbs de provence, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and pulse a few times to get it all evenly distributed.
2. Remove the skin from the chicken and cut deep slashes to the bone in each piece.
3. Put the chicken into a bowl and sprinkle the paprika over them. Rub thoroughly, making sure each piece gets some paprika, until it's evenly distributed. Pour in the buttermilk, making sure that each piece gets coated, and rub the buttermilk into the slashes. Let the chicken sit in the fridge for about an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
5. Spray or otherwise oil a large baking sheet with canola or olive oil.
6. Take each piece of chicken and coat it thoroughly in the crumb mixture. Place them in a single layer on the baking sheet.
7. Drizzle or spray some oil onto each piece of chicken.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, until the bottom starts to turn brown. Flip each piece over and bake another 15-20 minutes until the chicken is a golden brown all around. Check for doneness -- when you cut into a piece near the bone, the juices should run clear. If they're tinged pink, turn the pieces again and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Shanghai-Style Drunken Chicken

When I was a little girl, my maternal grandmother made this dish frequently.  She was quite known for it.  As she grew older, cooking became more difficult, and she hadn't made drunken chicken in years by the time she passed away.  I was too young to ask her how she did it when she was making it, and I wasn't interested in cooking until after she was gone.  Huge failure on my part.  It's just one of the things I miss about her.



The good news is that I remember what it's supposed to taste like.  The other day I had a sudden craving for it, and this is one of those dishes that may be a little obscure for a restaurant to have, and even if they have it, it doesn't quite taste the same.

The most important thing, other than the Shaoxing wine that flavors the meat, is the texture of the chicken.  In Cantonese, my mom would say that it should be "wat" -- a direct translation is "slick"; basically, the meat should be extremely tender and moist.

I prefer dark meat (as did the writer of the article I read where I got the recipe), but traditionally this is made with a whole chicken.  It's supposed to be served cold, and when sitting in the fridge, a nice wine-flavored aspic will develop.  This is normal and desired.  It's yummy!

For true Shanghai-style drunken chicken, the chicken pieces should be bone in.  The challenge, then, is in chopping the chicken after it's cooked into even, bite-sized pieces.  You need a heavy-duty cleaver, like the kind the butchers use at Chinese BBQ restaurants to chop roasted duck into those delectable slices.  And even then it's not easy -- I still need a lot of practice, as my chicken looked practically hacked to pieces!  Remember the scene in Titanic where Rose is attempting to save Jack by breaking his handcuffs with an axe?  And he tells her to try a couple of practice swings, but her second swing lands nowhere near the first?  That's how it was with me and chopping this chicken.  I may not have been decisive enough, or perhaps the cleaver I purchased wasn't strong enough, but be warned, this is definitely not as easy as those butchers make it look!  Do not -- I repeat, DO NOT -- use a regular knife or chef's knife to do this, you'll only ruin your blade, and if you have nice knives that I do, that would be a terrible loss.

There are two methods of cooking the chicken -- poaching and steaming.  I had originally intended to steam the chicken, but I don't have a great steaming solution, especially not for that much chicken, and I was short on time.  So instead I went with the poaching method, which is apparently more traditional anyway.  I think I used a bit too much water, because my chicken didn't develop the desired aspic. :(  I'll try steaming next time and see if that gets me better results.

Finally, a quick tip on the green onions.  I used my mother's trick with these and it worked perfectly for this recipe, since the onions aren't intended to be eaten, just to add flavor.  It saved some time and clean up afterward.  Take the length of white part, place the tip of your knife almost at the very end of the onion farthest away from you, and slice it lengthwise down the middle all the way through.  It should still be held together at the very tip.  Turn it 90° and perform the same action.  The length of onion should now be opened up like a flower.  Toss the whole thing in the pot and repeat with the others.  When done cooking, fish them out easily.

Shanghai-Style Drunken Chicken (recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia)

Ingredients

• 3 lbs chicken, whole or in pieces
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced
• 4-6 green onions, white parts only, sliced lengthwise
• 1 1/2 cups Shaoxing rice wine
• 2 tsp sugar
• ice cubes and water

Method

Mix the salt with the two peppers. Rub the chicken all over with the salt and pepper and let it sit for an hour.

Poaching

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a Dutch oven or large pot, then add the green onions and ginger. Add the chicken, make sure there is enough water to cover the chicken, and return to a boil. Lower the heat to a bare simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. If you’re using a whole chicken, during the simmer time, lift the chicken out of the water and make sure the stock in the cavity empties back into the pot. Do that 3 times for a whole chicken. For chicken pieces, gently stir the pot once or redistribute the pieces so they cook evenly. After 10 minutes, cover, turn off the heat, and allow the chicken to poach undisturbed until the water cools almost to room temperature.

Steaming

Bring water to a boil in the steamer. Place the chicken in an even layer, scatter the green onions and ginger all over, and steam over medium heat for 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature near the bone reaches 170°F. If the chicken pieces are larger, they will take longer to steam. If any of the pieces are touching, make sure to redistribute them in the middle of cooking so they cook evenly.

Mix the ice cubes and water and shock the chicken in ice cold water for 2 minutes. If you poached the chicken, shock it after the chicken has cooled to room temperature. If you steamed the chicken, shock it immediately after steaming.

After cooking, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces, or simply score the chicken meat with a knife. Put the chicken pieces into a large container. Mix 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the chicken stock (the liquid you poached the chicken in or the liquid that comes out of the chicken after steaming) with the sugar and Shaoxing wine. Taste the marinade and add salt if needed.  Keep in mind that when eating cold food, our taste buds are numbed a bit so a bit of extra seasoning is beneficial.  Pour the liquid over the chicken pieces and let it sit in the fridge over night or longer before serving. Serve cold.

Pat and Gina's Oven-Fried Chicken

I saw this recipe for oven-fried chicken on Food Network while getting a manicure with some friends.  As fans of fried chicken, we were both hopeful and skeptical.  It looked so easy!  It looked so good!  But we've thought the same things about a countless number of oven-fried chicken recipes in the past, only to be disappointed.



