Posts Tagged ‘chicken recipes’

Chicken Picatta

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

When I was about ten years old, my parents used to take me to a restaurant called The Seashell. The first time we went, I ordered Chicken Picatta. It was amazing. The thin slice of chicken coated in a light batter, smothered in a buttery caper sauce, melted in my mouth. I had a new favorite dish. Every time we went back to The Seashell restaurant, I didn’t even look at the menu. I knew what I wanted, the Chicken Picatta. I remembered this delicious dish this week and decided to try to make it myself. 

The past weeks have been consumed with my daughter Daphne trying to make it into the talent show at her school. The woman who is in charge was quite brutal during the audition process. Often times, kids would stumble into the hall after trying out, sobbing because they, “just aren’t good enough for this show.” I think she was trying to be Simon Cowell.

Monday afternoon, I picked Daphne up and she was on the verge of tears. The teacher told her that she was probably not good enough but to check the call list just in case she makes it. I told her not to worry if she didn’t make it in the show and that if she did, it would be a mixed blessing. She had never heard of a mixed blessing and asked me what I meant by that. “Well,” I told her, “in this situation, it would be an advantage to you if you get into the show because you really want to be in it, you love to sing, and it would be a lot of fun for you. However, it might come with disadvantages because this teacher doesn’t seem very nice and might be very critical of you and your performance. That is a mixed blessing…a little good and a little bad.” She nodded in acknowledgement.

The next day, Daphne texted me with, “It’s a crossed blessing.” I laughed and was relieved she made it in. I love it when kids get the words wrong. Jack used to call seagulls sea eagles. It makes sense to call them sea eagles because they are big birds at the sea, like eagles. Here, a crossed blessing makes sense too. At least she understood the meaning.

In the end, Daphne made it into the show and has been practicing really hard to prove she deserves to be in it. The teacher has been really nice ever since. I guess it wasn’t a mixed blessing after all…just a blessing.

Later that evening I made my chicken picatta. I tried to remember how it was prepared so long ago in that delightful little restaurant. I decided to make it my own by adding peppers, onions and garlic to the butter and caper sauce.

I thought this would make it more colorful and tasty. The battered chicken in butter seemed too beige to me.

About half way through the recipe, as the chicken was baking in the oven, I looked at Claud and said, “Oh no, I forgot to pound the chicken into flat pieces.” Claud gave me a horrified look. “What, is that a big deal?” I asked him. “Yes, that is how chicken picatta is made.” Well, it was too late to worry about that. The sauce was almost finished and the chicken was nearly ready.

I had to go with it. I put everything on the plate. First I placed the lightly battered chicken breasts along side the roasted eggplant. The chicken looked so overweight. I was a little sad. Then, I poured over the buttery pepper and caper sauce. Then, it looked really good.

We sat down to taste it. We were both very quiet. A few bites in, I had to ask, “is it okay?” Claud said, “I think not pounding out the chicken was a crossed blessing. Sure, you are teaching people the wrong way to cook chicken picatta, but this is quicker and tastes just as good.” Ahh yes, maybe my chunky chicken is a crossed blessing.  

Chicken Picatta (fat style)

2 large chicken breasts, butterflied

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 garlic clove, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup chicken broth

juice from two lemons

3 tablespoons capers

flat leaf Italian parsley to garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the salt and pepper into the flour in a bowl. Place each piece of chicken into the flour mixture. In a skillet, heat the olive oil on high. Just before the oil smokes, turn the heat down to medium high. Place the chicken breasts into the skillet to brown. Turn over after four minutes and brown the other side for about four minutes. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and put this into the oven. In the same skillet, saute the onions and peppers for five minutes. Add the garlic for another three minutes. Add the butter and melt it completely. Pour in the chicken broth. Simmer for five minutes. You can thicken it up by adding a mixture of 1 tablespoon of melted butter and two tablespoons of flour. Whisk this into the sauce. You may not need to thicken it. You decide. Add the capers at the last minute. Take the chicken out of the oven. Make sure it is cooked all of the way through. Place the chicken on a plate and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with parsley. Serve it with a vegetable. It tasted wonderful with roasted eggplant.

