Buttermilk Fried Chicken - For Kids or Kids At Heart

Confession time: I do not like cooking for other people's children. When you are cooking for adults you get to try out different flavours, a wide variety of ingredients, some heat, some spice - in other words it is interesting cooking. Cooking for other people's kids is (mostly) a disappointing experience. It doesn't matter how good your sauce is, or that your homemade pizza dough is amazing or that your teriyaki salmon has your kids licking their dishes. Other people's kids mostly want to eat food that tastes the same at your house as it does at their home, and I expect my kids are the same at other people's houses. If your food is different from their normal meals, they will usually cross their arms and say "I'm not hungry" even when you know they could eat the leg off the table. Which means that most of the time (there are some key exceptions) when we entertain other people's kids, they get sausages in bread for dinner. Sausages + bread = sausages + bread. Every kid will eat it happily because it tastes the same wherever you are. And this approach works extremely well until you get to summer. In summer, when you are entertaining a lot more frequently, and in family groups, suddenly you need to add a bit of choice into the menu. If for no other reason than to stop your own kids from being bored to tears with the same dinner over and over.

Enter: Fried Chicken. This has become my new menu item for kids. If my first attempt was anything to go by, the small fry loved it, and the adults mopped up the leftovers. The chicken is marinated in buttermilk to tenderize the flesh, then battered and shallow-fried briefly before cooking in the oven. This is good in two ways:

- a nice battered exterior, without the chicken spending an extended period cooking in oil

- you can get it half-cooked ahead of time, and just finish it off in the 15 mins before dinner. Perfect for when you are entertaining another tribe.

This recipe comes from Jill Dupleix in Delicious Dec 09 / Jan 10. I have been working my way through this issue of Delicious as part of the "We Made It" challenge with Melinda from Melbourne Larder. Jill Dupleix is a writer I follow - she has a lovely style, and her cooking is definitely at the less fiddly end of the spectrum. I have a couple of her cookbooks and I love her Delicious and SMH columns. In fact one of my favourite cooking quotes is from her: "I love cooking, but not while I could be eating and drinking." On that note here's to a great Australia Day weekend.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

adapted from Jill Dupleix in Delicious Dec 2009 / Jan 2010

8 chicken legs (look for kid sized ones; some are big enough to be used in combat)

1 cup buttermilk

1 3/4 cups plain flour

1 tsp paprika

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Cover the chicken with the buttermilk and refrigerate for at least 1 hr, or ideally overnight. Preheat oven to 200C.

Mix flour with paprika and some salt and a little pepper in a medium bowl. Dredge each leg through the flour until it is well-coated.

Heat 1cm oil over medium high heat . Cook the chicken in batches until it is well-browned on both sides. Do not attempt to cook it through. Put chicken on a baking tray lined with baking paper to sop the batter sticking to the tray. Bake for 15 mins, or until the chicken is cooked through. Allow to cool long enough so that little fingers don't get burnt, then serve. I is even delicious at room temperature.

Indonesian Ginger Chicken

All this week my mind has been in the far distant past, thinking about a week when it was hot and humid in Sydney, and I was waiting for the arrival of my first child. I can remember feeling so full of baby I could hardly move, or sleep or walk or even get myself a glass of water. I was probably a bit nervous about the impending birth and parenthood, but I wasn't scared. I was convinced it would all work out, which it did, eventually. And now, today, she turns 13.

Some moments stick with you forever. At the hospital, as I carried her along a corridor, I felt a tiny arm reach out and hold my arm, and I knew everything in my world had changed. A nurse told me that she was a very calm personality, and she was right. Then, I remember taking her to preschool (I thought she was so big), and then school (I thought she was so little), watching as she conquered the challenges around her. She learnt to read and to swim, and quickly became more adept on the computer than I will ever be. Before this year is out, she will be taller than me. And soon I will have memories of her teenage years to contemplate as well.

Any of you with small children are probably thinking that it will take years for you to get to where I am. Let me tell you, once they are sleeping through the night, it takes what feels like no time at all (I admit the not-sleeping-through bit felt like centuries). Partly this is because I don't feel any older or wiser now than I did when I first had kids - it is completely baffling to me that they are now so grown up. Possibly it is also because kids make you so very busy that there is hardly any time to watch the days float by. And I know that next year and the years after, I will be here again, amazed at the way time continues to roll past. Although maybe the teenage years will bring a return to he not-sleeping-through nights for me....... Happy birthday darling, and I wish you what I have always wished you - a life filled with happiness, love and laughter.

And now to some food. This Indonesian Ginger Chicken was this week's pick for Barefoot Bloggers. We eat a lot of different versons of honey-soy chicken in this house, so the flavours are among our favourites. I halved the recipe, and so used one chicken. It was easy to make and came together well, and we all enjoyed it. If I were to make it again, I would slightly decrease the cooking time, as I felt the chicken was slightly over done, just by 5 mins or so. Probably we will stick with this version of honey soy chicken which is even easier and just as tasty. Thanks Todd from A Cooking Dad for the choice - you gave us a lovely summer dinner we all enjoyed.

Indonesian Ginger Chicken
from Ina Garten

1 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic (8 to 12 cloves)
1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root
2 chickens, quartered, with backs removed

Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger root in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted. Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 175C.

Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan, turn the chicken skin side up, and raise the temperature to 190C. Continue baking for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh and the sauce is a rich, dark brown.

Chicken and / or Pork Satay

Today's recipe comes from a Daring Kitchen challenge to make your own Satay. Daring Kitchen is a spin off from the Daring Bakers, and each month a challenge appears for cooks around the world to tackle. Some challenges have really appealed to me, and some have been extremely challenging - all part of taking my cooking further.

As it turns out, this was a pretty easy challenge. I was happy to be making satay on a hot summer's day. It is also quite a good thing to do with your kids - as my younger daughter observes: everything is more fun when you eat it from sticks. We made the satay below with both pork and chicken thigh for a nice summer dinner. While we enjoyed this, I can honestly say that the taste is no better than the commercial marinade I use sometimes - so if you are feeling lazy, go to your local Asian supermarket and pick up a box of Prima Satay. If you don't have an Asian supermarket nearby, the recipe below makes a good satay. Incidentally, we all preferred the chicken as it is more tender than the pork.

