In My Kitchen

So, about those reserved chicken necks and backbones. I recently discovered that the main difference between stock and broth is that broth is made from boiling meat while stock is made from boiling bones. I always like the flavor of stock better (especially my own) because I think it has a richer mouth feel and a more full-bodied flavor, this probably has to do with all the gelatin that comes out of the bones with long simmering.

To make stock with those parts, I just toss them in a pot with a rough chopped (not even peeled) carrot, a couple stalks of celery, onion and garlic if you have it and a little sea salt. Gently boil for about an hour or more and then strain out the chicken parts and vegetables. You can freeze this, refrigerate it (I would guess it will last in the fridge for about a week) or use it immediately.

The other day, Bruce and I were craving a warm light soup for lunch so I made up the stalk and then made my first attempt at egg drop soup.

After sifting all the veggies out of the stalk, I tossed in thinly sliced carrots, celery, a bit of onion, some cabbage and a couple dashes of soy sauce. I let those cook until the veggies were a bit tender and then I carefully whisked in one egg, gently beaten to combine the yolk and white.  I served it with a little garnish of chopped scallions and a bit more soy sauce (if desired).

Was very yummy and perfect for the cool weather.

I stole this recipe from Bon Appetit and made it my own by using fresh thyme instead of rosemary and a dash of Worcestershire sauce instead of juniper berries (because , until the other night, I didn’t even imagine that you could purchase juniper berries like that).

I’ve made the recipe twice and it’s fabulous. It involves a new technique for me - butterflying a whole roasting chicken. Turns out, the Henckel kitchen shears that came with my knife set are totally recommended by B.A. for this sort of task. Yay me! Butterflying a chicken couldn’t be easier. Just flip it so the breast side is down, cut up one side of the backbone and then the other side and pull it out. Reserve it for chicken stock (I’ll talk about that in my next post), you won’t regret saving it! Then flip the chicken over, and press down on the breasts to open it up like a book.

I’ve been using Rosie’s Organic chickens. They’re a bit more expensive (about a dollar/lb compared to Rocky Jr. all natural) but with the cloning and all…it seems like a good deal. Plus, one chicken can be stretched for at least three dinners in our family, so it’s pretty economical. The other nights I try to cook vegetarian.

I served this recipe on a bed of spinach tossed with balsamic, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Lately we’ve been experimenting with our diet to try and make it more pH balanced, which means eating less carbs and a lot more dark green veggies. Spinach is one of my favorites because those organic, triple-washed tubs are so easy to work with!

Anyway - try this recipe. Your house will smell like a five star restaurant, and your meal will taste like it came from one.

From Smitten Kitchen. For Homemade Oreos. The reverse creaming method works wonders with these cookies and makes them criminally easy to assemble.

2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. Ghiradelli Cocoa Powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. (or 1 3/4 c. if you’re making oreos) white sugar
1 c. + 4 TBSP. butter, room temp.
2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl with paddle attachment (not the whisk!). Gently blend in butter and then egg until dough comes together. Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet, handroll and press flat with fingers or a cup dipped in sugar. Bake for 9 minutes (no more! no less!) at 350 degrees. Eat them plain with a glass of milk. Or make oreos. Or increase the size of the cookies (maybe a tablespoon or two) and make ice cream sandwiches. I freeze theses and keep them on hand for cravings.

For filling:

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. shortening (like Crisco or Spectrum if you want organic)
2 c. powdered sugar
2. tsp. vanilla
Beat until fluffy, spoon into pastry piping bag. Pipe by teaspoon dollop onto every other cookie and top with another cookie.

This is a post that would be much better with pictures. But I wasn’t thinking about pictures when I went ravaging through my fridge at midnight looking for food. Again. No. You’d think I was pregnant. But no. Just nocturnal. And breastfeeding. I’ll go with that explanation.

Regardless of the reason - midnight found me hungry for snacks. And one of my favorite late-night snacks is eggs and toast. I’m very partial to the over easy egg with sourdough and any permutation thereof.

The movie Spanglish glorified this sort of midnight snack to an art form, with a special DVD feature showing how to make that fried egg, bacon, tomato sandwich. I should have guessed but this recipe was developed by Thomas Keller (of French Laundry), who also created the amazing Ratatouille recipe for that adorable, rodent-filled movie.

In a similar vein, when I was a kid, I had this really old (like 1950′2 era) Betty Crocker cookbook for young girls and in it were tons of retro recipes. My favorite was a recipe for “Eggs in a Frame.” Basically, you butter both sides of a piece of bread, toast it in a pan, cut a circle in the middle (save that toast round for later!). Break an egg into a cup or bowl and lightly salt, drop a little more butter in the center of the “frame” and gently slide the egg into the frame. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat, then gently flip over. This will yield an egg with a yolk that is thickened but still a little runny. That’s how I like it…you can also cook it through on one side until the egg white is set and serve it sunny side up.

