Asian Chicken Wings

this is the prettiest picture ever. that is because susan took it.

To me, chicken wings are the fowl equivalent of sugar pie, which is when you take all the odds and ends from your pie crust and bake them with sugar on it.  Chicken wings are what is left over when the parts of the chicken people actually want are spoken for: unsellable, weird pieces of what is very obviously a bird.  The marketing department of Giant Chicken Conglomerate, however, figured out a way to make money off the pieces no one in their right mind would actually want:  PUT A LOT OF SAUCE ON THEM.  Realistically, chicken wings are vehicles for sauce.  Which actually I am totally fine with, though it does raise a question that has troubled me for some time.  Why must we use animal parts to ferry sauce from our grubby hands to our  mouths?  Why is it not ok to eat sauce with a spoon?  Some questions just don’t have answers.

The good news is, these chicken wings have a really good sauce.  It’s more like a glaze, really.  And it can be modified very easily.  If, for example, you are making these for someone who does not hate ginger, it would be lovely to put ginger in the sauce!  I’m not usually one for recipes that require a long marinating time, because I don’t plan food in advance much, but the longer these marinate, the better they will be.  Because you broil them, the skin gets all crispy and caramelized from the sugar and the fat, and soy sauce, garlic and sugar are a magical combination in any situation.  Also, if, like me, you make these for a whole bunch of people during which time you drink a large quantity of red wine, you will appreciate how salty, sweet and spicy they are in contrast to how drunk you feel.  And, if, like me, you ALWAYS want a snack when the red wine-drinking is over, these are excellent left over.

Vaguely Asian Chicken Wings (these proportions are for 1 lb of chicken wings, double, triple, 14-ple as needed.)

1 lb chicken wings

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup  brown sugar

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 tsp Sriracha, depending on how spicy you like things

Some other things you could add to the sauce if you wanted:  minced ginger; sake, if you have some lying around; sweet Thai chili sauce; peanut butter, if you want a peanut sauce kind of thing; ponzu; FISH SAUCE, and I would highly recommend this; grated pear, which I use when I make Korean bulgogi, it is magic.

Method:  Whisk together the sauce ingredients, coat the wings with it for at least 2 hours, but preferably 24.  When you’re ready to cook them, put all the wings on a cookie sheet (reserving the marinade) and bake them in the oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or so, until they’re more or less cooked through.  Take them out, brush the glaze you reserved back over them and put them under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.  Take them out, flip them all over, broil the other side for 2-3 minutes.  If you want to then flip them one MORE time and broil the other side for a further minute, you can, because there’s so much fat in chicken wings it is basically impossible to overcook them, and you’d rather have the skin be crispy all the way around, trust me.  Serve, with Sriracha and chopped green onion for garnish.

- Cat

another beautiful picture, courtesy of susan.

Thai Chicken Noodle Salad

So here’s the thing about ginger. I hate it. I think it tastes like soap. I am extremely sensitive to it and I can taste even a small amount in things. Now, I realize there are some things where ginger is imperative and in general if it’s cooked into something (like chutney) I don’t notice it that much, but fresh ginger makes me feel like I’m in that scene from A Christmas Story.

While writing this post, I searched long and hard to find information on why ginger tastes like soap to some people (because I know I’m not the only one), but I couldn’t find anything. I did find some disturbing things pertaining to why people thing ginger tastes like soap, but I assure you- none of it was scientific.  Somewhere along the line I read something about how the way ginger tastes is some kind of chemical reaction, or recognition, similar to why some people think cilantro tastes like soap (not me, I love the stuff). Either way, I give up. If you find it, tell me.

Until then- keep that nasty crap away from me.

As for this recipe, it is common for Thai food to have ginger in it. I was immediately drawn to this recipe after I realized it was missing that one loathed ingredient.  I love rice noodles, everything from their texture to how quickly they cook. Aside from a short marinade for the chicken this recipe comes together extremely quickly. It tasted light and refreshing and I had visions of enjoying this in the backyard with fresh herbs from the garden. Screw you winter, bring on the sunshine!

Anyway, this is a modified version of this Martha Stewart recipe

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

Ingredients for dressing/ marinade:

4 thinly sliced scallion whites

2 minced garlic cloves

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup rice vinegar

2  Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs fresh lime juice

½ tsp anchovy paste

1 tsp red pepper flakes

¼ cup sesame oil or olive oil

Whisk or shake together all ingredients except the oil (the oil will be added after it is used as a marinade).