Chicken and/or Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce
Satay Marinade
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbl ginger, chopped
2 tbl lemon juice
1 tbl soy sauce
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbl vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil)
500g chicken thigh or pork (loin or shoulder cuts)

If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the meat and blend until smooth. Otherwise, chop onions, garlic and ginger really fine then mix it all together in a medium to large bowl. Cut meat into 1 inch strips then mix with marinade, cover and chill in the fridge for 4 hours.

If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak in cold water for at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers. Gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade.
Grill until cooked through and the edges just start to char.


Peanut Sauce
3/4 cup coconut milk
4 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well. Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often. All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.

Coleslaw and Chicken and Lime Leaf Fritters

"Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever." ~Mark Twain

So before my shortcomings become any shorter, indulge me while I catch up on some homework. I have two extra dishes from the December Gourmet Traveller to post about. The first is the King Cole coleslaw that I made on Christmas Day. I have a bit of a thing for coleslaw: something about the crunchiness, the creamy dressing, the slightly sour flavour of cabbage offset by other ingredients. When I saw the King Cole coleslaw in Gourmet Traveller, it seemed a perfect salad for Christmas lunch - excellent seasonal colours, all in reds and white, and something that could be prepared ahead to take the pressure off Christmas Day. While the results were good, (it was a tasty coleslaw, and I liked the inclusion of the radish and the hazelnuts), it was not significantly better than other coleslaw I have made. In fact the best bit for me was the leftovers: I had a small bowl of coleslaw for dinner on both Xmas night and Boxing night - which were more than satisfying after days spent feasting.

The final dish I made from Gourmet Traveller Dec 09 was the chicken and lime leaf fritters. This recipe comes from a restaurant called Cookie in Melbourne and was included in the magazine section where readers are able to request chefs' recipes. I always love this section as the unwritten subtext is that these recipes must be really, really, really good for someone to go to the trouble of writing to Gourmet Traveller to ask them to get the recipes. I did however make some changes to the recipe. Deep frying always leaves me with battle scars, so I decided instead to bake the fritters (which must make them balls not fritters). I also did not have any rice flour, but I did have some potato flour that I used instead, and it formed a nice thin crust on the outside of the balls. Instead of frying, I sprayed them with olive oil spray and put them into a 170C oven for 35 mins until they were golden brown and cooked through. These had a great Thai-style flavour, were really more-ish and made a perfect nibble for New Year's Eve. I am confident that they will be turning up around here again soon.

My focus on Gourmet Traveller Dec 09 came from a challenge with Melinda from Melbourne Larder that we called "We Made It". Sick of under-utlising our food magazines, we decided to try to focus on one and see how much we could cook from it. I loved doing this because it forced me to explore the magazine in depth and prodded me towards recipes I may never have otherwise attempted. Looking back over the month, my favourites were:

- the Rosemary Cranberry Florentines

- the Chilli Mud Crab

- the Ouzo Cured Ocean Trout

January's focus will be on the Dec/Jan edition of Delicious, so if you are cooking from Delicious feel free to join in. Now excuse me while I go attend to my shortcomings.

King Cole

Serves 8
½ small white cabbage (about 1kg), shredded
1 radicchio, shredded
8 radishes, thinly sliced
½ Spanish onion, thinly sliced
½ cup each torn dill and parsley (loosely packed)
35 gm (¼ cup) hazelnuts, roasted, skins rubbed, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)
Sherry dressing
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1½ tbsp sherry vinegar
3 egg yolks
375 ml (1½ cups) olive oil
20 ml dry sherry, or to taste

Combine cabbage, radicchio and radish in a bowl of iced water, stand until crisp (5-10 minutes).
Meanwhile, for sherry dressing, process garlic, vinegar and yolks in a food processor until combined. With motor running, add oil in a thin steady stream until thick and emulsified, stir through sherry, season to taste.

Drain cabbage mixture, dry in a salad spinner, add to a bowl with onion. Add sherry dressing, toss to combine, transfer to a serving bowl, scatter with herbs, nuts and seeds.

Chicken and Lime Leaf Fritters

Serves 6
For deep-frying: vegetable oil
For dusting: rice flour
500 gm minced chicken
1 Spanish onion, finely diced
1 cup (loosely packed) coriander, finely chopped
6 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
80 ml (1/3 cup) fish sauce
80 ml (1/3 cup) lime juice
To serve:
thinly sliced cucumber, long red chilli and lime wedges

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer or deep-sided frying pan to 180C. Place rice flour in a bowl, set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well (mixture will be quite wet). Divide mixture into even walnut-sized balls, dust with rice flour. Then either deep-fry in batches, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through (2-4 minutes; be careful as hot oil may spit) OR spay with olive oil and bake at 170C for 35mins. Drain on absorbent paper, season to taste with sea salt flakes and serve with cucumber, red chilli and lime wedges.

Barefoot Chicken Chili

In which the author displays her astounding lack of knowledge of a very popular food that every child raised on Brady Bunch and Partridge family re-runs really should know.

"Chicken Chili" made its way onto the Barefoot Bonus list this week, much to my delight. I have been wanting to taste chili for a very very long time, but somehow never did. For those of us born and living outside the US, chili is one of those dishes that you hear about and see in movies or on TV but never really stumble across. I know that Superbowl Sunday would not be complete without it (or is that the World Series?). I know that you can have it on a hot dog. I bet Harry made some for Sally. I'm sure all the Desperate Housewives have their own recipes. And surely Alice made a pot for the Bradys on their 3-ep Grand Canyon camping trip. But I have never tried it. I can't even remember seeing it on a restaurant menu in various trips to the US, although maybe I wasn't paying attention....

So yesterday, I began chopping onions and capsicums and garlic and tomatoes, for a slowish stove-top simmer before throwing in some oven-roasted chicken. The resulting stew was spicy, and packed with flavour. I really liked it, and would not hesitate to serve some up to friends for a casual meal. With some corn chips and sour cream on the side, it's perfect. Come to think of it, it is great "day after the night before" type food. However the kids were a little more luke-warm about it. Maybe it was too spicy for them, or maybe Hannah Montana doesn't eat chili, so they don't have the right TV references. As for my husband, who has slightly more chili experience than me, since he has eaten exactly one or two chili dogs, he wanted to know "Where's the meat? Where's the beans?". Blank looks from me, which prompted me into a quick bit of Wiki-research:

Did you know:

- Chili is the official dish of Texas (we don't have an official dish here, although someone is trying to sell Coat of Arms potato chips at the moment - flavoured with kangaroo and emu, would you believe?)