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Coq Au Vin

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

A few days ago, I casually asked Claud what I should make for this week’s article. He replied, “coq au vin.” I had heard of coq au vin. However, I had never before tasted it or cooked it. How did he come up with this so quickly? Of course, coq au vin (with sarcasm and a French accent). That’s just weird. He piqued my interest. I read through several coq au vin recipes, history, and blog posts. How could any meal with bacon, butter, wine, and garlic not taste phenomenal?  

I was a little concerned about using pearl onions.

A few years ago, I helped my mom prepare a Thanksgiving feast. One of the recipes called for pearl onions. I thought I should treat these tiny onions just like smaller versions of regular onions. So, I peeled about a thousand of them. My fingers hurt and I had tiny little paper cuts from the skins. It was horrible. I haven’t bought pearl onions since. I walk by them in the market and give them a sour look while thinking, “little meanines” to myself. Most coq au vin recipes use pearl onions. I decided to forgive and forget. Then, as I opened up the bag, I read through the directions on the label. You are supposed to soak them for three minutes in boiling water and then the skin peels right off with a squeeze. Are you kidding me? I tried this and it worked marvelously. 

The recipe I finally decided to use as my guide is Julia Child’s. About this time last year, my mom gave me a copy of her cook book, ”Mastering The Art Of French Cooking,” as an anniversary gift.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, original ...

Image via Wikipedia

 

I haven’t given it much attention over the summer. However, with Fall here and the temperatures dropping, Julia’s deliciously rich French dishes sound perfect. I added carrots and celery to the pearl onion recipe and I used Shiraz instead of Burgundy. I also used a tomato sauce instead of paste and omitted the cognac (although lighting it on fire sounded exciting). Truth be told, I forgot to buy the cognac. Other than these minor adjustments and a few variations on amounts used, this recipe is all Julia Child‘s. No disrespect to Julia; but, I did remove a few steps too to make it a bit quicker. Some recipes I read used egg noodles and ladled the coq ou vin on top. I decided to use roasted potatoes as Julia recommends.  

The literal translation of this dish is cock of the wine. It used to be peasant’s food. There are a few different legends as to the origin of this dish. Undoubtedly, this was a way to cook rooster meat and to make it tender and tasty. Apparently, rooster meat is tough. Since people without a lot of money did not want to waste the meat of a rooster, they had to come up with a way to cook it and still enjoy it. Now, coq au vin is typically cooked with chicken and should be called poule au vin (chicken of the wine); but, it is still called coq au vin and is served in the finest french restaurants.

Coq Au Vin:

3/4 pound thick cut bacon

2  Tablespoons butter

1 whole 2 – 3 pound chicken (or chicken pieces)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 cups red wine (Julia suggests Burgundy. I used Shiraz)

2 cups chicken stock

8 ounces tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves, mashed

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted

If you are using a whole chicken, cut it off of the bone. You can visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/simplyfoodifyand watch a video where I show you how to do this. I always use a whole chicken so I can make homemade chicken stock. If you are using precut chicken, don’t worry about this step. Dry the chicken with paper towels. Cut the bacon into one inch pieces. In a dutch oven, saute the bacon slowly in hot butter until it is very lightly browned. Take the bacon out and set it aside.

Brown the chicken in the fat from the bacon (about five minutes each side). Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Pour the bacon back in. Cover and cook for ten minutes on medium high heat.

Pour the wine, stock, tomato sauce, garlic and thyme into the pot. Make sure the chicken is covered in liquid. If not, add more wine until it is just covered. Bring this to a simmer. Cover and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Take the chicken out and set aside.

