Chicken Cilantro Lime Soup

This is a great dish - easy, very tasty, and quick to make. I used the Cilantro Lime Soup recipe from Epicurious at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/599. However, I used two chicken legs and 2 chicken thighs. When the soup was done cooking, i pulled the pieces out, pulled the meat off the bone, chopped up the meat and tossed them back in the soup. The only other change was the addition of sliced avocado on top. Mmmmm...summer.

Chicken Salad

For Sunday brunch, in addition to the cheese souffle, I also made a chicken salad from the leftovers of a chicken I had roasted a couple nights earlier. You could do the same very easily with a rotisserie chicken from the market.

Three cups chopped cooked chicken (with or without the skin, depending on how much you care about being alive for much longer)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives
1 cup seedless grapes, halved or quartered depending on size (I used red for the color)
3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped or broken into small pieces
freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon
salt

Combine all ingredients through the black pepper in a medium bowl. Taste. I had cooked a maple black pepper glazed roasted chicken, so the outside was a little sweet. Therefore, I added the juice of about a half a lemon to counter the maple's sweetness, add a little acidity. You could also use fresh tarragon for the same thing. So, taste yours, see if you need to add lemon. Same thing with the salt - mine was a little salty on the skin so I didn't need to add any to the salad. Enjoy with bread, mixed salad greens, whatever floats your boat.

Cauliflower Risotto

Right up there in my cooking nirvana with cooking a masterpiece that takes several hours and looks AND tastes spectacular is cooking something really good with no menu based on ingredients solely from the kitchen, where I didn't go out and get a single thing. That may sound like nothing to those who keep a better stocked kitchen than myself, but to me its pretty special. The other night we had some chicken with cauliflower risotto. Why make risotto (such a fabulous rich creamy warm dish) with boring odd cauliflower? Because it's what we had in the house. And it was delicious!

I'll start with the chicken. I used the method I usually use when I'm in a hurry. First I browned two chicken breasts in just a little olive oil over medium high heat. Once browned, I set them on a plate to the side, turned the pan heat down to medium and added 2 strips of bacon to the pan. When they were just starting to release their fat, I added two crushed garlic cloves. I cooked these for two minutes, stirring, then added about a cup of white wine, a sprig of fresh thyme, a rib of celery chopped and the chicken breasts. I put the lid on the pan and let cook for about another 20 minutes. This may seem a little weird, but about 3 minutes before the chicken was done, I added a handful of cherry tomatoes. One, I did it for color, two, I was concerned that with the cauliflower risotto and the chicken and the bacon that the dish needed some acidity and something to lighten it up a bit.

OK. While the chicken was cooking I cooked a large head of cauliflower (cut into florets) in a medium pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. I drained the cauliflower in a strainer, and added the cauliflower to another medium pot with a tablespoon of olive oil and, over medium high heat, cooked the cauliflower a few minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the cauliflower to get browned in a few places. Then I added 1 cup of arborio rice and stirred for one minute. Next, I turned down the heat to medium, and added 1 cup of white wine. If you've made risotto before, you know its just a process of adding liquid and constant stirring until its at the consistency you want it at. So, I alternated between white wine and vegetable stock until it was where I wanted it. Then I added 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a tbsp of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and serve! I thought it showed off the cauliflower well, with its mellow sweetness contrasting nicely with the cheese and wine flavor. By the way, the risotto would be a perfect veggie main dish also, and we had enough risotto to serve about 4 people.

Vidalia Onion Fig Chicken and Zucchini Fritters

There are some fabulous pre-made sauces out there, and for Christmas we received a bottle of Stonewall Kitchen's Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce. I served it over some chicken breasts and made some zucchini fritters (recipe from Epicurious) on the side. The chicken was very flavorful and I will definitely make again. The fritters were tasty, but just too greasy, even for me. I put them on paper towels after frying, but when I bit into them it felt like a pool of grease was exploding in my mouth. Not good. And I felt a little queasy as I tried to sleep later that night. So, I'll be making the chicken again, but staying away from those fritters.

For the chicken, I took 4 chicken breasts, browned them in a tbsp of olive oil over high heat. Then I put them in a casserole dish, poured about a cup of the sauce over them, tossed to coat, and stuck them in an oven that had been preheated to 350F. They cooked for about a half an hour and were perfect.