- Unnamed chili purists say "if you know beans about chili, you know chili ain't got beans" (guess who will be sharing that witticism tonight?)

- Secret chili ingredients can include peanut butter, bananas, pineapple, and cola. Not in this house.

Chicken Chili

adapted from "Barefoot Contessa Parties" by Ina Garten

4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 onions)
1/8 cup good olive oil, plus extra for chicken
2 cloves minced garlic

2 red capsicums, cored, seeded, and large-diced
2 yellow capsicums, cored, seeded, and large-diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried chili flakes, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 800g cans whole peeled plum tomatoes in puree, undrained
1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves
4 split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on (I used 4 marylands instead)
Chopped onions, corn chips, grated cheddar, sour cream

Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the capsicum, chili powder, cumin, chili flakes, cayenne, and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Crush the tomatoes by hand or in batches in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (pulse 6 to 8 times). Add to the pot with the basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked. Let cool slightly. Separate the meat from the bones and skin and cut it into 3/4-inch chunks. Add to the chili and simmer, uncovered, for another 20 minutes. Serve with the toppings, or refrigerate and reheat gently before serving.

Parmesan and Polenta Chicken with Corn Salad

Ten reasons why I love this time of year:

1. The sun wakes me up early.

2. My jasmine is about to pop.

3. There are lorikeets in the garden.

4. The air smells good.

5. It is light when I leave home. It is light when I return.

6. All the (non-native) trees are bright green with new growth.

7. New season fruit and vegies are in the shops.

8. I'm not cold (I despise being cold).

9. Third term is nearly over.

10. Stone fruit is on its way, but then again so is Christmas.....

And so winter gives way to spring, and shanks give way to salad. Part of my plan for the warmer seasons ahead, is to get the kids eating main course salads for dinner. For some sensible and also some stupid reasons, I have never really pushed salads on them in the past, but it is definitely time. With this in mind, I was glad to see the challenge this month for Hey Hey It's Donna Day, because it was a kid-friendly main course salad.

The salad looked delightfully sunny and yellow. The polenta and parmesan crumbed chicken was tasty, although a bit "sandy" in texture according to one 10 yr old expert. I accidentally overcooked the corn, so instead of coming off the cob in nice elegant slivers, it came off kernel by kernel (hence the lack of an elegant photo above). No matter; the small fry don't really care about plating or aesthetics. Baby spinach is a great salad leaf for children too - not too strong in flavour or bitter, it is the second salad leaf I got them to eat (sort of) after iceberg lettuce. The dressing is a little strong for the kids, so serve this on the side for the adults rather than dressing everyone's salad. All in all a lovely meal enjoyed by the whole tribe. And the leftover chicken made great sandwiches for the kids for a couple of days.

Thanks to Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness for the choice. If you feel like making use of your enormous pile of Donna hay cookbooks / magazines once a month, join in Hey Hey It's Donna Day, facilitated by Denise from Chez Us.

Parmesan and Polenta Chicken

from Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 31

2 cobs corn, husks and silks removed

olive oil for brushing

2 x 200g (7oz) chicken breasts

flour for dusting

2 eggs, lightly whisked

1/2 cup(100g/3 1/2 oz) polenta

1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

100g (3 1/2 oz) baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup basil leaves

grated parmesan cheese, extra to serve

dressing

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons honey

sea salt and cracked black pepper

To make the dressing, place the mustard, lemon juice, garlic, oil, honey, salt & pepper in a bowl & whisk to combine. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 220 C. Brush the corn with oil, place in a baking dish & roast for 25 minutes or until golden. Slice the kernels from the corn & set aside.

Slice the chicken in half horizontally, dust with the flour, dip into the egg & press into the combined parmesan & polenta to coat. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat & cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes each side or until golden & cooked through. Arrange the chicken, corn, spinach & basil on plates & spoon over the dressing & grated parmesan to serve. Serves 4

Chicken and Date Coucous for a Family Dinner

My children have recently taken to couscous in a big way (cue rapturous applause). From my selfish point of view, this is a fantastic development because it gives us one more option for dinner on those nights when you get in late and need to get dinner happening quickly. If you have never made it yourself, couscous can go from the packet to being served in 5 minutes, give or take, which makes it a saviour on our crazier nights.

Getting the kids to eat couscous wasn't hard. I originally sold it to them as something that tasted just like "lots and lots of tiny balls of pasta". Both love pasta, so that was a good start. At first I only used chicken stock, and a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper to flavour the couscous, but now that they like it, I am able to push the envelope a little further. Couscous, like pasta, is infinitely variable depending on what you mix into it. I like to add nuts for the texture contrast (pine nuts, almonds, or whatever is hanging around the pantry), and dried fruit as well for a little bit of sweetness to offset the savoury flavours. And you can use it for all sorts of things, even as a stuffing for poultry (yum).

I spotted this recipe in a recent issue of the wonderful Cuisine magazine. I changed it around a little, dropping the green olives in favour of the almonds, and swapped dates for figs, because that is what we had. Instead of the usual couscous cooking method (add hot liquid and let stand), this recipe creates a tasty base then adds the couscous and stock and bakes. The result was something soft and comforting, in the same way that risotto warms you, although it takes closer to 30 mins. My only slight complaint was that I felt it was a little too wet, so I have reduced slightly the amount of stock in the recipe below. This is one of those recipes that is endlessly modifiable according to your tastes and your pantry.

Spiced Chicken Tagine
adapted from "Cuisine" July 2009

25g butter
1 red onion finely diced
thumb sized piece of fresh ginger grated
8 boneless chicken thighs cut into chunks
pinch of dried chilli flakes
1 tsp turmeric
pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp whole coriander seeds, toasted
250g couscous
1 3/4 cups chicken stock, warmed
handful of dates, chopped
handful of blanched almonds, toasted*

Preheat oven to 180C. In a heavy saucepan, melt butter and fry onion and ginger until soft and fragrant (about 5 mins). Add chicken and fry untl it is sealed and just coloured. Add the spices and season. Add the couscous, warmed stock, dates and cover tightly with foil or a lid. Bake for 20 mins. Uncover the tagine and fluff the couscous with a fork - it should be light and fluffy and all the stock should be absorbed. Serve with a side salad.

