Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings

So, I never tasted or made Chicken and Dumplings until about two months ago.  My mother-in-law made a fantastic dinner of Chicken and Dumplings (besides other amazing things), and I knew I had to try this for myself. It's been haunting me since the last time we had dinner there!

So last week, as I was scrolling through my NYT What to Cook This Week email feed, this recipe from Alison Roman appeared. The picture looked so good, I saved it to my recipe box and promised myself I would make it this weekend.

The recipe didn't disappoint!  I followed it almost to the letter, but of course, added some red chili flakes to the soup base and a squeeze of lemon at the end.   Yeah, that's kind of my signature thing, right?  Spice and acid!

The recipe required multiple steps but was fairly easy.  I've never made dumplings before so I wasn't sure what to expect.  They were easy to make, but my suggestion is cutting the dumpling recipe portion in half and making the dumpling smaller than Alison recommends.  My suggestion is making them mini meatball size and cooking them about 3 more minutes longer than is recommended.  

Here is one thing I'm going to tell you that you can't every forget.  ONLY buy chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on.  When you brown these thighs and render the fat, it provides a flavor that you can't get any other way.  Boneless, skinless anything is horseshit (sorry, watching Step Brothers) and just doesn't produce the same result.  If you read my last post, you learned about my new Better than Bouillon trick.  The difference between this and box stock, or plain water, is like the difference between Cool Whip and real whipped cream. Try it and you will never turn back!  

Stay warm on this snowy day my friends!

Roasted Chicken with Roasted Poblano and Lime-Ancho Chile Butter

This weekend, I had planned to start cooking my way through the Dinner, Changing the Game cookbook by Melissa Clark.  On the menu was Chile-Rubbed Chicken.   

My first step was to visit Sages Meat Market, a new specialty meat market in Oswego.  The shop may be small, but the options are plentiful! The display cases are full of meats farmed from local sources, some already prepared in super flavorful marinades, in individual, vacuum-sealed servings.  Today I had one of the butchery staff spatchcock two chickens for me.  One for this recipe and one for later in the week.

While I was there, I saw that they had fire roasted poblano compound butter in the case. Although the Melissa Clark recipe called for more of a lime-chipotle rub, I couldn't pass up the butter and figured I could easily incorporate it into the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked (butterflied) 
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon ancho chile powder 
• 4 individual portions of roasted poblano compound butter (about 2 tablespoons per portion)
• Zest of one lime, plus lime wedges for serving

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Mix three portions of the compound butter with the lime zest and ancho chile powder.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then rub the butter all over the chicken (season and butter both sides).  Set the chicken skin side up on a sheet pan, drizzle with a little bit of canola oil, then cook the chicken for 45-55 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear.  Let the chicken rest 10 minutes on a cutting board before slicing and serving.

I roasted potatoes on a separate sheet pan while the chicken was cooking.  I cut the potatoes into cubes and tossed those with about 10 whole shallots.  I seasoned the potatoes and shallots generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, ancho chile powder, and the remaining portion of the compound butter.  I added a few tablespoons of canola oil, just to make sure the potatoes were well coasted. The potatoes will (and did) burn at 450 degrees if you leave them in the full cooking time.  At 450 degrees, they probably only need 35-40 minutes.  Check them at 20 minutes and flip them.  Keep an eye on them after that or...you can guess what happens.  I also squeezed a bit of lime on the (burnt) potatoes before serving them.  The flavor was good, but I would probably NOT use the butter until the end next time.  I would let the potatoes cook with the oil only, then toss them with the compound butter when they came out of the oven. 

Enough about the unsuccessful potatoes!  The good news is that the chicken turned out super moist with crispy skin.  The hint of lime was present in every bite and the heat from the poblano and ancho was subtle but left a nice aftertaste.  As you can see above, I poured the pan juices on the chicken before serving.  Melissa Clark's recipe calls for an herby avocado sauce, which I didn't make this time, but it sounded delicious!  Will do my best to follow the recipe more closely next time!

Enjoy!

Shredded Chicken (and Pork) Tacos

A friend and I were planning a lunch menu for an upcoming event and we wanted something quick and easy. She came up with the best idea - chicken tacos, cooked in a slow cooker. I realized that every time I made chicken tacos, I grilled chicken breasts or thighs on the grill. I had some chicken in the refrigerator, so I decided I would give the slow cooker idea a try.

That picture was the outcome of very little work! My recipe? Made it up on the fly. Here it is:

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• ½ package Simply Organic Southwest Taco Seasoning
• 2 packages Frontera Garlicky Carnitas Slow Cook Sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 onion, quartered

Cook the Chicken

Start by rubbing the taco seasoning on both sides of the chicken. Put everything into the slow cooker, set the temperature to low, then cook for 6 hours. When the chicken is done, take out the breasts, shred the chicken and you are ready to serve!

Carnitas sauce for chicken? Yup, seems weird, right? Well, I as shooting for the garlic and lime flavor and it actually tasted great. The chicken was very moist and you could taste that touch of lime. Adding the taco seasoning gave the chicken that extra spicy bite I was looking for.

I served the tacos with another squeeze of lime, shredded cheddar cheese, and then added a splash of Frontera Jalapeño Hot Sauce

Ugh! I really need to work on my pictures!