Ingredients for salad:

1 ¼ Lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced crosswise

3 ½ oz Chinese rice noodles

1 Tbs. veg oil

2 carrots, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler (or julienned if you’re fancy)

1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro

Handful of bean sprouts

3-4 sliced scallions

A dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

Method:

Place chicken and half of the dressing in a sealable plastic bag, reserve remaining dressing. Marinate at room temp for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight. Boil about 3 cups of water in a kettle or a pot. Put the rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them sit for two to three minutes until cooked (these directions will also be on the package). Drain and set aside. In a Large skillet heat oil over medium high. Working in batches, cook chicken until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk the remaining dressing with ¼ cup sesame or olive oil. Top the noodles with the chicken, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and bean sprouts. Drizzle with the dressing, and sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes and scallions.

A few notes:

The original recipe called for basil- both cilantro and basil work for Thai food and I happened to have cilantro on hand. It was delicious. If you had Thai basil it would be even better.

You could literally modify this recipe ANY way you want. You could add ginger (eww) to the marinade/dressing. You could add spicy Thai chilis instead of red chili flakes for even more heat. You could use pork or beef. You could top it with crushed peanuts, or any other kind of vegetable you might like.

-Sue

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is a bit of a production, but it’s worth every ounce of effort. You have to make a pie crust, roast chicken, make the filling, and then assemble the pie. It’s quite an ordeal, but it’s fantastic. Of course, there are a lot of cheater methods for chicken pot pie including buying pre-made pie crust, or even puff pastry. You can substitute cream of chicken soup instead of making the filling from scratch. You can even use biscuits as a topping…but I’m telling you right now, if you make it my way, you won’t regret it. In fact, if you have someone you want to impress (a boyfriend or girlfriend by chance) you might want to consider making this for them. This was one of the first meals I made for my boyfriend, and I’m fairly confident it sealed the deal for me.

Classically, chicken pot pie is a cream based filling with chicken, carrots, onions, celery, peas, and potatoes; which is exactly how I make mine. Many recipes add things like mushrooms (which I do love, but my boyfriend doesn’t), bell peppers, and even green beans. Bells peppers and my stomach don’t get along, and I think there is no worse crime than an overcooked mushy green bean, but you can add whatever you like. If you want to add or omit any vegetables in this recipe, you can do it without making any adjustment.

Now, there are a few things I should tell you about this recipe:

-          This is a recipe for a full double pie crust. Depending on how you make your final product you might have left over. If you have left over you can roll out an extra pie crust and freeze it in a disposable pie tin for use later.

-          This recipe makes more than enough filling. My boyfriend calls it “chicken stew” and he loves to eat it alone as much as he loves it in pie form.

-          This can be made in various ways: In a pie plate with both a top and a bottom crust, in a pie plate with just a top crust, or in ramekins or small crocks topped with crust.

-          I made the original in the traditional way with a top and a bottom crust in a pie plate. With the leftovers for picture (and round two eating) purposes I made a small one in a ramekin. One was prettier, but they were both equally delicious.

The filling for this recipe is my own, but the pie crust recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen.  I have a number of different pie crust recipes under my belt (including the secret family recipe), but this one was excellent for this dish.

Pie Crust Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar (I left this out since I was doing a savory preparation and this dough is quite sweet)
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka  (Don’t skip this, see the note at the bottom of the post)
1/4 cup cold water

1 egg, for egg wash

Pie crust method:

Process 1½ cups flour, salt and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening, and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds, and there should be no un-coated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Filling (a.k.a. Chicken stew) ingredients:

1 ½ to 2 lbs of chicken, roasted  and diced (or shredded) *See notes at bottom*

1 onion, diced

1 Tbs olive oil

4 Tbs butter

¾ cup flour

4 cups (1 box) chicken stock

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼” rounds

2 large stalks celery, slice into ¼” pieces

1 medium to large russet potato, diced and par boiled

1/3 cup frozen peas

1 Tbs Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor, or 1 bouillon cube

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

¼ cup heavy cream or ½ and ½

Filling method:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large pot or sauce pan heat olive oil and sauté onions over medium heat until translucent. Add butter and let it melt. Add flour and whisk into butter and onions, cook over medium heat until a thick paste has formed and has started to lightly brown, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in chicken stock and bullion, bring to a boil. The sauce should be significantly thickened, turn heat back down to medium and add the carrots and celery, and chicken. Cook for about 10 minutes until the carrots and celery have begun to soften. Add peas and potatoes and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper, about a tsp. each, or more to taste. Whisk in heavy cream and remove from heat.