I'm not here to tell you that this is the magical recipe that makes oven-baked chicken taste just like chicken deep fried in delicious fat.  Too many recipes try to claim this, only to fall far short of the goal.  But it is damn good.

One of the biggest differences between this recipe and others is that it uses panko, Japanese breadcrumbs renowned for their crunch, rather than traditional breadcrumbs, which quickly become soggy after coming into contact with the wet mixture that makes them adhere.  I don't know how or why panko is able to resist compromise, but the result is crispier chicken than I've ever had come out of the oven.  A trick that helps with that is the recipe's suggestion to spray the coated chicken with olive/canola oil.

Possibly my favorite part of eating fried chicken is not the chicken meat iself, but the crispy, crackling skin that has adhered to the batter.  Let's not think about the calories involved when discussing something so delicious.  This recipe calls for the skin to be removed before coating the chicken.  I debated whether I wanted to follow these instructions, but allowed myself to be forced into being more healthy.  After all, it's already not being fried, so why not give it a try.  And I didn't end up regretting it!  It was kind of nice to be able to bite right into the chicken, the meat coated with the crunch from the panko.  I didn't miss being able to separate the skin from the meat and eating it separately... much.



Couple of things of note: Despite the presence of both hot sauce and cayenne, I didn't think the result was spicy at all.  I can eat fairly spicy food, so you may or may not want to add more.  I used whole chicken pieces; Trix used boneless chicken tenders; both were enjoyed very much.  To try and prevent the dry mixture from getting soggy as I was coating each chicken piece, I kept half of the panko mixture in another container and applied it liberally once the piece had gotten its initial coating of wet mixture + dry mixture.  You do need to press on the panko to encourage it to stick.

I served it with Red, Hot, and Blue's potato salad.  It's not fried chicken, but you just might enjoy yourself so much you won't notice.

Pat and Gina's Oven-Fried Chicken (recipe adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients

• olive or canola oil nonstick cooking spray
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 3 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp ground black pepper, divided
• 2 1/2 cups panko
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 8 pieces of chicken (about 3 lbs), skin removed

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet tray with foil and spray with cooking spray.  If you want, you could line the tray with a wire rack instead, but make sure to spray it.
2. In a pie plate or shallow bowl, whisk the eggs, mustard, honey, hot sauce, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper until thoroughly combined.
3. Add the panko, 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, paprika, cayenne, and garlic powder to another shallow plate and whisk to combine.
4. Dredge the chicken through the wet mixture, then the dry mixture, patting the breading on so it adheres.
5. Arrange the chicken onto the oil-sprayed tray, leaving room between each piece of chicken. Spray the chicken liberally with cooking spray, as evenly as possible. This will help brown and crisp up the coating.
6. Place the tray on the upper rack of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is golden and crispy. The temperature should register 160-180°F on an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken.  If you don't have a thermometer, cut into a piece at the thickest part.  The juices should run clear.

Chicken in Guinness Red Sauce

I once found myself sitting in the Guinness factory in Dublin, Ireland, after taking the tour.  I don't know about these days, but more than a decade ago, you could sit in their little factory pub after the tour and drink pint after pint of Guinness for free.  For my friends, this made the price of admission well worth it.  As for me ... well, I nursed my one pint of Guinness for a long, long time.  By the time we left, I'd probably drunk about a quarter of it.



I don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I'm not a fan of alcohol.  It's not a judgmental thing; it's a I'm-pretty-sure-I'm-allergic thing.  Once, in college (of course), having drunk what to another person would be a moderate amount of alcohol (two shots and two beers), I broke out in splotchy redness all over.  Not to mention beet-red flushing after just a few swallows of wine.  Or the fact that after a few sips, any alcohol simply tastes like poison.  So while I often regret the fact that I can't drink socially, sticking out like a sore thumb, I know my limits.

Luckily, alcohol in food doesn't bother me.  In fact, I'm a huge fan of using it in cooking.  If you saw my full liquor cabinet you'd never think that I any kind of issue.  You might even think me a bit alcohol obsessed.  Of course, what I know is that it's all used for my big passion -- food!



This chicken in Guinness red sauce recipe is probably my favorite Crock Pot recipe of all time.  It's not just that it's simple (which it is, ridiculously so).  It's not just that it's delicious.  It's also that it doesn't look or taste like it came out of a slow cooker.  You know how some dishes, by either a certain kind of flavor or a certain kind of look, just has that Crock Pot feel?  This isn't one of them.  In my opinion, at least.

I use bone-in chicken thighs.  Thighs are my favorite part of the chicken -- they're tender and flavorful.  I like using bone-in pieces because, just like making stock, when you cook it for that long, it adds an extra dimension of flavor.  I also keep the skin on, then remove them and skim off the fat from the surface after the dish is done cooking.  But I think this recipe would be good no matter what you use.  If you want to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, more power to you.  After cooking, the meat will be tender and falling off the bone at the slightest provocation.



The sauce is simply tomato paste, Guinness, and the juice from some green olives.  It's incredible how, after hours of cooking and simmering with the juices from the chicken, this turns into a sauce that's complex and delicious.  The olives don't turn to mush, but are soft while still maintaining their olivey-ness.  Their sharpness and tang, however, definitely mellows into the sauce.

I like to serve this chicken on top of a long pasta like spaghetti, but other starches such as rice or potatoes would probably work as well.  I've often doubled the recipe with great success.

