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Posts from the ‘Poultry’ Category

Mar 2

32 Comments

Retro Recipe Redux-Chicken And Dumplings

Chicken And Dumplings

Chicken And Dumplings

Retro recipes fascinate me and this is one I have been meaning to re-create. Honestly, I never had it growing up but had heard about it and always thought it sounded delicious. When Food52 announced the latest contest, Your Best Cheap Feast, I felt this recipe fit perfectly. Chicken and Dumplings was created sometime during the Great Depression and was a great way to feed a family for very little. You basically have a big pot of chicken soup that you drop biscuit dough in and this creates a thick and hearty stew. I updated the dumplings by adding herbs and lemon zest, this gives another layer of flavor. There was leftovers, both the biscuit dough and the stew and I repurposed by making a couple of pot pies, I added some frozen peas, put in a ramekin and covered it with the dough, this was meal number two. The whole meal cost less than $20 and when broken down it’s less than $5 a person. Good food on the cheap!!

Serves 6-8 depending on serving size

The Chicken And Vegetables:

  • 1 whole chicken approx 3-5 lbs
  • 8-10 cups water (If you happen to have stock you can use that instead of water)
  • 2 carrots peeled and sliced into rounds or at an angle
  • 1 large onion chopped into small pieces
  • 2 stalks celery sliced
  • 1 parsnip peeled and sliced into rounds or at an angle
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Wash the chicken and place in pot or dutch oven, pour in water, season and bring to a boil on high, reduce heat to med/high and low boil until chicken is tender, it takes approximately 1-2 hour. Note: If using water I boiled the chicken for about 2 hours so that the broth is tastier.
  2. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool, pour broth into a container. Add a small amount of olive oil to the bottom of the pot, add the onion and saute until they soften, add the celery, carrot and parsnip and saute until the vegetables begin to soften. The onion will be translucent. Add the broth back in the pot and simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes, just until the vegetables are tender.
  3. While the vegetables are cooking in the broth remove the meat from the chicken, remove the skin also and set aside covered and start the biscuit dough.

The Dumplings And Finishing The Dish:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon + 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening
  • 2 tablespoons cold butter (I used salted but unsalted is fine)
  • 1 tablespoon snipped chives
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 cup milk (whole is preferable but 1 or 2% is fine)
  1. In mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, herbs and lemon zest, cut in the vegetable shortening and butter until it resembles peas. Add the milk and mix just until combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, knead for a minute or two and pat into a disc approximately 1/2 inch thick. I use the smallest biscuit cutter or a cordial glass and cut into small round shapes.
  2. Bring the broth and vegetables to a boil and drop in the dumplings, Don’t over crowd as you don’t want the dumplings to absorb all the liquid (you can always bake the remaining biscuit dough or make pot pies from the leftovers). Boil the dumplings in the broth for approximately 10-15 minutes they will thicken the soup substantially and will partially break down a bit.
  3. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add the chicken and serve. I like to garnish with chopped parsley.
Chicken and dumpling pot pie

Chicken and dumpling pot pie

Feb 23

43 Comments

Chicken And Sausage Paella, A Guest Post-Wine Pairing

Paella

Paella

I am so excited about this post, not just because I have made paella, one of my favorite dishes but because I have collaborated with a wine expert who graciously paired wine specifically for this dish. I contacted Stefano a certified sommelier and asked him if he would lend his expertise, choosing wine that would compliment the paella. He accepted, and I am so pleased to bring you his choices. Stefano is a brilliant photographer and sommelier and his blog Clicks & Corks recently launched. He previously posted with his wife Francesca on her beautiful blog Flora’s Table. I love their posts, the food, wine and photographs are amazing. I enjoy wine, drinking and cooking with it but I am not an expert, I rely on my local wine merchant to help me pick wine based on what and how I cook and drink. I know what I like but ask me to tell you about it and I become verklempt. Clicks & Corks has a wealth of information regarding wine, there is a glossary full of interesting and helpful information. I sent Stefano what I was making along with the ingredients and based on that he was able to choose 2 wines specifically for this dish. My favorite wine purveyor, Brian who owns Gnarly Vines in Brooklyn did not carry the exact wine that Stefano recommended but went above and beyond for me and found both wines, I was thrilled. Here is a link to the ISA guidelines for wine pairing that was posted on Flora’s table, it’s fascinating. I chose to drink the Soave Classico “Calvarino” with the meal and loved it, this wine paired perfectly with the paella, it’s clean and light and very smooth, there is a minerality that is very distinct, I could tell the soil in which the grapes were grown is rich and produces exceptional grapes. The wine complimented the paella so well, the crisp clean white wine offset the richness of the dish. Stefano knows what he is doing when he chose this wine. I haven’t opened the other wine yet but have no doubt that it will also be amazing. This wine will pair perfectly with seafood also, in my non expert opinion.

