One chicken, three meals

For my posts in 2014, I thought I would try to give you all some insight into how my food brain works: mainly, how the heck I decide what I'm going to cook on a weekly basis.

It all begins when I get a food craving: one particular week, that craving was for roast chicken (and stuffing and mashed potatoes...instead of the usual turkey I had lamb for Christmas, and I was consequently going into a bit of roasted bird withdrawal).  So I say to myself, "Self, we're going to make a roasted chicken this week."

Now, my absolute favourite roasted chicken recipe of all time is forty clove chicken...because anything that literally involves three bulbs of garlic can't not be absolutely delicious.  Along with adding flavour, the brine helps to keep the meat nice and moist, which means that you're safe to leave it in the oven a little bit longer (ensuring that your roast chicken is cooked and that no one at the table gets food poisoning)....if you want you can increase the cooking time to 25 minutes per pound instead of the typical 20.

I like to add a clove or two of roasted garlic to the mashed potatoes...and I also like to puree some into the gravy.

Since brining the chicken requires buying a bunch of celery, I thought that I had better find a way to use the rest of the bunch (I find that celery goes floppy quite quickly in my fridge, and I absolutely despise wasting food).  My answer: stuffing.

Every family has a slightly different recipe for stuffing, and every child is certain that their mother's is the best.  I am no exception to that rule, and firmly believe that my mother's sausage and raisin stuffing is the benchmark against which all other stuffing recipes should be measured.  The problem with using recipes from our mothers, however, is that moms tend not to really measure ingredients once they've been making something for awhile...and mine is no exception.  So the quantities here suggested are just that, suggestions...feel free to modify the recipe to suit your own taste buds.

Ingredients

-2 stalks celery, chopped

-1 large onion, diced

-1/2 pound pork breakfast sausage (casing removed if using links)

-1 cup raisins

-1 loaf of bread (I personally like sourdough), cubed

-1 or 2 cups of chicken stock (more or less depending on how "wet" you like your stuffing)

-1 or 2 tbsp poultry seasoning 

-salt and pepper to taste

First, brown the sausage in a frying pan.  Add the veggies, and cook until they are beginning to soften.  Combine the vegetable and sausage mixture with the remaining ingredients in a slow cooker; cook on high for 2-3 hours (adding more liquid if necessary/desired).

Doesn't that look delicious?  Don't worry, there are plenty of leftovers...

Once the chicken is roasted and that meal is finished, the next thing to figure out is exactly what to do with the leftovers (of which there are plenty, even once you have put some aside for lunch the next day).  Chicken soup is an obvious solution...and the carcass of a forty clove chicken makes a particularly flavourful stock.  

To make the chicken stock, first pull all the remaining meat off of the bones and put it in the fridge for later.  Then add the chicken bones, all the aromatics (celery, garlic, etc.) that were inside the chicken while it was roasting, one of the bulbs of roasted garlic, one coarsely chopped onion, one coarsely chopped carrot, and one coarsely chopped piece of celery to a large soup pot.  Cover everything with water and bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for an hour or two.  Strain out all the bones and veggies and add salt and pepper to taste, and then you have a deliciously flavourful stock.  At this point it is quite easy to make soup: all you need to do is add the leftover chicken meat (chopped up or shredded into fairly small pieces), some finely chopped carrots and celery, and some noodles (or rice, or pearl barley).

Soup was not was I made, however.  Instead, roasted chicken day 2 involved simply sauteeing the leftover chicken with the leftover gravy and serving it over the leftover stuffing I had warmed up in the oven...I had better plans for the stock.

Since the stock that this chicken makes is so strongly flavoured, I decided to use it to make a delicious risotto.

I've talked about risotto one this blog once before, but I cannot stress the deliciousness of this creamy rice dish.  Sure it's involved and you have to spend basically the entire cooking time standing at the stove and stirring...but the results are worth it.

Ingredients

-1 tbsp olive oil, divided

-cremini mushrooms, sliced

-small onion, diced

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-2 cups arborio rice

-1/2 cup dry white wine

-6 to 8 cups of chicken stock

-1/2 cup grated parmesan

-1 cup frozen peas

In a medium sized pot, bring the chicken stock to a gentle simmer.