* to toast spices or nuts, toss in a dry pan over medium low heat until they turn fragrant (spices) and/or golden (nuts).

A Chinese Supper For Cook The Books

This month's choice for the Cook The Books Club is "The Last Chinese Chef" by Nicole Mones. "The Last Chinese Chef" introduces the reader to the intricacies of Chinese life and Chinese cuisine through the eyes of Maggie, the outsider journalist from the US, who is recovering from personal tragedy. Maggie arrives in China with two missions: to conduct an interview with chef Sam Liang and to resolve a paternity claim against her husband's estate. Her stay becomes an education (for the reader as well) as she follows Sam's preparations for a competition banquet held in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics. He shares with her thoughts on everything from achieving the right intensity of taste in a dish, to balancing the textures of a meal and even the importance of making allusions to history and literature (in particular poetry) with dishes. Sam's cooking is Chinese food at haute cuisine level - and, as he points out, it bears no resemblance to the western dishes like spring rolls, lemon chicken or sweet and sour pork that are the only Chinese dishes many people have tried.

I found myself completely swept away by this book, so much so that I somehow forgot that it was fiction on the way through. By the time I got to the end and read the author's notes, I was really sad to have these people (who had become so real to me) firmly sent back to the world of fiction. You see I wanted Maggie and Sam to fall in love, commit to each other and run the restaurant together. I wanted them to hire Gao Lan as a waitress and have Shuying as a permanent part of their lives. I wanted Sam to reach enormous professional heights and for his mother to come from the US and see all he had achieved, and for his father and he to discover a closeness as adults that they had never previously had. I even wanted to read the fictional reference materials, quoted in each chapter. Maybe even eat at their restaurant one day......

For me, the cultural reference points were particularly interesting. Some of my family are Chinese, although not from China, but there are clearly many similarities and connections (guanxi!). Certainly the Chinese concern with food and flavour and texture, rang true with me, as did the importance of restaurants in daily life. I felt that much of what Maggie learnt along the way, are also things that I have learnt. I also felt that the ongoing tension between western and eastern perspectives, as personified by Sam who straddles both, was very illustrative. I will certainly be handing this book on to family that I know will love it as much as I did.

So when it came to choosing a meal to cook inspired by this book, I had lots of thoughts on what I wanted to achieve:
- I wanted to illustrate "guanxi" or relationships and connectedness because I was cooking for my family.
- I decided to make the poached chicken that Sam makes for Maggie early in the book. When Sam made this chicken, he reached across the usual journalist / subject divide and paved the way for their friendship to develop, as well as setting her on the path to healing. Maggie says "It was as soft as velvet, chicken times three, shot through with ginger and the note of onion....I may never have tasted anything so good." I had to have a go at it!
- I wanted vegetable dishes to complement the chicken. I chose braised soya beans which were in Kylie Kwong's book "My China" as a Beijing dish, and are therefore hopefully true to the sort of thing that Sam would make. Soya beans are also symbolic of the continuance of society (more guanxi). The snowpea and garlic stir fry introduces the colour of jade to the table, while snowpeas are a Chinese symbol of unity, and garlic symbolizes luck and health.
- I wanted to make a reference to a Chinese fable, as many of the book's dinners referred metaphorically to literature as well, and so I chose the story of the Moon Lady, Chang Er. We ended the meal with ginger cookies in the shape of a moon with a little speck of candied ginger to represent Chang Er sitting on the moon.

While everything was good, I particularly enjoyed the chicken and will definitely use this technique to poach chicken in the future. It was so tender that I could have nearly carved with a chopstick, while the chilli, ginger and coriander dressing gave it a very powerful kick. The cookies were also good - not too gingery, just sweet and crisp with a slightly warm aftertaste. All in all, a great meal that capped off a wonderful story, and which was enjoyed by all of us. In the next few weeks, I will make another meal to take advantage of some of Nicole Mone's recipes - sadly I had already planned my dinner before I discovered that treasure trove.


White Cooked Chicken
from "Recipes and Stories" by Kylie Kwong

1.6 kg free range chicken
6 litres water
3 cups shao hsing wine
6 green shallots, trimmed
12 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped ginger
4 tbls sea salt

Place all ingredients except chicken in a large stock pot, bring to the boil then simmer for 15 mins to infuse flavours.

Rinse chicken and cut away any excess fat. Lower chicken, breast side down into simmering stock ensuring it is fully submerged. Poach gently for exactly 14 mins (reduce the temperature so that there is nothing more than the occassional ripple breaking the surface). Remove pot immediately from stove and allow chicken to steep in stock for 3 hours at room temperature.

Gently remove chicken from stock, being careful not to tear breast skin (I lifted it out with y hands). Place chicken on a tray to drain and cool. Cut the chicken chinese style (bone in with a cleaver). Serve drizzled with soy chilli and coriander dressing below.

Soy Chilli Dressing
1/4 cup mushroom soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 finely julienned large red chilli
1 tbl ginger julienne
1/2 tsp white sugar
2 1/2 tsps peanut oil
1/3 cup corander sprigs
Pinch of szechuan pepper

In a bowl, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli, ginger and sugar. Drizzle over chicken. In a small pot heat peanut oil to smoking point then pour over the chicken. Garnish with coriander and pepper.

Red Braised Soy Beans with Star Anise and Vinegar
from "My China" by Kylie Kwong

1 cup dried soy beans
1/2 cup shao hsing wine
5 cm pice of ginger peeled and finely sliced
1 spring onion trimmed and cut into 5 cm lengths
3 star anise
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup water
2 tbls brown rice vinegar

Soak beans overnight in cold water, then rinse and tip into a heavy based saucepan. Cover generously with cold water, bring to the boil then simmer, adding more water as necessary, for 1-1 1/2 hours or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Sauce: Place shao hsing wine, ginger, star anise and spring onion in a wok. bring to the boil and simmer for 2 mins. Add suagr, soy sauce and sesame oil and simmer for a further minute. Add chickpeas and water and simmer briskly for 10 mins. Stir in vinegar and serve.

Stirfried Snow Peas With Garlic
from "Recipes and Stories" by Kylie Kwong

2 tbl vegetable oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
250g snow peas
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 garlic clove finely diced
1/4 tsp white sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock (I used the stock from poaching the chicken)
1/4 tsp sesame oil

Heat vegetable oil in a hot wok until it shimmers. Add salt and snow peas and stir fry for two minutes. Add garlic and stir fry for 1 min. Add sugar and stir fry for 10 secs. Pour in stock and sim mer for 2 mins or until snow peas are tender. Lastly add sesame oil and serve immediately.

