Pressure Cooker Chicken

Still trying to figure out what to cook in the pressure cooker you got last Christmas? Or decide if this is the year your get one?   I've had one for a couple of years, and here are my inputs:

• They take up a considerable amount of storage space, and are a pain to assemble and clean.
• They do a few things very well:  broth, braised meats, beans.  This includes many soups, stews, and chili.  They do a good job on rice, although I'm guessing a rice cooker does a better job. 
• They can operate unattended.  I have really come to appreciate this feature.
• I have a Breville, not the more popular Instapot.  Most recipes are written for Instapots, and my guess is the Breville operates at a bit higher pressure, so it cooks faster.  A good thing, except you have to be prepared to adjust cooking times.  Fortunately the Breville manual provides a good reference.   With either version, there is some guess work... you can't just check every so often to see if things are done, you have to wait until the cycle is complete. 

I routinely use the pressure cooker to cook chicken meat  .. not a whole meal, just chicken to go into a variety of things, like salad, or sandwiches, or a queso, plus a bonus bit of stock. I don't make homemade broth often, but when I do, I use the pressure cooker.  Good homemade broth is essential for risotto, and turkey stock is essential for Thanksgiving dinner.

Chicken legs cooked in the pressure cooker come out as shredded meat, which suits me just fine in most things that call for cooked, diced chicken breasts.   I normally just do one package of 4-5 chicken legs, but have done up to 3 packages.   It's not necessary to add more water for more legs, but you can if you want extra broth.  This also makes great taco meat... in which case I add some chili and cumin to the cooker.

Chicken Meat

Total cooker time ~ 45 minutes for one package of chicken.

1 – 4 pounds chicken legs and/or thighs (with bones and skin) 
½ onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot (optional), coarsely chopped
1 stalk of celery (optional), coarsely chopped
Salt (about ½ teaspoon), pepper to taste
1 cup of water (can add a another cup of water if you want more broth)

Place everything in the cooker.   Pressure cook on the Poultry setting, (9 PSI, auto-pulse release) for 18-20 minutes.   When complete, remove chicken to cool.   Strain broth and let cool.   When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the chicken from the bones and shred, taking care to pull out and tendons and cartilage.    Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Chicken for Taco’s: 

Follow above recipe, but omit the carrot and celery.   Add a teaspoon or two of cumin, plus a teaspoon or two of chili powder (how much really depends on how hot the chili power is, how much chicken, and how spicy you like your food).    After shredding the chicken, refrigerate if not using immediately.  To serve, reheat, adding back enough broth to moisten.  

The pressure cooker is a big time saver for broth.  Even with the heat up and cool down, its under 2 hours, which no effort to find a "low simmer".  And the broth comes out really nicely gelled.  One of the keys to good broth is lots of bones relative the the amount of water... you should just cover the bones and vegetables with water.    This broth is the same recipe I published a few years ago, just cooked in the pressure cooker.

Chicken Broth

Chicken (or turkey) Backs, necks, giblets (from 1 or 2 chickens)...  optional: include the skin (I do)
and/or  Roast chicken carcass (Again, 1 - 2 chickens worth)
1 large carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced (optional)
A sprig or two of parsley (optional)
1 to 1 1/2 quarts of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Put everything in a pressure cooker (no need to thaw chicken parts if they are frozen).  Add just enough water to cover. Pressure cook using the Stock function (1 hour, high pressure). When done, using tongs, pull out the big chunks and discard.  Strain the remainder into a large bowl.   You can either use the broth right away (and I don't bother to skim the fat), or chill.  The best way to rapidly cool is to put the bowl in a sink of cold water (adding ice makes it quicker).  When down to room temperature, cover the bowl and into the fridge. After its cold, skim the fat (which can be used to to saute some potatoes or fry eggs). The broth will gel up when its cold. Store up to 3 days in the fridge, or to freeze, put broth (in 2-4 cup quantities) in 1 quart freezer ziploc's. 