I’ve made a similar recipe in the past using pork shoulder (my favorite!). I used a 3 ½ pound pork shoulder, covered it with kosher salt, pepper, and cumin, then browned it on all sides. I added the pork to the slow cooker with the two packages of Carnitas sauce plus two cups of water (instead of chicken broth). I cooked the pork for 9 hours, then shredded it and served it the same way as the chicken. I also made pork nachos with this later in the week and added some green onions and cilantro to the nachos.

What is great about both recipes is that you can freeze the meat, defrost it, and reheat it at anytime. It definitely is a great quick meal!

Enjoy!

Middle Eastern Chicken Dinner

Yup…still on my NYT kick!

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago in the Thursday Food section.

Middle Eastern food is new to me, so I followed the recipe exactly. In fact, it was so exact, I’m going to send you directly to the NYT Cooking Page for the recipe!

Sumac was a little hard to find. Trips to Whole Foods, Standard Market, and Mariano’s proved unsuccessful. Finally found it at World Market.

This chicken had and incredible depth of flavor. I cooked this on the Green Egg on direct heat at 500 degrees for about 15 minutes total. The recipe calls for chicken thighs, but I am sure you could also use chicken breasts. I would cook the breasts on indirect heat though, to avoid them drying out.

I served the chicken with yellow rice and a really hearty Cabernet. We didn’t have a lot of leftovers, but I think this chicken would be great for tacos or even in a panini with some pepper jack cheese. If you give this try, let me know how it turns out and how you served it! I’m always looking for new ideas!

Enjoy!

Spicy Garlic Rosemary Grilled Chicken

When I was making dinner last Sunday, I decided to add some chicken to the grill so that I would have something for lunch during the week. I ended up eating this chicken several days last week - plain, on a salad, and in a taco. It was a great quick lunch with a lot of flavor.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 4-5 rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• Pinch of salt
• 3 grinds of black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

• Mix all of the ingredients, except the chicken, together in a measuring cup.
• Place the chicken breasts in a Ziplock bag and pour the olive oil/herb mixture over the chicken.
• Seal the bag and rub the marinade into the chicken. Place the chicken on a dish in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
• Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and heat your grill to 400 degrees.
• Cook the chicken over direct heat for 3 minutes per side. Check the temperature and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes per side until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

This recipe was inspired by the NYT’s recipe Grilled Chicken Salad with Green Beans, Olives and Capers. Since I was making this recipe in advance for the week, I just focused on cooking my chicken and then adding it to what I had in the house throughout the week. The chicken was juicy and full of flavor. The red pepper was a nice kick. a

Enjoy!

Chicken Tacos with Green Chili Adobo

I’m a sucker for food magazines. I subscribe to a few (to say the least) and I love sitting down on a cold or rainy day and reading every magazine from start to finish. I try to imagine what each recipe would taste like and how I could make it my own.

When the recipe is accompanied by a picture and the picture is a taco, I’m usually pretty much sold. Accompany the taco picture with the word Adobo and I’m on my way to the stove to start cooking!

This is my first stab at this recipe, so don’t judge it by its (not so great) picture!

I cannot remember where I found this recipe, but it is from Rick Bayless and it is amazing! Here is my slightly revised version:

• 1 head of garlic, separated into individual cloves, skins still on
• 5 serrano chilies, stems removed
• 1 fresno chili, stem removed
• 2 cups loosely packed cilantro
• 2 cups loosely packed flat leaf parsley
• 1 medium (white) onion diced
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Taco shells (flour or corn) - your choice!

Roast the Chilies and Garlic. Heat a dry pan on medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and all of the chilies. Cook until soft and browned in spots (turning occasionally). The chilies will take approximately 10 minutes to cook, the garlic about 15. Once browned, removed and let cool. Remove the skins of the garlic. Chop the chilies into smaller pieces.

Make the Adobo. Combine the cilantro, parsley, chilies, garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt and olive oil in the blender. Puree until smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the blender several times.

Cook the Chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Heat a sauce pan on medium high heat. Add two tablespoons of canola oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the chicken. Cook the chicken until brown on one side; about 4-5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook it on the reverse side until brown; another 4-5 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, add the onions to the open space in the pan. Once the chicken has browned on both sides, remove it from the pan and let the onions continue cook until caramelized; another 2-3 minutes.

After removing the chicken from the pan, slice the chicken into ¼ slices. When the onions have finished caramelizing, add the chicken back to the pan with about ½ of the Adobo mixture. Mix well and continue to cook the chicken until cooked through. Add additional salt if needed.

How to Serve. Wrap your taco shells in two wet paper towels. Place the shells/paper towels in an open plastic bag and heat them in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Rick Bayless recommended this method and the shells (I used flour) turned out perfectly!

Serve the tacos with extra chopped cilantro, diced white onion and your favorite crumbled mexican cheese.

Leftovers? I made 4 chicken breasts with this recipe and had plenty left over. The next day, I made nachos with the left overs. I placed the chicken on top of a layer of tortilla chips, added some of the extra Adobo and then added a ton of shredded cheddar cheese (I like cheddar over the mexican cheese). Heat this in a 400 degree oven until the cheese is melted. When you remove the nachos from the oven, add additional cilantro, onion (I used green onion with the nachos), and chopped jalepenos.

Enjoy!