Braised Chicken

Now that it is getting colder, I love to have something on cooking slowly in the oven.  Braising is a wonderful technique that is easy to do and has the results of tasting like you spent all day working in the kitchen.  Here is a chicken that I braised with pears and rosemary.  All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking is where I found this recipe.  My favorite braising tip is to put parchment paper under the lid to keep the juices from burning on the top of the pan. 

Here is the recipe:

• 3-4 pound whole chicken
• Salt and pepper
• 3 pears
• 4 Tbsp butter (divided)
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large leek
• 2 shallots
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

First, prepare the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 300.
Rinse the chicken (inside and out) and pat it dry. Remove any large chunks of fat around the neck.
Remove the last two joints of each wing. Season both the inside and outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Quarter the pear and stuff it inside the chicken cavity. Truss the chicken with kitchen string. Bind the drumsticks close to the body and then wrap the string back around the chicken’s body and tie it behind the neck.
Brown the chicken
Heat 1 Tbsp of oil and 2 Tbsp of butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. The butter will foam and then settle down. Pat the chicken dry again and lay it breast side down in the hot pan. Brown the chicken for at least 3-4 minutes and then gently lift it up with wooden spoons to see if it’s browned. If not, let it go another few minutes. You’ll want to carefully turn the chicken so that it browns on all sides. Once the chicken is completely browned, remove it carefully to a plate.
Add any chicken pieces (such as gizzards, heart, neck, and those wing tips you cut off) to the pan and saute them until browned, about 7-10 minutes. Remove those to the plate as well.
Drain the pan of all fat. Turn the heat to medium and add a tablespoon of butter. Now add the leek, shallots, and rosemary sprig, along with some salt and pepper. Cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the wine, turn the heat up to medium-high, and boil for 2 minutes. Add the stock and vinegar and boil for an additional 2 minutes.
Braise the chicken
Carefully lay the chicken on top of the veggies. Tuck the chicken parts in with the vegetables and cover the dish with parchment paper. Cover and slide into the oven. Baste every 20 minutes for about an hour and 20 minutes or until the chicken registers 170 between the breast and thigh on a thermometer.

Moist chicken with sweet and tangy pears

About 10 minutes before you take the chicken out of the oven…
Peel the last two pears, core them, and slice them into 1/2 inch thick slices. Mince the rosemary and set aside. Heat 2 Tbsp of butter over high heat in a large, nonstick skillet  – the largest skillet you have.
Once the butter stops foaming, add the pears and toss to coat. Add the sugar, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring and turning the pears frequently, until the pears have started to caramelize.
Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 30 seconds. The balsamic vinegar will form a glaze that will very quickly thicken. Pull the chicken out of the oven. Using those same wooden spoons (or a meat fork), tip the chicken so any juices inside the cavity run into the Dutch Oven. Set the chicken on a cutting board and cover with foil for a few minutes. Strain most of the vegetables and other chicken parts (wings, heart, etc) out of the pan, keeping all of the juices. Boil the juices over high heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, to thicken.
Serving
Carve the chicken. Top with pears and balsamic glaze, and then spoon some of the pan finished juices over the whole thing.

I have a Le Creuset pan that I've had for years.  One item that I recommend for any pan that you braise in, is a metal knob.   I used one large chicken and I got 6 meals for one out it.  The cost for the meal, $9.00 (I like to buy my meat buy one get one free).  

Gravy Train Braised Chicken and Tamarind Roasted Vegetables

A friend was having surgery and I wanted to make a dinner to bring over for her and her family.  I went with the braised chicken, but they only like the thighs, so I just used them (I still put some pear under the skin).

The chicken is from a previous post Braised Chicken and the veggies are from from The Splendid Table Newsletter.  I love her show on NPR and listen to the pod casts. Here is the recipe:

Tamarind-Spice Glazed Roast of Brussels Sprouts, Onions and Chickpeas

Serves 3 to 4, and doubles easily
10 minutes prep time; 40 minutes oven time
Serve hot, at room temperature, or reheated. The roast keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator.

Tart, slightly sweet and subtly spiced, this is the soft side of Indian spicing. Along with the sweetness of onions, you'll taste the hint of orange that ground coriander always brings, the funkiness of cumin, and the sweet nutlike quality of roasted chickpeas.

Piled in a soup bowl with a finish of tamarind and plain whole-milk yogurt, the roast is a full supper. That touch of tamarind brings up all the other flavors.

Add a scoop of rice to the bowl and that, combined with the chickpeas in the recipe, will give you a complete protein – the same nutrition as eating a chunk of meat, but without the fat.

Cook to Cook: Tamarind tastes of dense, sour dried fruit with a strong sense of citrus and a lingering sweetness. You must try it. You can find tamarind concentrate in Asian, Hispanic, and Mediterranean groceries, and in some supermarkets. The brand we like is Tamcon. Once opened, it keeps for a year in the refrigerator. Tamarind drizzled in whole-milk yogurt is the stuff of dreams.

