Roast Chicken with Rhubarb Butter

July 17, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking

While it’s mid-July and everyone has moved on to the stone fruits – wouldn’t that be a fun name for a band? – I’m still clinging to rhubarb season. What can I say? I’m not tired of it and since I can still find a stalk or two in my grocery store I’ve decided not to let go quite yet. At least not until I had a chance to make this Roast Chicken with Rhubarb Butter and Asparagus from the May issue of Bon Appétit.

Roast chicken in high summer probably sounds insane – turn on the oven? To 400 degrees?!? Hear me out though and it will start to seem a little more reasonable.

Point 1: Here’s your chance to practice some really easy chef-y things like making compound butter and poaching. Essentially you’re just cooking the rhubarb pieces until they soften enough to mix into softened butter. The end. See? But doing them makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something super fancy.

Point 2: You can make extras and how could having deliciously summery roast chicken for salads or in a sandwich ever turn out badly? Getting some of the heavy lifting done all at once means you can put your feet up knowing that dinner tomorrow is already done!

Point 3: The most important point of all - this roast chicken is wonderful. The compound butter has fresh ginger and rhubarb that’s been lightly poached in orange juice lends a bright, slightly spicy, citrus sweetness to the meat. Frankly, I’d love to do a marinade version of these flavors as a start and then go double or nothing with the compound butter. A plan for next summer, perhaps?

Roast Chicken with Rhubarb Butter (serves: 4)

Ingredients:
1 cup (1 large stalk) rhubarb, large diced
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled ginger
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3½–4 pound whole chicken, or 4-6 bone-in pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Instructions:
Dice rhubarb stalk into 1/2 inch pieces, peel the ginger and finely grate. Bring the diced rhubarb, orange juice, honey, and grated ginger to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb softens and is easily pieced with a fork, about 5 minutes.

Drain the rhubarb through a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl. Reserve the cooking liquid and rhubarb separately; let cool.

Add the room temperature butter to the rhubarb and mix until smooth; season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Dry the chicken with paper towels and place skin side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Gently slide your fingers underneath skin to loosen and spread the rhubarb butter underneath taking care not to tear the skin. Drizzle the chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil and some of the reserved rhubarb cooking liquid, scatter thyme over, and season with salt and pepper.

Roast chicken until skin is browned and crisp and meat is cooked through, about 40-50 minutes. The juices will run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh should register 165 degrees F. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Rewritten and slightly adapted from Roast Chicken with Rhubarb Butter and Asparagus from the May 2015 issue of Bon Appétit.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Surprisingly, yes. I used a small sauce pan, medium mesh sieve, liquid measuring cup, chef’s knife, small cutting board, and microplane grater. I also needed a small bowl, rubber spatula, baking pan, tongs, measuring spoons, instant read thermometer, and paper towels.

The Verdict:
Roast chicken is one of my all-time favorite things to eat. It’s so simple that the seasoning really has to be spot-on or sadly it can be flavorless and disappointing. No need to worry on that account with this recipe. The chicken is beautifully juicy and tender – a close your eyes it’s so good first bite – the rhubarb is light, a little acidic, and perfectly balanced by the just slightly sticky spice of the orange juice and ginger.

Tequila Citrus Chicken

June 10, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Each week I follow along with Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) and attempt to recreate one of her dishes in my tiny New York City kitchen. The catch? This is my version of cooking school and I’m making these recipes for the first time. I’ll share both my successes and um, challenges, along the way and we’ll see if I can keep up with the Contessa!

Episode: “Welcome to Town”

The Set-up: Ina is helping her new employee Lidey throw a housewarming party.

The Menu: Tequila Citrus Chicken, Roasted Summer Vegetables, Corn and Avocado Salad

0:37 – Ina heard the word “party” and immediately sprang into action, boiling pots of corn on the cob. Has anyone ever had their boss cater a party for them?

1:24 – The corn is for Corn and Avocado Salad, which sounds like a perfect summery side.

2:01 – Ina recommends using fresh corn on the cob instead of frozen and while I’m all for shortcuts, I agree 100% that even the best packaged corn just doesn’t taste the same.

3:25 – Over to Lidey doing some shopping based on Ina’s Pro Tip #1: get props for the buffet table that are multi-functional (ie. a glass pitcher used as a vase, or kitchen towels for napkins.)

4:32 – Because Ina is a mastermind of new employee on-the-job training the theme of the food is “Local.” That way Lidey will familiarize herself with the local purveyors, including Amber Waves Farm. Brilliant.