Chicken in Guinness Red Sauce

Ingredients

• 4-6 chicken pieces (I like bone-in thighs)
• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• 3/4 cup Guinness (or other dark beer)
• 4oz green olives along with juice (about 24 olives + juice)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. If you like, wash and pat dry the chicken.  I don't unless they're really bloody or dirty for some reason.  Season the chicken with salt, pepper, or any other preferred spices -- paprika, garlic salt, etc.  Err on the side of underseasoning; if it needs more after it's cooked, you can add it then.  Place the chicken pieces in the slow cooker as evenly as possible.
2. Mix the tomato paste with the Guinness and pour on top of the chicken.
3. Add the olives and their juice on top.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (I've gone as long as 12 and it was fine, but not as ideal), or high for 3-4 hours.
5. Taste and adjust for seasoning, then serve hot on top of pasta or rice.

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

This is one of those dishes that gets in your blood.



The first night I made it, I had it for dinner.  It was nothing spectacular, and it wasn't as easy as its name suggests (I didn't name it!  It's a Cook's Illustrated recipe).  But the next day I found myself thinking about it at work as the day was ending, eager to have it again.  I couldn't understand why, because I'd been less than impressed with my first meal.  The same thing happened the next night.  Each time I ate it, it tasted better and better!

A strange phenomenon, particularly with such marked results, but there's no doubt about it.  I think the flavors need time to meld, to join, to have food sex and create lots of great new flavors.  So this is one dish that I recommend making in advance.  Make it two, even three, days before you plan to eat it.  It only gets better with age.



Despite its name, however, I wouldn't say that this is quick to make.  Maybe if you're a Food Network cook, and have kitchen peons doing your chopping, slicing, and mincing for you, preparing your mise en place, then you can actually prepare this "in a hurry" (a phrase that makes me think 10-15 minutes; maybe you think I'm even being generous).  Certainly it's faster than proper curries I've made, which involved overnight marinating and what not, but don't plan to start making this dish last minute.  The "quickness" comes from precooked chicken (this is a great dish to make when you have leftover chicken meat, say from a rotisserie chicken from the store), canned chickpeas, frozen peas, and pre-made curry powder (I bought mine from an Indian grocery store -- if you can do the same, I'd recommend it).  To make it even faster, you could use pre-minced garlic and ginger.

The recipe calls for whole milk yogurt; I used nonfat and it was just fine.  Instead of raisins I used cranberries, because I prefer them and happened to have them on hand.  I used a full tablespoon of curry powder.

Also, be forewarned that this dish makes a lot more than you might think.  With rice, it would serve 4.  With accompaniments, it could serve 6 or even 8.  It'd make a great pot luck dish -- it's best made in advance and serves a lot of people!

Chicken Curry in a Hurry (Cook's Illustrated)

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 to 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups shredded or thinly sliced cooked chicken
• 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Method

1. Build curry base: Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, curry powder, and salt and cook until onion is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add water, meat, vegetables, and cook: Stir in water, meat, chickpeas, peas, and raisins. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Garnish and serve: Off heat, stir in yogurt and cilantro and serve.

White Chicken Chili

I've known of the existence of white chicken chili, peripherally, for years, but had no desire to try it myself, whether homemade or otherwise.  See, I'm a big fan of chili, or what I know of as chili, with ground beef, onion, kidney beans, lots of chili powder (I've even made my own), and tomato sauce (which is what would make it not chili to some folks).  "White" chili held no appeal for me; it sounded so... bland and uninteresting.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

White chicken chili, where have you been all my life?!



Maybe I was lucky to find a really great recipe right off, or maybe all white chicken chili is this delicious.  All I know is that now that it's in my life, I'm never letting it go again!  Like regular chili, this version is easy to make, even if it uses different ingredients.  Reading the recipe, I thought the results would be quite spicy, but in fact it's not.  It's fairly mild, actually.  Lovers of spicy food should use more chilies or include the seeds (I didn't), or use more cayenne than the recipe calls for.  I used leftover chicken from a grocery store rotisserie chicken, Trader Joe's chicken broth and Great Northern beans in the chili, and topped it with a Mexican blend of shredded cheese.

This recipe is also very flexible in that it can be made in both a slow cooker (which is what I did) or on the stovetop.  The former takes 6-12 hours; the latter 20 minutes.  Perfect for if you want to come home to a hot meal, or if you decide to make dinner at the last minute.  How great is that?

White Chicken Chili (adapted from Serious Eats)

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups diced, cooked chicken
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 seeded jalapeño pepper, chopped
• 1 15.25oz can corn, undrained
• 1 15oz can white beans (such as cannelloni or Great Northern), undrained
• 1 4oz can chopped green chilies
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano or Italian seasoning
• pinch ground cloves
• pinch cayenne pepper
• grated white (or mixed) cheddar cheese

Method

1. Combine everything into a slow cooker and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.  If cooking on the stovetop, heat the olive oil.  Saute the onion until soft and translucent.  Add all the other ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. Spoon chili into bowls and top with as much or as little cheese as desired.

Korean-Style Crispy, Spicy, and Sweet Chicken Wings (Dak Kang Jung)

Dak kang jung, a Korean dish of chicken fried crisp then coated in a sweet and spicy sauce, is David Lebovitz's idea of Super Bowl food.  That is why he is awesome.  I was really excited to make these, because it gave me an opportunity to use my new Actifry, which I had never heard of before seeing DL's recipe for these chicken wings.  (He adapted it from Maangchi's recipe for use in the Actifry.)

I love chicken wings -- my favorite are the kind that are served in some Chinese restaurants, where they are deep fried, then seasoned with salt, pepper, and maybe some chopped hot pepper, but I also like buffalo wings, barbecue wings, etc.  So I was pretty excited about these.  I used walnuts instead of peanuts (because that's what I had on hand, and because walnuts are healthier) and tapioca starch instead of corn starch, but otherwise followed DL's recipe to the letter.  I also used rice syrup as he suggests.  Oh, and I had to add some water to the coating, because it was WAY too thick to actually coat the chicken.  It was more like a dough than a paste.



