Chicken Thigh Recipes Slideshow: bonappetit.com

28 May 2011

Chicken Thigh Recipes Slideshow: bonappetit.com.

I haven’t decided whether I like the new Bon Appetit as much as I miss the old one. When the magazine moved from California to Manhattan, it lost long-time editor-in-chief Barbara Fairchild. Adam Rapoport from GQ took over. It’s now a decidedly different magazine.

I can take or leave the infusion of testosterone and swagger, and cooking with/for children is a feature completely lost on me (though that may change as my godchildren get older).

I’ll tell you what, though. I used to read Bon Appetit from cover to cover, clip one or two recipes, and recycle the rest of the magazine. I’ve saved the last two issues–May’s tutorial on perfect pasta was fantastic, and this issue’s segment on chicken thighs is also really good. It’s become my weeknight go-to meal.

Infuse Your Booze: 5 Easy Steps to Better Flavored Vodka (or Gin, or Tequila): bonappetit.com

28 May 2011

Infuse Your Booze: 5 Easy Steps to Better Flavored Vodka (or Gin, or Tequila): bonappetit.com. Say yes to summer cocktails!

Pane Integrale

6 December 2009

This weekend’s cooking adventure, brought to me by the New York Times. I’d clipped a recipe from the Times magazine back in October:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11food-t-001.html?scp=1&sq=pane%20integrale&st=cse

Jim Lahey’s commitment to whole-grain, organic, and locally sourced bread really intrigued me. And while I couldn’t exactly follow in his footsteps, I could at least take baby steps in his general direction.

I’ll admit readily that I’m not much of a baker. My grandmother was fantastic at it, she made the yummiest cakes. But I’m more salty/savory, but the thought of baking a loaf of bread every week has a romance to it.

The first thing I thought when I removed the loaf from the dutch oven in which it had been baking was “hmm, it’s going to be hard to make sandwiches out of this one.” In my inexperience, I’d shaped the loaf squat and wide–it resembled a flying saucer. Once I tasted it, though, I was really happy with this first effort. The recipe produced a firm yet moist loaf, and the only surprise to me was the cornmeal I used to dust the top of the bread had formed a fairly crispy crust (note to self, use finely ground cornmeal or flour next time).

I love the fact that all you need to make this bread are the ingredients, a bowl, your hands, a pot, and an oven. No extended kneading required, no high-powered Kitchenaid mixer necessary. Just some time (the first rise takes 12-18 hours). And while it may not compete with the fantastic loaf of bread from Zingerman’s that we devoured earlier this week (thank you, Michael and Denise!), it’s a worthy addition to the table. Sante.

Thanksgiving Day Gravy

3 December 2008

I played around with Alton Brown’s T-Day Gravy recipe for this. I believe that the crux of his plan to make a schmaltz manie was to avoid the napalm-like danger of making a roux, but the resulting gravy ends up tasting a little doughy. So I say that the roux is worth the risk.

Stock:

• 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 pounds chicken wings
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 11 cups water, divided
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
• 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 large leek, coarsely chopped
• 2 fresh parsley sprigs
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 small bay leaf
• 5 tablespoons all purpose flour

Gravy:

• Roasting pan with pan juices reserved from turkey
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

For stock:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss wings and oil in large bowl to coat; transfer to large roasting pan. Roast 45 minutes. Turn wings over; roast until deep golden brown, about 40 minutes more. Add 1 cup water to pan and continue roasting wings 10 minutes longer.
2. Transfer wings with liquid to large pot, scraping in any browned bits from roasting pan. Add remaining 10 cups water, onion, celery, carrot, and herbs to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until reduced to 5 cups stock, about 3 1/2 hours. Strain through sieve set over large glass bowl. Cool 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight. (Stock can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
3. Transfer fat “cap” from surface of chilled stock to small bowl. When ready to make gravy, heat schmaltz with flour to make a gold roux.