5:46 – The Corn and Avocado Salad has been assembled and dressed with a spicy lime-based vinaigrette, and I’m getting a mild Tex Mex-ish vibe from the menu.

9:59 – We get a quick overview of the Roasted Summer Vegetables (bell peppers, zucchini, onions, and fennel) before it’s time to plate them up.

10:20 – Pro-Tip #2: Create a more dramatic platter by grouping each kind of vegetable together in big blocks of color.

11:33 – Ina says it’s better to have more than just the three main dishes on a table, so Lidey is deployed to Cavaniola’s cheese shop in Sag Harbor for supplementary items.

12:18 – While Lidey picks up the cheese she also gets a brief lesson in how to put together a well-balanced cheese board. Pro Tip #3: Select a mix of textures, colors and flavors keeping the options to about 3 or 4 cheeses.

13:29 – Pro Tip #4: Fill in the cheese board with complimentary crackers, dried fruit, and garnish with herbs for color. I personally also like a little dish of honey or preserves, and a small pile of toasted almonds or other nuts. Yum!

14:44 – Onward to the main course and Ina is making Tequila Citrus Chicken on the grill. Naturally the chicken is locally raised at Iacono Farms.

15:02 – Ina confirms my suspicions that this is a Tex Mex oriented meal and with the amount of tequila in the marinade I’m surprised this isn’t entitled “Senor Frog’s Chicken” hello spring break!

19:16 – Chicken is such a tricky thing to cook on the grill – too long and it’s a charred lump, too short and face the risk of an unsavory pink center. Ina says skin side down for 5 minutes, turn and then 10 more minutes. Let’s hope she’s right!

20:57 – Over to Lidey’s to set up for the party and I was seriously bracing myself for some sort of ocean front palace; I’m relieved to discover that her “cottage” actually is a teensy little house.

21:40 – We proceed into our crash-course on Catering 101. First Lesson: Tequila Citrus Chicken looks prettier on a platter when it’s placed on hydrangea leaves and layered with thin slices of lemon.

22:35 – Second Lesson: give the table some height variation by putting some of the platters on over turned bowls. Instant “footed” servers!

27:23 – Third Lesson: don’t try to make everything. Suggest abundance by buying the dessert – cookies, bars, biscotti – and layering different shapes and textures on one plate. Fill in with some strawberries and hydrangea leaves.

28:16 – Lidey seems a little overwhelmed by the whirlwind of Ina’s advice, but manages to remember her three final tasks: light candles, chill wine, unwrap cheese. Apparently she’s supposed to pass this all off as her handy work? Cite your sources, Lidey!

29:42 – The party is underway and after a suitable time of hoovering up the buffet and scheming summer plans Lidey’s friends decide that a toast is in order. Success!

Final Thoughts:
We’ve seen a lot of these entertaining tips before, but I still get overly ambitious so a refresher course is probably necessary.

Is anyone else seriously jealous of Lidey landing a job with the Barefoot Contessa? Be still my heart!

Let’s also admit that Ina totally bogarted this housewarming party by turning it into a professional project. Sorry Lidey, no takeout pizza and bowls of chips for you!

Lessons Learned:
Ina’s Tequila Citrus Chicken is a classic and with the number of variations I found online you could make a new version of citrus marinated chicken everyday for months. Here’s what I learned from the original:

Boneless, Skin-On Chicken – This cut doesn’t exist in any grocery store I’ve ever visited. Skinless, boneless chicken breast is ubiquitous. Whole chicken breasts are a little trickier, but still usually available. This presents two options: see if the butcher counter will de-bone the whole pieces, or attempt to do it yourself. I don’t mind being pretty “hands-on” in the kitchen; a little practice and a sharp knife make the second option do-able if you’re not too squeamish. That said it’s a little groady, so to help Future Me, I’ll often do a few extra, put them in ziplock freezer bags, and label with the date and quantity. (ie. 5/30 - 4 boneless, skin on chicken breasts)

Marinating – One of my constant pitfalls in cooking is defrosting. I’ll have chicken in the freezer (see above), but since I forgot to move it to the fridge it’s still a solid block when I’m ready to cook. I can’t tell you how many “replacement” packages of chicken I’ve bought when failure to plan strikes. This recipe doesn’t exactly solve that problem, but it can at least make defrosting work in your favor. I store my frozen meats in plastic ziplock bags, which makes it easy to mix up the ingredients for the marinade in a measuring cup, add them to the bag, and by the time the chicken is fully defrosted it’s been marinated too. Ta-dah! Turn the bag over periodically to make sure the chicken has even contact with the marinade.