The verdict?  Too sweet for me. :-(  They were good, but I like my food more on the savory rather than sweet side (dessert excepted, of course).  That's why when I am asked to choose a barbecue sauce I usually avoid anything that says "honey" in it.  I think they would appeal to many people; the taste and consistency of the coating is like that of syrup or honey.  I think of this experiment as a success, however, because now I can make chicken wings the same way in the Actifry, but use seasoning I prefer, instead. :-)

A quick note about the Actifry and what it is/does: It basically makes food crispy, emulating the texture of deep-fried foods, with only 1 tbsp of oil.  Obviously this is a healthier and less smelly alternative to deep frying (and perhaps even more importantly, no pot of oil to deal with afterward).  It works well, but does not actually replicate deep frying.  I've made French fries and now the chicken wings, and while both get fairly crisp, it's definitely not to the same level of crisp as deep frying.  It's more like oven crisp, except more evenly done with less work.  So if you're going to make the $300 investment, do so with that in mind.

The chicken wings took 35 minutes to cook.  Here's a time-lapse image compilation of the process:



1) The raw chicken wings coated in batter.
2) Wings after 10 minutes of cooking.,
3) After 20 minutes.
4) Done after 35 minutes.



Afterward, the clean up was a breeze.  The loose batter became crisp, so it was really just a matter of wiping it out with a paper towel and giving the pan a quick wash.  No scrubbing required.  What *was* a big pain to clean was the wok I used to create the sticky coating.  Needed to soak in plenty of hot water before the syrup would wash off.

Korean-Style Crispy, Spicy, and Sweet Chicken Wings (adapted from David Lebovitz's adaptation :P)

Ingredients:

For the batter

• 1/4 cup (35 g) flour
• 1/4 cup (30 g) cornstarch or other starch
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground red chili pepper
• 10 chicken wings, tips removed, then each wing cut into two pieces
• 1 tbsp frying oil (peanut, olive, or canola)

For the coating

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) water or beer
• 3-inch (7 cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tbsps soy sauce
• 1/2 cup (packed) light or dark brown sugar
• 3 tbsps rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup (160 g) light corn syrup or rice syrup

To finish

• 1/3 cup (35 g) roasted walnuts (or peanuts), very coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsps toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp red chili flakes

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, starch, egg, salt and ground chili pepper until it's a thick paste. Add the wings and mix well with your hands until they're thoroughly coated.  You may need to add a bit of water or milk if the paste is too dry.
2. Put the coated wings in the ActiFry and drizzle with the oil. Close the lid and cook for 35 minutes, until brown and crispy.  (Or deep-fry the wings in a pot of hot oil twice, in batches. Drain well.)
3. In a large pot or wok, bring to a boil the water or beer, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and syrup. Let cook until the mixture becomes syrupy and thick, and is foaming. It should be about as thick as honey.
4. Turn off the heat and stir in the cooked wings, nuts, sesame seeds, and chili flakes, until completely coated.

Spring Hill's Fried Chicken Dinner

One of my favorite foods in the world is fried chicken. There are few things better than biting into hot, crispy batter then encountering juicy, flavorful chicken.  It's damn good.  Not ever having had the pleasure of eating homemade fried chicken in the south, most of the fried chicken I've had have been at fast food establishments and restaurants.  I've just about given up having fried chicken at restaurants.  It's inevitably overpriced and not as good as the fast food places -- such as Church's or Ezell's (a Seattle establishment famed for having fried chicken so good that Oprah Winfrey has said that it's her favorite fried chicken and has it flown out to her in Chicago).

Well, one restaurant has finally done it right.  Is it really any surprise that it's West Seattle's Spring Hill?  Not to me, at any rate.  Spring Hill rarely disappoints.  At least when it comes to their food.  Their Fried Chicken Dinner for 4 -- by special reservation only and served only on Monday nights -- is something special.  It comes with two whole chickens (with the breasts cut in half, so there's a higher crunchy batter to meat ratio, which means you can get delicious skin and meat in every bite), which is more than you think it is.  It also comes with seasonal sides.  It was one of the most satisfying meals I've had in a long time.

And now, the pictorial.


A truly enormous platter of fried chicken, fried in peanut oil, that once you start eating, seems to grow in size.  We thought we'd be able to tackle it easily.  We ended up taking a box and a half of chicken home.


What's a fried chicken dinner without mashed potatoes and gravy?  It would be wrong.  Spring Hill doesn't leave it out.  Here's buttered russet potatoes with a light but intensely flavorful gravy.


Spring Hill calls this "herbed dumplings with Beecher's Flagship."  I call it upscale macaroni & cheese, made all the more delicious by the use of Beecher's Flagship cheddar.  Beecher's is another wonderful Seattle institution.


Then of course, there's cornbread.  But with a twist, or maybe a kick; these are jalapeno.  It came with a delicious honey butter (not pictured).


Caramelized broccoli; I like to call it oven crisped.  I like pretty much any preparation of broccoli, but there's something about the texture it gets when prepared this way that I just love.  I could have eaten five plates of this on its own, so really for four people it's quite small (especially in comparison to the chicken).


Put it all together and what do you have?  A PLATE OF HEAVEN, THAT'S WHAT.  Oh, the dinner also came with marinated cucumber spears, but I didn't have a chance to take any photos of that before it'd been passed around too much and was obliterated.


After dinner I went home and sliced up a mango, Thai style, because it was overripe and needed to be eaten.  Lord mangoes are good.  Fried chicken and mangoes ... life is good.

Indian Cuisine at Home

I love Indian cuisine, and so do my cousin and her husband. So when they asked me to cook up an Indian meal for them last weekend, I obliged happily.

One of the reasons I jump at the chance to make Indian food is because in order to make one or two dishes, you have to pretty much stock up on spices. And once you've stocked up on spices (which are usually sold in quantities far greater than you need for one meal), you don't want them to go to waste, do you? Of course not.



Another reason Indian cuisine is great is because it's easy to satisfy both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. I've always thought that if I were a vegetarian, I'd have to eat Indian food a lot, because it's one of the few ways that vegetables are so infused with flavor that I barely notice the absence of meat (not that I don't like vegetables on their own, but if I have them solely and repeatedly, I really notice the absence of meat).