For gravy:

1. Pour pan juices from turkey roasting pan into fat separator or large measuring cup; spoon off fat if using measuring cup. Place roasting pan over 2 burners.
2. Add wine and boil 1 minute, scraping up browned bits.
3. Pour wine with bits into heavy large saucepan. Pour in pan juices from fat separator, leaving fat behind, or add degreased pan juices from measuring cup. Add herbs and stock to same saucepan.
4. Bring to boil. Whisk in roux 1 tablespoon at a time, cooking gravy briefly after each few additions to judge consistency and boiling gravy until reduced to 4 cups and thick enough to coat spoon, whisking often, about 6 minutes. Season gravy to taste with salt and pepper.

Sausage, Fennel, and Wild Rice Dressing

3 December 2008

I know it’s almost a week after Thanksgiving, but for posterity, my favorite dressing recipe.

• 3 cups water
• 3/4 cup jumbo-grade wild rice, rinsed
• 3 tsp. salt
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4-5 links of sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
• 2 cups finely chopped fennel bulb
• 1 Tbs. poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 French boule (roughly 20 oz), cut into 1/2-inch cubes and toasted at 350 degrees until lightly brown (as you would for croutons)
• 1 jar (15 oz.) steamed chestnuts (chopped)
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1. In a heavy pot, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the wild rice and 1 tsp. of the salt. Cover, reduce the heat to a fast simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 45-50 minutes. Drain the rice and let cool.
2. Preheat an oven to 325°F. Generously butter a large, shallow baking dish.
3. In a large fry pan over medium heat, cook sausage until brown. Remove sausage from pan with a slotted spoon. In the pan, melt the butter. Add the onion, chopped fennel, poultry seasoning, thyme and fennel seeds. Scrape the brown bits from the pan as the vegetables give off enough moisture to do so. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add sausage. Let cool.
4. In a large bowl, combine the bread, chestnuts, the onion mixture and the wild rice. In another bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Whisk the stock into the eggs, then stir the egg mixture into the bowl with the bread mixture. Stir in the parsley, the remaining 2 tsp. salt and the pepper.
5. Spoon the dressing into the prepared baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake until the dressing is lightly browned on top, 20 to 30 minutes more. Serves 10.

NOTE: you can prepare the wild rice, onion and sausage mixture, and croutons separately the day before. Be sure to bring the ingredients to room temperature by taking them out of the fridge one hour before assembling the dressing (step 5).

Brussels Sprouts Roasted with Shallot, Bacon, and Apple

3 December 2008

Honey P. hated brussels sprouts for more than half a decade. This prep changed his mind:

This recipe was adapted from a recipe Michael sent me. See the original at: http://avenuefood.com/2007/02/21/brussels-sprouts-with-shallot-bacon-and-apple.aspx

• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed, and halved
• 1/4 pound thickly sliced bacon, cut into small pieces
• 3 small shallots, chopped
• 1 small apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• A couple tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a roasting pan large enough to hold everything in a single layer, toss Brussels sprouts, bacon, shallots, and apple with just enough olive oil to barely coat. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes or so.

Clam Chowder

2 December 2008

What do you make for dinner the weekend after Thanksgiving, when the thought of anything resembling that meal is absolutely unappetizing? Honey P’s response: clam chowder, please.

The original recipe came from Patti Marsh and was published by Cooking Light. Its a fantastic recipe, and Ive altered to Honey P’s yen for a little bit more of everything that makes chowder so good. See the original recipe ….

• 2 (16-ounce) cans of chopped clams
• 2 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice
• 6 slices center-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 teaspoons butter
• 4 cups cubed red potato
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can evaporated fat-free milk
• 1/2 cup of light cream (half-and half)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Drain clams in a colander over a bowl, reserving juice. Add bottled clam juice to reserved juice to equal 3 1/2 cups. Set aside clams and juice.
2. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Return bacon to pan; increase heat to medium-high. Add onion, celery, and butter; saut 6 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Add clam juice mixture, potato, and next 4 ingredients (through bay leaf); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Stir in clams, evaporated milk, light cream, and sherry. Cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley.