Anyway, tonight, lacking bacon and lettuce to make the Thomas Keller version - I just ate my eggs in a frame with an extra slice of toast and some sliced, salted cold tomatoes. So yummy.

Unlike Erin, my late-night craving last night for Peanut Butter Cups was NOT pregnancy-induced. Just the same, it demanded gratification.  I never eat Reese’s since they contain lots of dairy and hydrogenated garbage so it was already more than time for me to develop my own method of satisfying the timeless urge to combine peanut butter and chocolate.

Scrounging through my cupboards I found a jar of creamy peanut butter, some powdered sugar and some bittersweet chocolate chips and some random, mini candy cups leftover from Christmas baking. Perfect.

A bit about the chocolate (since I’m here), I really like Guittard  Semisweet Chocolate Chips and not just because they’re the only widely-available baking chips that don’t contain milk or butterfat. They are dark and not too sweet and they melt exquisitely and have a delicious mouth-feel.

I melted about 2/3 c. chocolate in the microwave (which is basically sacrilege in the melting chocolate world) but just until most of the chips were melted. Stir it with a spatula (no metal! plastic or silicone only!) to help the remaining chips melt.

While that was going on, I whipped up (with a fork) about 1/2 c. of peanut butter (probably less) and a couple tablespoons of powdered sugar and scooped it into a small ziplock with a corner snipped off to make a piping bag.

Clear a spot in your freezer so these can chill.

Drop some melted chocolate in the bottom of your candy cup, enough to coat the sides of the cup (all the way to the top of the cup) and to leave a slightly thick layer on the bottom. Put these in the freezer to set. Once the chocolate is matte and hardened, pull them out and pipe your preferred portion of the peanut butter mixture into the center of the cup. Cover this with more chocolate and then return to the freezer. Mine took maybe 10 minutes to set and then I could peel of the cup and devour.

I have to warn you though - these are like 1000% more rich than the store-bought version and I could barely eat one at a time. Enjoy with caution, they may put you into a peanut-y-chocolate coma.

There’s a little plaque hanging in my kitchen that says “Home Baked Breads.” My husband bought it for me after he realized (oh.my.gosh.) that I knew how to make focaccia. Sadly for our waistlines, he and I both love bread, especially when it’s homemade and definitely when it’s covered with tomato sauce.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I have to give major credit to my favorite cookbook in the world - The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. It is the best cookbook I have ever owned (thanks mom!) and I have yet to try a recipe from it that I do not absolutely love. That is why, last night, when I had a major craving for pizza-ish carbs, I went straight to my Test Kitchen book to sniff out a recipe for Pizza.

It requires some planning ahead (total rising time is about 1.5 hrs), but if you follow the directions, it’s pretty much fool-proof. It makes three 12″ pizzas, or in my case, it make two 12″ pizzas and three deliciously fluffy 4″ mounds of tomato-covered  flat bread (flat-ish, they were pretty fluffy).

Dough:

• 4 1/4 c. bread (or all-purpose, I used King Arthur’s Organic All-Purpose)
• 1 packet rapid rise yeast (or 2.25 tsp)
• 1 3/4 c. warm water
• 1.5 tsp salt

2 TBSP olive oil

In measuring cup, combine yeast and water, proof for a few minutes. [Note: the actual recipe skips this step, combining the yeast with the rest of the dry ingredients, but I always prefer to add my yeast wet, just in case.] In large mixing bowl, combine 4 c. flour and salt, add in olive oil and then water/yeast mixture. Mix for until dough forms a ball, then let it rest for 2 minutes, then mix again for 30 seconds. At this stage, my dough was REALLY sticky. Pour dough out on to a heavily floured surface and begin kneading, adding the remaining 1/4c. flour as needed. Knead for a total of about 5 minutes, then place dough (shaped into a nice neat ball) in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic (also oiled) and let rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes (mine only needed 60) or until doubled in size.

Turn dough out on to floured surface and divide into three, equal-sized balls. Wrap each in plastic and let them rest another 20-30 minutes.

In the meantime: place your pizza stone (a must have!) in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Let the stone heat up in the oven for at least 30 minutes. This is the perfect time to assemble all your toppings.

After 30 minutes, you can begin building your pizzas:

On a large sheet of parchment (you’ll use this during baking) sprinkle a couple TBSP of cornmeal and begin to roll out your first ball of pizza dough. I didn’t need a rolling pin, just gently push and shape the dough until it’s about 13-14″ in diameter. Now it’s time to decorate!  I topped our pizza with Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce (delicious! I highly recommend!), minced garlic, thinly sliced bell peppers, red onions, tomatoes and chicken apple sausage.