This paella is pretty simple, I chose to use chicken thighs and sausage and no seafood, it’s easy to make and isn’t as finicky as paella that contains different types of seafood. I love to drizzle it with aioli, now aioli is traditionally made with raw garlic, oil and an acid. Because I am not a fan of raw garlic I roasted it, used both olive and vegetable oil and added saffron building on the flavors in the paella.

Roasted garlic, saffron,lemon aioli

Roasted garlic, saffron,lemon aioli

The Aioli:

  • 3-4 large cloves of garlic (3 if you want it subtle and 4 for stronger garlic flavor)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 2 Egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup Freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
  • Freshly ground white or black pepper
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil (Canola works well)minus 2 tbs
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbs olive oil.
  • A generous pinch of saffron
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, while oven is heating peel 4 large cloves of garlic place on aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil and make a packet. Place on sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes or until garlic is soft.
  2. Let garlic cool, while it’s cooling squeeze and zest the lemons. Add the generous pinch of saffron to the lemon juice and let sit for approx. 10-15 minutes the lemon juice will turn a lovely vibrant yellow.
  3. In your blender place the garlic cloves,egg yolks, lemon juice w/saffron, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Blend until garlic is completely incorporated it doesn’t take long as the garlic is soft.
  4. With blender running, slowly add the oil, the mixture will become thick. Adjust seasoning if you desire. Refrigerate while you make the Paella. This can be made in advance it keeps for 2-3 days in refrigerator.

Paella with saffron rice:

  • 3 cups long grain white rice
  • 6 cups chicken stock to cook the rice heated.
  • 1 small sweet onion chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil + plus more for chicken and tomatoes
  • 6 chicken thighs (bone in and skin on)
  • 1/2 pound Italian sausage (sweet or hot)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1/14 cup chicken stock for paella
  • A generous pinch of saffron for the rice.
  • 12 cherry or grape tomatoes
  1. First make the saffron rice. Heat the olive oil and butter in large saucepan, add onion and cook until soft and translucent, add the rice and stir to coat. Add the saffron to the heated stock and add to the rice, let it come to a boil, reduce heat, cover pan and let cook for approx. 15 minutes. Remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Set the rice aside.
  2. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and place in baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and bake in 450 degree oven for 20 30 minutes. Don’t discard the pan juices, pour some onto the rice when you are putting the paella together.
  3. Reduce oven temp to 375 degree’s, lay a piece of parchment on baking sheet and place tomatoes on parchment, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until tomatoes become soft and start to caramelize. It takes approximately 15- 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
  4. Heat a fry pan(use the large pan you will use for the paella) coated with a little olive oil and brown the sausages. Remove from the pan and set aside covered. Don’t drain the oil (it won’t be much) or pan juices you will use this same pan to cook the paella). Slice sausage just before assembling the paella.
  5.  If you have a paella pan thats wonderful but if you are like me and do not use a large (14″) fry pan with a lid. Using the same fry pan you used for the sausage, turn flame to medium/high. Add the saffron rice and peas mix to incorporate the peas with the rice, then start layering. Add the chicken thighs and sausage.  Pour the 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock over the paella, spoon some of the pan juices from the chicken on top cover and cook for 15 minutes, approximately 3 minutes before its done add the tomatoes, put the lid back on and cook for the remaining time.  Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped parsley and drizzle with the aioli.
Fantastico!!

Fantastico!!