At first I was going to make two dishes -- aloo gobi and murgh makhani, along with homemade raita and naan. But then I started to feel bad that my cousin and I would have sauce to eat with our naan while the aloo gobi was dry so my cousin's husband wouldn't (he's a vegetarian). At the last minute I decided to make palak paneer ... the only problem being that I didn't have the time to make paneer, and I don't have an Indian grocery store close enough to me to make the trip worth it. And to be honest, I wasn't really heart broken about it; while I enjoy making my own paneer, I'm rather indifferent to eating it. It turns out that my cousin and her husband feel the same way, so it was all for the best. I ended up replacing the cheese with peas (as the palak on its own seemed to need a bit of chunkiness), and thus creating "palak mattar." Hee. I'm going to be making it that way from now on -- just as yummy, in my opinion, but easier and fewer calories.

The raita, which we like to eat with pretty much everything, was delicious, and the naan was as well, even if it didn't turn out quite as aesthetically pleasing as I had wanted (though there were some nice-looking pieces; the kids got to them before I could take a picture). The murgh makhani's sauce was absolutely perfect; it tasted just the the butter chicken I've had in restaurants. The only thing I'll change for next time is the kind of chicken meat I used -- breast rather than thigh. I prefer dark meat, and this dish is usually made with it, but at the time I went to the store they didn't have anything but breasts.

For dessert we had a wonderful cheesecake, but that's going to have to wait for another post. :-)

Palak Mattar (recipe adapted from here)



Ingredients:

• 1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach or 4 cups of fresh, finely chopped spinach
• 3/4 cup of frozen peas
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• pinch of asofetida
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp of whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Method:

1. If you're using frozen spinach, thaw it and squeeze out the water.
2. In a blender, puree the tomatoes and ginger together.
3. Mix together the coriander, turmeric, and red chili powder with the tomato puree and set it aside.
4. Mix the whole wheat flour with the heavy cream and set that aside as well.
5. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; it should sizzle enthusiastically. If it doesn't the oil's not hot enough.
6. Add the asofetida and cumin seeds. Let the seeds sizzle for a bit, then add the tomato puree mixture and let it cook for a few minutes until the tomato puree is reduced by about half.
7. Add the spinach, mix well, and let it cook on medium low heat for about 10 minutes, covered.
8. Add heavy cream mixture cook another 5 minutes or so.
9. Add the peas and fold them gently into spinach. Let the dish simmer for about 3 minutes, or until heated through, then serve immediately.

Aloo Gobi (recipe adapted from here)



Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
• 2 large potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch of asofetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 inch piece ginger, minced or grated
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• red chili powder, to taste
• 1/2 tsp amchur (mango powder)
• salt, to taste
• 5 sprigs cilantro, chopped

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pot.
2. Test if the oil is ready by adding a cumin seed -- it should sizzle enthusiastically right away. When the oil is hot, add all the cumin seeds and let them to sizzle for a few moments.
3. Add the asofetida, turmeric powder, and diced onion. Saute about 3 minutes.
4. Add the ginger and garlic to the onions. Saute until the onions are soft and just beginning to brown. Stir frequently.
5. Mix in the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes have broken down quite a bit and the oil starts to separate from the mixture. Stir frequently.
6. While the tomatoes are cooking, place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle on a little salt, add 1/4 cup water, cover the bowl, and microwave for about 3-5 minutes, until they are about half cooked.
7. Wash the cauliflower florets and place them in a microwave safe bowl, cover it, and microwave for about 3-5 minutes, until they are about half cooked. Lightly salt the cauliflower while it is still warm. (Please note that you salt the potatoes before they're microwaved and the cauliflower after. Also you can skip the microwaving step altogether, it'll just take longer to cook.)
8. Once oil has separated from the tomato mixture, add the coriander powder, garam masala, red chili powder, cumin powder, amchur and salt to taste, then mix well.
9. Add the half-cooked potatoes, mix well to coat all the potato pieces with spices, and turn the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender but not breaking apart.
10. Add the green peas and half-cooked cauliflower and mix well to evenly coat the cauliflower with spices. Cover and cook until all veggies are tender.
11. Take the pot off the heat and mix in the chopped cilantro.

Murgh Makhani (recipe adapted from here)



Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• 4 shallots, sliced into thin strips
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup cream
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3-4 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Method

1. Cook the shallots in butter until they are limp and soft. Remove them from the pan, leaving as much of the butter as possible, and reserve them.
2. Turn up the heat and add the chicken. Cook quickly, browning all sides.
3. When the chicken is cooked through, add the spices, ginger and garlic, and stir for a few moments.
4. If the pan is dry, add a few tbsps of water and use the liquid to deglaze, scraping up any bits of cooked chicken or spice that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. More than likely you'll have chicken juices to do this with.
5. Add the tomato sauce, lemon juice, and the cooked shallots into the pan and set it to simmer.
6. Put a few tbsps of the sauce in a bowl and mix it with the cream and the yogurt. Pour it into the chicken mixture.
7. Simmer the dish for a few minutes. Taste it and add salt as desired.
8. Place the chicken and sauce into a serving bowl and sprinkle chopped cilantro on top.

Friday Dinner: Panda Express Orange Chicken

There's something about Panda Express's orange chicken. It's not 'real' Chinese food, it's fast food, and yet there is something. Something awesomely yummy. I love a bowl of orange chicken with some fake chow mein and doused with liberally with Sriracha hot sauce. I don't have it very often, for health reasons (and on principle, to avoid Panda Express), but I would be the last person to try and claim that it isn't yummy.



When I found a copycat recipe online for this very orange chicken, I brought it up with Trix as a dinner possibility, and being that she is only human, she said, "If it's wrong, I don't want to be right." It seems a fitting last Friday dinner. Gasp! Why last? Because we're moving to Mondays. Same bat channel, but different bat time. Anyway, back to this Friday dinner.

