I rarely buy meat from the grocery store anymore. Our freezer has local, farm-raised beef, lamb, chicken, pork, rabbit and wild duck. The chickens I purchase are whole and usually 3-4 lbs. I have not prepared boneless, skinless chicken breast for a really long time. The flavor of local, pastured, free-range chicken with bones and skin is far above and beyond any poultry one will find in a supermarket.
These days there are only two of us at home. With meals for two most common, I find many ways to be creative with the “cook once, eat twice (or three times)” motto. My latest endeavor was one roasted chicken that was spread between three very different meals/events….
Meal One: I love roasted chicken and I love preparing it in different ways. I almost always enjoy sliding slivered cloves of fresh garlic under the breast and thigh skin….mmmm! The variations include what to put in the cavity, how to season the skin, marinating before roasting, what to roast it with and so on. This particular bird got the garlic under the skin, a quartered whole lemon in the cavity, along with a few pieces of fresh ginger root. (I have also put lemon under the skin of a chicken and that is really good as well.) A good olive oil, fresh lemon juice, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper were rubbed into the skin and fresh dried tarragon and parsley topped it all off. The chicken was roasted for close to 90 minutes in a pan with white wine, shallots, garlic and celery. I love a really crispy skin and very juicy tender meat and I am never disappointed with the farm fresh chickens. I enjoy dark meat and Mr. Sackett loves white, so there is always plenty for each of us to enjoy.
This particular bird was served with oven-roasted carrots, turnips, potatoes, onion and garlic with olive oil and herbs. It was also accompanied by brussel sprouts browned in olive oil and butter with a little shaving of fresh parmesan.
Preparation Two: Time for the Missouri Mycological Society (MOMS) Winter Luncheon and I needed to prepare something delicious. I was thinking ahead, but couldn’t come up with anything that really excited me. I had a busy weekend with family parties and social events and not a lot of time for anything difficult.
I had some puff pastry sheets in the freezer, lots of dried mushrooms, leftover roasted chicken, lots of different cheeses, shallots, garlic, wine, herbs…ahh haaa! I had something and it took less than an hour to prepare!
I soaked about two ounces of dried porcini mushrooms in red wine and warm water for about 30 minutes. I took some meat off the chicken and chopped it really fine. In a large skillet, I sauteéd shallots and garlic with olive oil, added the finely chopped mushrooms with some of the strained soaking liquid, stirred in the chicken, added fresh tarragon, parsley, thyme, a little smoked salt, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. I let that mixture sit while I baked the two sheets of puff pastry on large cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
While the pastry was baking and cooling a bit, I softened an 8oz block of cream cheese. (I almost used goat cheese, but opted for the cream cheese) With the softened cream cheese, I beat in some whipping cream and added a bit of the herbs I used with the mushrooms and chicken.
I was running out of time and quickly spread the cheese on the barely-cooled puff pastry. It crushed the pastry a bit, but it was all covered eventually and didn’t show. Next, I spread and sprinkled the chicken and porcini mixture on top of the herbed cheese, and pressed it into the cheese just a bit. To serve, I cut the sheets into little squares with a pizza cutter, put them on a beautiful platter and placed them on the appetizer table with the other starters. I think I called it a porcini, chicken and cheese tart. I had no idea what else to name it. The dish was a hit!
Meal Three: This one is on the stove now and still pending what the finishing “WOW” ingredients will be.
Snow day and possible blizzard conditions and so, I prepared a few things last night, just in case! I could always heat soup or stew up with sterno in my fondue pot, couldn’t I? I put together a chili and a chowder. My concoctions are always different. I have not found a chili or soup recipe that cannot be “played with” and possibly perfected or tweaked.
I enjoy ground meat of some sort in my chili as well as kidney beans or a variety of beans (red, black, pinto, kidney). I also enjoy chopped tomato or a thicker pureéd tomato. Sometimes I add cocoa or peanut butter, oregano, and a tad of ground cloves. I always add a lot of cumin and I cannot remember the last time I used commercial chili powder or commercially prepared chili beans. Ok, so the chili is not part of the chicken…I better move on! The chili recipe will have to come later.
I was going to make a teeny bit of chicken noodle soup with the carcass and little meat I had left on the chicken. I put the carcass in a pot of water and turned it on to simmer. Then I decided I was in the mood for corn chowder, so why not make chicken corn chowder and mix it all together?
Sauté onion, garlic, celery, carrot and potato in olive oil and a little chicken broth then gradually add a little more broth, then add a couple of cups of fresh or fresh frozen corn and chopped chicken. Fry two or three pieces of dry cured bacon (no nitrates please) or smoked ham, drain and chop into fine pieces…add to the pot. If you want the fat and the flavor then sauté the bacon with all the veggies at the start.
Gradually add more broth, cream or milk. If you want a thicker chowder, then make a roux from milk and flour and stir it into hot soup.
Now, here is where creativity and personal preference come into play. I added salt, pepper, a bay leaf and fresh thyme. It was okay but lacked the flavor I wanted. I let it set overnight and reheated it and am currently playing with it. I have added a few drops of habanero hot sauce, a little more salt, pepper and white pepper and it is still ok. I just soaked dried morel and chanterelle mushrooms in white wine, chopped them finely and stirred them in. I will wait a while and taste again….
So, there is my one roasted Amish Chicken, three ways!
And that makes me smile!