The whole meal in one lovely little packet

I had lost track of this cooking method for some years until a couple of weeks ago. Melissa Clark wrote about cooking asparagus in parchment in the New York Times, and it was like running into an old friend. I had gone through a period of heavy experimentation with cooking en papillote — in a parchment pouch — but I’d filed it in the deep drawer, so to speak. Cooking this way can be so satisfying. It is limited only by your tastebuds, it’s easy to clean up, can be low fat, and it absolutely complements fresh ingredients by heightening rather than hiding their flavor.

Parchment paper used to be somewhat difficult to get your hands on, usually requiring a trip to the cookware store. That may be why I experimented heavily some years back (when I worked in a cookware store) and why it fell by the wayside (when I didn’t). Reynolds now makes parchment paper rolls, widely available in most grocery stores.

Classic en papillote cooking is done in a very hot oven (400°F) for a very short time (10 minutes). The well folded edges keep in the air, which works like a pressure cooker inside the packet. Here I’ve used low heat (200°F) for a long period (1 hour), which I think is lovely and keeps things tender and juicy. I plan on getting back into experimentation, though, so I’ll be writing more about it. I want to try sweet things, and I also remember making packets that were individual servings, which guests got to break open at the table. I’ll definitely be returning with more on this subject!

I started out with a whole chicken breast — a rather large one — that needed to be split into two half breasts and then further cut down. I will continue to carp about overly large chicken breasts until producers do something about it. The flavor and texture just aren’t quite as good, even if it is organic or free-range. Anyway, I wanted to combine my chicken with what I had on hand, and that leaned toward Asian flavors since I had fresh ginger, shitake mushrooms and asparagus. I made rice to go with it, but nearly the entire meal is contained in the packet.

Many, many combinations will work

Chicken Breasts Cooked in Parchment | 4 servings

2 large or 4 small chicken breasts halves, boneless and skinless
3 large shitake mushrooms
2 or 3 green onions
12 asparagus spears
3 carrots
1 slice prosciutto
1 large garlic clove
1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Salt
8 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus some for garnish

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Beginning on the thick end of the half breast and holding the knife blade parallel to the board, cut the breast into two equal pieces.

Give your knife a good sharp edge before splitting the breasts this way

Slice the shitake mushrooms. Trim and chop the white part of the green onions and several inches of the green. Trim the bottom of the asparagus spears and with a vegetable peeler, peel the bottom third of each spear. Trim, peel and slice the carrots lengthwise into sticks. Chop the prosciutto. Peel and smash the garlic. Peel and thinly slice the ginger into matchstick pieces.

Have everything all ready before putting it all together on the paper

Tear off a piece of parchment twice as long as a baking sheet. Lay the chicken in a single layer down the length of the parchment. On top of the chicken place the asparagus, carrots, mushrooms, prosciutto, garlic, and ginger.

This will be a long, narrow packet, so leave plenty of room on the sides to bring the paper up together to fold

Drizzle the olive oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame over the top. Toss with your hands to coat.

Olive oil may seem wrong with Asian flavors but I like its depth

You don't really have to measure...

Coat the vegetables and chicken well and then pile the vegetables back on top

Sprinkle with salt. Distribute the chopped green onions evenly and place the cilantro sprigs on top.

This dish is fun to make

The cilantro won't be pretty when it's cooked but it adds wonderful flavor

Bring the long sides of the paper together and crease and fold over on each other. Then crease and fold again and staple.

The goal is for a tight seal

Melissa Clark is to thank for the stapler idea

Crease and fold up the ends of the paper several times. Staple the ends.

The package is now ready for, if not the US mail, then the oven

Place the packet on a baking sheet and cook for 1 hour in the preheated oven.

The paper has barely colored in such a low oven

Just before serving, tear open the paper and remove the cilantro. Serve over rice with the accumulated juices.

Spoon the juices right over the top

Even better than those care packages you used to get at camp.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

This was playoff game #1, then there was that crazy game #2 and now I'm saying Go Saints (but it would be Go Vikings...)

Uh huh. Yup. That’s right. I do watch the Super Bowl. Where I come from that would be considered a given (Oklahoma, home of reluctant but loyal Cowboys fans). But where I live is another matter. People in these parts approach the Super Bowl apologetically — put it in quotes. This might be different if we had a team in this megalopolis, but no. Did, don’t. Might, don’t yet. So we’re a fan amalgam of where we’re from, places we love, dream teams, underdogs. One constant, though, is that there must be a Super (Size Me) Sunday array of snacks. And in my little circle it’s wings.