Mix together the melted butter and flour to form a creamy mixture. Pour this slowly into the liquid and whisk it in briskly. This should thicken up the sauce. Serve with sauted mushrooms, pearl onions (recipe follows) and roasted potatoes.

Pearl Onions

2 tablespoons olive oil

24 pearl onions, 3 minutes in boiling water and peeled

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped 

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 Tablespoon herbs de provence

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Saute the carrots and celery in the olive oil on medium high heat for about ten minutes. Add the melted butter. Add the pearl onions. Once the pearl onions are browned, add the herbs de provence, salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

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Roasted Chicken

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

School is back in session. Each morning the big yellow school buses crisscross town, kids are weighed down with their back packs, and before we know it, the fall leaves will blanket the ground. It amazes me how different things are once fall begins. It’s incredible how the temperature drops so suddenly. Yes, soon there will be snow. We won’t think about that just yet. It is nice to get back to a schedule. I have every minute accounted for from 5:30 a.m. until I crawl into bed at about 10 p.m. I will admit that it doesn’t always go exactly as planned; but, I am a list maker and I feel better pretending the whole week is scheduled. I just adjust the list as I go along.

Over the summer, we started a new business. It has been a huge adjustment for me to work full time while still trying to keep the house clean, take care of the kids, and feed everyone the way I like to. Not only is school and homework now in the mix, but so is hockey, dance and choir. I think 24 hours is not enough time in the day. I haven’t figured out a way to change this. I may petition for a 30-hour day. I wonder how that would go down? Due to all of the tasks I have to accomplish in one day, some nights it seems so much easier to order in food or to pick up something ready-made from the store. Sometimes, I give in and do this. I go and pick up dinner or have it delivered. There are times when I am just too tired to deal with cooking a whole meal and then clean the kitchen afterward. That’s fine. I don’t beat myself up over this.

At the same time, I don’t want to give up on our home-cooked dinners. I love cooking. I love sitting around the table all together as a family. I can’t give that up. Cooking and feeding my family is one of the passionate aspects of my life. I can’t give up on passion. No one would ever want to give up on love in order to get all of the things accomplished on a list. So, I will cook. I have decided to think of the cooking as the recess in my day. If my daily schedule was a school day, cooking would be the recess. It’s what I look forward to. It’s the break from the routine. Cooking is the pleasure or the reward for everything else that is a task. When I think of making dinner this way, I approach it with enthusiasm. I look forward to it. Making dinner for my family is a luxury not another to do item on a list.

This week I made a dish that is so easy. It’s almost cheating. The recipe is roasted chicken. There are several reasons why I love to roasted chicken. First, buying a whole chicken is a bit cheaper than buying chicken pieces. One could feed an entire family for less than $10 when the entre is roasted chicken. Second, it takes minutes to prepare the chicken and the oven does everything else, leaving you time to finish whatever you didn’t do on your list. It’s so easy. Third, after I cut the chicken up, I know I will be throwing the leftover bones into a huge pot with all of the cuts of vegetables I have saved in the freezer over the past couple of weeks to make the best chicken stock. I use the chicken stock in many more dishes after the chicken is long gone .  So, making a roasted chicken ends up lasting for many meals to come. Finally, roasted chicken tastes so darn good. The crispy, seasoned outer skin envelopes the moist and juicy inner meat. I like to coat the skin in herbs and spices. I place butter and lemon under the skin to give the meat a great citrus flavor. Set this next to some roasted potatoes and vegetables and you have a nutritious delicious meal to serve to the people you love. I was so pleased with this meal the other day that I hopped up after and did the dishes with glee.

Having food and the ability to create a great meal for my family is a luxury. I am not even going to put it on my list. Lists are for things you may forget to do. I would never forget to do this. No one puts smile at everyone you see on the list or love your husband and children. We just do it.

