First Roast Chicken Dinner of 2010

This is probably my most repeated dinner.

 Moe had actually been asking for a Roast Chicken dinner since about two days after our Christmas turkey dinner.   I finally caved.   Should have made it sooner.   I really could eat this meal once every 10 days.   How boring is that?????

Sides were the must-have mashed potatoes and gravy,

braised cabbage and fresh steamed green beans.   The cabbage was delicious.

Very easy to prepare.  Cut three or four slices of bacon into one inch pieces and fry until crisp.  Coarsely chop the Savoy cabbage and toss quickly in the bacon fat.  Add one or two cloves of cracked garlic, salt , pepper and a little chicken broth. Cover and simmer until tender.  Savoy Cabbage cooks quickly.

Thank you to Michael for hosting Foodie Friday.
Go to Designs by Gollum to visit the websites of other participants.

Leftover Christmas Turkey

Christmas Turkey

 There were five of us for Christmas dinner.  Moe, Matt and I and our neighbour Clif and his son Chris.  I roasted an 18 pound turkey(pre-salted and roasted at 500°F) so there was lots leftover.   The turkey was cooked in less than 2 1/2 hours. 

While cleaning up after dinner I cut up the carcass, putting the legs, wings and back bone in the stock pot and let it simmer on low all night.  The remaining half breast went into the fridge.  I also refrigerated about 8 cups of leftover rich turkey gravy.

 My favourite way to use up leftover turkey breast is - Hot Turkey Sandwiches

Homemade fries and canned peas. What I call diner food.  Normally I wouldn't serve leftover stuffing/dressing with a hot sandwich but my stuffing was so good (if I do say so myself). 

 The dressing was a combination bread/corn bread stuffing. 

The fries were made from Russet potatoes and were double fried.  

Spicy Chicken Cakes

Dinner tonight was Spicy Chicken Cakes. One of those dishes that Moe and I both like but I haven't made them in a while.   Linda (Doucanoe) shared this recipe on the Gardenweb's Cooking Forum a few years ago.  

   The original recipe calls for a Horseradish Aioli.  As much as I love horseradish, I find it way to overpowering for these Chicken Cakes.  I  usually serve them with either a lemon garlic aioili or with a tomato and black olive salsa.  But they are just as good served without a sauce.

Tonight we had them with a side of pasta.  The pasta was tossed with butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, fresh chopped parsley and salt and pepper.


Spicy Chicken Cakes
==========================================
Source:  Linda Fries
Spicy Chicken Cakes with Horseradish Aioli
 

2 (1 1/2-ounce) slices whole wheat bread
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons canola oil

NOTE: I used real Hellmans, not low-fat and I added a minced garlic clove and cayenne pepper in place of the cajun seasoning.

NOTE: Made my own Aioli. A garlic Lemon Aioli using the extra egg yolks, and adding 3 large cloves of garlic, fresh squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest salt, pepper and olive oil.

HORSERADISH AIOLI:
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt

To prepare cakes, place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup (discard remaining breadcrumbs). Set breadcrumbs aside.
Place chicken in food processor; pulse until ground. Combine chicken, chives, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon salt, egg whites, and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl; mix well (mixture will be wet). Divide mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done.

Spicy Asian Chicken

I called Moe from work on Friday and asked him to take some boneless chicken breasts out of the freezer.   I wasn't sure what I was going to make with them but was leaning towards Italian or Chinese.   Chinese won out. Something quick and simple.

I used Ken Hom's marinade for his Classic Lemon Chicken, and a sauce made with fresh ginger, garlic, hot garlic chili sauce, a touch of Thai sweet chili sauce, rice wine vinegar  and a little chicken broth.     The chicken was still slightly frozen making it easy to slice it thin.  

The chicken marinated for about 30 minutes and then was quickly sauted in a hot wok in peanut oil.  The chicken was drained and set aside, the wok wiped clean and the sauce made by sauting the garlic and the ginger in a little peanut oil, adding the chili sauces, rice wine vingear and the chicken broth.   Thicken slightly with a little cornstarch mixed with chicken broth.   Simmered for a couple of minutes  and then the chicken was added to the sauce to reheat.  Tossed in some sliced green onions and served over rice.

Satisfying a Craving

Canada's Thanksgiving is long past and I probably won't cook a turkey until Christmas.  But the American Thanksgiving had me craving a turkey dinner. Had to settle for a roast chicken dinner with cornbread stuffing.