Chicken Chili... Just in time for Fall

One of my pet peeves is recipes that say they will take 30 minutes to cook but not only would it be impossible for a Top Chef to walk into the kitchen and get it done in 30 minutes, it gets every pot and gadget in the kitchen dirty. This makes you feel like a failure when it ends up taking over an hour to cook (not to mention another 1/2 hour to do the dishes). When you dissect the cooking times from even respected recipe sources, it's clear that the clock does not start when you walk into the kitchen; it starts after the ingredient list is assembled:  the onion is diced, garlic minced and chicken shredded.  Even then, there is sometimes fantasy timing. A couple of weeks ago there was a soup recipe in the Wall Street Journal "Slow Food Fast" column that claimed total time was 50 minutes.  When you added up just the cooking times, it was 56 minutes, not including the time to warm up pans or reheat the soup after after pureeing. You might not expect the WSJ to be experts on cooking, but you would at least think they could do the math.  

So enough of my rant.  How do I get dinner on the the table fast?  And without any many dishes?  One of my secrets is to use the freezer.  I freeze soups, stews, and the like in serving size amounts in 1 quart freezer zip bags.  I lay them flat to freeze, then they will stack pretty efficiently. To get dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes, I put the frozen bag into a large bowl of hot water until thawed (this takes maybe 10 minutes.. and you don't really get the bowl dirty), then empty the bag into a serving bowl and reheat a couple of minutes in the microwave.  Add some garnish (like avocado or sliced green onions) and it even seems special.  

Some things do freeze better than others.  I almost always have Lentil Soup in the freezer. Most vegetable soups are good (like Chicken Noodle or Minestrone), but some vegetables freeze better than others (carrots, winter squash, peppers, green beans, mushrooms, greens, onions are good, but broccoli, zucchini, and potatoes have texture issues).  Another trick is that if I am making something to just go into the freezer (as opposed to just freezing the last couple of servings of Beans and Greens when you realize that another day of eating beans will not improve your social standing) is to quickly cool down the pot of soup by putting it into the sink that is half filled with cold water and some ice.

Chicken Chili

The recipe that I adapted from Fine Cooking magazine called for store-bought rotisserie chicken, which I am sure would work just fine (but maybe not fine cooking when you learn what they inject the chickens with).  I usually start by boiling a cut up raw chicken with onions and carrots, essentially making broth, pulling out the chicken pieces as they get done, pulling the chicken off the bones, then put the bones back into the broth pot and cooking a while longer for broth. You could also start with left-over roasted chicken (maybe do a half recipe), or some left-over turkey.

Makes about 6 servings.

2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, diced
4 - 5 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons oregano or Italian herb mix
1-2 jalapeno or other hot chiles, minced (optional, to taste)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups shredded cooked chicken (chicken from ~ 4 pound chicken)
1 4 oz can green chiles
1 quart lower salt chicken broth
2 cans (15.5 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
Salt to taste

Garnish (optional):  Shredded sharp cheddar cheese, avocado slices, sliced green onions, cilantro, lime wedges, sour cream or Greek or plain yogurt.

Heat oil in a large pot (5-6 quart).  Add the onion and cook until translucent (don’t brown). Add cumin, herbs, hot chiles, and garlic and cook until fragrant (just a minute or so).  Add the chicken, green chiles, broth, and 1 can of beans.  Bring to a low simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mash the second can of beans – place in a small bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork. Add the mashed beans and corn to the chili.  As soon as it's back to a boil, it’s done.    Ladle into bowls and garnish as desired.

Cooking lesson: Chicken and Kale Stew

My 80+ year old father-in-law is working on learning to cook.  We have collaborated on one dish (Ken's Chicken Dinner) that I consider a winner.  I'm defining a winner as something that you are willing to make (and eat) every week or so.  I'm hoping we have a second winner.

But I think that an important part of learning to cook is to make the same thing over and over.  To get a feel of how hot, how brown, what is enough (or too much), how to season.taste.   To be able to make it without reading step by step through a recipe.  To know what substitutes work.