Chicken and Dumplings

17 December 2007

Last client meeting of the year, completed at 2:39 p.m. Last holiday gift to buy, bought at 4:52 p.m. Last dinner party before leaving for sunny Mexico, 7:00 p.m. Bring it!

Two things done exceptionally right for this meal: I allowed myself a glass of wine while cooking, and I swapped in duck fat for canola oil. Your can find the original chicken and dumplings recipe at Saveur.com—I’ve copied and pasted it below, with my notes inserted parenthetically:

• 1 4-lb. heritage chicken, legs removed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 lb. slab bacon, cut into slivers
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 medium carrots, thickly sliced
• 4 ribs celery, thickly sliced
• 2 large yellow onions, cut into 1″ chunks
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 2/3 cups flour
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 5 1/2 tbsp. melted butter, cooled slightly
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley

1. Halve chicken legs, separating thigh from drumstick; season with salt and pepper; set aside. Put remaining chicken into a pot; cover with salted water; boil. Reduce heat; simmer until breast is just cooked, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove chicken. Cut breast and wings from carcass. Discard any skin and bones from breast and wing meat; cut into 1″ chunks; chill. Return carcass to pot; simmer for 1 hour. Strain; reserve 4 cups broth (save remainder for another use). I started this part of the recipe the night before the party and used a 7-pound chicken from the farm of friends in Minnesota. Next time I do this, I’ll cut the chicken up before putting into the pot: I’d remove the legs and thighs as stated, but I’d also separate the wings and the back before putting the chicken into the pot. After the hour of simmering, I quickly cooled the broth on the back porch (it is, after all, winter here), put the stock in the fridge overnight, and removed all of the fat from the wonderful, gelatinous mass before cooking with it.
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large wide pot over medium heat until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate; leave fat in pot. Add and heat oil; brown drumsticks and thighs, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add thyme, garlic, carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaf; cook until light brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Add 2/3 cup flour; cook for 1 minute. Add wine; cook for 1 minute. Whisk in reserved broth and salt and pepper to taste. Nestle in drumsticks, thighs, and bacon. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. I substituted duck fat for the canola oil.
3. Whisk together remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a bowl. Combine butter, buttermilk, and parsley in a second bowl; pour into flour mixture; stir to make a thick batter. Uncover pot; add breast and wing meat. Drop batter in 8 large spoonfuls over the top. Simmer, covered, until dumpings are cooked, 20 to 25 minutes. You don’t actually get a batter–you get a dough. I worked the dough by hand, separating it into eight small balls that I dropped into the pot. I also added a cup of frozen peas to the dish.

Honey P. tells me that while this wasn’t my best dish ever from the culinary gymnastics perspective (level of technical difficulty, 8), it was fairly phenomenal comfort food (OMG, the dumplings were fantastic and the gravy was TTD) and we could have had fourths. Instead, we sent leftovers home with friends. Today, last business trip of the year (Charleston, stay tuned!). Friday, last round of drinks with the staff for 2007. And Saturday, Cabo, baby!

Dinner, Conference Call Style

17 July 2007

Eight hours of conference calls today. Literally. And a bunch of vegetables from the farmer’s market threatening to go south. Solution, work at home and pray for changes in schedule. Today’s cooking adventure for me: an improvised gratin.

