Belated Happy New Year! And a Fantastic Soup...

Wow, I've almost forgotten how to do this! Sorry it's been so long. Happy New Year to you all!

This was supposed to be posted right after Thanksgiving, to help with using up all those turkey leftovers. Oh well - it's still the perfect winter soup. Really, truly delicious, we raved about it for days.

The Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie Soup

From Chaos in the Kitchen (great name).

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

None - this soup is a dream!  I didn't do the cute little puff pastry stars, but that's a nice finishing touch if you have the pastry and the inclination.

Thanksgiving: The Acceptable

Here it is - kinda, there were peas too (this is a shot of the leftovers). Doesn't look too bad, does it?



Actually forgot to mention that I made an apple galette too (again, no pictures), which came out fine and joined a delicious lemon pie and some rice krispie treats made by our guests, and a pumpkin pie from the old Italian bakery next door (pumpkin pie much too daunting to attempt).

But other things were a bit more, shall we say, challenging...

The main problem was - all together now - timing.

The turkey got off to a good start, but then I worried it would be ready before our guests arrived, so slowed it down by covering it with foil.

But then I put the stuffing and the veggies in the oven and everything seemed to grind to a halt. Nothing was cooking.

So I turned up the oven a bit. And then suddenly everything was done all at once. Which was a bit of a problem, as I still had to rest and carve the turkey, reheat the cabbage, cook the carrots and peas, fix the gravy, etc. Panic!!

The Recipe: Basic Roast TurkeyAdapted from various sources, including Mark Bittman and the NY Times, which was running a very helpful and funny Thanksgiving web hotline.

Our 10lb turkey (very scary and repulsive).



1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Prepare turkey: remove neck and giblets; rinse, pat dry; put onions and lemons into cavity (I used 1.5 onions, quartered, and a couple of lemons, halved), with some herb sprigs (I used thyme); rub outside with 3 tbspns melted butter, salt & pepper.
3. Put on rack in large roasting pan. Add 0.5 cup water to bottom of pan. Roast for 30 mins, then turn oven down to 325F.
4. Continue to roast, checking every 30 mins, basting if desired (people don't seem to think this is worth doing, I didn't bother). Cover top with foil if browning too much. Add 0.5 cup water to pan if it dries out.
5. Roast until done (temperature read in thickest part of thigh, not touching bone, is 165F). Allow approx 10-15 mins per pound.
6. Remove from oven, and allow to rest approx. 20 mins before carving.

Sounds so easy. Huh.

The Recipe: Roasted Vegetables
From my friend Kate.

I used half a butternut squash, 4 parsnips, 2 yams, 4 yukon gold potatoes, and had about twice as much as we needed (6 people).

1. Chop veggies into small-ish cubes (about 1.5 inches). Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper, and toss to cover.
2. Roast at 400F (yes, a problem right there) for approx 30-40 mins or until done, tossing occasionally to make sure they don't stick and are roasting evenly.

The Recipe: Macheesmo's Favorite Stuffing
From Macheesmo.

My sister recommended the one she uses every year - it's truly gorgeous, but rolling logs was well beyond my capabilities.



Before all the trouble started.

I left out the chestnuts (as he suggested). His only problem with the stuffing is its tendency to be too moist. This is not an issue if you burn it to a crisp.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Oh, where to start?

The problem began, I think, with me trying to slow down the turkey. Too late (i.e. the next day) I saw the entry on the NYTimes blog that said you shouldn't do that - the turkey will be fine sitting and waiting for everyone/everything else to catch up. Better to have lukewarm, moist turkey than hot, dry turkey.

I'd hoped to start the veggies and stuffing alongside the turkey, then crank up the oven after it came out to finish them off. But that all went wrong.

Then I forgot to switch off the oven after removing the turkey, so even though they were done (perhaps perfectly) at that point, the veggies and stuffing sat there, overcooking, for the next 20 mins.

The veggies survived, but the stuffing was a travesty of its no doubt delicious self.

But the end result was still edible (mostly, see above), no-one got food poisoning, and only one person apart from Jack saw me have a very tiny meltdown.

Cook, Interrupted

Hey there. Many apologies for being a baaad blogger. Will be back at the end of August, can't wait.

Have a fantastic summer, and in the meantime, here are a few of the things I haven't had time to post.

Rustic Apple Tart
Recipe from foodisluv.















Beet Risotto
Recipe from spoonful of sugar.















Swedish Meatballs
Another great one from foodisluv.

Saturday Spectacular: Chicken Tikka Masala & Onion Kulchas

This was so much fun!