Chicken Pot Pie assembly:

For full crust: Assemble the bottom crust of the pie and rub with butter (yes, more butter, but this will help the crust from becoming soggy).  Add the filling and top with an additional crust. Crimp edges.  And cut 3-4 vents in the top. Whisk one egg and brush lightly over the entire crust. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt and ground pepper.  Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling

For individual pot pies: Spoon filling into 4-6 ovenproof bowls (depending on their size). Roll out dough and cut into strips to create a lattice top, or cut into rounds large enough to drape over the edge of each bowl.  Brush the edge of the bowls with egg wash and top with crust. If you are using rounds, cut 2 vents in each. Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt and ground pepper. Bake at 350 for 18-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

A few notes:

You can buy roasted chicken, or roast your own. I used two large bone-in chicken breasts with skin on. I like to buy skin on because it keeps the breasts moist. My method is to rub each breast with olive oil, place them in a roasting pan skin side up and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast at 375 for about 35 minutes until they are cooked through and have an internal temperature of at least 170 degrees. Let the chicken cool , then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin, cut into a large dice.

Vodka in pie crust?! No, I’m not crazy. There is some science behind this.  Essentially the alcohol adds moisture without aiding in gluten formation, because gluten does not form in alcohol. For good flaky pie crust you want layers of fat and layers of gluten, and much of this is achieved by using cold ingredients and not allowing too much gluten to form too quickly. One other note- don’t skip that step about folding in the water/vodka, it makes a HUGE difference, trust me. There are a LOT of things I have learned about dough making over the past few years, but that’s a whole different post.

-Sue

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Does anyone out there not love Panera? Come on, be honest. I remember when they opened, and Cat and I used to go there in high school. They have this wonderful house latte that has honey in it- honey in coffee is delicious, who knew!? One time at Panera we saw Tayshaun Prince, who plays for the Detroit Pistons (we also once ran into Chauncey Billups, in Denver at Verizon, and I may or may not have memorized his cell phone number).

But seriously, let’s get back to soup, my favorite subject. Panera has some excellent soups, I’m willing to admit it, you can too.  One day a few years ago I had the bad idea of looking online to find out how much fat was in one of my favorite Panera soups. Turns out- it’s A LOT. I don’t know what kind of delicious things they put in those soups, but I was sure I could make a delicious soup with much less fat.

This soup is exactly that. The best part is that there are even more fat trimming trickery that I could have used, and didn’t have to. I will add those at the bottom, but after putting this through a recipe calorie counter, it has almost ½ the fat of the Panera version. Homemade soup is always the best…but I’ll still sometimes eat at that other place. This is chicken and wild rice soup, it is hearty and creamy and flavorful and perfect for a cold winter night. I love a soup that is hearty enough to be a meal on it’s own and this is definitely that.

Ingredients:

2 cups wild rice

2 Tbs olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 stalks celery chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1/3 cup flour

6 cups chicken stock, unsalted

3 cups shredded chicken

½ tsp dried parsley

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp turmeric

1 ½ tsp seasoned salt

1 cup ½ and ½ or heavy cream

Method:

Heat 1 Tbs of the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrots. Saute until the onion is tender. Add the spices and toast for 1 minute. Add the additional Tbs of olive oil and the flour, cook for one minute stirring frequently. Add the broth and reduce the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes until it is slightly thickened.

While the soup cooks, cook the rice according to package directions. I generally use at least some broth or stock while cooking rice to add more flavor, but whatever you want to do is fine.

When the soup has thickened, add the shredded chicken and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Before serving add the cream (or ½ and ½) and stir to combine. I usually taste at this stage and add more spices if needed. At this point you can either add all the rice if you are serving all the soup to a crowd, or add a large spoonful to each bowl and top it with the soup. The rice absorbs a lot of liquid and it will get mushy when you reheat it if you add it all now.

A few notes:

Mushrooms would be a wonderful addition to this. However, the boyfriend isn’t a big fan. I should have added them anyway- if you are going to add them I would recommend about 8 oz.

We used shredded chicken that I had roasted the night before. Any kind of chicken will do, or even turkey (hello Thanksgiving leftovers).

Try to get all wild rice. Some grocery stores will try and trick you with blends. The thing about other types of rice is that they have been stripped of their hull, and the texture just isn’t the same. There is a time and a place for all kinds of rice, but try to use ALL wild rice in this soup.