Roasted chicken

Serves: 5

Time: 1 hour

1 whole chicken

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 teaspoon Emeril’s Essence

1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped finely

1 lemon, sliced

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Clean the chicken with warm water. Place the whole chicken in an oven safe dish, breasts up. Stick the lemon slices and pats of butter under the chicken’s skin, over the breasts. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, Essence, and parsley. Mix well. Coat the entire chicken with this mixture. Stick it in the oven and let it cook for about 45 minutes. Once the 45 minutes is finished. Cut into the chicken breast to see if it is cooked all the way through. If not, place it back into the oven for another ten minutes and check it again. The chicken meat should not be pink, it should be white. Once it is cooked all of the way through, cut the chicken meat into the sizes you prefer. Serve with potatoes or rice, vegetables or salad. Enjoy.

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Poached stuffed chicken breast with a creamy sauce

Friday, April 16th, 2010

This dish is low fat and full of vegetables. While the chicken poaches, you have plenty of time to steam vegetables and make a delicious sauce. Poaching chicken is so easy because you don’t have to worry about turning it or even thinking about it while it cooks. You just stick it in the water and do other things. The entire dish takes about 30 minutes to make. It looks beautiful and tastes even better. Please watch the video at the end of this post of me making this dish.

Poached stuffed chicken breast with a creamy Dijon sauce

Poached stuffed chicken breasts on a bed of zucchini with a creamy Dijon sauce

Serves:  4

Time: 30 minutes

 

Poached stuffed chicken breasts:

4 chicken breasts

2 C. spinach

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 C. mozzarella cheese

4 Tbsp. Philadelphia cream cheese

4 Tbsp bread crumbs

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Butterfly cut each breast. Cut through the breast, but not all the way through, so they lay flat. Place plastic wrap on top and bottom of each breast and pound flat with a wooden spoon. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine spinach, garlic, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and bread crumbs and blend well.

Place chicken on a new piece of plastic wrap about 2 feet each. Divide the stuffing into each breast and roll up in the plastic wrap. They should look like fat sausages. Tie the ends of the plastic together. Place in the boiling water to poach for 20 minutes. Take out of water, remove plastic wrap and place on top of the bed of zucchini.

Steamed zucchini:

2 zucchini

Slice the zucchini and place on a wire steamer, in a pot with one inch of water. Cover and steam for 15 minutes. Take out of steamer and place on each plate as a bed for the chicken to sit on.

Creamy Dijon Sauce:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Onion, sliced

1 clove of garlic, chopped

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 Tbsp. rosemary

3 C. chicken broth

3 Tsp Dijon mustard

6 Tbsp. cream cheese

While zucchini and chicken are cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion becomes translucent. Add the salt, pepper and rosemary. Let this brown with the onion and garlic (about 3 minutes). Deglaze with the chicken broth. Add the Dijon and cream cheese. Simmer for about ten minutes. It will be ready when the chicken is finished. Pour the sauce over the chicken and zucchini.

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Chicken Curry and Luchi

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Luchilicious

The ground is damp, pumpkins ripen, and birds fly south over my house. I’ve pulled my heated blanket from the closet and tucked it into my bed. Leaves change from green to: orange, yellow and red.  Mist hovers in the air in the morning and the kids began wearing coats to school again.  Daphne bookmarks Halloween costumes on my computer. The sun rises as we drive to the school bus. We’ve turned on the heater and even lit the fire this week. I’ve been drinking more hot tea. This can only mean one thing…comfort food.

Fall is great for warm hearty and easy to make meals. It’s time to leave something simmering all day on the stove or in a crock pot. So that when you return from wherever you went, you walk into the scent of onions, garlic, spices and tender meat intermingled into a savory meal.  You can ladle it into a big bowl and smell the steam as it rises to meet your nose. What’s best is to make some bread to dip and soak up some of the juicy sauce. I know, it may sound daunting to just whip up some bread to eat with your meal. But, I have found a very easy Indian bread, luchi, which is quick to make and tastes delicious.