Did some prep work before leaving for work Friday morning.  Baked cornbread and left it out to dry and I sauted the onions and the celery for the stuffing.   Also peeled and cut up the rutabaga.  Moe had the oven preheated and the chicken at room temperature , ready to go into the oven as soon as I got home from work.  The chicken had been presalted on Thursday and then uncovered and left to air dry in the fridge Friday.

The chicken only took 45 minutes at 500°F and the stuffing was baked in a little counter top convection oven.   Dinner was ready in an hour.

Saturday night's dinner made use of the leftover cornbread stuffing.  Chicken Ballotine

 On the way home from work I stopped and picked up chicken breasts.  I boned  and pounded them flat and  then stuffed them with the cornbread dressing.  Quickly browned on top of the stove and then finished in the oven.   Another quick dinner.

Cooking for One

Nothing too exciting coming out of my kitchen this week.  Moe has been out of town since Thursday so I have been cooking for myself.

Thursday night I made a chicken stew with dumplings (No pictures) and took leftovers to work on Friday for lunch.  Friday night I had toast and tea for dinner.  At least it was homemade bread.

Dinner Saturday night was easy.  Wings seasoned with fresh garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and lots of fresh black pepper, roasted in a hot oven (450°F)  and served with a dip made with Franks Hot Sauce and melted butter.  

 I roasted a small chicken Sunday morning before leaving for work thinking I would make a hot chicken sandwich for dinner.  Instead I ended up making a Toasted Clubhouse Sandwich. 

Baked Risotto meets Southern Fried Chicken

Baked Risotto is so easy and versatile.  Mary recently shared the recipe for Baked Risotto on her beautiful blog Once Upon a Plate .  I made a version of it last week using prawns. 

Tonight's version was made with  shallots and garlic along with the addition of sauted Crimini mushrooms and seasoned with fresh sage,butter and Parmesan.

The risotto  was good enough to serve as a main course by itself.  But I had some chicken legs to cook so I made Southern Fried Chicken.

The chicken was very simple.  Just rub the chicken with garlic. TIP:  Grate garlic on a microplane to make a paste.  Dip in seasoned flour,  then into  beaten egg,  back into the flour and then fry.

Turkey Revisited

It was just last Monday (Canadian Thanksgiving) that we had a turkey dinner.  But for some reason I was craving it again. So last night I roasted a whole turkey breast.  It was just over six pounds so lots of leftovers for my favourite Hot Turkey Sandwiches.

Besides the standards of dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy

we also had a cauliflower gratin

and brussels sprouts.

I was being lazy yesterday and didn't feel like going out so I used what I had on hand.

Cauliflower Au Gratin
=====================
This is an outline. I don't really follow a recipe when I make this.

Small head of cauliflower cooked until almost tender
Butter
Flour
Garlic
Salt, pepper
Chicken broth
Cream
Cheddar Cheese or parmesan
Bread Crumbs
Parmesan cheese

Make a roux with butter and flour. Add a little minced garlic.

Add chicken broth and/or cream. Cook until sauce is thick and add some cheddar or Parmesan cheese.

Stir in the cauliflower. Pour into a casserole dish.

Sauté some fresh bread crumbs in a little butter seasoned with garlic and more Parmesan cheese and sprinkle on top of the cauliflower. Bake in a 350 oven until hot.

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

Simple Dinners

Serve with a quick sauce made from Franks Hot sauce and butter.

Most weeks I work Thursday to Sunday so some weeks dinners are quick and easy.  Friday night we had a feast of wings.   Spicy oven baked wings with a hot dipping sauce.

I love wings and have two favourite ways of preparing them.  One is to toss the wings with lots of garlic, lemon zest, black pepper and sea salt and leave in the fridge all day or overnight.  The wings absorb all that wonderful garlicky lemon flavour and then are baked in a hot oven, turning a couple of times until they are tender and crisp.  I don't bother with a dipping sauce when I make them that way.  And, if I have time I'll  make homemade potato chips to serve with them.

The second way is to rub them with fresh garlic, sprinkle with cayenne, salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and bake, again turning a couple of times. This is the way I did them on Friday night.  These can be served right out of the oven or even better, place them on a hot grill for just a minute or two to char them a little.  Sooooooooo Gooooooood!!