• two medium eggplants
• eight medium tomatoes
• four onions (two yellow, two purple), peeled and sliced
• bleu cheese (roughly 4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1. Decide to stay home. Begin east-coast calls with team members one hour early since you saved time on your commute. Then go up to kitchen and gather vegetables into a neat little mise en place. Go back to home office, dial in for next call.
2. Slice eggplants into thick cuts. Lay on baking sheets and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt to draw out some of the bitter. Let sit. Go back to home office, dial in for next call.
3. Slice tomatoes in half and gently squeeze seeds and as much liquid as possible out of each. Cut into slices, lay on baking sheet, and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt to draw out additional moisture. Go back to home office, dial in for next call.
4. Call ended an hour earlier than anticipated, yay! Up to kitchen, saute onions with some olive oil until the onions have caramelized–in this 10-minute timespan, also have a cup of coffee and a makeshift lunch of a half of a bagel and some peanut butter. Take pan off heat and cover. Go back to home office, dial in for next call.
5. Come back to kitchen find that condensation from the covering of the pan has naturally de-glazed the bottom of the pan. Yay! Gather whatever spices make sense (today, herbes de provence). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray rectangular casserole pan with non-stick coating. Using paper towels, brush salt and excess moisture from each eggplant slice and layer slightly in pan. Repeat with a layer of tomatoes. Do same with half of the caramelized onions. Sprinkle with spices. Repeat layers. Wash pans.
6. Go back to home office. Check email. Return phone calls, prep for next two meetings.
7. Client was a no-show. Go upstairs and gently press down the vegetables in the pan.
8. Go back to home office, dial in for next call. Finish up in an hour. Go upstairs and gently press down the vegetables in the pan again. Pick up dry-cleaning (20 minutes) for business trip. Check on gratin. Almost all liquid gone, yay! Crumble bleu cheese, mix with breadcrumbs, spread out evenly over vegetables.
9. Open a bottle of beer. Pull out two homemade hamburger patties and five crab cakes from the freezer. Go back to your beer. When cheese is brown, take gratin out. Go back to your beer. Dammit, empty! Start the grill, check email one more time.

Where’s my beer? Oh, yah …

This Little Piggy

28 April 2007

I’ve grown accustomed to specifics. Not that I need blow-by-blow and ounce-by-ounce instructions, but enough at least to know I’m heading in the right direction. Which is why I was both intrigued and annoyed by the recipe for Mario Batali’s porchettain the April 2007 issue of Esquire. After spending paragraphs extolling the virtues of bone-in pork shoulder cooked over low heat for hour upon hour, the editors published a recipe for boneless pork shoulder cooked at standard heat for only 120 minutes. Teases.

The impetus for my need, an upcoming dinner party. Some dear friends of ours recently resurrected their movable feast dinner party, in which each couple brings somehing exquisite to contribute to a lovely meal. I wanted to make a roast. Mario’s roast. The one that cooks overnight and fills the house with the scents of rosemary, garlic, and pork. But google as I might, I couldn’t find any guidance past the brief narrative in the magazine. So I adapted a prep treatment from Barbara Kafka’s Roasting. Then there was the question of cooling and storing the pork, which is meant to be cooked overnight, cooled through the day, and then reheated for dinner—placing it into the fridge would be a one-way ticket to congealed toughness. I placed pork consultation call to friend and business partner Michael, and we hatched a plan.

Judith proclaimed the pork a success (very high praise in my book). Here’s the recipe:

• One 8 lb. bone-in pork shoulder roast
• Two tablespoons of fennel seeds
• One tablespoon of salt
• Two tablespoons of freshly ground pepper
• Eight cloves of garlic
• Four sprigs of fresh rosemary
• One tablespoon of olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Place salt, pepper, fennel seeds, garlic, oil, and rosemary into food processor and blend into a paste.
3. Score the fat side of the pork, careful not to slice into the actual meat.
4. Rub pork with the paste.
5. Place in oven and cook for 8.5 hours.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool. If you’ve made the pork overnight and are serving it for dinner, store the pork, tightly covered, in a cool place, until dinner (I used our garage).
7. Roughly 45 minutes before serving, reheat uncovered in a 250-degree oven to warm. The pork won’t be hot, but it will be succulently warm and delicious.

The rest of the meal was exquisite as well—a tian of vegetables that I’m going to try to replicate for Sunday dinner, a roasted beet and goat cheese salad with fried capers, fresh bread, homemade spumoni, and pistacchio cookies from a terrific new bakery in Andersonville, Pasticceria Natalina. Here’s to friends who are wonderful chefs and to friends with wine cellars.