First (using half of the olive oil), saute the mushrooms in a large, heavy bottom pot.  Set aside.

In the same pot (over medium heat), use the remaining oil and saute the onions and garlic until they just begin to soften.  Add the rice and mix well.  Cook for about 2 minutes.

Turn down the heat slightly, and add the white wine, stirring until the liquid is almost absorbed.  Add the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring until the liquid is fully absorbed.  Continue that process (add liquid, stir until absorbed) until the rice is al dente (tender, yet still firm...but not crunchy)...the process should take 20 to 30 minutes (but don't panic if it takes longer).

Stir in the parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and frozen peas; mix well.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.

"Vegetarian"...full of vegetables, though it uses chicken stock as the base.  Could easily be made truly vegetarian if vegetable stock were used instead, though that would change the flavour.  You could even add some shredded leftover roasted chicken to make it a truly balanced meal...

The rich, roasted garlic flavour of the stock comes through in the rice, and marries quite well with the roasted mushrooms and parmesan.  The green peas give a burst of freshness (and a much needed serving of veggies)....serve with a salad and a glass of the white wine that you used in the recipe.  Enjoy!!

Everything's better with bacon

Bacon has been a food trend for some time now...it pops up in the expected places (with fish, for example) as well as the unexpected ones (candied...or in a brownie).

So what's the big deal?  Why is everything better with bacon?  The answer is surprisingly straightforward: bacon contains both salt and fat, and these both make food taste better.

The reasons for the role of fat in this are fairly simple: things that are fatty contain many calories, and we need calories to survive.  Therefore we are, in essence, biologically programmed to enjoy fatty foods (much to the chagrin of anyone attempting to diet).  This also explains why, as Julia Child famously said, everything is better with butter (again....fat).

The deliciousness of salt is a slightly more complicated matter...because it's not simply that salt itself is delicious, but rather that it makes other things taste better.  The reasons for this are varied and complicated, but the gist of the idea is that salt "wakes up" our tastebuds and helps us experience the full flavours of food.

(For those of you, like me, who may like to watch the odd cooking show or six...this is why the word "underseasoned" is the kiss of death: when something is underseasoned it usually means that there is not enough salt, meaning that the flavours just don't pop as much as they should.)

(If you want to know more about why salt does the things that it does, check out this link...)

All that being said...there's a good reason why people love bacon as much as they do.  It adds salt and fat to the meal...as well as that undeniable "cured pork" flavour, with just a hint of smokiness.  

Here are two ways that you can put more bacon on your plate.....

#1- Prosciutto wrapped chicken

Prosciutto is an Italian dry-cured pork product similar in nature to bacon, but not as fatty...which makes it perfect for wrapping around things.

(The problem with wrapping other meats in bacon being that the meat on the inside often overcooks before the bacon has become beautifully crispy...making the timing difficult.)

It's a super easy process: simply take the chicken, and wrap some prosciutto around it.  Then bake in a 400 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes (or until the chicken is done).  Or, for something a little fancier, wrap the prosciutto around a stuffed chicken breast...

This chicken breasts were stuffed with provolone cheese and just a little bit of pesto...makes it a bit of an inside out chicken cordon blue.  Yum.....

#2- Bacon and Egg Udon 

The original recipe that I used for this (from Fine Cooking) called for 225g of bacon...but I find that you don't need that much.  Adding some chicken would be a great way to bulk up this soup if you don't find it filling...you could cut the chicken into strips and poach it in the broth before adding the noodles.

You will need...

-eggs (1 or 2 per bowl of soup, really depends on your personal preference)

-4 to 6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

-a bunch of green onions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 tsp chili garlic sauce (or Sriracha...something to give the broth some heat)

-1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

-4 cups chicken broth

-1 cup water

-2 tbsp soy sauce

-udon noodles or, as the original recipe suggested, ramen noodles (discard the flavour packs if using the Sapporo Ichiban or Mr. Noodles variety)

-baby spinach (as much as you want...kale would also be delicious)

First: poach the eggs and transfer them to a plate (set aside for later).