PS - those are my favorite gougeres also on the plate.

Djaj Bil Assal - Chicken with Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey

I got a terrific cookbook for Christmas from my boyfriend's family - Arabesque, a Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon by Claudia Roden. Besides having fantastic-sounding recipes and beautiful photos, the cover is lovely and I like the way it's laid out, with different sections on each country's culinary traditions. Last week, I tried it out for the first time, with very good results. I made the Chicken with Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey from the Moroccan section. It turned out very well, and I will definitely make it again, though with just a little less oil next time. The flavors compliment and contrast each other so well, and, though the author warns about making sure to add enough pepper so it is not too sweet, we didn't have any problem of the sort. If you are scared about cutting up your own chicken, just ask the butcher to do it or get pre-cut pieces. I served the dish over couscous, with some steamed green beans on the side. Here is the recipe as written:

Djaj Bil Assal
Chicken with Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey

1 lb shallots of baby onions
1 onion, chopped
4 tbsp sunflower oil
good pinch saffron threads
1 tspn ground ginger
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1 chicken, cut up in 6 or 8 pieces
salt and pepper
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp clear honey
To garnish: 1/2 cup blanched almonds or a handful of sesame seeds (optional)

To peel the shallots or baby onions, blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, and when cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and trim the root ends.

Saute the chopped onion until softened in the oil over a medium heat in a pan or casserole large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer. Stir in the saffron, ginger, and cinnamon, then put in the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper, and turn to brown them lightly all over.

Add about 1 cup water and cook, covered, over a low heat, turning the pieces over, for 15 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are done. Lift out the breasts and put them to one side. Add the shallots or baby onions and continue to cook, covered, for about 25 minutes, or until the remaining chicken pieces are very tender. During the cooking, turn the chicken pieces and stir the onions occasionally; add a little water, if necessary.

Lift out the chicken pieces and set to one side. Stir the honey into the pan. Check the seasoning. You need quite a bit of pepper to mitigate the sweetness. Cook, uncovered, until all the water has evaporated, and the onions are brown, caramelized, and so soft that you could crush them, as they say in Morocco, "with your tongue."

Return the chicken pieces to the pan, spoon the onions on top of them, and heat through. A few minutes should be enough. Serve, if you wish, sprinkled either with blanched almonds fried in a drop of oil until they are lightly golden, or with toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4.

Garlicky Madeira Chicken

This was a quick dinner last night. Preheat oven to 375F. Brown four chicken breasts in a little olive oil. Remove chicken to oven-proof pan and put in oven. Saute 4 minced garlic cloves in skillet (add more olive oil if needed). Once cooked through, add 1/4 cup Madeira wine, 1/2 cup chicken or turkey stock, and 1/2 tspn minced thyme. Scrape up brown bits on bottom of skillet and turn heat to high. Reduce until thick, about 10 minutes. Cook chicken about 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through. Pour sauce over top. I served these with steamed asparagus and Boursin mashed potatoes.

Turkey, Barley and Asparagus Soup

Yup, Thanksgiving leftovers are still haunting us and its DECEMBER. I got the turkey carcass from Mom's Thanksgiving, and yesterday made lots and lots of stock. Tonight I made a soup out of the stock, cooked turkey, barley and veggies. It was simple yet very well-flavored, though next time I will use a little less barley. The recipe I used is below. As I said, probably should use a little less barley than I have listed below. Also, my stock was very well flavored with bay leaf, salt, pepper, thyme and parsley. If you are using store-bought stock, you might want a add a pinch of these seasonings.

4 cups turkey stock (feel free to substitute chicken stock)
1/4 cup diced onion
2 celery ribs, chopped
3/4 cup diced cooked turkey (feel free to substitute diced chicken)
1/2 tspn dried thyme
3/4 cup pearl barley
1 carrot, chopped
4-5 asparagus stalks, ends cut off, and stems chopped into 1 1/2-inch pieces
salt and pepper

Bring stock, onion, celery, turkey and thyme to a boil. Add barley and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes. Add carrot and cook for 10 minutes. Add asparagus and cook for 3 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning.

Serves 2.