I can't eat garlic (bummer) so Indian food in a restaurant is basically impossible, but until recently it hadn't occurred to me to try making it at home - because I didn't make anything at home, and because Indian food seems, you know, complicated.

Now, to be fair, chicken tikka masala is about as Indian as English muffins are English. In fact, it's much more English than English muffins: it's been called Britain's national dish, and apparently was (possibly) invented in Glasgow. Not that Glasgow's English, of course. OK, I'll shut up now, I've even confused myself.

Let's just get to the recipe, which I found via Chaos in the Kitchen.

This brings me to one of the best things about the world o' food blogs. You click on a link and - whoooaaaa - you fly through a portal, but instead of landing on the side of the Jersey Turnpike you find yourself in the middle of Big Sky Country, in a huge farmhouse kitchen, where a (rather cute) tatooed pastor (?!) is cooking a curry. He mentions naan, and before you know what's happening, you're deep in another site surrounded by rotis, and saags, and dals, and channas...

Anyway, back to dinner - it was really amazing. Though a lot of work for a (very slow) newbie. Started the kulcha dough at about 5:30pm, and sat down to dinner at 8pm. And that was with the help of my trusty assistant, who broiled the chicken and took care of the turmeric rice, while I did the sauce and the onion kulchas.

There was minimal bickering, even though we were tired and hungry, because we could tell that something special was coming together. It was totally worth it, and highly recommended.

The Recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala
From guest poster Pastor Ryan on Pioneer Woman Cooks.

The Recipe: Onion Kulchas
From ChefInYou. These were dreamy - a must-try. Easier than naan, because they just use baking powder & soda instead of yeast. But I still want to try naan, and will come back here for a recipe - it's a great resource, stuffed with good things that seem very doable.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Chicken Tikka Masala:

• Followed Katie at Chaos's suggestion re using half-and-half instead of cream, and in future might use half a cup less (oooh, the abstemiousness!)
• Also held back on the salt, with no ill effects
• But did use the full amount of Garam Masala, even though it seemed like a lot - it was perfect
• Watch out for turmeric - it stains!!

Onion Kulchas:

• Sauteed the onion for the filling, as really hate raw onion, and wasn't confident it would cook enough otherwise, but maybe this wasn't necessary
• Cooked them on the stove-top, like the tortillas (the whole process is very similar, actually)
• Mine weren't round, but apart from that seemed good - fluffy, with a fabulous combination of tastes tucked inside. Though haven't eaten one before, so they may have been all wrong

Pix

It was dark! So just snatched a couple of the leftovers today...

Apricot Chicken

A pretty tasty weeknight dinner, with only a small amount of swearing.

The Recipe: Seared Chicken with Apricot Sauce
From Eating Well.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

We didn't have canola oil, so used olive oil instead. This was probably not good, as I think (correct me) that canola oil has a higher smoke point. And maybe my flame was too high. Anyhoo, by the time I'd done the second batch of chicken, there was some significant smokiness in our kitchen, and lots of black stuff in the pan. That really didn't look very tasty. So I switched to a different pan before the last lot of chicken was totally done, and managed to get a little bit of fond out of it. Not a total disaster.

Also, I dialed back the preserves a bit, thinking it might be too sweet. But those apricots were surprisingly tart! So would recommend sticking with what the recipe suggests.

Pix

There's fond... and there's soot...















Half-way through Step 3 (in fresh pan):















Sauce done:















On plate (terrible pic, sorry!):

Lemon Tarragon Chicken

The chicken breasts we got yesterday seem to have been from some mutant bird the size of an albatross (even though, supposedly, they were organic - go figure). So we split them between yesterday and today.

So, chicken again.

This is another simple dish with a truly delicious sauce. (It doesn't count as part of the resolution, as first made it sometime last year.)

The Recipe: Lemon Tarragon Chicken
From Dairy Diary Hearty & Healthy

• 4 x 4oz (110g) chicken breasts
• 1 lemon, grated zest and 2 tbspn juice
• 4 tspn olive oil
• 1 tbspn chopped fresh tarragon [or about 1.5 tspn dried]
• 3 fl oz (90ml) dry white wine
• 4 tbspn half-fat creme fraiche [we can only get full fat]

Serves 4.

1. Remove any sinews from the chicken breasts, then cut them in half horizontally. In a non-metallic dish mix together the lemon juice, 2 tspns of the oil, and the tarragon. [I add the lemon zest here too - did this initially by mistake, but like it this way.] Add the chicken breasts, making sure they are coated in the marinade, and refrigerate for 20-30 mins.