Here's the thing about Panda's orange chicken -- there's actually no orange in it. They might try and fool us by placing slices of orange in the pan afterward, but the flavoring doesn't actually have any orange (possibly it was named after the color of the glaze once on the chicken?). This recipe calls for an optional amount of orange zest, which I used, and I can confirm: way too orangey for Panda's orange chicken. But that's not to say it wasn't worth adding.

The chicken in Panda's version has a much harder/crunchier coating -- possibly fixed by frying the pieces of chicken for longer, or giving it a thicker coating. The chicken in the homemade version is much more tender, however, and longer frying might compromise that. Many comments to the copycat recipe indicated that doubling the sauce would be a good idea, so we did, and we concur that that's a good idea. One change we'd make, however, is that rather than adding to the just-boiled sauce, we'd thicken it first, then add the chicken. That might help the chicken retain some crispness.

And now, a pictorial of the efforts Trix and I made...

Here's Trix's chicken frying (I used my deep fryer, so there's really nothing to see):



Here's about half my chicken draining on a paper towel:



Trix's chicken in the thickened sauce:



My chicken, plated. It probably would have looked more attractive if I hadn't heaped the entire portion on there, but oh well:



Trix's chicken, plated:



And now here is our improved copycat recipe for orange chicken, which is very good, even if not exactly like Panda Express's.

Orange Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 egg
• 1½ tsp salt
• Pinch of white pepper
• 2 tbsp oil, divided, plus more oil for frying
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp cornstarch, divided
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• ½ tsp crushed hot red chili pepper
• ¼ cup green onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• ¼ cup water
• Zest of ½ an orange (optional)

For the “Orange” Sauce

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp water
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup white vinegar

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp of oil. Mix well. Stir in the chicken pieces.
2. In medium bowl, stir together the flour and ½ cup cornstarch. Add the chicken pieces, stirring to coat.
3. Heat oil for deep frying in a wok or deep fryer to 375°F.
4. Add the chicken, small batches at a time, and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden crisp (but avoid overcooking the chicken). When done remove the chicken from the oil with tongs and drain on paper towels.
5. Clean the wok if you used it and heat for 15 seconds over high heat. Lower to medium high and add 1 tbsp of oil.
6. Add the ginger and garlic and stir try until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
7. Add the crushed chiles and green onions, then the rice wine, stirring for a few seconds.
8. Add the orange sauce and bring to a boil.
9. Stir the remaining 1 tbsp of cornstarch into the water, add this mix to the chicken and heat until the sauce has thickened.
10. Add the cooked chicken, stirring until well incorporated.
11. Turn off the heat and stir in the orange zest if using.
12. Serve over white rice.

Chicken Carbonara

I've found a new favorite way to use leftover chicken.



Sometimes I'll have leftovers from a roasted chicken in the grocery store, from a restaurant, or in this case, from a chicken I roasted at home using this method. After the initial chicken meal there are many things I like to do with the leftover meat -- enchiladas, salad, quesadillas, etc. But I think this chicken carbonara is definitely my new favorite. The rich, creamy Alfredo-esque sauce with slight smokiness from the bacon and the heartiness of the chicken makes this spaghetti dish absolutely no one's leftovers. (However, this dish itself doesn't actually make for good leftovers -- cream sauces rarely do. Reheating will make it separate, so you should eat whatever you make right then and there!)

I was inspired by this video, in which Giada De Laurentiis shares her recipe for chicken carbonara, but I adjusted it to a) serve 2 rather than what looks like an army; b) use slightly less cream to save on calories; and c) use bacon rather than pancetta, which is easier to acquire and less costly as well.



Chicken Carbonara

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 8oz dried spaghetti
• 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
• 2 slices of strip bacon, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup regular or heavy whipping cream (or use 3/4 cup of cream and skip the whole milk)
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• salt to taste

Method

1. Start boiling water with some salt to make the pasta as the package directs. Cook pasta until just before al dente -- it will be cooked a little more in the sauce, so you don't want to overcook or it'll become too soft.
2. In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom, start frying the bacon. When nearly crisp, add the garlic and saute together for a minute, until the bacon is crisp. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Add the whipping cream, milk, cheese, and parsley. Stir until combined.
4. When the pasta is almost ready, place the pan with the bacon mixture back onto low to medium heat. Add the chicken.
5. Using tongs or similar, add the cooked spaghetti directly on top of the chicken, without straining. The pasta water it brings over is good, as it's starchy and will help with thickening the sauce.
6. Pour the cream mixture into the pan with the spaghetti. Gently mix everything together, until the sauce has thickened (this will go a LOT faster if you use heavy whipping cream; if you don't, just be patient, it WILL thicken) and the meat is well distributed. Do NOT heat so high that the sauce boils; this will cause it to separate and will be pretty much disgusting and inedible.
7. Taste it; you may find that the salt from the bacon is enough to season the dish. If not, use salt to taste.

Note: Giada serves her carbonara with some crushed walnut sprinkled over the top; this is intriguing but I haven't yet tried it.

Friday Dinner: High Roast Chicken

This last Friday, Jade and I roasted a chicken. Well, what passes for roasting these days (it's really just baking) -- there was no open fire or anything. I've baked my share of chickens, but I've always found it kind of annoying to have to baste it repeatedly in order to achieve that lovely golden skin all over, it took what seemed a long time, I never found a marinade that really pleased me consistently, and even when it was done cooking, it wasn't the end of the meal preparation, as I'd still have to make sides.



I think this method of cooking chicken has managed to accomplish the impressive feat of solving all those problems. First, the skin is crispy and nearly golden all over (enough to satisfy me) without requiring any basting at all. Second, it takes 40 minutes to roast. Third, flavoring it is very simple and really delicious. And finally, with a little extra effort, you're making a yummy side at the same time. It's great!