Ginger Moons
from "China Moon Cookbook" by Barbara Tropp

125g cold unsalted butter chopped
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tbl minced fresh ginger
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tbl plain flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup finely diced crystallized ginger

Cream butter and sugar for about 3 mins until smooth. Add both gingers, vanilla, flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until the dough just comes together. Turn out the dough, gather into a ball and flatten slightly.

Dust some parchment paper on a tray with some flour. Place the dough in the centre and roll out to an even thickness of about 2-3 mm. Cover and refrigerate the dough until firm (abt 1 hour). Preheat the oven to 175C, and line baking sheets with parchment. Using a cookie cutter, cut crescent moons, and place 1 cm apart on baking sheets. Press a pie of ginger near the tapered end of each biscuit. Bake until the biscuits are golden, 10-12 mins. Cool on wire racks.

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

It is amazing how much one good meal can do for your general well-being. Life has felt a little grim around here lately. Then last night, came a restorative dinner out with some of my closest girlfriends: good food, a glass or two of wine and non-stop chat about lives, loves, books, kids, plus everything important and frivolous in our lives. It was the perfect mid-winter balm, and has left me feeling very blessed to have such lovely friends around me. An evening that left me feeling nurtured both by the food and the company and today, the world feels a much warmer place.....

This lasagna is definitely good warming winter food. To me, lasagna looks like an unmade bed, and I mean that in a good way. Relaxed, warm, comforting, soft, easy. This recipe has been calling to me from a recent issue of Gourmet magazine. It was the second part of a "four meals from two chickens" feature, but because I jumped in at step 2, I bought a pre-cooked BBQ chicken, and just stripped off the skin and pulled out the bones to get enough cooked shredded chicken (in fact, I used more than the recipe called for). The recipe is not too involved - just make the white sauce, keep half plain then mix in the chicken and mushrooms to the other half. Layer the sauces and noodles and bake. My only change was using cheddar instead of gruyere, because one of the girls is a bit unenthusiastic about cheese and gruyere is a bit too pungent for her. I think that may have been a mistake - I would love to make this again with the gruyere for an even cheesier taste. Maybe I'll convince her?

Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom Lasagne (serves 4)
from Gourmet, March 2009

300g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 roast chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded (about 2 1/4 cups),
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
12 Barilla no-boil egg lasagne noodles
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère

Preheat oven to 210C with rack in middle.
Cook mushrooms, garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are softened, about 3 minutes. Add wine and simmer briskly 2 minutes. Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl and stir in chicken. (Set aside saucepan.)

Bring milk to a bare simmer in another saucepan. Melt remaining 4 Tbsp butter in the large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook to make a roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. Add hot milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Add thyme, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and divide the mixture, reserving 1 cup sauce separately. Stir parmesan into the remaining sauce, then stir into mushroom filling.

Pour half of reserved plain sauce into a 20cm squre baking pan, spreading evenly to coat bottom. Add 3 lasagne sheets, overlapping slightly, and one third of mushroom filling, spreading evenly, then sprinkle one fourth of Gruyère over top. Repeat 2 times. Top with remaining 3 lasagne sheets and remaining plain sauce, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with remaining Gruyère.

Cover with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top of lasagne but sealing all around edge, and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese is golden, about 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Chicken - Comfort Food Par Excellence

If I don't know what to cook for dinner, I tend to fall back on roast chicken. It is easy, it is delicious and the leftovers make for killer sandwiches the next day. I also find the smell of roasting chicken incredibly comforting, and comforting is something I am valuing highly at the moment. Work continues on the rear of our house to repair the hideous termite damage we discovered a month or two ago, and we are all feeling a little despondent. Dust. Noise. Mess. Expense. Strange men in the house. More expense. More noise. More mess. Not fun. (If you are interested, take a look at the sad and sorry photo at the bottom of this post, showing a ruler sliding into one of our eaten beams).

So when Donna Hay sent me a roast chicken recipe to "make Mum's day" (I had fun writing that but it is not as exciting as you might imagine; I subscribe to her emails), I knew I had to give it a whirl. The recipe is very simple - just peel and slice potatoes and lemon, toss with oil, bake for half and hour, top with chicken marylands, bake for another 20-25 mins and you are done. I liked the recipe, but thought it could be improved on a little, at least for my family. The slices of potato that cooked next to the lemon came out too intensely flavoured for my kids, although the rest of the potato was gloriously tasty from the chicken drippings (I prefer the lemon inside the chicken cavity for more subtle flavouring). Also, the marylands weren't browned enough for my liking so I popped them under the grill for about a minute to give them something like the chicken equivalent of a spray-tan. A few days later, with Donna's original as the starting point, I decided to remake the recipe to my own taste, as a simpler comfort food version. It was really lovely, with the added bonus of the potatoes and carrots cooking together with the chicken, so most of the meal is cooked out of the one pan. Less washing up, plus an hour for doing other things while it all cooks, and the carrots and potatoes become incredibly tasty. (You can see pics of both attempts above.)

And if you feel like trying something a little more exotic, here is Kylie Kwong's Radical Roast Chicken.

Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

adapted from Donna Hay

1kg sebago (starchy) potatoes, peeled and sliced

4 carrots, peeled and cut into batons (or slices or whatever)

1 lemon, halved

2 tbls olive oil

1 whole chicken

sea salt flakes

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Place lemon inside the chicken cavity. Place potato, carrots and 2 tablespoons oil in a bowl and toss to coat. Layer in a dish and top with the chicken. Sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 1 hour or until golden and cooked through (a large chicken may take 1 hr and 10 mins).

I served the chicken and vegetables with a green salad, and some corn (corn and chicken are a great match).

And here is part of our eaten walls, once the plasterboard was stripped off. I feel sad just looking at it.... ouch....