Wine Pairing:

By Stefano Crosio-Clicks & Corks

In order to pair well with Suzanne’s delicious paella, the wines that we are going to pick need to have good acidity, a good extent of smoothness, quite intense nose-mouth flavors and decent structure, as in a medium to full bodied wine. The reason why these characteristics (and not others) are desirable to achieve a pleasant food-wine pairing is the result of application of the wine pairing criteria codified by the Italian Sommellier Association, which I will discuss in a future post on Flora’s Table.

Based on the above guidelines, I am going to recommend two wines that I have recently tasted at the Vinitaly/Slow Wine trade fair in New York: they both possess the desired characteristics to be good companions to Suzanne’s paella and they both have particularly impressed me when I tasted them. Clearly, these two wines are by no means the only ones that go well with Suzanne’s paella! However, on the one hand their descriptions, coupled with the general guidelines provided above, should point you in the right direction should you wish to consider different alternatives and, on the other hand, if you are going to give either or both of these wines a try, they might introduce some of you to two Italian wines that are maybe not so “mainstream” or widely known in the US market and that yet are excellent and showcase the treasure chest of indigenous grape varieties that constitute the backbone of centuries of Italy’s wine culture.

I will now leave you with my tasting notes for the two recommended wines, plus the certainty that you will enjoy Suzanne’s delicious paella dish and the hope you will get to drink some good wine with it!  🙂
 
Option 1: Soave Classico, from the Veneto region
 
Pieropan [http://www.pieropan.it/en/], Soave Classico “Calvarino” 2010 DOC: a very good Soave made of a blend of 70% Garganega and 30% Trebbiano di Soave grapes which literally hits you in the nose with an exhuberant minerality and aromas of apple, citrus and white flowers; in the mouth a lively acidity and distinct minerality are balanced by a good extent of smoothness – long finish. ABV: 12.5% VOL. If interested, here [http://www.pieropan.it/en/index.php?id=73] is the winery’s technical sheet for this wine. Retails in the US for about $28.
 
Grape varieties’ quick facts: Garganega is a grape variety that is indigenous to the Veneto region, where it has been cultivated since at least the XIII century. Wines made of Garganega grapes are generally acidic and spicy.For more information about the Trebbiano di Soave grape variety, please refer to the quick facts about Verdicchio in option 2 below.
Option 2: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, from the Marche region
Marotti Campi [http://www.marotticampi.it/index.php?var=], Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico “Salmariano” Riserva 2009 DOC: a very good varietal wine made of 100% Verdicchio grapes, with a nice bouquet of white flowers, peach, citrus and minerals; good acidity and a long finish. ABV: 14% VOL. If interested, here [http://www.marotticampi.it/catalogo-vini.php?var=tab7] is the winery’s technical sheet for this wine. Retails in the US for about $20.
 
Grape variety’s quick facts: Verdicchio grapes are also known as Verdicchio Bianco, a grape variety which, although it has been cultivated in the Marche region since the XVI century, was said to originate from Veneto. It is interesting to notice that DNA profiling has confirmed this theory, indicating that Verdicchio as a grape variety is identical to Trebbiano di Soave, a grape variety that is widely planted in Veneto and that we have just come across describing the wine in option 1. Verdicchio wines tend to have marked acidity and good structure.
 

Nov 15

22 Comments

Butter And Herb Roast Turkey

I submitted this recipe on Food52 and it was chosen as a community pick, the food52 recipe testers made my recipe and their amazing photographer James Ransom took a photo. I am waiting for permission to use the photo, mine is not very good, so to see the turkey just click on the food52 link.

When I am preparing the Thanksgiving meal I am constantly doing something, and being chained to the stove having to baste a turkey just doesn’t fit into my schedule, I used to do it and sometimes forgot and the turkey was well, dry. My Mom aways used those big black and white speckled roasting pans so I decided to buy one and roast my turkey in the pan. They are made by Granitware and really are a revelation.I use the large rectangular roaster it will roast a large turkey up to 25 lbs.  Since using this pan I have always had a perfectly cooked turkey, moist and tender and copious amounts of pan juices for gravy and the best thing about this is that there is no basting required during the majority of the cooking time,it is basted only once just before you brown the skin. The turkey is roasted on a lowish heat 325 degrees covered with the lid, in essence it steams in the pan, because the heat is trapped in the pan it cooks much faster shaving about an hour or more off total cooking time. When the turkey is almost done I crank up the heat, remove the lid and brown the skin so it’s that beautiful golden brown and crisp.