Asian Noodles with Chicken

We had a great dinner tonight - it was quick and very tasty. The recipe is from the December 2006 Gourmet, and I've also pasted it below. Only downside, I thought it was just a little bit salty. There's no added salt, but the oyster sauce clearly had a lot of salt. I might use a little less next time, or a little more cooking water to tone it down. Anyway, tasty tasty.

ASIAN NOODLES WITH CHICKEN AND SCALLIONS

Take a tip from Asian home cooks and use bottled sauces to your advantage.

1 lb chicken tenders (not coated or cooked)

1 lb fresh or frozen broccoli florets
1 lb dried udon (thick wheat noodles)
1/2 cup premium oyster sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee or Koon Chun)
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons Chinese chile garlic paste (preferably Lan Chi), or to taste
1/2 cup chopped scallions (from 1 bunch)
2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Cook chicken in a 6-quart pot of boiling unsalted water, covered, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add broccoli to boiling water and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to a colander to drain, then transfer to another bowl. Return water to a boil and cook noodles until tender (check often; cooking time on package may not be accurate). Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain noodles in colander and rinse under hot water.

While noodles cook, tear chicken into chunks.

Add oyster and hoisin sauces, sesame oil, chile garlic paste, half of scallions, and 1/3 cup cooking water to chicken and stir to combine.

Divide noodles, broccoli, and chicken mixture among 4 bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds and remaining scallions. Serve immediately, stirring just before eating. If noodles become dry, moisten with some of cooking water.

Cooks' note: If you have to substitute an Asian chile paste without garlic for the chile garlic paste, start with 1/2 teaspoon and add to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Frugalicious!

You can make so many meals out of just one chicken. Last week, I had to cook a whole chicken for a catering job, but I still had about half of the meat and the carcass left over. So, tonight I made some chicken noodle soup. I covered the carcass with 5 cups of water, a chopped-up onion, two celery sticks chopped, 4-5 peppercorns, a bay leaf, a tspn of thyme and a tspn of salt. I brought this to a boil, then reduced it to a simmer and covered it. I cooked it for another hour, skimming scum (that white frothy stuff) off it every once in a while. Then I strained it into another cooking pot, added two more chopped celery sticks and about a cup and a half of shredded cooked chicken. Last time I made this, we found it to be a little too sweet, so instead of adding diced carrot, this time I just put in two carrots peeled and cut in half, to get just a little of the flavor. Also, normally I would add in some parsley, but the chicken was originally cooked with a lot of parsley so I already had plenty of that floating around. If you want to add some, add about 2 tbspn chopped parsley at this point. I cooked the soup, covered, about 20 minutes, or until the celery was soft. While the soup was cooking, I boiled some salted water and cooked about a cup of pasta I had on hand. Once cooked, I strained the pasta and add it to soup. Finally, I adjusted the salt and pepper seasoning. This made 2 tasty large portions.

Tomorrow - chicken salad!

Comfort Food on a Chilly Night

Last night I tried my hand at Chicken Pot Pies - great comfort food when fall vegetables are in full bloom and the nights demand warm jackets. I started with a Barefoot Contessa recipe, with a few small changes. Her recipe is below. My changes were: I used Sambucca instead of Pernod (because that's what I had), added about a cup of shredded chicken from a store-bought Rotiserrie chicken, left out the small whole onions (because I forgot to buy them), used the whole asparagus instead of just the tips (what a waste) and added little decorative leaves on top (the artist in the house made those, not me!). Next time I might try and make the crust a little more savory - maybe add a little parmesan, a little black pepper, etc.

Vegetable Pot Pie (serves 4)

12 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups sliced yellow onions
1 fennel bulb, top and core removed, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2.5 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp Pernod
pinch of saffron threads
1.5 tspn kosher salt
1/2 tspn black pepper
3 tbsp heavy cream
1.5 cup large diced potatoes
1.5 cups asparagus tips
1.5 cups peeled, 3/4-inch diced carrots (4 carrots)
1.5 cups peeled, 3/4-inch diced butternut squash
1.5 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley

For the pastry:
3 cups all purpose flour
1.5 tspn kosher salt
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 lb cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water for egg wash
flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel and saute until translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the flour, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occassionally. Slowly add the stock, Pernod, saffron, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil Simmer for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Add the heavy cream and season to taste. The sauce should be highly seasoned.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Lift out with a sieve. Add the asparagus, carrots and squash to the pot and cook in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Add the potatoes, mixed vegetables, onions and parsley to the sauce and mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead it quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2 inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the sides, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

duck-DUCK-um...just duck

Wow. Last night, I made a ridiculously rich duck dish. It is the duck confit hash from this month's Gourmet magazine. It was really delicious, though not for anyone who wants to eat lightly.