• 3 large garlic cloves
• 2 tightly-packed tablespoons fresh coriander leaves
• One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 to 3/4 pound Brussels sprouts, quartered
• 1 large or 2 medium red onions, cut into 1/4-inch wide wedges
• 1 tightly-packed cup arugula, curly endive, or spring mix, torn into bite-sized pieces
• One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon Crossover Spice Blend (recipe follows), or a blend of ground coriander, ground cumin, and freshly-ground black pepper
• 1-1/2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate, or 1-1/2 tablespoons lime juice with a little grated zest and 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 4 tablespoons cold-pressed vegetable oil or good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil

Finish:

• 1 to 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (optional)
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves
• 1 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 450°F, and put a large shallow pan on the middle rack (a half-sheet pan is ideal because you don’t want to crowd the vegetables).
2. In a food processor, combine the garlic, fresh coriander leaves, and ginger. Process until chopped fine – don’t puree them.
3. Turn the mix into a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the finishing seasonings. Toss to blend. Carefully turn the mixture out onto the hot pan, spreading the pieces to cover the entire pan. Roast for about 40 minutes, turning often and scraping up the brown glaze from the pan's bottom. Once the peppers are tender, the greens browned, and the chickpeas crisp, the roasting is done. Brussels sprouts may still have some firmness, which is fine.
4. Taste the vegetables for seasoning, then turn them into a serving bowl. If using the tamarind, blend it in. Drop the coriander leaves over the vegetables, and pass the yogurt separately.

Crossover Spice Blend
Makes about 3/4 cup
Keeps for 3 to 4 months in a dark, cool cupboard
There is a trio of spices that easily crosses borders from North Africa to the Middle East, to India, to Mexico: cumin, coriander, and pepper. Make up this foundation blend, then alter where needed as you take it from cuisine to cuisine. For instance, Morocco might demand the addition of sweet paprika, while an Indian recipe could call for more coriander and black pepper, and Mexico more cumin and the addition of ground chiles.

Rub or sprinkle the blend over vegetables and meats when roasting, sauté it into stews and soups, and use it as a finishing spice on salads and grains. Try mixing the blend with an equal amount of brown sugar and rubbing it into meats before placing them on the grill. That same mix offers a new take on grilled fresh pineapple.

Cook to Cook: You can tease even more flavor from Crossover Spice Blend by freshly grinding whole cumin and coriander seeds.

• 1/4 cup ground cumin
• 1/2 cup ground coriander
• 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) freshly-ground black pepper

Blend the spices together in a jar, and seal. Store away from heat and light.

I didn't make the crossover blend, but when I delivered the meal my friends ate the tamarind with the chicken and said it was delicious.

Oh my where did the time go?

So, sorry to have been away.  I started a new job in August and the time has just flow away from me.  Here is a yummy dish I made last week.  The chicken is left-overs from my braised chicken (more on that later).  The grains are from Trader Joe's
Harvest Grains (with Israeli Style Couscous, Orzo, Baby Garbanzo Beans and Red Quinoa.  This was  a quick disk to whip up.  The grains take 10 minutes and beans I just blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes.  This is one of my favorite type of dishes, quick, uses up leftovers and has minimal dishes.

Welcome

Greetings,
I made dinner for my friends Jackie, Brad and Skyler last night, it was a belated birthday present for Jackie. Jackie and I were talking about cooking and food and I mentioned my obsession with trying to not waste food and maximizing my food purchases and she said, start a blog, so here I am. Last night we had a roasted squash and sweet potato soup with herb cream, pot roast with Zinfandel wine, braised carrots and parsnips, swiss chard with lemon and honey, and dessert from Trader's Joe (the tiny apple tarts and the apricot and flan tart). I really liked the carrots and parsnips. The pot roast was good, but I think would have been better if we ate it the day it was cooked. I know that it was cruel to slow cook the pot roast the day before, fill the apartment with that wonderful smell and then take the dinner out and leave my apartment mate to suffer with no food.

So now I have some chicken stock, carrots, and parsnips left over, so my options are, Turkey Sausage Soup with white beans, lentil soup, or something else. Stay tuned!

Cold Weather Meals

This winter has been hard on the North East (not as bad as Washington DC area). In fact the snowmageddon was supposed to arrive last week, so in true panic fashion, schools closed or let out early, my work declared a snow emergency, and my neighbor wanted to park in my garage if I wasn't using it. I was slated to work at the R. house (car shuttle to the repair shop, meetings and after school activities) so I decided that a meal that would be cooking all day was in order. Here it is...and the house smelled great all day.

The braised short ribs, I used a recipe from Foodnetwork.

Roasted Beets
Two batches beets with greens
Peel, and cut up beets (I like to use disposable gloves to keep the Dexter effect down)
Place beets in roasting pan with a little olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme.
Cook at 375 for 30 minutes. When after you take them out of the oven, mix in 1 tablespoon orange juice and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar.

Sauted Greens
Wash and trim beet greens. Cut the stems in to small dice, shred the leafy greens into medium size pieces.
saute three cloves of garlic in olive oil until the oil is flavored with the garlic. Add the steams and saute until soft. Add 1 cup chicken broth and then add the leafy greens. Saute 2-3 minutes until they are soft. You can add some lemon zest if you like.

Roasted Vegetables
This is from an favorite recipe from the Moosewood Brunch Cookbook
1 lb small potatoes (I use 1/2 yukon gold and 1/2 red)
3 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
1 red onion
fresh rosemary
fresh marjoram
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Cut up all veggies, place in large baking dish with other ingredients. Cook at 375 covered with foil for 30 minutes, then uncover and increase temperature to 400 for 15-20 minutes. Turn once or twice to brown all edges. I also make this sweet potatoes (Japanese are my favorite).

Oh and we had less than 2 inches of snow, but the tummy was happy!