Grilling – Since I’m cooking in an apartment I used my cast iron grill pan instead of a Weber. Just like getting the coals hot on a regular grill, I pre-heated the pan over medium-high heat and brushed it generously with vegetable oil before putting the chicken on. Skin side down first, on the diagonal if you want those cool looking grill marks, then turn to the meat side. When it's done it should be fairly easy to turn and won't stick very much when it’s time to come off.

Cooking Time – Ina’s time was about right, but since I had limited space I put the larger pieces on first, then finished them in the oven on 350 degrees while the second batch cooked. Use a meat thermometer to save your sanity.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes, but make sure that kitchen is well ventilated! I used a double-burner cast iron grill pan (specifically this one from Lodge), a chef’s knife, medium cutting board, liquid measuring cup, measuring spoons, and sturdy long-handled tongs. A ziplock bag inside a flat bottomed food storage container, or a non-reactive dish will protect your refrigerator from contamination and make it easy to flip and ensure even marinating.

The Verdict:
I made Tequila Citrus Chicken for Mike and I as a weeknight dinner and there’s a lot to recommend it. First, the hands-on cooking time adds up to about 30 minutes if you have to grill in batches, even less if you have plenty of grill space. Second, the flavor is bright and spicy – perfect for summer. Third – it can be served hot, cold, whole, diced in a salad, or sliced in strips for a taco, which makes this the sort of dish where extras are definitely welcome. Despite the heavy dose of cayenne and jalapenos it’s not overly spicy and the base of tequila and lime juice make it bright, which balances nicely against the smoky bitterness the grill adds. A solid base for many many summer dinners.

Rao's Famous Lemon Chicken

April 22, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Episode: “Restaurant Rules”

The Set-up: Ina’s cooking restaurant dishes at home and getting some tips from her chef friends.

The Menu: Prosciutto Roasted Bass with Autumn Vegetables, Skillet Brownies, Rao’s Famous Lemon Chicken (Pollo Al Limone), Peas and Prosciutto

0:44 – Ina says she typically avoids restaurant style cooking at home because it’s just too complicated. Amen. There’s a reason chefs and professional cooks need so much training!

1:26 – She’s breaking the rules today with a simplified version of a dish she had at Spago in LA: Prosciutto Roasted Bass.

2:15 – First up, roasting a ton of root vegetables – parsnips, carrots, potatoes, and butternut squash.

3:03 – Now Ina is wrapping squares of sea bass in sheets of prosciutto. Why is it that anything “wrapped” immediately seems special?

4:26 – Oh to be Ina’s assistant, treated to dinner at Spago at the end of every book tour.

5:39 – Final step is melted butter flavored with rosemary and lemon. I trust that literally anything doused in this concoction would taste amazing.

6:01 – Time to plate, the roasted fish placed on a bed of root vegetable and dressed with the flavored butter sauce. Now, Barbara, we feast!!

10:28 – Ina says she first tried Skillet Brownies at the Standard Hotel in New York and couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of the idea herself.

11:15 – Random Side Note: I love recipes with odd measurements, like the sugar (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) here. Maybe this is faulty logic, but it tells me that it’s been tested and tested until it’s Baby Bear level “just right.”

12:32 – Time to bake the brownies and Ina has the most adorable miniature cast iron skillet. Seriously, these babies are ridiculously charming.

13:47 – While the brownies bake we get some kitchen tips from chefs: Kevin Penner recommends covering scales with plastic wrap to prevent cross contamination, Oliver Quignon suggests a new take on plating an iceberg & blue cheese salad.

14:09 – A few more – Julia Turshen uses tongs as a press to juice citrus; Joe Realmutto sautés dried herbs in olive oil to release their flavors before de-glazing with the tomatoes.

15:11 – Brownies are out of the oven – a little underbaked, so they’re still super gooey – and Ina’s serving them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Honestly, people would pass out from the cuteness (and the sugar high) if you served brownies this way.

19:36 – Field trip time! Ina is in East Harlem at the legendary Rao’s, notable for the cooking, but also it’s old-fashioned approach to dining. One seating, not open on weekends, and tables are held for regulars – you can see why a reservation might be just a wee bit challenging to secure.