Before:



After:



The key to even browning and quick cooking is butterflying the chicken by cutting out the backbone. If you have really good kitchen shears, this may not pose much of a challenge for you. I have mediocre kitchen shears and I was able to cut it out with moderate effort -- nothing that made me break a sweat. Trix wasn't so lucky; her shears didn't do the job and so she ended up using a knife, but that is definitely not the ideal method for removing the backbone (you end up hacking other parts you don't want to be hacking at).

The other thing you need for this is a broiling pan -- both the top part with slits in it and the roasting pan it goes on top of. While the chicken roasts, its delicious juices trickle through the slits into the bottom ... which will have a layer of lovely scalloped potatoes! Make sure you cover it with foil for easy cleaning, and make sure you spray cooking oil on the foil to help the potatoes brown (if you forget, as both Trix and I did, the potatoes won't brown nicely -- though at that point you could layer them in a cast iron pan and cook at high heat until they are golden and crisp). If you like, you can make a second side, something with color, like baby carrots or green beans. Since I had half a head of cabbage in the fridge, I went for the tried and true spicy stir-fry cabbage that I love so much.



The flavoring of the chicken comes from brining (which needs at least an hour, or overnight) and an easy flavored butter that you make from mixing unsalted butter with Dijon mustard, thyme, garlic, and pepper. The mustard seems very strong once it's mixed in, and I was afraid that the resulting meat would taste too much like mustard -- but that was not the case at all. It mellowed while baking into something amazingly tasty.

To get even more mileage out of your chicken, I really recommend saving the bones and making a flavorful stock from it. Because it's only been cooked for 40 minutes, there's still plenty of chicken essence to be eked out.

Now that we know this recipe, it's going to be hard to buy one of those ready-made rotisserie chickens in the market again!



High Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• a 3 to 4 pound chicken
• 2 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled (preferably ones with a lot of starch, such as russets)
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of olive oil, divided
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the brine

• 2 quarts of water
• ¼-½ cup table salt (to taste -- ¼ cup is on the bland side)
• ½ cup sugar

For the flavored butter

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• Pinch of pepper

Method

1. Prepare the brine, at least an hour before you plan to roast the chicken or overnight. Mix the salt and sugar into the water and make sure it’s dissolved well. Place the chicken in the brine and leave for about an hour, or overnight. Cover and put into refrigerator.
2. In the meanwhile, prepare the flavored butter. Mix all the ingredients except for the pepper. Let it sit until you are ready to flavor the chicken.
3. Place a rack on the lower middle rung of the oven and preheat to 500°F.
4. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and rinse it off (remaining sugar crystals on the skin will burn). Pat the chicken dry. If there's visible fat, use the paper towel you're using to pat dry to simply pull it off and discard.
5. Butterfly the chicken by cutting out the backbone with kitchen shears (use the tail as guidelines on where to cut). Flatten the chicken down by pressing on it with the heel of your palm – you will probably hear bones break.
6. Stretch out the pockets of chicken skin around the breasts, thighs, and legs – this will not only create crevices for the butter, but will separate the skin from the flesh, which will make for a crispier skin.
7. Add a pinch of pepper to the flavored butter and mix. Put dollops of butter under the chicken skin on the breasts, thighs, and legs, massaging the butter in through the skin.
8. If the chicken is still wet, pat it as dry as possible. (At this point, you could put it in the refrigerator overnight on a sheet pan to get rid of even more moisture.)
9. Place the chicken on top of a broiling pan. Rub it with 1 tsp of olive oil and sprinkle some pepper on top.
10. Line the bottom of the broiling pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. Spray it with nonstick cooking spray.
11. Fit the slicing blade attachment to a food processor. Scallop the peeled potatoes by placing them one at a time through the feeding tube. If a potato won’t fit, peel off some more or use a knife to cut off a small amount until it will fit.
12. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and season with 1 tbsp of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. (Remember, the chicken drippings will also season the potatoes, so don’t over season during this step.) Mix well, then layer in the prepared foil-lined bottom pan.
13. Place the top of the broiler pan with the chicken on it over the bottom pan of potatoes.
14. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes. Cut into a thigh and if the juices run clear it’s done. If the juices run pink, keep it in the oven for another 10 minutes or until juices run clear.
15. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it sit while you prepare the potatoes. Dab grease from the top of them using a paper towel. Place a cutting board over the potatoes, then flip the whole thing over. Carefully remove the foil – it’s likely that even with the nonstick spray some of them will stick to the foil. Again dab them with a paper towel to remove as much grease as possible.
16. Cut the chicken into fourths (or however many pieces you desire) and serve with potatoes.

Friday Dinner: Chicken Friand

I know, it's been a long time. I don't even have the excuse that I don't have any food pictures to share. I do. It's just ... laziness. I'm not going to lie: it's winter and I don't like being in my kitchen. I hate that I don't want to be in my kitchen when I love being in my kitchen. But when I can see my breath and washing veggies freezes my hands, it's hard to want to do it.



A good impetus is the resumption of Friday night dinners. I can't let Trix make yummy, homemade things while my contribution is takeout or pb&j sandwiches, can I? Of course not. But that doesn't mean my post-vacation apathy about blogging is as easily dismissed. (Though I did change the layout a bit -- just a subtle stretching.) Well, maybe not so much apathy as just getting back into the habit. That said, let me say that the recipe I'm sharing today is actually one that we made last week. Hey, it's only a week late -- that's not so bad, is it?

What we made was chicken friand, and it was delicious. The recipe makes 6 pastries, and even if you're just cooking for 1 or 2 people, like me, you'll want to make all 6. Why? Well, as mentioned before, they're delicious. On top of that, they freeze well. So the initial effort of making them yields multiple yummy, hot meals.



Essentially, puff pastry is stuffed with a mixture of chicken, gruyere cheese, and mushrooms, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and rosemary. It's then baked until puffy and golden brown, and topped with a thick mushroom gravy. It's perfect cold weather food.