Another name for this sports bar snack is Buffalo wings (so named for a restaurant in Buffalo, NY, where they are reputed to have been “invented”). And it’s perfect that Calvin Trillin, known for his love of anything that requires him to lick his fingers, was lurking somewhere in that area circa 1980, interviewing and eating, when this snack hit the big time.

I love wings but not the big franchise kind. They just don’t taste personal, and often come with either indifferent barbecue sauce or ranch dressing, a newer substitute for the classic accompaniment, blue cheese dressing. So I’ve taken on the wing, and the sauces as well. I used a dry brine and kept the wings in the refrigerator overnight to tenderize and flavor them. Once you’ve made your own you’ll be required to bring them to every Super Bowl party you ever attend — even in the NFL-free zone of Los Angeles.

Roasted Chicken Wings with 3 Sauces | 50 pieces

If you have lots of other food, allow 5 pieces per person. I’ve seen some hungry snackers go at it, though, so plan accordingly. I bought 5 pounds of wings, or 16 individual wings, which yielded 32 pieces. I also bought 2 1/2 pounds of drumettes at a considerably higher price per pound, and that was 20 pieces. I recommend buying whole wings and cutting them up yourself — it’s fast and simple and cheaper by a long…pass.

7 1/2 pounds chicken wings
For the dry brine:
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon cumin
Oil

Cut the whole wings into two pieces, discarding the tip end.

Whole wing on the left, drumette -- the part closest to the breast -- on the right

With the tip of the knife, identify where the joint is between the drumette and the flat center piece of the wing

Cut firmly between the two ball joints

Trim off the wing tip -- it's a little harder to find the natural cut point, but it is below the joint where the two bones of the flat piece come together

Trim off any excess skin.

Sometimes the drumettes, especially, have a little extra skin

Arrange the chicken pieces in one layer.

All in a row...

Mix the dry brine ingredients together in a bowl and sprinkle over the chicken, turning to coat the underside.

Most important ingredients are the salt and the heat -- the salt "brines" the chicken and the cayenne determines the spiciness

If you are making more than about 50 wings be sure to increase the amount of dry brine

Place the wings in a couple of large, open plastic bags and leave them in the refrigerator overnight.

Just leave the top open, and if you remember, turn the bag over a couple of times

When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the wings in one layer on one or two lightly oiled baking sheets. Cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour, trading shelves if you use more than one pan, and turning once while cooking.

When the wings are done, let them sit for 5 minutes to cool before removing them from the pan -- they will "unstick" more easily

Bourbon Bacon Barbecue Sauce | 2 cups

Oh, yes, very good.

3 slices good quality bacon, cooked crisp, drained, and minced
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons espresso or very strong coffee
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a non-aluminum saucepan.

I prefer not to use uncoated or untreated aluminum pans with tomato-based sauces

Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, very low, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool before serving.

Nice smoky flavor from the bacon

Curry-Ginger Yogurt Sauce | 1 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 tablespoon cream or half & half
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon sugar1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
6 or 8 sprigs of cilantro, leaves minced (about 2 heaping tablespoons)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

This sauce is great on chicken salad, too

Not the usual Super Bowl fare, admittedly

Herbed Aioli

Serve wings with herbed aioli made from homemade mayonnaise — a wonder of garlic, olive oil and herbs. You may have to switch out the beer for a white Rhone.

Garlic & herb deliciousness

Now all I need is a couple of dollars ridin’ on the Saints…

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Beautiful little fruits, so adaptable

I’ve come a long way since my first acquaintance with the fig, which took place when I was about eight and was the gooey center of a Fig Newton. I was half a country away from Oklahoma and a decade older before I ate a fresh fig, and was surprised how little it had to do with those Nabisco® cookies (I did think they were exotic). The beauty of the fig is how adaptable it is. It makes an excellent jam, is tasty dried, can be used in cakes, cookies (!), and other sweets. Figs and honey have been paired for centuries. But it works with savory flavors — another classic combo is with Stilton — and holds up to being cooked.

So I found these figs, and that became my starting point.

Figs, honey and Stilton...rosemary joins in as do wine and capers

I also had two whole boneless chicken breasts from Harmony Farms. Now Harmony Farms is an interesting place. I hadn’t been there before even though it’s right up the highway from me in La Crescenta, California. I knew they sold hard-to-find meats, like ostrich and kangaroo and alligator, but I hadn’t thought of going there until recently, when I heard that they sell Wagyu beef from Australia, “kobe-style” and grass-fed. I discovered that all their meat is “natural” and some “organic,” containing no hormones, antibiotics or pesticides. They hand pick their suppliers based on this and on flavor.