I think that I'm also getting a better idea of the ideal type of dish that he likes to make:

1. One pot
2. Tasty but not too spicy
3. Not too much chopping
4. It should not make too much
5. It should have some meat in it, preferably chicken
6. Gluten free

Of course, I then add my constraints, like it should have a lot of vegetables and not have any full-of-crap shortcuts (like condensed mushroom soup).

Chicken and Kale Stew

Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, chopped
1 lb chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite size (about 1/2 - 1") cubes
8 ounces brown mushrooms, quartered if large
½ cup sun dried tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 bunch kale, stems removed and cut in large pieces
¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed under cold water
¼ cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
¼ cup (½ stick) cold butter, cut into 6 pieces

Coat a large sauté pan in olive oil (about a tablespoon) and heat over medium high heat.  When hot, add garlic and onions, sauté until onions are starting to brown.

Add chicken and sear until chicken is brown on one side.  Turn cubes, then add mushrooms.  Cook until the mushrooms are starting to release moisture, stirring occasionally.

Add the sundried tomatoes and broth.  Stir to loosen any brown bits in the pan.  Bring to a simmer, then add kale, olives and beans and stir until the kale softens into the liquid. Bring back to a simmer.

Add the lemon juice, then add cold butter one piece at a time stirring constantly until the butter is dissolved and the sauce is thickened.

Ken's Chicken Dinner

Winner winner
Chicken dinner
Winner winner
Simple dinner

My father-in-law is teaching himself to cook. The other day he asked if he could cook chicken, potatoes, and carrots together in the oven. Maybe other vegetables.  I was thinking of course, but things would cook at different rates. Maybe you would need to stagger how you put things in the oven.  But this inspired me to try it out and to keep it simple (I have heard commentary for some people who will be left un-named ...mom... that claim I do everything the hard way).  One of my pet peeves are recipes that are called "simple one-pot meals" that really need 2 saucepans, a baking dish, the food processor, a colander, and a bowl or two.  And don't include a vegetable.  This dish really is a whole meal and really needs just one pan, and one cutting board (although I'm sure my mom would do this using a paring knife against her thumb).  The only caveat is that if you want to make enough for 4 or more people, it will take a really large pan.  Or 2 pans.

It came out good.  My only recommendation was to use bone-in chicken instead of boneless chicken to not over-cook the chicken while giving the potatoes time to get nice and soft.  I used chicken thighs ... to me they have a lot more flavor and are more suited to slower cooking. Legs would be good too.  Feel free to adjust the vegetable quantities and types to your taste or what you happen to have on hand. I really didn't measure anything when I made this, you don't need to either.  Sweet potatoes instead of white ones, winter squash instead of summer, more onions would work. Skip the mushrooms if you don't have any.  Maybe use cabbage. You  could certainly use fresh herbs if they were handy.  I'm sure I will do some more experimenting on this through the winter.   Maybe I will be the one that really learns something!

Ken's Chicken
Serves 2-3

2 - 3 medium potatoes, cubed
3 small zucchini, cut in large chunks
4 medium carrots, cut in large chunks
1 cup or so of mushrooms
1 very small onion (or more.  or not)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning or dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken thighs and/or legs (preferably with skin and bones)

Preheat the oven to 375F (use convection if you have it).   As you cut up the vegetables, toss them into an oiled 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle with garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper, then add the olive oil (not too much - you will get more fat from the chicken) and give a good toss (hands work best for this).  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper (and if you are using boneless skinless pieces against my advice, put some oil on them too), and nestle in among the veggies.   Bake for 30 minutes, then stir the veggies around, bake for another 20 minutes (with convection) to 30 minutes or until everything is done.