20:48 – We’re in the kitchen with Frank Pellegrino, the restaurant’s owner to learn how to make a family recipe (70 years!!) called Rao’s Famous Lemon Chicken (Pollo Al Limone).

21:14 – The cooking takes place in stages, first broiling the chicken, then making a vinaigrette type sauce with lemon, garlic, oregano, and red wine vinegar.

22:37 – Frank says “we don’t do complicated.” The chicken goes under the salamander/broiler for 2 minutes and “voila, lemon chicken.”

23:19 – Ina gets a taste (natch) and says it’s so, good, so lemony. I’m intrigued by the red wine vinegar…

27:34 – We’re back with Frank to make Peas and Prosciutto which starts with sautéed garlic and onions. I’m on board.

28:23 – Now comes the prosciutto into the pan and I can see why Frank says this is their most popular vegetable. Then the peas are stirred into the cooked onions and then everything gets a ladle of chicken stock.

29:05 – This dish is pretty unusual - somewhere between a vegetable side dish and soup.

29:40 – Ina and Frank belly up to the bar to chat and eat, and laugh and have a fabulous time.

Final Thoughts:
Ordering dishes in restaurants that I know I can’t make at home – fancy technique, unique ingredient, etc. – is always my strategy.

I like Ina’s approach to drawing inspiration from restaurants but in a simplified version.

One year to get a table or thirty-five years I’m still jealous of Ina eating at Rao’s!

Lessons Learned:
I decided to make Rao’s Famous Lemon Chicken (Pollo Al Limone) because I can never have enough chicken or lemon or lemon chicken in my life, and, because I’d never cooked an entire chicken under the broiler.

Chicken Cooking – First lesson, make sure the broiling drawer and/or oven is super clean or you’ll fill your kitchen full of smoke like I did. Not so good. When broiling isn’t an option, turn the oven up to 500 degrees. I dried the skin with paper towels and used a cast iron skillet to get the kind of heat retention and sear I was looking for. Problem solved!

Sauce Prep – Just a little bit of mincing, juicing, and measuring; all standard cooking techniques. The recipe as originally written requires two different pans, one for broiling the chicken the first time and a separate pan to cook the chicken in the sauce. I love a pan sauce, and it’s simpler to use the same one so I did. Frank will probably come and hunt me down for messing with his recipe, but I stand by my choice.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes, 100%. I used an 8 inch cast iron skillet, tongs, a medium cutting board, chef’s knife, liquid measuring cup, measuring spoons, and a table fork for whisking. That’s it!

The Verdict:
Mike and I both love a good roasted chicken, but the sauce is what really sets Rao’s Famous Lemon Chicken (Pollo Al Limone) apart. On the surface it’s incredibly simple and really not terribly fancy – dried herbs, some lemon, etc. – all ingredients that are accessible to the home cook at a moment’s notice. The combination, however; is greater than the sum of its parts. I served the chicken straight from the skillet and we both found ourselves going back to the proverbial well to soak up more with every bite. Addictively delicious and I will never cease to be amazed at the magic of red wine vinegar. Don’t skip it! Do make this recipe!

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

April 08, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Episode: “Dinner and a Movie”

The Set-up: Ina and her card-shark friends are switching up their plans and watching a movie instead.

The Menu: Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, Couscous with Pine Nuts and Currants, Ice Cream Bombe, Blood Orange Margaritas

0:39 – Ina starts us off by saying that for weeknight entertaining she likes making recipes that look impressive, but that are really easy to make. Great, sign me up!

1:24 – Except that this recipe for an Ice Cream Bombe already involves making your own mango sorbet – frankly this is not something I’m not likely to attempt no matter what day of the week it is.

2:06 – Mango sorbet sounds great though, so I’m willing to go along for the ride!

3:18 – While the mango sorbet chills Ina starts on the Blood Orange Margaritas. Freshly squeezed blood orange juice, natch.

4:25 – “Blood orange” is pretty grisly sounding for a fruit that produces juice the color of a Lilly Pulitzer catalog.

5:43 – Gigantic pitcher of boozy cocktails? Check!

6:10 – The mango puree goes into the ice cream maker to start setting up and it looks really good. Maybe I should add “ice cream maker” to my Christmas list?

9:36 – Back to the bombe making which involves having a graduated set of bowls so that Ina can press the sorbet between two in order to shape it.

10:14 – Jack is in charge of getting the popcorn for their movie party and now I see why Ina sounded doubtful of his abilities – he can barely find it! He finally ends up with some microwave Newman’s Own, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

11:35 – Over to Ina again to start the Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. Forty!