If I make this again, and I'd say that there's a good chance of that, I would make a couple of changes: One, I found the dish to have a little too much sweetness from the combo of the madeira, carrot and cream. Next time I will use a less sweet wine, some sort of hearty red wine. Also, I like my hash to have a little crispiness to it. Therefore, I might make the recipe, then when I get to the end plop a serving of the hash on a greased up (because the dish really needs more fat) hot griddle, press it with a spatula, and crisp it up.

Blueberry salad

An experiment that turned out pretty AND tasty - blueberry salad. I tossed mixed greens with a few blueberries, some halved yellow pear tomatoes, a little red onion, and a white wine vinaigrette. It was delicious and healthy. I have also seen similar salads that include crab or shrimp, which I'll try next time.

I also made chicken breasts topped with pesto, and though it doesn't look as pretty as the salad it was good. Just salted and peppered two breasts, topped with pesto (a little too much, as you can see by the photo) and baked at 425F for 30 minutes or so.

Fun Computer Problems

Very thrilling computer problems have kept me from posting about lots of cooking I have done in the last week. Early in the weekend I made a pseudo-Mexican dish to use up a lot of food we had hiding in the fridge. Drew's reaction: It's like a fiesta in my mouth! I thought it was tasty, hearty and filling - just the kind of thing you want to eat on a cool fall night. Of course, its 95 degrees outside.



Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
One rotisserie chicken, with all meat pulled off and shredded to bite-size pieces
2 carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
10 small red potatoes cut diced
cumin
cayenne
salt
pepper
1 red onion diced
1 medium can black beans (drained)
10 soft tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup half and half
taco sauce
1 diced tomato or dozen diced cherry tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 375F. Seperately, mix the carrots and potatoes with a half teaspoon each of the cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Put each in separate oven-proof dishes with a little vegetable oil, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until they are done and the potatoes are a little crispy - may need to cook the potatoes a little longer than the carrots.

While carrot and potato are cooking, saute the red onion until soft.

Once all three are cooked and have cooled, place in a large bowl with the shredded chicken and the black beans. Mix, and taste to see if it needs any more of the spices.

Turn oven up to 400F.

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray.

Place about 3/4 cup filling in each tortilla, and put each snugly in the casserole dish. (may have some filling left over. Do fun and crazy things with it unrelated to the dish.)

In a food processor or blender, blend 3/4 cup cheddar with half and half and couple of dashes of taco sauce. Pour mixture over casserole. Sprinkle diced tomatoes on top, and top with rest of cheddar.

Bake for 20 minutes.

FRIEND IN TOWN

Sure, most people would want to show off where they live by taking their friend out to dinner in the city's hippest neighborhood. We're not like that. We force them to stay inside and eat my food.

Saturday night I made an herb-roasted chicken to celebrate the visit of my friend Uri. Also, my mom had brought by earlier in the week green beans from their garden and some country ham to cook with it. I used both in a green bean country ham risotto. Also, I roasted some roma tomatoes for a little tang.



Here are the recipes:

Roast Chicken

INGREDIENTS

3 lb chicken (remove plastic bags inside cavity and use for something else)
1/2 cup fresh minced herbs (I used rosemary, sage, thyme, basil)
salt and pepper
3 minced garlic cloves
1 lemon or small orange cut in half
1 small red onion cut in half
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Wash chicken inside and out, and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper, and rub olive oil on it, too. In a small bowl, mix herbs with garlic and salt and pepper. Place lemon and onion halves in cavity of bird. Lift skin above breasts up just slightly and push herb mix under skin, carefully, so as not to tear skin. Rub any extra herbs on the outside. Tie legs up.