Butterflied Grilled Chicken

I have always considered myself to have good mechanical skills.  I learned to take apart and grease a sewing machine when I was a kid.  I can read schematics, put together Ikea furniture.  I spent a couple years of my engineering career working on precision molds and die-sets.  But when it comes to working on things that really get your hands dirty, like cars or bikes, I have virtually no experience. There was always a brother, or husband, or mechanic who did these things. I never doubted I could do them, but self confidence only goes so far.  I recently bought a bike off of Craigslist.  I spent $45. It pretty much worked, except the front wheel didn't spin freely.  I did a little googling and determined the front hub needed to be repacked.  Then some more googling for video's on how to repack the front hub, which all looked doable.  My biggest fear is that the bolt to get the wheel off would be rusted on, but it came right off. More YouTube video's searched to figure out out to release the brake to get the wheel off.  Everything came apart as described, the bearings were in good shape, a little bit of cussing to get the ball bearings back, a short phone consult with my husband about grease, it went back together and it works!  The moral of this story is that You Tube is an amazing learning tool.  You can learn things that maybe you are too embarrassed to admit you don't know or don't have anyone around to show you.  And I'm telling you this story because there are lots of cooking techniques you can learn from YouTube.  Like how to butterfly a chicken.  

This recipe is a riff on "chicken under a brick" recipe, I have just skipped the brick.  It still comes out great. And I have included the instructions to put orange slices under the breast, but half the time I forget to do it, and the chicken still comes out good.   And most the time, I don't have all three citrus types around, so I will just use two kinds (although one is *always* lemon).

Grilled Citrus Chicken

1 large orange
Juice from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lime  
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon paprika or ½ teaspoon mild chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

1 whole chicken, preferably 4 pounds, but this works for a typical 5 or 5 ½ lb bird.

Cut 6 thin slices from the orange.  Put into the refrigerator for later.  Make the marinade:  Juice the rest of the orange into a small bowl.  Add the other juices, oil, garlic, herbs and spices and stir. 

Butterfly the chicken:  With the breast side down, grab the chicken tail (aka the Pope’s Nose).  With scissors, cut up the side of the backbone.  It’s easy until you get to the shoulder bone, find the joint to get through.  Repeat on the other side of the backbone.    Now, cut out the breast bone. This is trickier, and not absolutely necessary.  Use a small knife to cut the cartilage at the top of breast bone, then use your fingers to pull out (check out the video to see how this is done).  If you are so inclined, put the backbone, neck, and giblets into a freezer bag and save to make broth at some later date. Remove the big chucks of fat (and if you are a real fanatic, you can render these down to make schmaltz). 

Put the chicken in a gallon zip-loc bag, add the marinade and distribute to cover all around.  Let chill for 2 – 5 hours. 

Start your grill; get to about medium (350 - 400F). Pull the chicken out of the bag, Carefully loosen the skin on the breast and insert an orange slice or two between the breast and skin.  Do the same on the thighs.  When the grill is hot, oil the grill racks (I like to put oil on a paper towel, then using tongs, rub the oily towel on the grill), then put on the chicken on the grill skin side down.  Turn the burners down to low (goal to maintain about a 350F or so, and not catch the bird on fire).  Cook for 15 or 20 minutes, until the skin is nice and brown.  Using a spatula and tongs, carefully flip over.  Cook for another 20 to 35 minutes until done (this is about 155 – 160F in the thickest parts of the bird). Let rest for 10 minutes or so, then carve and eat.

1 Chicken, 15 meals

Last week I was cruising though Trader Joes, kinda feeling I been eating beans and / or cheese for a week (I’m not complaining, but seemed time for something different).  I spotted a chicken and though ummm… roasted chicken.  It good sized, about 5 lbs, not huge by today’s standards, but a lot of meat for 2 people (I’m not cooking chicken for Ethan. Yet). I got it, roasted it: 

And here are all the meals that resulted from this 1 bird: 

2 dinners (Roasted chicken with quinoa, and steamed broccoli)

3 chicken sandwiches 

3 servings of chicken and quinoa salad (my brother got one of these)

3 main-dish green salads with chicken

Plus, made broth from the carcass resulting in 4 servings of mushroom risotto (2 servings for dinner, one reheated leftover serving, and one mushroom risotto and goat cheese burrito)

Overall, not a bad variety of good food (especially for lunches), without much of a plan or too much time cooking (well, with the exception of the risotto), and no leftovers for the trash. Or the dog.    