Coq Au Vin Blanc and Incontrovertible Rules of Life

A few weeks ago, James Valentine (self described "peddlar of whimsy") proposed a series of absolutely irrefutable incontrovertible rules of life on his radio show. They are the sort of thing that everyone should know and which would make life easier for all of us if they were observed universally. The sort of thing that people should be punished for not observing, or at least given a death stare. Among them are:

1. Move to the back of the bus. It’s public transport. If you move to the back of the bus, more public can be transported.
2. Let everyone get off the train before you attempt to get on.
3. Same goes for lifts.
4. Don’t litter. Clean up your own rubbish.
5. No more than two abreast on a footpath.
6. And don’t amble in busy city streets.
7. Stay seated until it’s your turn to exit the plane.
8. Don’t crowd the luggage carousel.
9. Keep your shoes on in the cinema (surely no one thinks they should take off their shoes....)
10. If you are there first, you should get served first.
11. Return your shopping trolley.
12. When buying goods, have your payment ready.

All pretty obvious one would think. But they did make me ponder what I would include on a similar list of food related suggestions that make life easier:

1. Supermarkets should not be allowed to redesign the placing of food in their aisles more than once a decade (Bread has moved three times in the last year in my local supermarket. Grrr.)

2. If you are given a choice, buy fruit and vegies unpackaged (they are generally cheaper and better environmentally and you can pick out the best produce.)

3. If you are not going to eat them the next day, freeze and label your leftovers. No doubt a frantic weeknight will come around when you are very grateful for your little stash of meals. Even if everyone in the house gets something different for dinner.

4. Empty your fridge weekly of all science projects collecting in the vegetable crisper (the night before garbage collection is a good time).

5. Long slow oven braises are perfect anti-stress meals. Do all the work up front and then chill out for an hour or two, preferably in the bath, while the oven does the work.

Which brings me to this lovely Coq au Vin Blanc, courtesy of Cuisine Magazine's May 2009 issue. Lightened up with white wine instead of red, shallots instead of onions, and chicken stock replacing the beef stock, it was really delicious. And make sure you have some really good bread on hand, as these sauces deserve to be sopped. By the way, if you have any rules of life to add, please send them to me as a comment.

I am also sending this over to Deb at Souper Sundays. Have a look at her

offerings - perfect choices now the weather is getting colder.

Coq Au Riesling

from Lauraine Jacobs in Cuisine Magazine, May 09

1 large chicken

3-4 tbls flour

2 tbls olive oil

30g butter

3-4 medium shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic crushed to a paste

375 ml Riesling

375 ml chicken stock

small bunch French tarragon, coarsely chopped (I stupidly forgot this)

150g sliced button mushrooms

4 tbl cream

parsley to garnish

Preheat oven to 190C. Cut the chicken into 8 or 9 pieces and lightly dust with flour. Heat the oil and 1 tbl butter over medium high heat in a heavy casserole pot. Add the chicken in batches and fry on all sides until the skin is crisp and golden (don't worry about cooking through). Remove chicken and add the shallots and garlic, and fry them over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Return the chicken to the pot with the wine, stock, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

While the chicken is cooking, brown mushrooms in a little oil, then add to the chicken with the cream for the final ten minutes in the oven. Remove the pot from the oven, and lift out the chicken and the mushrooms to a serving platter. Boil down the sauce to thicken a little, then spoon it over the chicken and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Quick Chicken Salad for an Unexpected Lunch

If you walked into my house unannounced this morning, you would find two school hats sitting near the front door, in the same spot they landed before Easter. There is a very large pile of newspapers, magazines and mail on the dining table. You would also find the oven trays and pans from last night washed but still sitting in the drainer waiting to be put away. My daughter's Egypt project sits with some school notes that need to be dealt with. There are a couple of spare pairs of shoes tossed to one side. There are some coffee cups yet to be put in the dishwasher. Ironing is sitting out waiting to be put away. The house is clean but it is certainly not tidy. I'm embarrassed to say that my house looks like this most mornings.

You will not be surprised to know that when visitors are coming, my house does not look like this. I run around making sure that everything is returned to where it belongs, ensuring that the tables that usually accumulate daily clutter are clear, the draining rack in the kitchen is empty and ideally most of the kitchen prep has been done too so that (on a good day) there is not even a chopping board sitting around. This takes time and creativity (one of my proudest moments was when I figured out that my washing machine could be used as a hiding spot - just don't forget what is inside or you could be creating a disaster). So a surprise visitor for lunch means a recipe that is both quick and simple to allow for a mad dash around the house returning everything to the places they belong. Please tell me that other people do this too...



This salad is lovely and easy, and the flavour combination is great. It also keeps really well - it was a delicious lunch for me for a few days. The recipe is from "The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook" by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins which was published in 1984, and is still a great resource for me. Lots of really delicious ideas once you sift out the occasional 1980s horror - if you see this book in a secondhand bookshop, grab it. Just the thing for seeing an old friend, (and admiring how nice everything looks when all our clutter is put away). And it only takes about 15 minutes to make.



Chicken Salad With Red Grapes and Pecans
from "The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook" by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

4 whole chicken breasts (8 halves) poached and skinned (I used a cooked rotisserie chicken, skinned)
1 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes
3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
Salad leaves
Roquefort Mayonnaise

Cut the chicken into 3cm chunks, then combine with celery, grapes and pecans in a large bowl.
Make the mayonnaise. Toss the salad with the mayonnaise and refrigerate until cold. Seve on a bed of salad leaves.

Roquefort Mayonnaise
2 egg yolks
1 tbl dijon mustard
2 tbls sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup crumbled roquefort (I used a goats cheese instead)


Process egg yolks, mustard and vinegar in a blender for 30 seconds. With the machine running, slowly add the oil to make a thick mayonaise. Add cheese and pulse a couple of times (until just combined, not smooth). Season to taste.

Chicken Bonne Maman

Can a soupy chicken dish make you a bonne maman or a good mother? I came across this recipe when I was struggling a little with organising my life and my family. I had recently given up full time work, but had yet to work out how to manage a family (yes I can be slower than the average bear). One of my daughter's pre-school teachers suggested that I have a look at the Flylady website for help in getting everything together. This site sends multiple email reminders every day, from "have you done a load of washing?" to "have you organised dinner yet?" Sounds basic, but at the time, this sort of prompt was exactly what I needed. They also sent out this recipe as part of some sort of de-cluttering challenge they were doing. And while it is a long time since I have subscribed to Flylady, this recipe still gets made often.

I wish the photo was better but sadly the strength of this dish lies in the taste and the smell, not its beauty. A long slow cook in the oven leaves the house smelling comforting and secure, just like a good mother's home should. Tender chicken, lots of vegetables and some chicken soup - it's really really good. Incidentally, also like a good mother, this recipe is very forgiving - use what you have or the quantities that make sense to you.