Cook the bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until just browned and crispy.  Carefully pour off most of the bacon grease, reserving about 2tsp (and leaving all of the bacon in the pan).  Add the green onions, garlic, ginger, and chili sauce.  Cook, stirring constantly, for -2 minutes (until the garlic begins to brown).  Add the chicken broth, water, and soy sauce; bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (where are the salty bacon flavour is).  Add the noodles and cook until they are done (2-3 minutes).

Put some baby spinach in the bottom of two deep soup bowls.  Divide the udon and broth among the bowls, and top with the poached eggs.

A Sunday Roast

Since my boyfriend moved in I've been looking for ways to help him feel at home, and a good number of those ways involve food.  It's a Kiwi tradition of sorts to have a roast on Sunday night; so this weekend, I decided to roast a chicken.

About six months ago I came across a recipe that required me to flatten a chicken before roasting it, and I haven't looked back.  Cooking the chicken this way has two advantages: first, it allows the meat to cook more evenly (preventing the breasts from drying out), and second, it makes it easier to get all of the skin nice and crispy (and we all know that crispy chicken skin is the best part).

To flatten the chicken I like to cut out the entire spine/neck using scissors (cut as close to the spine as you can so that you don't lose any beautiful leg meat).  Then you just need to slice down the breastbone a touch so that you can open the chicken up like a book.  Tuck the wings behind the head (if you can, this particular chicken wasn't all that flexible), and smother with butter and herbs to add extra flavour.

Any herb will do, though rosemary and thyme are natural choices for chicken.

Roast the chicken at 425 degrees F.  You'll want to roast it breast side down for the first 15 minutes; then pull it out, flip it over, and cook for another 45 minutes or so (until the breast meat is cooked and the juices run clear).  When I flip the bird I like to add a strongly flavoured sausage to the pan (hot Italian or merguez)...then I can baste the chicken with the sausage drippings (every 15 minutes) to add even more flavour/crispiness to the skin.

Since a roast chicken is no good without gravy it's important to make some of that as well.  To make mine I started by browning some crumbled sausage (the same kind I used to baste the chicken) with an onion; I then deglazed the pan with a little white wine, added some water, and simmered the mixture (along with the spine that I removed from the chicken) for about 40 minutes before blending with my handy (ha!) hand blender (make sure to remove the spine from the pot first).  I used this as the base for my gravy...adding a slurry of flour and water, and simmering until I got the right consistency (add salt and pepper to taste).

Sides for such a dinner are simple: mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli.  Served with a glass of the wine that I used to deglaze the pan when making the gravy.....

And the sausages (Merguez) too, of course.

Camping in style

My favourite part of camping, hands down, is roasting sausages and marshmallows over a fire.  But there is a limit to the number of sausages that I can eat over a weekend, and these gaps in the menu need to be filled with some other kind of food.

So I did what seemed obvious: I roasted a chicken.

Seriously, over a campfire.

If my time in Girl Guides taught me anything, it was that you did not necessarily have to compromise when it came to the food that you ate while camping.  It's actually quite easy to turn your campfire into an ovenlike device...all you need is a roll of tinfoil.

But before I get there....allow me to talk a little more about the chicken itself.

My initial idea was to cook the chicken beer can style, that is, with a can of beer shoved up it's butt.  After some careful research, however, I discovered that this wasn't really the best method to use: according to one obsessive compulsive engineer the beer in the can imparts very little in terms of flavour, which to me would be the entire point of this particular cooking method.

Since the boyfriend loves beer, and since I want to get as much beer flavour into the chicken as possible I decided to go the route of a brine.  Brining basically involves soaking in a solution of salt (and other things)...it gives the chicken extra flavour, and helps to keep it moist while it cooks (important as I was going to be cooking this bird for an as yet undetermined amount of time over a campfire of unknown temperature).