Roasting a chicken is universally proclaimed as being simple, but don’t confuse this with one right way to do it. I have cookbooks which range from cooking a chicken at 170F (3 hours) to Barbara Kafta’s method using a 500F oven (50 minutes).   Some truss, some don’t, some use racks, breast up, breast down, etc, etc.  In my mind, there is only one thing that is important:  knowing when the chicken is done.   Personally I find the extremes risky – you will get a smoky kitchen with a higher temperature, and at 170F, it just seems you are in the "danger zone" of bacteria growth for too long, especially for the typical supermarket chicken. Remember: the higher the temperature, the smaller the window between done and overcooked.  Here is what works for me... and if I need to get the chicken done sooner, I leave the oven hotter... .

Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken

Salt, pepper

Olive oil

Optional extras (choose 1):

-- Garlic and / or sage

-- Citrus and garlic

-- Spice rub 

Preheat the oven to 400F

All of the latest advice says you don’t need to wash your chicken.  Take it out of the package, and put into a 9 x 13 roasting pan.  However, if it is icy inside, rinse with nice warm water.  Make sure they giblets are pulled out (freeze to make stock later). Pull off any big chunks of fat around the breast. 

If you would like a little extra flavor, put some thinly sliced garlic and sage between the skin and the meat of the chicken.  Or, mix together some citrus zest (from a lemon or orange) and minced garlic, salt and pepper then make a paste with olive oil and rub on the outside bird.  Or sprinkle with your favorite rub or spice mix.  Put any leftover garlic, herbs, or slices of citrus in the cavity.   In any case, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then rub a bit of olive oil on the bird.   

I fold the wings back, and don’t bother to truss.  I start the bird breast down – this helps the thighs brown better.  I pop in the oven, and cook for 20 or 30 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 350, and flip the bird.  Continue cooking until done, it’s typically about 15 minutes per pound at this temperature. Use convection if you have it – it will cook faster. If you need to get the bird to the table faster, just turn the oven down to 375F or go longer at 400F.   The meat should be pulling from the ends of the legs, and a thermometer stuck in the thigh joint should read 160F (or close to it).  Note:  the USDA considers the safe temperature for poultry to be 165F.  Let the bird rest for 5 or 10 minutes – the temperature will come up, and the juices will stay in the bird better.  Carve and serve. 

My favorite of the leftovers was the quinoa salad.  It’s based on my vegetable rice salad adjusted to what happened to be on hand.  I didn’t measure anything, but here is a general idea of what went into it:

Quinoa Salad

1 cup+ of leftover quinoa

½ cup of leftover chickpeas with kale (loosely based on this recipe)

Handful of leftover chicken, diced

1 big floret of leftover lightly steamed broccoli, chopped small

1 carrot, minced

2 green onions, sliced

1 small Persian cucumber, chopped

Juice from a large lemon

Glug of olive oil

Salt, Pepper

All into a bowl and mixed.  Served on a bed of greens (arugula) and topped with goat cheese crumbles.

Sometime soon I will get my master recipe for a main dish salad posted..  It’s what I eat for lunch about 3 times a week.   The risotto was good too, but a bit on the time consuming side, especially when I realized I didn’t actually have any risotto rice.  Fortunately there is a well-stocked Safeway a mile away, and a wonderful husband to make a quick run out. 

But it seems now I have been eating chicken for a week…  Last night we had shrimp stir fry, and tonight, back to cheese (in the form of Macaroni and Cheese).

Salad Days

The phrase was coined in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra in 1606. In the speech at the end of Act One in which Cleopatra is regretting her youthful dalliances with Julius Caesar she says: "...My salad days, / When I was green in judgment, cold in blood… “ (thank you Wikipedia).

I had to look this up, because I always though it referred to days of being young and poor. Which never made sense, because I really never associated salads with being poor. But well, I was wrong. Which can be even more dangerous than not knowing.

Anyway, salad days at my house started Memorial Day weekend. I eat salads all year, but generally a main dish type salad for lunch (which is a topic for another day). I am talking about side salads: potato salad, chicken salad, green bean salad, bean and corn salad, couscous salad… those kind of salads. Salads that are convenient to take to the park for a concert on the lawn. Or the beach should the sun come out.