It’s a surprising place when you walk in. There is no butcher counter, just a few large freezers and check-out counter. Most of the meat is flash frozen by the supplier, which the manager told me was a surefire way to get the meat to the customer at its best (and explains the freezers). There is a little butchery going on in the back, but not that much. Three customers came in while I was there and all three got containers that were brought out to them from the back. Were they getting the good stuff (my paranoia)?  Finally I asked customer #3 what she was buying and she kindly replied that it was food for her dog and cats. Oh! Turns out Harmony Farms also does a BIG business in organic raw meat for pets. I hope these folks buy their own meat there, but none did while I was there. Hmmm.

I’ve now tasted the chicken they carry and the pork (from Iowa), a Wagyu steak (just a simple pan-fry and it was delicious), and I have some ground New Zealand lamb and Harris Ranch short ribs still in the freezer. I’m hoping they are as good as the chicken, pork and beef. I’ll be going back to Harmony Farms, but not for my dogs (please don’t tell them).

Chicken Breasts with Fresh Figs and Stilton | 4 servings

This takes a total of about 40 minutes to prepare but tastes like you worked for hours.

4 boneless half chicken breasts, 3 to 4 ounces each half
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon capers and their juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
8 fresh figs, halved lengthwise
6-inch sprig fresh rosemary, leaves chopped, or pinch of dried rosemary
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) crumbled Stilton
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

I prefer smaller breasts (nothing personal!) -- they have more flavor

Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof skillet. Beginning skin side down, brown the breasts over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes per side.

Some of the fat from the skin will render in the pan and keep the flesh side from sticking

A nice golden brown start means that when they finish in the oven they'll get deep brown without overcooking

Prep these while you brown the chicken

Remove the chicken breasts to a plate. Add the onions to the pan and cook until browning, about 3 minutes. As the onion “melts,” its sugars will help free up the browned bits from the pan, which add flavor.

Nothing beats a cast iron skillet for going from stovetop to oven

Add the garlic and stir until aromatic, about another 1 minute. Turn off the heat.

Just cook the garlic lightly -- too long at too high heat makes it bitter

Return the chicken breasts to the pan and arrange them, skin-side up, scooping some of the onions onto the top. Pour any accumulated juices from the plate into the pan. Spoon the capers and their juice over the chicken and pour in the white wine.

Arrange the fig halves over the chicken. Sprinkle with rosemary and crumbled Stilton. Drizzle the honey over the top.

Drizzle the honey over the top of the chicken and figs

You can also "eyeball" the 2 tablespoons of honey straight from your darlin' honey bear

Place the pan in the oven and cook the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes, basting a couple of times while it cooks.

Try not to firehose the chicken with the baster so the rosemary and capers stay on top

If you use a quick-read thermometer, cook the chicken until it reaches 165°F. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

A dish like this is best when allowed to rest a few minutes -- not served too piping hot

Serve the chicken with the pan juices, figs and capers spooned over the top, maybe even with a crusty chunk of bread.

We left the pan in the middle of the table and freely dipped the bread in the pan juice, but then, do we have manners? Naw...

Kelly McCune © 2009

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

An ode to the fresh blueberry, with ricotta- or chevre-stuffed chicken -- by the way, this recipe is easy and only takes 25 minutes

Sometimes the best food you cook comes from a desperate attempt to use up ingredients at their peak rather than sliding past that “over” date. This recipe, chicken breasts stuffed with either ricotta or goat cheese and smothered in fresh blueberries, is one of those. There were those perfect, amazing blueberries, and right then they were delicious. Didn’t have ice cream for them or eggs to make muffins, didn’t have enough for a pie and anyway, this was dinner I was after, not dessert! There was ricotta, left from a something-or-other I’d made, and some pricey boned, skinned chicken breasts. And the chevre was of such a small amount no one was bothering it. All had to be used — I could hear the clock ticking.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are tricky, and can be dry if not cooked correctly. So, I thought I’d get around that by making a pocket in each one and stuffing them with either ricotta and fresh basil or goat cheese and sage. I considered a piccata-finish-with-lemon approach but there were blueberries. A sweet sauce to go with the mild, soft cheese and herb stuffing. Well, why not?