Sunday night's dinner was also simple. Bangers and Mash.   I pulled some leftover turkey gravy out of the freezer and served it over mashed potatoes along side the sausage.  Veggies were rutabaga and steamed and buttered broccoli.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Yesterday was our Thanksgivng.  Dinner was a traditional Roast Turkey Dinner.  We had dinner next door with our wonderful neighbours Clif and Barb.  Clif bought the turkey, a fresh 14 pound free range and gave it too me Saturday.   I presalted it , wrapped it in plastic wrap and into the fridge it went.   Sunday night I uncovered it and left it to air dry in the fridge until two hours before it went into the oven.   I left it on the counter for two hours so that it could come close to room temperature before going in the oven.  Roasted at 500°F the turkey was done in one hour and 45 minutes and left to rest for 40 minutes or so before carving. Served with bread stuffing/dressing that was baked separately, mashed potatoes and gravy, cubed rutabaga, little tiny Brussels sprouts and homemade cranberry sauce.

Since my Bread and Butter pudding is Barb's favourite dessert that is what I made.  Put together earlier in the day so that the bread could absorb much of the custard.  Topped off with homemade caramel sauce.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Bread And Butter Pudding With Caramel Sauce
=================================
5 or 6 slices of bread
1/2 cup butter

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 cups cream (Or milk)
vanilla
pinch of salt

NOTE:  If you prefer the pudding to have more custard, then use less bread so that all of the custard is not absorbed into the bread when baked.

Cut crusts from bread and spread each slice with butter. (Bread slices can be left whole, or cut into halves, quarters or cubes. Place bread butterd  side up in a oven proof dish.  (may use any shape dish, or glass loaf pan, cutting bread to fit)

Beat the sugar and eggs together and then add the cream, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread and allow the bread to absorb.  (make be refrigerated at this point and baked later)

Sprinkle with some white sugar and place dish into a pan of hot water and bake in a 350 oven for 45 to 1 hour, or until pudding is set and golden.

Caramel Sauce

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup cream
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Bring butter, sugars, cream and salt to a boil and then simmer for 3 or 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla.

Click For a Printable Recipe

Chicken Piccata with a side of Pasta

This has to be one of the quickest and easiest dinners to put together.  On the table in less than 30 minutes.  I defrosted boneless chicken breasts to cook Friday but by the time I got home from work I wasn't in the mood so I made a pot of Potato Leek soup instead.  That still left the chicken breasts for last nights dinner.

I walked in the door, put a put a pot of water on to boil for pasta, pounded out the chicken breasts, added a tablespoon or so of green peppercorns to half a cup of chicken broth (so they could soften) and made chicken piccata for dinner with pasta on the side. On the table in 30 minutes.  It took the water longer to boil then it did to make the whole dinner.    The pasta was what was left of the homemade batch I made a week or two ago.  I had dried half of it.

Click for Printable Recipe

Moe's Diner.............. Daily Special

Before heading off to work on Sunday I roasted two small chickens.   Just so I could make hot chicken sandwiches for dinner.   And you can't have hot chicken sandwiches without homemade fries and of course canned peas.  I know, I'm sorry, but canned peas are a tradition and ALWAYS served on the side with hot turkey or hot chicken sandwiches.  Just the way the Globe Restaurant in Oshawa served this meal when I was a kid.

The chickens were roasted using Barbara Kafka's High Heat Method.  The fries were hand cut ( I always use Russet Potatoes for fries) in the morning and left to soak in cold water all day and then they were double fried.  First at 350°F for about 5 minutes and then again at 375°F for just a minute or two.    This makes for a wonderfully crisp fry.

Chicken Breasts Perigord

Dinner tonight was Chicken Breasts with a mushroom duxelle stuffed under the skin.  This is an old standby recipe one that I haven't made in a while.  Perfect for a dinner party.  The chicken can be stuffed earlier in the day and then roasted just in time for dinner.   The duxelle flavour permeates the meat.

Chicken Breasts Perigord 
(With Mushroon Duxelles)

Source:  Lucy Waverman

This flavorful and elegant chicken is stuffed with a combination of fresh and dried mushrooms.  Because the breasts are stuffed under the skin, the stuffing moistens the chicken meat and keeps it juicy.  use either dried porcini or dried Chinese mushrooms; they have the most flavor.  The sauce can be made ahead of time and the breasts stuffed a few hours before baking.

6 Dried mushrooms
1/2 cup boiling chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
4 shallots
8 ounce fresh mushrooms finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried tarragon or basil
3 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup whipping cream
3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 single boned chicken breasts, with skin on.

Sauce

1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup mushroom-soaking liquid
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons port or Madeira
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

1.  Soak the mushrooms in boiling chicken broth for 20 minutes.  Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid and the mushrooms separately.Chop the mushrooms.