A bowl of poulet bonne maman is being sent over to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sundays. If you are looking for a little bit of soupy inspiration, drop by and have a look at her great selection.

Poulet Bonne Femme

from Leanne Ely via Flylady.net

1 1/2 tbl olive oil

12 chicken thighs

12 baby carrots or 4 large chopped into batons

12 pearl onions or 4 large, quartered

4 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 tsps tarragon

1/2 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

5 potatoes peeled and sliced

Brown chicken thighs in oil on both sides (no need to cook through), then season well with salt and pepper. Place in an oven-proof casserole pot or a slow cooker.

Add onions and carrots (and extra oil if necessary) and saute till onions are golden. Add vegetables to casserole pot or slow cooker. Pour chicken brother into saute pan and scrape any brown bits from the bottom. Pour stock over chicken. Add herbs and potatoes to chicken. Cover and cook at 130 for 4 hours or in a slow cooker for about 6 hours (or until chicken is done).

Chinese Chicken Salad

Unlike many Barefoot Blogger picks of dishes I've neither seen nor heard of, this week's Chinese Chicken Salad had me on very familiar territory. The honey/soy/sesame oil flavour trio makes regular, well-appreciated appearances around here in salads, marinades and stir fries. We also tend to eat at Chinese restaurants a lot, where my daughters love a northern chinese salad called kai see fan pei (forgive me the English approximation of the Chinese name - you won't be surprised to hear I don't read or speak Chinese), which tosses cold shredded chicken, cucumber and rice noodles with a peanut based sauce. So I was very interested to try Ina's version of this dish. And the verdict? Enthusiastic from all the family.

I tweaked the recipe slightly. It is not easy to get breasts on the bone with skin here (breasts tend to come only as fillets), so instead I opted for an already-cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket which I then skinned and shredded. Since it is the night before school holidays start, I was glad to have taken this short-cut. Then I added some celery and some cucumber to increase the vegetable content. I also reduced the amount of salt in the dressing after reading the comments earlier in the week. And the kids had crisped chinese noodles sprinkled over the tops of theirs for a bit of fun and texture. The next time I make this, I will increase the amount of ginger as I would like a bit more of a zing in the dressing, and maybe even chop in some raw chilli for a tiny bit of heat. I also suspect that the salad will be even better tomorrow after it has sat for a while. Lucky me - lunch is sorted.

Thank you to Mckenzie of Kenzie's Kitchen for the great choice. You can have a look at how all the other Barefoot Bloggers enjoyed the recipe here. See you all after Easter - apologies in advance for the late comments.

Chinese Chicken Salad

from "Barefoot Contessa Parties" by Ina Garten

4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on) - I used one pre-cooked chicken, skinned and shredded 250g asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions or green onions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 175C.
Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Cornbread Stuffing For Roasted Chicken or Turkey

Earlier this year I made cornbread for the family, to eat alongside some soup. Cornbread is not something you see often around here, and sadly, the family didn't really enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I hate it when that happens. Away into the freezer went the cornbread, until I could decide what to do with it. Last week, darling husband was arriving home from overseas, and as roast chicken is his very favourite dinner, I thought I would tart it up a little. The cornbread stuffing my sister-in-law made for us at Christmas time was playing on my mind, and so two great ideas collided. The recipe below was an improvisation on a Julia Child stuffing I found on the net, and it was great. Not too heavy or stodgy or (even worse) mysterious like most of the stuffings around here; it was light and tasty and delicious, and the leftovers were every bit as good. Because I was running late with dinner, I baked the chicken separately from the stuffing because I wanted to avoid any extra cooking time on the chicken. Is stuffing still stuffing when nothing is being stuffed? Not sure. I'll let you ponder that one.

Incidentally, the cornbread recipe was one of the 08 Barefoot Blogger Challenges that had come and gone before I joined the group. I have included the recipe for the cornbread below as well.

Cornbread Stuffing
adapted from Julia Child's Cornbread Stuffing Recipe, on plaincook.com

5 cups cornbread, crumbled
500g sausage meat
2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups celery ribs, chopped
2 cups breadcrumbs, unseasoned, lightly pressed down
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons dried sage (more if you like - I didn't use because I forgot to buy it)
120g melted butter
1 large apple, cored and diced
1/2 cup toasted pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Brown sausage meat in a pan over medium heat. Lift into a large bowl, leaving fat in pan.
Using the same pan, saute onions for 5-6 minutes (or until translucent). Add celery and saute for 2 minutes. Add the onion and celery to the sausage, along with the cornbread and bread crumbs. Combine sage and eggs, and pour into mixture. Fold in the melted butter. Season to taste.

Stuff cavity of chicken or turkey with mixture and bake according to poultry roasting times. If baking separately, place mixture in a baking pan, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, maybe even less. Do not overbake otherwise the stuffing will dry out.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
from Barefoot Contessa at Home

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers (I left these out although I would definitely include if we were to make again)

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chicken Piccata Because Everything Tastes Better Crumbed

Robert Byrne claims "Anybody who says that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, flunked geography." Nigel Slater says "It is impossible not to love someone who makes toast for you." Fellini says that "Life is a combination of magic and pasta." And Mark Twain adds "Eat what you like and let the food fight it out on the inside." But the most pertinent piece of wisdom for today is that "Everything tastes better crumbed". Comedian Dave O'Neill, has published a book under this title - one of his big statements about life. I'm not sure I agree entirely, although my children probably would. Lucky for them that Chicken Piccata was the first of this months' Barefoot Blogger recipes. (For newcomers to this site, the Barefoot Contessa has spawned a motley crew of Barefoot Bloggers who cook from the collected wisdom of Ina Garten a couple of times a month.)


I have made this recipe before (here) but last time I subbed in veal for chicken. We also had a similar Barefoot Blogger recipe in September when we made Parmesan Chicken. This time I made it just as Ina instructed, although I cooked some thigh fillets as well as the breast fillets (husband regards chicken breasts as the work of the devil). If I had to compare the recipes, I think I would pick the Parmesan chicken - the extra flavour from the cheese really lifts it, although I really liked the lemon sauce from the piccata - maybe the solution is to marry the two?? If you are planning to make this, try pounding the fillets from the middle out, to make for less raggedy edges. And just in case you are left with some, the leftovers make great sandwiches. I served the chicken with some steamed asparagus - which also went very well with the lemon sauce. Thanks to Lindsay of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings for her choice.


