New Awesome Chicken Recipe!

Sarah Carey from Martha Stewart Everyday Food is fantastic!  I love her ideas and cooking tips.  This is her latest everyday chicken recipe - One Pot Chicken, Rice & Swiss Chard.  I cooked it last night and it was a big hit!  Who would've thought that my kids would like Swiss Chard?*  

Click here to see the video that shows how Sarah puts everything together.  I substituted 1 cup of uncooked orzo for the 1 1/2 cups of rice and that worked out very well.  Oh, and I kind of burned the onions a little bit, but that didn't matter and nobody noticed once the dish was finished cooking.  This recipe is very forgiving!

*Little Man and Sweet Pea liked the leaves, but did not care for the stems, even though they were a very pretty red.  The kids enjoyed examining the raw leaves before, during, and after the meal as well.

Slow and Easy Wins the Race

I did it!  I finally broke down and bought a slow cooker!  Then I checked out a bunch of cookbooks and found, much to my chagrin, that this is NOT one-pot cooking.  In fact, you dirty a lot more pots and pans, because you end up sauteeing everything first, then putting it all into the slow-cooker, then sometimes even sauteeing it all AGAIN!  So why do it?

Well, it is nice to be able to have a warm meal ready and waiting for you when you'd like it.  Sometimes you don't want to cook during that hour right before dinner.  And maybe your family has a particular weakness for very tender meat.

This recipe dirties one pot/pan (I traditionally use one of those Le Creuset dutch ovens for all my pre-slow-cooker cooking), one baking sheet, and then the slow cooker.  You have to cook the stuff again after the slow-cooker part, but I just used the same pan again.  If you line the baking sheet with parchment paper, then the baking sheet doesn't get too messy.  This dinner was a huge hit with everyone in the family and I got 2 dinners out of it!

slow -cooked teriyaki chicken - art of the slow cooker, by andrew schloss

1 T vegetable oil

4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8), bone-in (or you can mix thighs and drumsticks)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T finely grated gingerroot

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 T water

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sherry or apple juice

1 T rice wine vinegar

2 T dark molasses

3 T honey

2 t cornstarch

1 t dark sesame oil

2 scallions, trimmed and cut into thin slices

heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. brown the chicken thighs in batches on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, then transfer to a 5 - 6 quart slow cooker. 

add the garlic and ginger to the skillet and cook over med-high heat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. add the 1/4 cup of water and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. add the soy sauce, sherry/apple juice, rice wine vinegar, molasses, and honey and stir to blend. pour over the chicken, cover the cooker, and cook on high for 2 -3 hours, until the chicken is cooked through. 

preheat the broiler to high.  remove the chicken to a rimmed baking tray lined with parchment paper and broil for 2 minutes on each side.  while the chicken is broiling, pour the liquid from the cooker into a skillet. bring to a boil over med-high heat. dissolve the cornstarch in the 1 1/2 T of water, add to the sauce in the skillet, and stir until the sauce is lightly thickened, about 1 minute. arrange the chicken on a platter and spoon the sauce over top. drizzle with sesame oil, and sprinkle with the scallions. 

Ren and Stimpy's Chicken Pot Pie

Ren and Stimpy are a vulgar animated dog and cat duo that had odd adventures in the 90s.  One of their favorite dinner dishes was Chicken Pot Pie, that great childhood classic many of us treasure.  I thought about them traveling in their space ship as I was making this dish and sure enough, after I served it to my family, Major Obvious thanked me in his best grating Ren voice, "Thank you for my Cheeeckin Pot Pie."

Pie Crust
(Pate Brisee recipe from Martha Stewart Living)
Ingredients:
Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
2. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.                   
   
   
   The Pot Pie 
   heavily borrowed from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook
   
   
   Ingredients
   6 skinless chicken thigh fillets 
   4 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ in. pieces
   2 zucchini, cut into ½ in. pieces
   1 onion, chopped
   4 T. flour
   1 c. chicken broth
   ¼ c. Cognac
   1 t. dried tarragon
   1 ½ t. salt
   pepper to taste
   a knob of butter and a glug or two of olive oil
   
   pastry for a single crust pie
   milk
   
   Directions
   Lay chicken thighs in a single layer in baking dish. Salt and pepper.  Bake at 350, 20-25 minutes. Let the chicken cool and then cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.
   
   Blanch carrots in boiling water for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and blanch 2 minutes more. Drain.
   
   Warm butter and olive oil in large dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add broth, and whisk until thickened. Stir in Cognac. Cook over low heat until thick. Stir in tarragon, salt, and pepper.
   
   Fold in chicken and vegetables. Pour mixture into deep casserole or soufflé dish. Roll out pastry and place on top of dish. Trim pastry and crimp edges. Brush milk over top of crust. Cut steam vents.
   
   Bake at 400 for approximately 30 minutes.

The Easiest Chicken In The World

Even though I love those recipes with the gigantic picture of a seven-layer chocolate cake iced to perfection, I must confess that I get most excited about the recipes that I use all of the time.  Don't you just get so jazzed when you read a magazine and there's an idea for a quick, easy and tasty dinner?  I think to myself, "Why didn't I think of it before?  Thank you, Mr./Ms. Celebrity Chef!!!"

Nigella Lawson is one of those great cooks who has fabulous ideas that work in the everyday kitchen.  I discovered this methodology of hers and use it once a week.  The beauty of this method is that it is extremely forgiving.  You can use 6-12 drumsticks (or any part of the bird, for that matter).  You can use buttermilk or yogurt (although I've found buttermilk to yield chicken that is more tender).  You can use lots and lots of cumin.  You can substitute honey for maple syrup, or you can omit that part all together.  Usually, I just eyeball everything and scoop it into the bag.  Enjoy!

Buttermilk Chicken Drumsticks

12 chicken drumsticks (approximately 1.25kg/3lbs total weight) 

500ml/17fl oz buttermilk 

60ml/2fl oz canola oil, plus 2 tbsp extra for drizzling 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed 

1 tbsp sea salt or 1½ tsp table salt 

1 tsp ground cumin 

1 tbsp crushed peppercorns or freshly ground pepper (optional)

1 tbsp maple syrup (optional) 

1. Place the chicken drumsticks into a large plastic freezer bag and add the buttermilk and 60ml/2fl oz of canola oil. 

2. Add the lightly crushed garlic cloves to the bag along with the crushed peppercorns and salt. 

3. Sprinkle in the ground cumin and add the maple syrup, then gently squeeze the bag to mix the marinade ingredients together and coat the chicken. 

4. Seal the bag, place it on top of a plate, and leave the chicken to marinate in the fridge, ideally overnight, or out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours. 

5. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. 

6. Take the chicken pieces out of the bag, shaking off the excess marinade, and arrange them in a roasting tin lined with foil.

7. Drizzle over the remaining two tablespoons of oil, then transfer to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, or until golden-brown and completely cooked through.