For added flavor and moisture I make a compound butter and carefully place under the skin primarily on the breast, the flavorful butter melts into the bird, believe me it’s delicious and your  pan drippings are beautifully flavored and make the most wonderful gravy. The recipe for gravy will be a separate post.

Graniteware pans are very inexpensive about $30 for the largest pan and they last forever. My Mom’s pan is over 40 years old, and she still uses it.  I am not employed by graniteware nor am I being paid to extol the virtues of the pan, this is me saying I like it. If you don’t have or don’t want to purchase a graniteware pan you can use this cooking method with any roasting pan and some aluminum foil, just make sure you tightly cover the pan so that steam builds inside and doesn’t escape.

Serves 10 or more

Compound butter:

  • 16 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature (2 sticks)
  • 1 crushed garlic clove
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves removed
  • 3 chopped fresh sage
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  1. Crush garlic with mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt.
  2. Remove the leaves of thyme from the stalk, add thyme and sage and lemon zest and crush it all together.
  3. In small mixing bowl, add the softened butter and garlic and herb mixture mix together.
  4. If you are going to insert the turkey right away, don’t refrigerate — if not, roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before you add to the turkey.

Turkey:

  • 1 18-20 pound turkey
  • Compound butter
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. Put turkey on work surface and make sure it’s clean and dry. Insert fingers under skin to loosen the skin from the breast meat. Work slowly so you don’t tear the skin.
  3. Spread a generous amount of the compound butter under the skin on both sides of the breast. (Reserve a small amount of the compound butter to baste the turkey when you brown the skin.)
  4. Using butchers twine, bind the legs together and place the turkey on a rack in your roasting pan.
  5. Rub the turkey with some olive oil and generously salt and pepper the entire turkey. (I like to do this the night before baking refrigerating overnight, if you do this let sit at room temperature for an hour before placing in the oven). Place lid on pan and put into the oven. No basting required!
  6. After 3 hours, check the internal temperature of your turkey by inserting a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. When it has reached an internal temperature of 150°F, remove from the oven, and brush the turkey with the remaining compound butter. Crank up the oven to 450°F. Put back in the oven without the lid and let it roast until the skin is a nice golden brown. The internal temperature should be 160°F when you remove from the oven. Total cooking time for an 18-20 pound turkey is 4-4 1/2 hours approximately. Let turkey rest for at least 30 minutes tented with foil and final temperature should be 165°F-170°F.
  7. Note: If you don’t have a roaster with a lid just tent with aluminum foil, making sure its sealed well around the pan.

May 15

16 Comments

Jerk Chicken Kebobs -I am a Whole Foods Finalist!!

Jerk Chicken Kebob

I just found out that my recipe is a finalist at Whole Foods in Boulder. If you don’t mind voting for my recipe I would really appreciate it. I am so excited and thankful that Whole Foods picked my recipe. Here is the link to Whole Foods Boulder Thank you so much everyone!!

Serves 4-6 depending on serving size

Jerk Sauce

1 scotch bonnet pepper chopped (for less intense heat remove seeds)

2 jalapeno peppers chopped

1 tbs fresh thyme

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp jamaican allspice (whole)

3 tbs packed brown sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp powdered ginger

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

zest of one lime

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 lbs chicken breast and thigh meat cut into chunks

Chop your peppers (remove seeds if desired) In mortar smash the jamaican allspice. Add everything to blender and blend until everything is incorporated. To a large ziplock bag add the chicken and enough of the jerk sauce to completely cover the chicken. Smash it around in the bag so that the sauce covers every piece of chicken, Refrigerate at least 4 hours, overnight is even better.

To grill the chicken you will need enough skewers, if using bamboo make sure to soak in water for a few hours before using them. Skewer your marinaded chicken and grill,  basting with the remaining jerk sauce while they are grilling. You can grill either outdoors on the BBQ or pan grill (I highly recommend outdoor grilling for these. Serve with Caribbean Rice and Peas and enjoy!