Oh did you want know more about the fat trickery? Use a can of nonfat evaporated milk. Or steam cauliflower and puree it and add that. There are a million little tricks to use- but cream or ½ and ½ are going to give you the best mouthfeel and flavor, it’s just a fact. I significantly reduced the amount that a lot of recipes called for, but feel free to use the other suggestions if you are looking for an even lower fat version

PS- according to Panera, their soup has 17g of fat per serving, and according to my calculations based on a 12 oz serving, mine has 6.9g. So yes, this is still not a soup you should eat every day, but it’s a much healthier alternative and is super satisfying and filling.

-Sue

Chicken Tikka Masala

you can see chunks of onion because i gave up on pureeing after my magma spatter disaster. hopefully yours will be smoother.

I do a lot of cooking.  I especially do a lot of cooking while drinking wine and dancing around my kitchen.  Luckily for me, my chopping skills stay mostly intact while drinking.  When I am (occasionally) unlucky, I employ the Bryan Monaghan Certified Medically Sound Method for Healing Kitchen Injuries – I wrap a paper towel really tightly around wherever I’ve cut myself, then swathe the whole thing in duct tape.  It’s great, because it’s really inconvenient AND looks ridiculous.

I didn’t cut  myself during the making of Chicken Tikka Masala, though I did spray myself, the stove and the wall with many droplets of screaming hot pureed tomatoes and onions.  The unfortunate thing is that Sue’s mom JUST sent me a really cute apron for my birthday (thanks again Mrs. Croal!), which I wasn’t wearing because I want to keep it pretty.  Can someone please send me an ugly apron?

Here’s something: Chicken Tikka Masala is the national dish of Britain, according to someone who said that once in Britain.  Basically, it’s a rich, sweetish curry made mostly from tomatoes, cream and spices.  Chances are, if you’ve been to an Indian restaurant in America, you’ve ordered it, as it’s the Indian restaurant equivalent of Pad Thai.  It’s delicious, and this recipe, from Use Real Butter,  is really easy and doesn’t call for anything your local store doesn’t have.  If you cook any Indian or Mexican food at home, you probably have most of the spices already.  It’s hardly any prep at all, and the actual work involved (not including marinating time) takes about 45 minutes.  Simple.  It also makes for EXCELLENT leftovers to take to work for lunch.

Chicken Tikka Masala, from Use Real Butter

For the kebabs:

1 lb chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

2 tbsp plain yogurt

juice of 1 lime

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground coriander

3/4 tsp paprika (any kind, sweet, hot, whatever)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tbsp vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Method: Mix together all the ingredients but the chicken, then put the chicken in the marinade, in the fridge, for 2-24 hours.  I marinated mine for 6 hours and it was plenty of time.

longer is better, but at least 1-2 hours is fine.

30 minutes before you want to make the curry part, skewer the chicken onto sticks (metal if you have them, if your skewers are wood, soak them in water for 30 minutes prior to using them on the grill) and grill them, for about 6-8 total minutes, turning once.  If you don’t have a grill, you can bake them in the oven, on 400 degrees, on a cookie sheet, for about 6-8 minutes, turning once.  When the kebabs are done, remove them to a plate and get them ready to put into the curry a little later.

For the curry:

2-3 tbsp butter

2 big sweet onions, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 inch piece of ginger, grated

2 big, ripe tomatoes, diced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tbsp salt

black pepper

1 tbsp sugar

juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 cup heavy cream

Method:  In a big dutch oven on medium heat, melt the butter, and put in the onion, garlic and ginger.  Cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and lightly browned.  Then, put in all the tomatoes and cook another 5-6 minutes, mashing the tomatoes around.

i mashed the tomatoes for awhile. it was a little like hungry hungry hippos.

At this point, you can do the smart thing, which is put the whole mess into a blender and puree it, or you can do the stupid thing (which of course, is what I did) and try to use an immersion blender to puree it, even though there’s definitely not enough stuff in the pot to NOT spray yourself with many droplets of tomato puree the same temperature as lava.  In any case, puree the mixture, taking care because it is HOT, and then return it to the pot.  Stir in all the spices, lime juice and cream, then mix in the chicken pieces.  Heat the whole thing through, maybe 5-8 minutes.  Serve with jasmine rice and naan.  (Not that I ever advocate eating pre-made food items, but Trader Joe’s has thoroughly decent frozen garlic naan that heats up in a toaster oven in like 2 minutes.  Just saying.)

- Cat