All you need in a brine is liquid (typically water), salt, sugar, and any other seasonings (vegetables, herbs, etc) that you desire.  I used the following ingredients, which could easily be swapped out for something that you like a little more.....

-750 ml beer (I chose a strong brown ale)
-750 ml water (giving 1.5 litres of liquid total)
-1/4 cup salt
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 onion, quartered
-1 carrot, roughly chopped
-1 bay leaf

To make the brine, combine all of the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil (this is what gets the carrot, onion, and bay leaf flavour into the liquid).  Once the liquid is boiling remove it from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Note: cooling to room temperature is very important!  Raw chicken + still-warm brine = bacteria farm!

Once the liquid has cooled pour it over the chicken (so that it is covered).  If you don't have enough brine to completely cover the chicken that's fine...in cases like these I like to keep the bird breast side down (since there isn't a ton of meat on the back).  Refrigerate and soak overnight (ideally) or for 1 hour per pound of meat (if you're strapped for time).

For even more flavour (and to encourage a crispy skin) I also used a spice rub made up of sugar, salt, black pepper, and chili powder.

When it came to cooking the chicken I decided to invest in a vertical chicken roaster, which would allow my chicken to stand up on the grill over the campfire.

I chose the vertical method because of the campfire: roasting horizontally (in a roasting pan) would have resulted in the back side of the chicken cooking far faster than the front.  With this method the lower part of the chicken (legs and thighs...closer to the fire) cooks a little faster than the top (breasts and wings) which is actually quite perfect given that legs and thighs typically take a little longer to cook all the way through (and are less likely to go dry if they are overcooked).

No matter which way you decide to roast your chicken (vertically or in a roasting pan), the key to the process is not letting too much heat escape (the logic behind closed oven door or lids on the roasting pans).  Since campfires typically do not come with a cover I had to get creative with a roll of tin foil.  I used two fairly long pieces to create a tent over the bird, and weighed the ends down with logs.  As soon as the second piece of foil was in place the bird began to sizzle...

I gave my chicken about 90 minutes to roast (since the last thing you want to do while camping is consume raw poultry).  The general rule of thumb is about "20 minutes per pound" (some recommend adding an additional 15 to 20 minutes on top of that number), but regardless of how long your bird has been on for you will want to check the temperature (should read 165 degrees F) or even cut into the breast or thigh (meat should no longer be pink and juices should run clear).

I'm pretty proud of my chicken.  The brine definitely imparted some beer and garlic flavour into the meat, and helped the bird stay nice and juicy.  Served with corn (also cooked on the fire) and a baguette...this meal will definitely make it back onto next year's camping menu!

I served the chicken sitting on the stand...it was just me and the boy so there was no need to be polite: we tore pieces of meat straight off the bones.  Messy, but delicious!

Simple, delicious, and just a little bit fancy

It's always tempting to take the easy way out when preparing weeknight dinners, but sometimes it's worth it to do something just a little bit fancy.  Here's an idea: stuffed chicken.  All it takes is three simple steps.....

Step 1: Behold, the chicken!

Trim any excess bits off of your boneless, skinless chicken breast.  Then, hold the knife horizontally and slice the chicken in half almost (but not!) all the way through.

The breast should open like a book with the long (straighter) side as the spine.

Step 2: Stuff!

You can basically stuff a chicken breast with whatever you want, but regardless of what you choose I recommend incorporating some kind of cheese.  Some stuffings will require a bit of pre-cooking: spinach, for example, should be wilted, and onions are better caramelized.  On this particular evening I chose to stuff mine with spinach (wilted with a little bit of white wine) and goat cheese.  The instructions are the same regardless of the stuffing you choose: put a healthy spoonful of it on the larger side of the "chicken book" and then close (you can use a little flour to seal the edges together).

Other great stuffings include leeks, sun dried tomatoes, ham, and just about any cheese you can think of.

At this point you can either proceed to step three, or you can refrigerate your stuffed chicken breast for up to 24 hours...making this a great recipe for nights that you have people over.  They go straight from the fridge to the oven, just add an extra 5 minutes onto the cooking time.