Caribbean Rice and Peas

1 cup  dried pigeon peas, cow peas or whatever bean you like, soaked overnight

2 cups water

1/2  medium onion chopped

2 cups long grain white rice

2 cups  unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup water or unsweetened coconut water I use Zico

1 cup reserved water from cooked beans

2  whole jalepeno peppers

salt and pepper to taste

After beans have soaked over night, drain and pour them into a med saucepan add 2 cups of water and cook until beans are tender.Season the beans with salt and pepper. Set them aside along with 1 cup of the water that the beans cooked in, you will need that to cook the rice.

To a large saucepan add a small amount of olive oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan when pan is hot put the chopped onion in and saute until onion is soft and translucent, add rice and cooked beans you judge how much of the beans to add to the rice you don’t want too many beans, stir until rice and onion and beans are combined. Add all the liquid, some salt and pepper to taste and the peppers. Bring to a boil on high flame, cover and reduce heat to med/low and let rice cook until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is done it will take 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat, fluff rice with fork and serve, you can garnish with fresh thyme or cilantro.

Apr 25

6 Comments

Jerk Chicken Kebobs and Caribbean Rice and Peas

Jerk Chicken Kebob

As the weather starts to warm up I’ve got grilling on the mind. I discovered jerk chicken while in Jamaica and it is delicious. When I got home I wanted to try my hand at making it myself so I turned to the internet and found hundreds of different recipes, after pouring over them I took the basic idea and made my own jerk sauce. I love it, its a little sweet, citrusy and spicy. I am the biggest wimp when it comes to heat so I carefully remove the seeds to control the heat. NOTE: Please wear kitchen gloves when working with very hot peppers. I used both chicken breast and thigh meat and instead of grilling on the bone I cut the chicken into chunks and skewered it. The chicken is marinaded in the jerk sauce then brushed with more while its grilling. I like to serve with Caribbean Rice and peas, I totally love this dish. The rice is cooked in coconut milk with whole peppers cooked in with the rice. You can use scotch bonnet if you like and are a lover of heat, I chose to use jalapeno peppers. This is traditionally cooked with pigeon peas, I used cow peas but you can use whatever bean or pea you like.

Serves 4-6 depending on serving size

Jerk Sauce

1 scotch bonnet pepper chopped (for less intense heat remove seeds)

2 jalapeno peppers chopped

1 tbs fresh thyme

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp jamaican allspice (whole)

3 tbs packed brown sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp powdered ginger

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

zest of one lime

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 lbs chicken breast and thigh meat cut into chunks

Chop your peppers (remove seeds if desired) In mortar smash the jamaican allspice. Add everything to blender and blend until everything is incorporated. To a large ziplock bag add the chicken and enough of the jerk sauce to completely cover the chicken. Smash it around in the bag so that the sauce covers every piece of chicken, Refrigerate at least 4 hours, overnight is even better.

To grill the chicken you will need enough skewers, if using bamboo make sure to soak in water for a few hours before using them. Skewer your marinaded chicken and grill,  basting with the remaining jerk sauce while they are grilling. You can grill either outdoors on the BBQ or pan grill (I highly recommend outdoor grilling for these. Serve with Caribbean Rice and Peas and enjoy!

Caribbean Rice and Peas

1 cup  dried pigeon peas, cow peas or whatever bean you like, soaked overnight

2 cups water

1/2  medium onion chopped

2 cups long grain white rice

2 cups  unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup water or unsweetened coconut water I use Zico

1 cup reserved water from cooked beans

2  whole jalepeno peppers

salt and pepper to taste

After beans have soaked over night, drain and pour them into a med saucepan add 2 cups of water and cook until beans are tender.Season the beans with salt and pepper. Set them aside along with 1 cup of the water that the beans cooked in, you will need that to cook the rice.

To a large saucepan add a small amount of olive oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan when pan is hot put the chopped onion in and saute until onion is soft and translucent, add rice and cooked beans you judge how much of the beans to add to the rice you don’t want too many beans, stir until rice and onion and beans are combined. Add all the liquid, some salt and pepper to taste and the peppers. Bring to a boil on high flame, cover and reduce heat to med/low and let rice cook until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is done it will take 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat, fluff rice with fork and serve, you can garnish with fresh thyme or cilantro.