A Pot Of Luchi

A Pot Of Luchi

A while back, I met an amazing person, Gautam Sarkar, who is originally from India. Gautam is a wonderful father and very much involved with his three beautiful daughters: Grace, Maya, and Katie. I’ve seen him having lunch with them at school, swimming with them at Vogel (not just sitting on the bench the way I do), or videotaping them at a concert. He is a compassionate and caring father. Gautam passes on to his children many Indian traditions and cultures. This summer he flew them to Northern California to attend an Indian festival; and, a couple of weeks ago, they visited another festival in a town near Rochester. Maya and Gracie wore colorful Saris to their music concert last spring at Washington Elementary. Often times they wear bindis as well.

Gautam with his girls in San Juan, Puerto Rico last summer

Gautam with his girls in San Juan, Puerto Rico last summer

I have been fortunate enough to have attended the birthday party for each one of these girls this year. The very first time I entered the Sarkar home, I was moved by the obvious pride in their heritage. There were Indian artifacts on the shelves and pictures of their family in India. Chicken curry simmered on the stove and the smell was intoxicating. I noticed that Maya was rolling out what looked like mini tortillas. I love family traditions involving food, especially when the children are involved in the process and not just the eating. Gautam and the girls were preparing what I soon discovered to be their traditional birthday meal, chicken curry with luchi.  

Claud rolling out the dough for luchi with Maya

Claud rolling out the dough for luchi with Maya

 

 

 

 

 

 

The smells of the cooking food that day brought me back to my year in England. It may sound strange that life in England would acquaint me with Indian food; but, Indian restaurants can be found on virtually every corner there.  The part of this meal that was new to me that day was the luchi. I had never heard of it before.

Gautam handed me a luchi to taste and it was delicious. I inhaled the buttery aroma and tore it apart. It wasn’t crunchy from the frying; rather, it was soft and light.  Once all of the luchi’s were cooked and the curry was ready, dinner was served. The luchi was used to eat the curry, without any utensils and to soak up the sauce left on the plate. The children at the party loved luchi and a huge bowl of them were devoured. Here is a video of Gautam’s girls making Indian food. You have to see their passion for cooking and Indian food. They are so adorable:

 

So, fall isn’t just for leaves, rain, pumpkins and spiced tea…it’s for making and eating wonderful comfort food like curry with luchi. It’s for warming your heart, starting with tantalizing scents and ending with a full belly. It’s for conversation and time spent with your family in the kitchen and at the table. Enjoy.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cook Time: 9 hours

Serves: 6

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. grated fresh gingeroot

2″ cinnamon stick

1 Tbsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

3-1/2 lb. chicken, cut up

3 medium potatoes, cut up

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. cold water

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

1/2 cup sliced green onions

Combine the onion, garlic, ginger root, cinnamon, curry powder, and red pepper flakes in 3-4 quart crockpot. Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange on top of onions and spices in crockpot. Pour chicken broth over all.

Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Remove chicken and keep warm in low oven, covered. Skim fat from crockpot. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir into juices remaining in crockpot. Increase heat to high and cook, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve chicken with sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro and green onions to serve.

Luchi (Indian bread)

1 1/3 C. Flour

¼ tsp. Salt

3 Tbsp. Melted Ghee or vegetable oil

½ C. Warm Water

4 C. Vegetable Oil

Blend the flour and salt in a large bowl. Gradually use enough water to make stiff pliable dough. Cover dough with damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes. Knead dough again. Roll dough into a long 1 inch diameter tube. Pinch off end and roll into a small ball. Dip corner of dough into melted ghee or oil. Roll it out into 4 inches in diameter. Heat plenty of oil. Put luchi in and flicker oil on top so it will swell up like a ball. In a few seconds, flip over and cook the other side until golden brown.

 This recipe is also posted here and will be updated and improved upon as people wish:

Luchi (Indian Bread) on Foodista

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