I also realized that I pretty much just use 3 different dressings for these kind salads: creamy dressing, lemon (or other citrus) & olive oil, or vinegar & olive oil. Various herbs or spices added as desired.

Creamy dressing is just a variant on mayonnaise. If I were the type to make homemade mayonnaise, I would just use that.  But raw eggs still scare me... and even if I'm OK with them, I'm not comfortable about serving them to guests.  So this is what I use:  A small spoonful of mayonnaise, a big spoonful of plain (preferably 2% Greek) yogurt, and a forkful of Dijon mustard. Maybe add some pepper. Mix together with the mustard fork. That’s it. How much depends on how much you need. Doing 1 egg salad sandwich, it will be a small spoon. Doing potato salad for a crowd? BIG spoon.

So a couple of notes on the yogurt. For the yogurt haters out there, you won’t know it’s there. At least nobody has mentioned that my potato salad tastes different than mom’s, and I use at least half yogurt, she uses all mayonnaise. However, one problem with using “normal” (not Greek) yogurt, is that you can get some water separating off. It’s ok at first, but in a day its really noticeable. This is not a problem with Greek yogurt, or plain yogurt that you have strained some water off of by putting in a strainer lined with a coffee filter or double thickness cheese cloth (which is how Greek yogurt is made). And last, the ratio between mayonnaise and yogurt is not that critical. If you are watching calories and/or sodium, use more yogurt. If you not sure about the whole yogurt thing, start with more mayonnaise (and gradually increase the yorgurt…)

Chicken Salad

This works with left-over roasted chicken (or turkey), or with chicken breasts simmered in chicken broth. I usually use grapes in the summer and apples in the winter (leave the skins on the apples) -- red apples look nicest.

About 4 servings

2 cups cooked chicken (2 - 3 half breasts)
1 cup seedless grapes or 1 - 2 apples, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts
2 ribs celery, sliced (optional)
1-2 green onions, thinly sliced

½ cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt (to taste -- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)
pepper (to taste -- not too much)

Shred or cube chicken. Mix in fruits and vegetables. Mix remaining ingredients in small bowl. Pour dressing over chicken mixture, stir to combine. Serve chilled.

Potato Salad Like Moms

Serves 8 normal people, or 6 Normans.

8 medium potatoes, ~3 pounds (I like red potatoes for this, russets will work too)
5 hard-boiled eggs
½ onion, minced
Salt, Pepper

7 ounces Greek yogurt (1 container)
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Parsley, paprika as garnish

Boil the potatoes whole, with the skins on. Cook until just tender, which will be 15 – 25 minutes after they come to a boil. Remove from the water, and let cool. Peel the potatoes. If they are thin skinned, ok to not peel completely.

Make the dressing and set aside. Peel the eggs, set aside the prettiest one.

Make the salad in layers: Slice 2 potatoes into a large bowl, add one chopped hard-boiled egg, sprinkle with some onion, a little salt, and some pepper. Repeat until all of the potatoes are used.

Add part of the dressing. Stir to mix. Add a bit more, until its right (this will vary depending on what kind of potatoes, how warm they are, and how much dressing you like… Mom does not like too much dressing!)

Gently smooth the top, and put slices from the last egg on top, along with some parsley and paprika to garnish.

Signs of Fall

People who live where it really gets cold talk about “loving four seasons”.   Phoenix has four seasons too, you just have to look a little a little harder since you don’t have things like snow to make a point of winter, or a bunch of leaves suddenly turning red because you had your first frost.   I will admit that fall is the hardest season to detect in Phoenix, but today it finally seemed like summer is behind us.  We have had some clues:  Halloween decorations are starting to show up in front yards, they are starting on the long process of putting Christmas lights up on Chandler (which they fortunately do not light until after Thanksgiving), but this was the first weekend we actually had the air conditioners off in the middle of the afternoon!    Which means that maybe we can actually start thinking about soups and stews… even if it still supposed to be back to the high 90’s next week.

Here is a very quick soup to make – it really only takes about a ½ hour, and its packed with protein and is a bit different. 

Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 tablespoons dry sherry
½ teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons cornstarch (divided)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon thinly shredded fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 quart chicken broth
1 package firm tofu (12 – 14 ounces), cut into ½ inch squares
1 ½ cups frozen corn
1 egg
½ cup thinly sliced green onions
A bit more sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice breast crosswise into ½ inch strips.  In a small bowl, mix chicken with wine, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.   In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium high heat, add the garlic and ginger, then add the chicken mixture.  Let cook for a while, stir (yes, this will stick to the pan*, use a sharp spatula). 

When chicken is brown, add broth and bring to a boil.  Add the tofu and corn and return mixture to boil. 

In a small bowl, blend remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch and ¼ cup water until smooth, add to soup and stir until it returns to a boil.  In the same small bowl, beat egg to blend, then pour slowly into soup, stirring to form thin strands.  Add green onions, a bit more sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

* original recipe recommends a non-stick pan, but I don’t have any non-stick pots (just my 10-inch sauté pan which is routinely used for eggs).

Grilling: Chicken

One of the things I am doing while I have some time off is teaching my father-in-law how to grill.  They have recently purchased a home in the Phoenix area, and put in an awesome grill in the backyard. I got to start breaking it in!    We started with grilling some shrimp on rosemary skewers ( just a coating of olive oil and chopped rosemary) to honor the grill, and give us substance to move on to grilling chicken.  We made up a marinade I have done for many years, a spiced onion paste, which was combined with chunks of chicken for  kabobs.  Salads are handy to do with a grilled meat, since they can be done ahead.  I would usually do a pasta salad (who me, more pasta?) but for a nice change did a rice salad with farmer’s market vegetables and lemon juice / olive oil dressing.   My other grilling tricks: Use a zip-loc baggie for marinating (in addition to reducing dirty dishes, by pressing out the air, you get better contact between meat and marinade),  spray the hot grill with Pam, and let the meat cook about 4-5 minutes before turning.  The hard part is learning when its done, that’s just takes some practice!

Here are the recipes:

Cajun Chicken Brochettes

This marinade (done in a food processor) is a nice thick consistency.  It’s always better to marinate longer, but even a couple of hours is OK.

6 SERVINGS

½  small onion
1 medium garlic clove
¼  cup olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
¼  teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
Several grinds of pepper

4 boned chicken breast halves, skinned, cut into 1 ½ inch squares

1 large onion, cut into 1 ½ inch squares
12 medium mushrooms (about 6 ounces), trimmed
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 ½ inch squares
Lime Quarters (optional)

In food processor fitted with steel knife, and machine running, drop 1/2 small onion and garlic through feed tube and mince, stopping to scrape down sides of work bowl if necessary.  Add oil, lime juice, spices, and mix.  Transfer marinade to ziplock bag, add chicken pieces; seal bag and turn several times to coat with marinade.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Thread chicken and vegetables on ~6 skewers in following order. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated.)

Grill over medium heat until chicken is just opaque, ~ 10 minutes, turning once.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Homework recipe:

Grilled Savory Chicken

This chicken always comes out nice and moist -- a good one to fix for company (especially since you have to think ahead a little bit to marinate the chicken).  Of course, you don't have to marinate overnight, 20 minutes works.  It comes out best if you use at least half fresh herbs.

Serves 4

4 half chicken breasts
1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme (or 1 teaspoon dry)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh minced sage (or 1/2 teaspoon dry)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh minced rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dry)
3/4 teaspoon fresh minced marjoram (or 1/4 teaspoon dry)
3 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, cut into wedges (garnish)

Skin, bone and flatten chicken breasts to 1/4-inch thickness.  Combine all herbs, spices, lemon rind, and oil.  Rub cutlets with mixture.  Place in Zip-lock baggie.  Cover and chill overnight.  Sprinkle cutlets with salt and pepper to taste.  Grill 3-5 minutes on each side.  Optional:  Serve with lemon wedges.

Vegetable Rice Salad

This salad goes great with chicken or grilled fish.  Fine to use leftover rice. 