I'm normally not a huge fan of rosemary, but it works well here. In future I may add just a tad less than the recipe calls for, but would otherwise not change a thing. The sauce is especially wonderful, though it thickens after the first day and needs to be thinned out for subsequent reheating (and doesn't freeze all that well). But it's so good and easy that it may be my new go-to gravy for just about anything, including mashed potatoes.



Chicken Friand

Ingredients

• 1 1/2-2 cups rotisserie chicken, diced
• 1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 2oz dried shiitake, porcini, or mix of dried mushrooms
• 1 can chicken broth
• 3 large scallions, white and greens, minced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 6 tbsp butter, divided
• 2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms (such as white button or cremini), chopped
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (milk or half/half)
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4oz Gruyere cheese, shredded
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Method

1. Pour chicken broth into a bowl and rehydrate the dried mushrooms in it for as long as it takes to fully hydrate the mushrooms -- varies depending on the size of the mushrooms you're using (my shiitakes took about 30 min). When they're hydrated, squeeze the broth out of the mushrooms, chop them up, and transfer them to another container. Set both aside.
2. In a large pan with a lid, melt 2 tbsp of butter and saute scallions and garlic in it. Add the fresh and rehydrated mushrooms and saute until cooked. Season with salt and pepper to your preference. When done, transfer the mushroom mixture to another container.
3. Clean out the pan, then melt the remaining 4 tbsp of butter in it. Add 4 tbsp flour, stir in well and cook 1-2 minutes to make a roux. Slowly pour the mushroom-infused chicken stock into the roux, stirring all the while to keep lumps from forming. Set the sauce to barely simmering, and stir every few minutes. When it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, reduce heat to low, stir in the cream, and place the lid on it. Stir every 5 minutes or so.
4. In a large bowl, add the diced chicken and 1 tsp dried rosemary. Add 1/2 of the mushroom mixture. Add the shredded Gruyere, reserving a tbsp or two for the sauce (or none, if that's your preference). Take 2-4 tbsp of the sauce and add it to the chicken mixture -- just to wet the mixture a bit and help combine everything evenly.
5. Unfold a sheet of thawed puff pastry and roll it out to thin the dough, about 3 times each way. Cut the dough into thirds.
6. Mound a generous 1/2 cup of filling on half of each dough piece, leaving room around the edges to seal. Wet the edge around the filling with egg wash, fold the other half over to encase filling, and use the tines of a fork to press it closed.
7. Brush the tops of each pastry with egg wash. (At this point, the raw, filled pastries can be flash-frozen on a parchment-lined tray, then individually wrapped and bagged for long-time freezer storage. Thaw pastry before baking.)
8. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. The pastries should puff and turn golden brown.
9. While the pastries are baking, add the other half of the mushroom mixture to the sauce and stir in. Optionally you can add a bit of Gruyere (if you reserved any) here as well. There should be about 1/4 cup sauce for each pastry.

Friday Dinner: Faux Pot Pie

Now, to be completely fair, I must say at the outset that my not being a huge fan of the dish we made tonight -- a variation of chicken pot pie -- is mostly my own fault, rather than the fault of the recipe. I halved the recipe and made other adjustments that could have contributed to the less-than-rapturous response I felt to the final results. There's also personal preference at play here; I am a HUGE fan of normal pot pie crust, which is flaky like pie crust, and less so of cornbread, which I enjoy but primarily on its own, or used as part of a homemade corn dog.



So first of all, I already went rogue when I decided to omit arguably the most important -- or if not important, most obvious -- ingredient: the chicken. At this point you might be thinking, well duh, of course you didn't like it if you left out the chicken in CHICKEN pot pie! But I would argue that the actual bits of chicken aren't that critical -- sure, it adds depth and texture contrast, but the flavor of the pot pie comes from the crust and the creamy filling. At least, for me it does. So I thought nothing of leaving out the chunks of chicken -- I was still going to use chicken broth for the filling. If I had had leftover chicken, I would have happily used it (in fact, this recipe is ideal for using up leftover chicken), but I didn't, and I neither felt the inclination to roast my own chicken nor buy a pre-roasted one. I was also too lazy to boil a potato for this or cook my own carrots. I found a bag of frozen peas and carrots in the freezer and made do with that, along with some petite white onions.

The "pie" baked up beautifully. It was golden brown on top, and looked deceptively like real pie crust rather than cornbread. The filling was more brothy than creamy, however, even though it was still thick -- this was likely deliberate, being that it's supposed to be a low-fat recipe.



I missed the chunks of chicken in that my pot pie, bereft of this ingredient, seemed very flat without any protein bits to hold it up. The flavor of the filling was just fine, and the cornbread topping, too, was fine. I just wasn't wowed by it. Again this could be because I prefer regular pot pie crust. Or it could be that chicken pot pie is one of my favorite foods, so variations on the parts I consider staples aren't well received.

If you're on a low-fat diet, enjoy cornbread a lot, or just like a quick meal to throw together, this is a great recipe. If you're a big fan of traditional chicken pot pie, this might not be for you. But this review should be taken with a grain of salt, as I made a number of changes to the recipe (though halving it didn't make a big impact, I don't think).



Chicken Pot Pie with Cornbread Crust
Recipe created by Cristina Ferrare

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup frozen sweet petite peas
• 1 potato, boiled and diced
• 1 1/2 cup cooked carrots, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• cracked pepper, to taste
• dash of Tabasco sauce

For the crust:

• 3/4 cup white or yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. canola oil

To make filling: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil and unsalted butter together. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add in flour until blended. Slowly stir in 2 cups of heated chicken stock, whisking well. Cook mixture over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 4 minutes. Stir in chicken, peas, potato, carrots, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Pour into a 2-quart ovenproof casserole dish coated with cooking spray and spread mixture evenly.

To make crust: In a bowl, stir cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir milk, egg and canola oil until well combined. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Spoon the batter evenly on the filling. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 22 to 25 minutes.