Place bird in roasting pan breast-side down, and roast for 5 minutes. Next, turn it to one of its sides and roast for 5 minutes. Then roast for 5 minutes on the other side. Finally roast breast-side up for an hour. I got this method from Jamie Oliver and its a good way of getting color all over the bird. After an hour, cut into the thigh area to see if the bird is done. If not, cook some more!

Risotto

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1.5 cups risotto
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3/4 cup chopped country ham
1 cup white wine
1.5 cups green beans, chopped

Saute shallots in olive oil. Once soft, add risotto. Stir for one minute. Add chicken broth, 1/4 cup at a time, and country ham, and just keep on stirring. Yup, that's what you have to do with risotto. Once I had used up all the broth, and still needed more liquid, I started adding with wine. I stirred and added until it was done.

While it was cooking, i cooked the green beans in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Then I put them in an ice bath.

Stir the green beans into the risotto.

FINALLY, the last night Uri was in town Drew broiled a beautiful piece of steak, and I made a fried green tomato salad. This was much more successful than the last time I tried to make fried green tomatoes. The key is getting the oil hot enough. If you don't it just turns to mush in the oil.

Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

5 medium green tomatoes, cut in 1/2 inch slices
2 cups cornmeal
pinch each of cayenne, salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
About 1 cup vegetable oil
4 strips bacon, cooked, broken into 1-inch pieces
blue cheese salad dressing
pickled red onions
4 cups arugula
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 lemon
1/4 tspn pepper
1/4 tspn dry mustard
1/2 cup olive oil

Heat oil in nonstick pan until hot but not smoking. Combine cornmeal, cayenne and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Dip tomato slices in egg and then cornmeal mix, and then place in pan. Continue with rest of slices. Do not crowd pan. You should only have to flip each slice. Once golden brown place on a paper towel-lined plate.

Make lemon dressing. Whisk the juice of one lemon, vinegar, pepper and mustard. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Toss arugula with dressing. Place fried green tomatoes on top of greens. Sprinkle crumbled bacon and pickled red onions on top and drizzle blue cheese dressing over the top. I never said it was healthy.

Happy Day Off!

Yay for days off, when I can get some cooking done and still lie around on the couch watching the Tour de France. Feeling energetic, yesterday morning I got up early and made blueberry muffins for my sweetheart. and well, myself. I used what I hoped was the Fannie Farmer recipe, but since we are missing that exact page from our Fannie Farmer cookbook, it was a little guesswork. I know I used too many blueberries, but I wanted to use up what we had, and they surely can't hurt. They turned out pretty yummy, and since I started a diet the other day I was good and had them without any butter or anything. Still yummy.

For dinner I cooked Nigella Lawson's Vinegar Chicken, along with some roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli. I thought the chicken was good, but not great, though Drew loved it. I think maybe if I used a higher quality vinegar it might turn out a little more flavorful. Also, instead of using a whole chicken I used some chicken drumsticks, sans skin. My roasted potatoes were nothing to get excited about, as roasted potatoes should be. The best part of the meal was the sauce the chicken was in. Next time I will skip the potatoes and just have some good bread to soak up the sauce.

In between muffins and chicken, I worked on a marinade and a chutney for the pork loin we are having today for the big holiday. I'll write more about that once its been cooked and devoured. Off to tennis in the 95 degree heat!

hmmmmm

Okay, not a very auspicious beginning. I have been bad about posting, and it's not because there haven't been things to post or because my lovely boyfriend hasn't taken shots of my sometimes pretty food. Just sheer laziness. So, here are some things done lately, and I will be better from now on:

My parents came over for dinner a couple of weeks ago and I made a Beer Braised Chicken dish from a recent Food and Wine magazine. It turned out well, but honestly both Drew and I were not thrilled with the flavor. Something tasted kind of musty - we think it might have been the saffron? However, I really think I did the recipe just as it was written and that it tasted as it was supposed to. Probably won't be making this again, though it was pretty.

Also, a week or so ago we had burgers done my favorite way - with my friend Charles' recipe. Mix the burger meat with pepper and whatever other spices you want. Slice butter into 1/2 tablespoon slices, coat them in minced fresh thyme, and form patties around the thyme-coated butter. Grill or fry as normal. While they are cooking, you put butter, red wine and brown sugar into a small saucepan and cook down until it is nice and thick. Pour over burgers when they are ready. Its ridiculously yummy. I added some blue cheese too.