12:51 – Pro Tip #1: Blanch the garlic in hot water for 60 seconds to help remove the paper from the cloves. Neat trick!

13:46 – Ina sings the praises of her enormous bright orange Le Creuset pot and she is preaching to the choir. This blog is sponsored (in spirit) by my blue one.

14:13 – Ice Cream Bombe layer #2 is softened raspberry sorbet compliments of Haagen Dazs which makes me wonder why she went to the trouble of making the mango layer?

15:22 – The bombe follows the same process as before – press the sorbet between two bowls (we’re now up to three in graduated sizes) and freeze.

18:56 – Now we’re making the Couscous with Pine Nuts and Currants, which Ina says will soak up the sauce from the Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. I concur. This is a solid move.

19:20 – Ina is removing the chicken from the pot so she can make the sauce and I think Ina she made a piece of chicken for every clove of garlic. So. Much. Chicken.

20:04 – Pro Tip #2: Prevent lumps by whisking a small amount of the juices with flour in a small bowl, then return to the pot to help thicken the sauce.

21:48 – I rarely see Ina impatient, but with 34 pieces of chicken left to go back into the pot with the sauce she tired of using tongs and finally just dumps them all in at once. A woman after my own heart.

22:29 – Maybe she’s impatient with the chicken because this godforsaken Ice Cream Bombe has eleventy steps even when two of the three layers are from the freezer section.

23:32 – The strawberry ice cream, in case you were wondering, is also Haagen Dazs so again I ask: why did she make the mango?

26:45 – Time to finish up the Couscous with Pine Nuts and Currants by toasting the pine nuts (aka pignolis) and adding the currants.

27:13 – Pro Tip #3: Fluff couscous with a fork (don’t stir with a spoon) to lighten it and help the grains separate.

28:29 – Here comes Jack, popcorn and poker chips in hand. Apparently he doesn’t think the French film Ina rented will be very interesting so he brought back up. Quite the cultured one, that Jack.

29:57 – Blood Orange Margaritas have been served, dinner is done. Now, the moment of truth: can Ina unmold the infamous Ice Cream Bombe? It works and she looks as surprised as anyone.

Final Thoughts:
I was kind of hard on Ina for the mango sorbet, but secretly I’m intrigued by homemade ice cream. Think of the flavors!!

Confession: I still make couscous from a box. Maybe it’s time to try on my own?

I guess Jack was right about French films, because they skipped the movie and played poker instead!

Lessons Learned:
Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic is a really simple, straightforward recipe but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to learn or practice while cooking it.

Browning Chicken – Perhaps it’s odd to call paper towels a kitchen tool, but when it comes to searing meat or browning chicken they’re your secret weapon. Removing the moisture from the chicken skin helps it turn a lovely golden color that’s really tough to achieve otherwise. Definitely don’t skip the “drying” step.

Sauteing Garlic – I’ve roasted whole heads of garlic before with excellent results, but this was a new method, more like sautéing minced garlic except with a slightly lower chance of burning it immediately. The oil is already hot, so your halfway there before the garlic even hits the pan. Keep a close watch and turn the heads frequently to prevent them from burning.

Thickening Sauce – In other Ina recipes she recommends mashing flour into butter before adding to sauces. It serves a dual purpose, thickening and enriching without lumps. (ew.) This recipe calls for spooning a cup or so of the thin sauce into a measuring cup and whisking with flour before returning to the pot. It’s a pretty neat trick because, again thickened sauce and no lumps, but this time without the added butter. I’m filing this away for those rare times when more butter isn’t what I’m going for. I’ll let you know if that ever happens…

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes, definitely. I used my Le Creuset French oven (no surprise there) for both the garlic blanching and chicken cooking. I also used tongs, a slotted spoon, a mixing spoon, measuring cups and spoons, and a whisk. Paper towels and a large plate or platter will be really helpful too.

The Verdict:
I made Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic for dinner last week because the idea of chicken with all that deliciously golden garlic sounded amaaaazing. Alas, even though this recipe “turned out” the flavor was a little underwhelming. How that’s possible with all the glorious ingredients that went into the sauce I don’t know, but unfortunately the chicken was fairly bland. I’m frankly shocked that this didn’t taste better and Mike felt the same way. Sheer stubbornness might induce me to make this recipe again, maybe mashing a few cloves of garlic into the sauce? Or, cooking the garlic in the oil first and see if it permeates the chicken? If you try this and have success let me know!