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Cheese & Herbs
with Fresh Blueberry Sauce | 6 servings

Look for medium-sized chicken breasts — too small and it’s tricky to make a pocket, too large and they take too long to cook.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt
1/3 cup flour
Pinch of herbs de Provence
Pinch of salt
Several grinds black pepper
3 ounces chevre (goat’s milk cheese with the texture of cream cheese) or 3 ounces fresh ricotta
12 sage leaves (for the chevre stuffing) or 12 basil leaves (for the ricotta stuffing)
Drizzle of olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 heaping cup fresh blueberries
1 heaping teaspoon red jam of any kind

Trim the fillet or “tender” — the smaller muscle that is often only partially attached — from the breast. Save the fillets aside to grill or sauté for sandwiches another time. (Some fillets have a tough, white tendon running its length which can be scraped or trimmed from the meat by holding it firmly at one end while running a knife under it.)

The "tenders" aren't used in this dish but can be cooked quickly and used on sandwiches or in pasta

Lay the breast flat on a cutting board and cut into the thick side of the breast, keeping the knife parallel to the board and making sure with your hand that the knife is cutting evenly between the top and bottom.

Make the cut in the the top half of the thickest side, and cut a pocket without cutting all the way through to the other side

Sweep the knife up toward the top of the breast, cutting parallel to the board but without cutting through the other side

Use your fingers to sense how far the knife is cutting into the breast. You can also see the knife through the translucent meat, so watch that the tip doesn’t cut through.

Fresh ricotta, a plain goat cheese roll and an herbed chevre

Sprinkle a little salt inside the pockets. Stuff each pocket with 2 thin “slices” of goat cheese, the equivalent of a couple of tablespoons. It’s soft, so don’t bother trying to measure. Use your fingers to push the cheese into all corners of the pocket. If you’re using ricotta, a spoon may be easier to push the cheese into the pocket. Again, use about 2 tablespoons per breast.

Don't worry if it's a slightly messy process -- just try to spread it evenly around the inside of the pocket

Push two herb leaves into the pockets, spreading them out as flat as possible. I like pairing the more assertive goat cheese with sage and the mild ricotta with basil.

Use larger leaves of sage or of basil -- shown here is a sage leaf, the other one will get pushed far down into the narrow part of the breast

Use a toothpick to close the pocket opening.

The toothpick should be removed before you serve the cooked chicken

Mix the flour, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper on a plate.

Use your fingers to mix this up

Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, coating well.

Press the flour into the chicken, but gently tap off the excess

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until golden. Reduce the heat to medium-low, pour in the chicken broth, cover, and cook very gently another 5 minutes, turning once as it cooks.

The little bit of flour will make a slightly thickened pan juice, and gives the chicken a glossy coating

Remove the chicken to a plate and cover until ready for serving. Turn the heat back up under the pan juices and reduce the liquid for about a minute. Add the blueberries.

The berries have been quickly rinsed before adding

Stir the berries as they cook until they begin to pop and give up color, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the red jam. Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken, evenly distributing the blueberries. I garnished mine with a little thyme sprig on each serving.

Makes me think of that scene in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory when Violet Beauregarde chews the blueberry pie gum -- the sauce will turn the most delightful purple

Aren’t blueberries wonderful?

Sing a song of blueberries

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Lemony, herby, chickeny goodness

Note the word “little” in the name of this recipe — there is a good reason for that modifier. I have a beef with the chicken that’s being sold today! It’s big and stringy and reminds me of an elderly cousin of mine, who needed lots of support garments and mysterious underpinnings. Take the approach that less is more when shopping for chicken, and beware the ‘big girl’ out there.

Some Info on Buying:

Shopping for chicken is certainly perplexing. Birds are labeled free-range, grain-fed, veggie-fed, organic, natural, all natural, air-chilled, and well, just regular – the ones in a package that don’t have any subtitles. At Whole Foods there is a “Rocky” and a “Rosie” and even a “Rocky Jr.” but I don’t think that’s a gender distinction.

Let’s do some very basic Foghorn Leghorn work here:

Free-range: A term used by producers stating that the bird has access to the outdoors (er, even a 1’ by 1’ concrete pad) for part of the day. The best free-range birds get much more space than that (like the Rocky/Rosie group from Petaluma Poultry). This is not a term of certification, or one used in the National Organic Program of the USDA. The gov’s Organic guideline does say that the “ground” they walk on and the space they occupy outside of the enclosed structure must accommodate the animal’s health and natural behavior.  Hmmm.

This was a 3 3/4 pounder, free-range, "natural"

Organic: “Organic” designation is a bit vague, with guidelines but a sliding scale of adherence. Many producers are self-regulating, and have an outside auditor to monitor their practices. But the general guideline according to the USDA website is that “animals raised on an organic operation must be fed organic feed and given access to the outdoors. They are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.”