2.Preheat the oven to 375°F

3.Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the shallots and dried and fresh mushrooms.  Saute until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the basil
or tarragon, bread crumbs, cream and parsley.  cook until the cream has reduced and the filling is thick. Season with salt and pepper.

4.Divide the filling in six portions.  with your fingertips, make a pocket between the skin and the flesh of each chicken breast.  Stuff the filling under the skin of the chicken breasts.  Season the breasts with salt and pepper and place in a buttered baking dish large enough to hold the breasts in one layer.

5.Bake for 30 or 40 minutes, basting occasionally, until the juices run clear.

6.To make the sauce, in a frying pan, combine the onions and wine.  On high heat, bring to a boil and reduce until you have 1 tablespoon of liquid.

7.Pour in the mushroom liquid, reduce to 2 tablespoons and then add the chicken stock and continue to boil until the stock is reduced by half. add the port and simmer for another 2 minutes, or until the sauce is smooth and strongly flavored.

8.Combine the cornstarch and cold water and stir into the sauce, simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and add any juices from the chicken.  To serve, pour the sauce over the chicken breasts.

OPTION:  I also add Green Peppercorns to the sauce.  I only use dried Green Peppercorns, not brined.

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Asian Style Chicken Wings with a Spicy Garlic Ginger Sauce

I'm not a big fan of sweet bbq sauces on ribs or wings.  In fact I dislike sweet bbq sauces immensely (sounds nicer than hate).  But I don't mind garlic honey Asian sauces.  So when I saw these wings on Foodgawker today  I thought I would give them a try. 

Like the Ravenous Couple,  who adapted the recipe from another source, I also made some adjustments to suit our taste. The addition of lots of garlic being one of them.

 Both Moe and I loved the spicy garlic ginger sauce.  The wings were double fried and then tossed with the sauce immediately.  They weren't drenched in the sauce though, just coated so that the wings remained crispy with a hit of  heat and  sweet and garlicky.  Definitely a keeper.



Asian Style Chicken Wings with a Spicy Garlic Ginger Sauce  Adapted from Ravenous Couple
==========================================================

30 to 40 wings
1 cup flour
salt
pepper
Canola Oil

Sauce

1 cup water
1/2 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1 cup sliced ginger
2 to 3 minced garlic cloves
2 to 3  tablespoons honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1 tablespoon Chile Garlic Sauce

Use a mandolin to slice the ginger.

Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a small pot and simmer until the sauce reduces and thickens to a syrup consistency.

Heat oil to 350°F. (about 2 inches deep).
Place season flour into a bag and toss in the chicken wings.   Shake to coat.

Fry the wings about 10 at a time for approximately 5 minutes.   Drain on paper towels.  

Fry the second and third batch.  Raise heat to 375°F and fry the wings again for 5 to 6 minutes or until the wings are golden brown.  Toss wings with Garlic Ginger sauce and serve immediately.

Chinese on the menu again

This is quickly becoming a favourite. Ken Hom's Classic Chinese Lemon Chicken. I made it for the first time about a month ago and again last night. I suspect it will be on the menu often. Besides how good it tastes it is relatively easy to put together after getting home from work.






The lemon chicken was served with baby shanghai braised with garlic and ginger.









I even thought ahead last night and marinated extra chicken and cooked extra rice so that I could make fried rice this morning. I made enough for Moe and I to both have it for lunch. I'm taking mine with me to work.

Lori's Chicken Francaise

Tried something new last night. Lori's Chicken Francaise. You can find the recipe on Lori's blog All That Splatters.

I've been meaning to make this ever since June when Lori first posted the recipe. I shouldn't have waited so long. This is one of those dishes that is delicious and very simple to put together Perfect dinner on a work night. With it we had a little pasta, tossed with butter, garlic, Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Hot Chicken Sandwich

This is the ultimate "Diner" meal and a favourite of both Moe and I. I know I have posted this meal before, but this blog is
a food diary and some favourite meals will show up on a regular or semi-regular basis. I don't always make this dinner from leftovers either. I roasted a whole chicken specifically to make hot chicken sandwiches. And it is always served with the same sides. Homemade fries and canned peas. I know, I know canned peas,what is she thinking. LOL! But hey, it is a tradition. A hot chicken/turkey sandwich just wouldn't be the same without canned peas.

An added benefit is I have leftover gravy which is now in the freezer. A little three pound chicken netted 4 cups of rich gravy.

How to Make Gravy Pictorial