2. Heat a large saute pan. Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook over a medium heat for about 5 mins. Turn, and cook for another 4 mins, or until done (don't overcook).

3. Remove cooked chicken from pan and keep warm on a plate. Pour the wine into the hot pan, reduce it by about half, and then, over a low heat, whisk in the creme fraiche.

4. Serve the chicken on hot plates, with potatoes & green beans. Spoon the sauce on top, and sprinkle with lemon zest and a few more chopped tarragon leaves.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Managed to overcook the chicken, in spite of warning, but apart from that it was great.

They suggest serving with new potatoes slightly crushed (rather than mashed) with chopped spring onions - sounds nice, but we didn't do it.

Just thinking about it now, the creme fraiche does make quite a contribution to the flavor of the sauce. Creme fraiche is one of those things that's completely commonplace in UK and a specialty item here, sorry. It would be worth trying to hunt it down for this, but it is a bit pricey. Or you could probably try regular cream instead, and let me know how it turns out [update: a friend actually did try it with cream and it curdled - so much for that idea! sorry!]. Or... you could even make it yourself, apparently!

Pix

Another bad pic (the garnish is particularly sad-looking):

Chicken Saute with Apples & Leeks

A couple of quick chicken posts.

This one was from Eating Well. It sounded nice and, actually, it was.

Served it with mashed sweet potato (or was it a yam?), a recommended combination.

The Recipe: Chicken Saute with Apples & Leeks
From Eating Well

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

In the comments a couple of people complained it was bland. I didn't find that - actually, it was a bit tart. I'd bump up the sugar a little, and also saute the apples (as with the Pork Chop with Apple & Red Onion Chutney recipe), rather than adding them at the end.

The sauce is liquidy, as someone said, but we didn't really mind that. Not sure what to do about it anyway (suggestions gratefully received).

Pix

Step 3 (blurry):















Truly terrible pic of finished product plonked on plate - a visual disaster, sorry:

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

This is another pre-resolution recipe. Like the pork chops & apple chutney recipe, it's from a very useful little book called called Quick Food: Easy Everyday Ideas for Busy Cooks.

The sauce was always good - plate-licking good, in fact. And now I've actually heard of fond and deglazing, and thus no longer make the mistake of using a non-stick pan, it's even better.

They suggest serving with green beans and baby yellow squash (we normally just do potatoes).

The Recipe: Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce
From Quick Food: Easy Everyday Ideas for Busy Cooks

4 6oz chicken breasts
2 tbspn vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, crushed [we have to use shallot]
0.25 cup dry white wine
2 tbspn whole-grain mustard
2 tspn chopped fresh thyme [we typically use dry - about half the amount]
1.25 cups whipping cream [we use half & half]

Serves 4

1. Pound each chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap with a mallet or rolling pin until about 0.5 inch thick [don't really like pounding meat, so we just adjust the cooking time].

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat. Cook the chicken breasts for 4-5 mins on each side or until done. Remove and cover with aluminum foil.

3. Add the garlic to the frying pan and cook for 1 min over medium heat, then deglaze with the wine, and add mustard and thyme. Increase the heat to medium-high and pour in the cream. Simmer for 5 mins or until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, then season to taste.

4. Serve, pouring a little [actually, you'll want a lot!] of the sauce over each chicken breast.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Have made this a few times now, so generally manage it without messing anything up.

Pix

Sauce thickening:















On the plate:

Chicken & Chickpea Tagine

And we go right into this week's posting.

This is another one from Mark Bittman at the NY Times, and it was a big hit, really gorgeous. He's right - it is much easier than it seems. Though you do have to concentrate when you're measuring out the spices as it uses so many.

Haven't made anything this exotic before, and it opens up a whole new set of possibilities - I'm pretty limited with ordering things like this in restaurants because they're always made with garlic (can't eat it). So am now thinking to try making some Indian dishes too.

Note: Some veggie people on the blog had made it using root vegetables instead of chicken, which seems like a great idea.

The Recipe

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/recipe-of-the-day-chicken-and-chickpea-tagine/

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Was disobedient in a couple of respects:

• Added at least a cup of water at the beginning - was using a stainless steel pan which tends to stick if you're not super careful, and was sure it would be doomed if I didn't add more liquid. Anyway, it worked out fine.
• Used white meat instead of dark, because it's what we had (about 1lb, cut into small-ish chunks), though maybe should have browned it first?

But did use a real vanilla bean - though looking at the comments on the Times blog, someone raised a question: she just stuck it in there, and so did I, but should we have done something different with it? (e.g. cut it open or something?)