Grain-fed: They were fed grain. End of story. All chickens are fed some grain, except my daughter’s friend Holly’s chickens, which grazed around their lawn eating, among other things, snails (uh huh, escargot-fed). So organic grain-fed would be preferable to plain-old grain-fed.

Natural: Not a term with much meaning. Some producers use it because it almost sounds like organic, but it doesn’t require certification. The USDA has proposed “naturally raised” as a term to mean not fed antibiotics, hormones, or plumped up on broth but I don’t believe it’s in place as yet. One disturbing label is “Raised without additional hormones.” Additional to…what? The ones they got earlier?

On to Cooking:

The objective when roasting chicken is to get crispy skin and tender, moist meat. With a big bird, the breast meat dries out before the dark meat is fully cooked. So again, small chickens are best. No need to tie up the chicken, either, since you want lots of toasty, roasty skin. There are many opinions on how to perfectly roast a chicken, from high-heat to low heat, from brining to drying. You can generously salt and pepper the chicken all over a day ahead and keep it in the fridge loosely covered, but if you’ve missed that step just plow ahead. Just make sure the skin and underside (since this one is butterflied) are very dry before cooking.

Butterflied Little Chicken with Roots

3 to 4 pound chicken
8 to 10 sprigs fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, or tarragon, or a combination
Good quality or kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 3/4 pound small red potatoes, scrubbed and dried (include in this a variety of little potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes – or sunchokes – or small beets)
1 large sweet variety onion, sliced into thick wedges
6 garlic cloves, peeled and slightly crushed
Olive oil
Chopped rosemary
2 lemons, sliced
Dash of white balsamic vinegar (or any white wine vinegar)

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Use a heavy knife to cut through the backbone and press firmly to break open the breastbone

Rinse the chicken and thoroughly pat dry, inside and out. Trim off any lumps of fat and fatty skin. Firmly set the chicken, upright on its “neck” on a cutting board and slice down along the backbone. Open the chicken up, gently cracking the breastbone against the board. The chicken should lie flat.  Trim off the tail. Twist and fold the wing tips up under the breast. From the tail end, slide your fingers up under the skin of one breast, gently separating the skin from the flesh, making a narrow pocket.

Take care not to tear the skin by using your fingers to separate it from the flesh

Make a similar pocket under the skin of the thigh.  Repeat on the other side. Into the pockets stuff several herb sprigs, adjusting them to get them flat. To secure the legs, make a small slit through the skin and flesh between breast and thigh and work the leg into into.

Make the small cut crosswise to keep from tearing through the slit

Repeat on the other side. Sprinkle the skin and underside of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper and set aside.

Put the potatoes and root vegetables, sliced onions, and garlic cloves in a good-sized roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little chopped rosemary.

The little knobby sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes) have a sweet, artichokey flavor

Make space in the center of the pan and arrange the lemon slices in a layer. Place the chicken on top of the lemon and tuck the remaining herb sprigs around it.

Cook the chicken for 10 minutes at 450° and reduce the heat to 375° for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until the skin is deeply brown. Baste the chicken and the vegetables a few times as it cooks. Ten minutes before the chicken is done sprinkle a few teaspoons of vinegar over the top and finish cooking.

Oh yeah

“Frenched” Green Beans

I first encountered the little tool used to make these sliced beans in 1980, when I was working for a cookware store on California Street in San Francisco. The idea, I think, is to make an haricot vert out of a Blue Laker. My grandmother’s way of cooking the venerable bean was to cook the heck out of ‘em along with a big slab of bacon. Suh-blime. But this was a brave new world, and I wanted my Frenchified bean, lightly steamed, al dente. I bought one and it’s still one of my favorite tools. Here’s why:  thinly sliced beans cook quickly, so flavor and crispness are retained. Also, the beans are cool looking!

1 pound grean beans, trimmed and “Frenched”

For the Compound Butter:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Wedge of lemon
Sprig of fresh thyme
Salt and Pepper

Steam the beans until tender but still crunchy, about 10 minutes.

Very easy to do, makes a big impact, flavor-wise

While the beans are cooking, place the butter on a plate, squeeze the lemon over it, pluck the leaves from the thyme sprig and mash them into the butter. Season with a little salt and pepper. Put a dollop on the hot beans before serving. Any extra compound butter can be stored in waxed paper in the refrigerator.

Family or friends will want to do this little task for you

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.