Apr 5

6 Comments

Featured Recipes: Finger-Lickin Finger Lakes Chicken and Some Hard Lemonade

Finger Lakes Chicken photo by wssmom

This is probably one of the most delicious recipes for grilled chicken that I have ever tasted. I made this several times and you know the food is really really good when everyone at the table goes completely silent, not a word, only sometimes you can hear a low mutter almost inaudible, “this is so good”, well thats what happens when I serve this chicken. This is a recipe from one of my good friends on food52, Virginia also known as wssmom (her cooks name on food52), is a fantastically creative cook, take at look at her 72 recipes on food52, her recipe, A Bowl of Red was runnerup in the chili contest as was her New Years Day Fresh Ham in the Best Holiday Roast contest. She manages to make each recipe approachable and absolutely delicious.

I have also included one of her many amazing recipes for drinks. She is an inspired mixologist, this is one of many delicious drinks that she has created. Bobby Flay Inspired Hard Lemonade incorporates the best of summers flavors (lemons and strawberries and packs a punch with some silver rum. Try it you will love it! It’s really pretty too. If you are not in the mood for lemonade, try her Peartini and I will personally attest to the greatness of this drink, she brought it to the Food52 cookbook party. One more, I can’t help it I love her recipes, Kicked up Egg Cream how can you go wrong with a delicious chocolate egg cream with some chocolate liquor.

Serves 4

Fresh Herb Aioli:

1 large organic egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup grapeseed oil

1 minced clove garlic

pinch sea salt

1 cup champagne vinegar (yes, one cup)

1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary sprigs

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano

some more salt

In a suitable bowl, preferably one that won’t spin around, whisk together the egg yolk, lemon juice and garlic. Add the oil a few drops at a time (or have someone do that for you), whisking until it emulsifies. Continue to dribble in the oil, whisking away, until all is incorporated.

Put half the aioli in another bowl, saving the remainder for another use. Whisk in the vinegar, add the herbs and add a tad more salt than you think neccessary, about a teaspoon in my case.

Finger Lakes Chicken:

2 whole organic chicken breasts, split so you have four nice-sized pieces

Freshly ground pepper

Fresh herb aioli

Liberally sprinkle the chicken breasts with freshly ground pepper, put them in a ziplock bag with the aoili, smush so they are covered, and let marinate for at least three hours, or preferably overnight.

Grill, bone side down and covered, over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, then turn and crank up the grill to high to finish, so that the skin gets nice and crispy.

Chill and bring along to your picnic, and serve along with some lovely dry riesling.

Bobby Flay Inspired Hard Lemonade (Inspired by Bobby’s recipe for minted lemonade)

Serves 6

1 1/2 cups sugar

Juice from 10-12 lemons, about 1 1/2 cups

1 pint strawberries

silver rum

3 cups seltzer, chilled

1/2 bunch mint sprigs

Prepare a simple syrup by mixing the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water in a small pan; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve, and let cool.

Stem the strawberries and puree with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the lemon juice. Put through a sieve to remove seeds and errant bits.

In a large, attractive pitcher, combine 3/4 cup simple syrup with the strawberry-lemon puree and the remainder of the lemon juice. Sample and if desired, add more simple syrup to taste.

Add the mint to the pitcher along with the rum (one ounce per serving) and chill in the refrigerator for an hour. Add the cold seltzer and serve over ice. Kick back and enjoy the fourth race!

Mar 7

5 Comments

Feeding a Family on a Budget- Turkey Meatballs in Cream Sauce

I plan on featuring budget friendly recipes every week or two that are substantial enough to feed a family using fresh,natural ingredients. It can be challenging to juggle a full time job and a family and still have time to prepare a meal that everyone can sit down and enjoy. This recipe is my daughters, she has 2 young children ages 7 and 4, works a full time job and manages to put a good meal on the table just about every night. She makes food ahead and freezes it, has come up with recipes that are quick and easy to prepare and are kid friendly. This recipe including the mashed potatoes and collard greens that she served this with cost under $25 for a family of 4, and there were leftovers that she and the husband are taking to work for lunch (love brownbagging it). She uses organic free range turkey meat (we all know that costs more but is so worth it), and organic vegetables and dairy products. Food prices vary depending on where you live, here in NYC it can be a challenge to live within a budget but in tough economic times it’s important to spend wisely. This meal is really simple to put together and incredibly delicious.
Serves: 4 with leftovers
Meatballs:
2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 large or a whole small onion chopped
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 thick slices of bread soaked in milk
salt and pepper to taste
The Sauce:
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbs flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
Heat some olive oil in skillet, saute onions until they are soft. In mixing bowl add the turkey, bread soaked in milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper, when onions are done add to the turkey mixture. Stir to combine all ingredients and form into meatballs. In same skillet fry the meatballs, browning on all sides but don’t cook them through. Remove from skillet, using the same skillet with the drippings add the flour, you are making a roux, stir so that its mixed with the pan drippings and let it cook for about a minute. whisk in the the stock, cream and milk and let it cook so that it thickens.
Place meatballs in baking dish and pour cream sauce over them. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Feb 4