Step 3: Roast

Place the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet (or other suitable roasting vehicle).  Brush the top with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then roast at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear (20-25 minutes if you have gone the make ahead route).

A weeknight meal that looks like a weekend meal.  I served my chicken with a spinach and roasted beet salad.

Comfort for a cold night

When the days are short and cold I find myself wanting to eat things that are warm and comforting.  Unfortunately, most of these recipes involve obnoxious amounts of butter and heavy cream, which is not what I want to eat when I'm trying to avoid putting on winter weight.

Luckily, there are ways to cheat the system and create delicious, comforting meals that you don't have to feel guilty about eating.  In a chicken pot pie, you can give the classic a makeover by packing it full of green veggies and using low fat milk and chicken stock instead of cream.  Also, ditch the thick buttery pie crust and opt for thin sheets of crispy phyllo!

You will need the following...

-about 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
-salt and pepper
-1 tbsp olive oil
-2 leeks, bottom 4 inches only, washed well and chopped
-2 ribs celery, chopped
-2 medium potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 1/2 cups milk
-1/2 cup flour
-2 cups chicken stock
-2 cups frozen peas
-1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
-3 sheets of frozen phyllo dough, thawed

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Then, season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and brown; transfer to a plate.

Heat 1 tsp more oil in the skillet.  Add the leeks and celery and cook until the vegetables begin to soften.  Add the potatoes, garlic, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and stir well to combine.

Add the milk.  Stir the flour into the broth until it is dissolved and add that mixture to the pan.  Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer (stirring every so often) for about 10 minutes.  Stir in the chicken, peas, and thyme.

Now you're ready to put everything into the dishes to bake.  If you have little individual size baking dishes that's ideal, but if you don't this whole mixture should fit comfortably into a 9x13 baking dish.  You won't get that same "pot pie all to yourself" feeling, but it will be just as delicious.

Once you've spooned the mixture into the baking vessel of your choice it's time to cover it with the phyllo.  Cut the sheets to the correct size.  Place one sheet on top of the dish and brush with some olive oil; repeat with all the layers.  Tuck the edges into the rim of the dish, and sprinkle with some parmesan (if desired).  Bake for about 30 minutes...until the filling is bubbling.  Be careful when you take your first bite!

Perfect for when it's cold outside!

Italian food, bachelor style

This holiday season I travelled to Japan to spend some time with my significant other.  It's always a challenge to cook while I'm there, for several reasons....

1) Foreign ingredients are hard to come by, and are expensive when you can find them.

2) My boyfriend has exactly two pots (one large, one small) and one frying pan.

3) No oven.

My boyfriend's kitchen...two burners, a microwave, and a broiler.

The third is probably my biggest challenge, since I love to bake and roast things.  But, as Barney Stinson would say, challenge accepted!!

Since we found ourselves in possession of some beautiful red wine, Italian seemed the way to go. But rather than go for the obvious pasta and sauce, we opted for chicken parmesan.  This is (mostly) a stovetop recipe, and only requires the chicken to be broiled for 2-3 minutes in order to toast the breadcrumbs and melt the cheese.

Required Ingredients
-boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 per person)
-1/4 cup bread crumbs
-1/4 cup grated parmesan
-1/2 tsp dried basil (or 1.5 tsp fresh)
-salt and pepper
-olive oil
-tomato sauce (about 1/4 cup per chicken breast)
-grated mozzarella cheese (1/4 cup per chicken breast)

First, lightly toast the bread crumbs in a skillet.  Transfer to a bowl and let cool; then stir in parmesan cheese and basil.  Set aside.

Then, prepare the chicken.  Cover the breasts with plastic or wax paper, and pound until they are of even thickness.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add chicken and cook 3-4 minutes per side (until cooked through).

Once chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet.  Top with tomato sauce and bread crumb mixture, then broil for 1 minute (until bread crumbs are toasted).  Sprinkle with mozzarella, then return to broiler until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

Then....enjoy!  Great with pasta, salad, garlic toast....or all of the above!!