Now comes the most tricky part: Turn a large cookie sheet upside down and gently slide your pizza, on the parchment paper, on to the upside-down cookie sheet. This is your substitute for those big paddles they have in pizza kitchens. Slide the pizza, parchment and all, on to your hot pizza stone and back for 10-15 minutes until done. Repeat with your other two balls of dough and you have pizza night! Preservative free and delicious!

When I’m craving old-fashioned, stick-to-your ribs food, this is at the top of my list. I serve it with mashed yukon gold potatoes and broccoli sauteed with garlic.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan with olive oil or butter.

In large bowl combine:

• 2lbs ground turkey (I use 1lb breast meat, 1lb thigh meat - they’re sold separately at my grocery store)
• 1/2 - 1 cup bread crumbs (since most store-brand varieties have milk in them, I make my own by toasting day-old sourdough and then blitzing in the food processor until very fine)
• 1/2 finely chopped parsley
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce\
• 1/3 c. ketchup (I like Heinz organic)
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt!)

Mash all ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Press into loaf pan and round the top. Spread another 1/3 cup of ketchup. Bake at 375, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes or until browned on top and cooked through.

You can easily make a gravy to go with this by making a simple roux (equal parts flour, butter - I usually need about a TBSP of each) and adding chicken broth, ketchup, a little tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste. My family likes the meatloaf with just ketchup. They’re big ketchup fans. Especially my one year old. The dentists will scold me for this, I’m sure.

Enjoy!

Asian style Lettuce (or Cabbage) Wraps:

I’ve been making this recipe for a couple years, but it definitely came in handy when farm boxes came several weeks in a row with lots of lettuce and cabbage. It’s fast, easy to prepare and chock-full of flavor.

Sautee until meat is thoroughly cooked and onions are transluscent:
-1 breast of chicken, finely chopped or 1/2-1 lb ground turkey, chicken, or leftover roasted chicken - whatever you have on hand (I wouldn’t recommend beef)
- 1/4 c. chopped scallions
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
Sauce: Combine in sauce pan all ingredients but cornstarch, simmer gently until sugar dissolves. Whisk in cornstarch and simmer until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and pour half onto the cooked chicken mixture.
-1/2 c. soy sauce
-1/2 c. sugar
- 1TBSP mirin (sweet rice wine - this is good to have on hand if you do a lot of asian cooking)
-1 tsp. minced/grated garlic
- 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
- 1 TBSP cornstarch
Toppings, etc:
- Cooked white or brown rice OR cooked rice noodles
- Grated carrots and cucumber, sprinkled with seasoned rice vinegar
- Peanuts if desired or any other sauces/nuts/etc you might prefer
- Washed and dried pieces of lettuce or cabbage (we used the Romaine from our box and it worked great! It was sturdy enough to hold good-sized portions)
Line everything up buffet style and people can fix their own wraps. Bruce’s brother loves these with spicy Thai peanut sauce, I like them more Japanese/Teriyaki-inspired.

Back in October, our farm box arrived with a bag full of hot peppers. I’ve never made salsa before, but in keeping with my goal to not waste a single vegetable from those boxes, I decided it was time for salsa. I wanted something of a roasted salsa, so this is what I came up with - it was a surprising hit with the family.

10 small-ish hungarian wax peppers, seeded, cut in half and roasted until charred on the edges
Approx 1-2lbs tomatoes, seeded, halved and roasted until charred
1/2 onion, chopped
Half a bunch of chopped cilantro
1 TBSP white vinegar
Juice from 1 lime
Salt to taste
Blitz everything in the food processor until it reaches the texture you prefer.

For someone who has never been all that fond of butternut squash, I would eat this soup morning, noon and night if I could. It’s easy, relatively fast (especially if you have already-roasted squash on hand) and perfect for fall and winter weather.

When I’m making soup, I always try to season as I go so each level of ingredients is properly seasoned. I think in the end I use less salt and the flavors are better blended.

Serve this with a nice salad and some rustic sourdough bread.

• 2 TBSP olive oil or butter (I used half and half)
• 3 large leeks, sliced (discard the top dark green parts, just use the white and pale green portion of the leek)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 lbs potatoes, sliced (Skinned Russets are ok but yukon or fingerling have better flavor for this recipe I think)
• 1/2 large roasted butternut squash, cubed (or more! use to taste)
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• S&P to taste

Heat oil in large stock pot and sautee onions and leeks until softened and transluscent. Add potatoes and cook until the potatoes are soft but not fully cooked. Add about 1 qt chicken stock and simmer covered until potatoes are cooked through. Drop in cubed butternut squash and begin to break up the potatoes and squash pieces with a wooden spoon. Add about another 1/2 qt chicken stock and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the squash and potatoes are very soft and well-combined. At this point you can serve as-is, blend for a really smooth/creamy soup or use a potato masher to gently mash the soup a little more. In my family, we like chunky soup. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Makes about 8-10 servings