Almost didn't bother with the fresh cilantro, but it was worth it - gave the dish a lift, brought out the other flavors, and looked great too.

As usual, was cautious with the salt (just added a little towards the end) and substituted shallots for the garlic.

We served it with Israeli-style couscous, again because that's what we had on hand, but I think the regular kind would have been a bit nicer.

Pix

End of step 1













About half-way done













On the plate - cilantro looking pretty

Techniques: Handling Chicken Safely (aka Chicken about Chicken)

OK, I live in terror of chicken (e.g. typical quote, from last night: “I hope I didn’t give us salmonella poisoning, because this is too good to throw up”). So was alarmed to come across this note on all the What’s Cooking America chicken recipes a few days ago:

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as food agencies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, advises against washing poultry. Rinsing chicken will not remove or kill much bacteria, and the splashing of water around the sink can spread the bacteria found in raw chicken. Cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit effectively destroys the most common culprits behind food-borne illness."

Crazy, right? But it sounded all too plausible.

However, when it got to last night and I was taking our very over-processed looking chicken breasts out of their individual packages (sigh) they were all slimy and covered in goop. So I washed them. And then freaked out, scrubbing the sink, the counters, the table, the cats, Jack...

Then today did some research and found out, sure enough, the What’s Cooking lady is right:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Washing_Food.pdf

So now we know! But in the goop scenario above, what would you do?

Wow: Mock Game

The last two dishes were nice, but didn’t knock our socks off. This one did. It’s another recipe from the Around Britain Dairy Cookbook (see Cottage Pie entry for details), and it’s a winner. It does take quite a bit of work, though, especially for a beginner, so we won’t be making it every night. Anyway, it’s called “Mock Game,” and makes chicken pretend to be pheasant by braising it in spices and red wine. And apparently it’s from Warwickshire, the area where my family lives.

They suggest serving it with toast spread with redcurrant jelly and chopped parsley, as a “lazy lunch.” A weird definition of lazy in my view. Their alternative, for a more substantial meal, was to do sautéed potatoes and cooked red cabbage, but that seemed totally overwhelming. So it was frozen peas and mashed potatoes for us: perfect. My trusty assistant took care of those, as I was up to my eyeballs in the sauce (a roux – eek!).

The Recipe: Mock Game

(Adapted from the Around Britain Dairy Cookbook)

• 4 skinless chicken breasts
• 8 strips of smoked bacon
• 2 oz. butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 8 fl. oz. red wine
• 10 fl. oz. chicken stock
• Thinly pared rind only of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• Half tsp whole allspice
• Half tsp black peppercorns
• 2-3 cloves
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 oz. all-purpose flour
• Salt & freshly ground pepper

Serves 4

1) Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, beat each chicken breast thinly between two sheets of plastic wrap. Gently stretch out each piece of bacon to the same length as the chicken breasts.

2) Place the chicken breasts skinned side down on a board and season well. Place two bacon rashers on each one, and roll up neatly, starting at the wider end. Tie each parcel with clean string.

3) Heat half of the butter with the olive oil in a large lidded frying pan. Add the parcels and cook gently until lightly browned all over. Remove from pan and set aside.

4) Drain the fat (being careful to keep any residue). Pour the wine into the pan and bring to the boil, stirring and scraping the browned residue from the bottom, then boil gently until the wine is reduced by a third.

5) Add the chicken stock, lemon rind, redcurrant jelly, allspice, peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves. Return the chicken to the pan and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat and cover the surface closely with greaseproof paper. Cover with lid and cook gently for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked. [I turned the parcels over half-way through. Also, you’ll need to get your mashed potatoes going now.]

6) When the chicken is done, remove the parcels onto a plate, remove string, cover, and keep warm. [Put your peas on now too.]

7) Strain the wine mixture into a measuring jug.

8) Make the sauce: Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan, then add the flour and blend together to make a paste. Gradually add the wine mixture, whisking all the time. Reduce the heat and simmer gently while preparing toast [or mashed potatoes and peas]. Pour the sauce over the parcels and serve. [They actually made a paste of the flour and butter, gradually added it into the sauce in the pan, whisking, then strained it afterwards. But we don't have a strainer, and I couldn't imagine that method working without one, so made a roux sauce the traditional way - learned via a fish pie recipe in January.]

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Completely delicious, and fancy enough for a dinner party. But a bit stressful (whacking the chicken breasts, the sauce), and there was a ton of washing up.

Pix

Parcels cooking

The finished item, not very artfully arranged

Cross-section of parcel