Turkey Burger Parmigiano Slider

Turkey Parmigiano Sliders

This is my daughters recipe, and it’s so tasty and easy to make  I asked her if I could post on my blog. She juggles a full time job, 2 young children and is renovating a new house. Honestly, I don’t know how she does it and still manages to cook a delicious home cooked meal almost every day. Wonder Woman, I think. These little burgers take only minutes to prepare and I think just about everything you need is already either in your freezer, refrigerator or pantry. These are a big hit with kids, and perfect for game day or any day for that matter.

Makes: 8-10 depending on size

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 2 eggs (one to mix into turkey the other to dip the burgers in)
  • small handful parsley chopped
  • 1/4 cup parmigiano + more to sprinkle on burgers before broiling
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • splash of milk to mix with egg for dipping burgers
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella thinly sliced

Mix ground turkey, egg, and parsley, refrigerate while you prepare the bread crumbs. Whisk the egg and milk, mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese season with salt and pepper.

Form turkey into small patties,beat the egg and milk and dip each burger in egg first then bread crumbs.Fry in olive oil until golden brown and cooked through.
Turn oven on broil
Slice your rolls, spoon a little tomato sauce on each side of roll, put a patty on, top with fresh mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmigiano on each side and place in broiler until cheese melts.

Jan 22

4 Comments

Roast Chicken

So delicious!

This method of roasting chicken may not be the norm, I remember my Mother steam roasting a chicken in her black and white speckled graniteware pan and it was always so delicious.  I love  preparing the chicken this way, not only is it delicious but because you allow the chicken to steam undisturbed it’s not necessary to baste often and you are free to do whatever else you have to do.  The meat is tender and juicy and every bite is full of flavor.I stuff the cavity with aromatics, herbs and citrus, you can add what you like.  Essentially, I steam the chicken which locks in the flavor and ensures that the chicken does not dry out and when its almost done remove the lid or foil and brown the skin. Make sure that you let the chicken rest before carving, the juices will re-distribute. When you steam the chicken the juices do not evaporate it also speeds up the cooking time.  Serve with potatoes, (mashed are great) vegetables and you have a delicious comforting meal. The leftovers make an amazing sandwich.

Ingredients:

1 organic chicken (mine weighed 4+ lbs)

1 lemon cut in half (remove visible seeds)

1 shallot (or small onion) peeled and halved

Fresh herbs (I used parsley and thyme)

2 cloves garlic (peeled and left whole)

olive oil to rub on the skin

salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Wash and rinse your chicken and pat dry. Place in roasting pan (on a rack if you have one) and salt the cavity, stuff with the lemon, shallot, garlic and fresh herbs. Rub the skin of the chicken with some olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper generously.  Cover roasting pan either with the lid or with foil making sure its well sealed. Place in the oven and roast undisturbed for 90 minutes for a smaller chicken or larger you will have to adjust the time, if you use a thermometer the internal temperature should be 160-165 before you brown the skin. Take the pan out of the oven, raise the oven temp to 425 degrees, remove the foil or lid, spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken and put it back in the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes,or until the skin is golden brown, about half way through baste again. Remove from the oven check the temperature it should register 170-175, tent with foil and let it rest for 30 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you don’t have a thermometer steaming a chicken (approximately 4 lbs) for an hour and a half is sufficient. It will be almost completely cooked and putting it back in the oven to brown the skin will ensure a fully cooked chicken.

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