1 cup of rice (raw), cooked per package directions

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
6 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
Freshly ground pepper

Vegetables:  Need about 2 cups of vegetables, finely diced (4-6 kinds). 
Possible options:  Bell Pepper, cucumber, carrots, celery, green onions, sweet onions, sugar or snap peas, or thawed frozen peas, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes

Herbs:
1/4 cup minced parsley or other mild herb

Cook rice and cool to room temperature in a large bowl.   Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix vegetables together the rice, then add enough dressing to moisten.  Taste and add more salt or lemon juice if needed.

Serve room temperature or chilled.

Muffins and humility

This has been a fun weekend.   My folks were up for a visit, Mom and I went to the LPGA Safeway golf tournament on Saturday, and Sunday I played golf with both Mom and Dad.  The weather (which a week ago threatened to go from winter right into summer) was perfect spring weather after a healthy rain Thursday and Friday (my definition of spring weather: warm enough to wear shorts, but not to hot to be in the sun).

I also showed off a bit in the kitchen.  Friday night  Roy's folks were over too, dinner was a big pot of Mediterranean-style fish soup.  It really came out nice (and one of these days I will get it written down).  On Saturday night, we did a nice herb grilled chicken and asparagus.  Simple, but pretty and very good.  Then, on Sunday morning I made muffins, something we do almost every Sunday morning.  Sometimes I make them, sometimes Roy does, but I have made them enough I practically know the recipe by heart.  This morning, Roy opens the oven, and says my muffins look especially flat.  (Roy's muffins always peak higher than mine therefore, much prettier, so I think he is just kidding me a bit).  The timer goes off, I go look, and not only are they really flat, they are not done yet... the problem was the oven was at 350, not 400.  After another 10 minutes in the oven (everyone, coffee in hand, waiting for breakfast), they were ok (and we managed to eat all of them today).  But know I now why Roy's muffins are prettier:  he makes banana muffins with the same recipe (bananas and raisins instead of apples and cranberries), and doesn't have cold cranberries slowing down the process of rising the muffins. 

Here are the recipes for the muffins and the chicken  (to grill the asparagus, just role the asparagus in little olive oil, maybe some balsamic vinegar, add some pepper and grill along side the chicken).

Grilled Savory Chicken

This chicken always comes out nice and moist -- a good one to fix for company (especially since you have to think ahead a little bit to marinate the chicken).  Of course, you don't have to marinate overnight, 20 minutes works.  It comes out best if you use at least half fresh herbs, OK to not follow below exactly (I often use chives since they are usually plentiful in the garden, and skip the marjoram)

 Serves 4

4 half boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme (or 1 teaspoon dry)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh minced sage (or 1/2 teaspoon dry)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh minced rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dry)
3/4 teaspoon fresh minced marjoram (or 1/4 teaspoon dry)
3 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper
Juice from ½ a lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, cut into wedges (garnish)

Flatten chicken breasts to even out the thickness (best to do between sheets of plastic wrap.  Combine all herbs, spices, lemon rind, and oil.  Rub mixture.  Arrange in shallow dish or Ziploc baggie.  Cover and chill overnight if doing ahead.   Grill for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Apple Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins

12 MUFFINS

1 cup old-fashioned oats (or quick cooking)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
dash salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup un-packed brown sugar
1 apple, peeled and cut into chunks
3/4 cup buttermilk or milk or soy milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cranberries (thawed under running water if frozen)

OVEN:  Preheat to 400oF.  Grease muffin cups with Pam.

Mix oats, flour, baking powder, soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl.

In a food processor, mix eggs and brown sugar until smooth. Add apples, and pulse until small chunks. Add milk, oil, and vanilla.  Put in cranberries, and pulse a few times, to barely chop the cranberries.

Pour the batter on the dry ingredients, and fold together.

Scoop batter into muffins cups (put water into any empty cups). Bake 20 minutes or until springy to the touch in the center.  Turn out onto a rack to cool, we like them hot from the oven.

As always - send your feedback if you try the recipes!