Chicken Piccata from the Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten
2 chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.


Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Curried Chicken Salad aka Coronation Chicken Salad

When I was studying at university, I had a job in a fairly rough pub, making counter lunches. We used one end of the Front Bar as a makeshift kitchen, with a pie warmer, fridges and a microwave, all jammed into a tiny corner. The clientele was largely railway workers and people who lived in the nearby Salvation Army men's hostel, and the food we served was substantial blokey food - pies, bakes, rolls and so on - always good food but definitely no frills. But once a year on Melbourne Cup Day the whole place went decidedly upmarket. The office workers from nearby would descend on the Ladies Lounge for a cup lunch, and we would serve a fixed price meal, to go with their cheap champagne and cask wine. The owner of the pub always insisted that we include Coronation Chicken in the menu. Having little experience of Cup lunches at the time, I just presumed that this meal must be "de rigeur" for a day of hats and horse racing. Needless to say, I have never since seen Coronation Chicken served on Cup Day.

Which is not to say that it shouldn't be. I had completely forgotten how charming this salad is, especially in the hot and sweaty months of the year, however a column from Jill Dupleix in last month's Delicious Magazine (Feb 09) reminded me. It really is a lovely cold salad. Even better, I put it together using up some leftover cooked chicken (part of my ongoing 09 crusade against leftovers). Served in a hollowed out papaya shell, it was easily winning enough for a day at the races.

(And why is it called Coronation Chicken? Apparently the recipe was conceived as a lunch for the Commonwealth Heads of State who gathered for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. Cold salad was easy to serve to a multitude and the curry spices were a diplomatic nod at some of the far flung reaches of the empire).

Coronation Chicken adapted from Jill Dupleix in "Delicious"

1 poached, roasted or BBQed chicken (or leftovers - if less than one whole chicken, adapt amounts accordingly)

6 cooked potatoes chopped (I think I would leave this out next time and serve with a lovely bread on the side instead)

1 Lebanese cucumber chopped

1 tbs chopped chives, plus extra as garnish

1 butter lettuce (or 1 bag mixed summer lettuce leaves)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 papaya, cut into chunks

Dressing

2 tbs mayonnaise (use the best you can)

1/3 cup yoghurt (low fat is fine)

2 tbs mango chutney

1 tbs mild curry powder

1 tsp tomato paste

Tabasco to taste

1 tbl of lemon juice

Whisk dressing ingredients together until smooth then season to taste. If it is too thick, water it down a little by whisking in 1 tbl of water. Cut chicken into bite size chunks. Toss the chicken, potato, papaya, and cucumber in the dressing. Put a bed of lettuce on each plate and top with the chicken salad. If you are serving in a papaya shell, slice a tiny bit off the bottom so it sits flat on a plate and serve the salad into it. Sprinkle with cumin seeds and chives.

Citrus Marinated Spatchcock and the Demise of the Meal

An article in The Guardian sent to me yesterday (thanks Stew), has prompted me to think about the huge focus on the when, where and how of our meals and the enormous vested interests involved. Food at its most basic is our first pleasure as infants, it is literally our lifeblood, figuratively our cultural barometer, the mark of our celebrations and our commiserations. But it is different for all of us. Like many others, I think family meal times are invaluable, as a time when everyone gets heard, and we can all talk about serious issues or nonsense. It is a time to connect with each other, laugh, shout, tell, even whine. But at other points in my life, it has not always been possible. When your partner travels a lot, or you have small children who eat at 5pm, or you and your partner are working different hours or even when you live in a tiny flat with a kitchen the size of the proverbial postage stamp, a home cooked meal can feel completely unattainable. Instead, you have to work hard at building the connections that come so naturally over a shared meal - and frankly it's a lot more work than the making of a meal.



This meal wasn't for a special occassion for us apart from a return to health and normality. It comes from "Feedback" by Michelle Scamps, a cookbook that is hard to find and definitely deserves wider publication. While it is one of my husband's favourites and something I have made for dinner parties, I decided to indulge all of us. And the results on the night: husband very happy, one daughter liked it; the other found the orange marinade a little overwhelming. (Incidentally the reason I like spatchcock for a dinner party is that it is so easy and fast to plate and has a bit of a "wow" factor when it hits the table).

Citrus Roasted Spatchcock from "Feedback" by Michelle Scamps

4 spatchcock
2 oranges sliced into wedges
olive oil

For the marinade:
1 orange, zest and juice plus juice of 3 more oranges
1 lime, zest and juice
90 ml balsamic vinegar
125 ml olive oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed
6 sprigs of thyme, chopped
2 tbsp dried oregano

Mix marinade ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Put the spatchcocks into the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Turn the spatchcocks in the marinade every 1/2 hour or so (or when you remember).

To cook, preheat oven to 180C. Remove spatchcocks from the marinade (save marinade for basting) and put them into a roasting tin with the oranges. Drizzle some olive oil over the oranges, then put the roasting tin into the oven . Roast for 50 minutes or until the spatchcocks are cooked, basting with the leftover marinade every 15 minutes. Tip the pan juices into a small saucepan and reduce to become a tasty sauce.

Serve with couscous or rice to sop up the juices.

Easy Peasy Chicken and Leek Pie (made from leftovers!)

One of my resolutions for 09 is a commitment to reduce the amount of food thrown out by our family. Last year, my conscience was well and truly pricked on this issue by my green friend Patty, as well as various magazine articles and statistics. Annually, every Australian throws out approximately 145 kg of food, at enormous financial and environmental cost. So in an effort to substantially decrease that figure for our house at least, I am determined to use up as much of our leftovers as possible, either by freezing them to eat later or by using them up in other meals.

This pie was conceived as a way of utilising some chicken that might otherwise have been ignored until it was too old to eat. Leftovers from a roast chicken are mixed into a leek and garlic sauce and then baked under some puff pastry. Easy, delicious and much better than having the chicken land in the bin. This was so nice, it would nearly be worthwhile buying a takeaway chicken just for the purposes of this leftover pie. And next time I will use the full 1 tbl of cornflour - I tried to reduce it and my sauce was too loose. PS I love my blackbird pie vent - it makes me want to sing!



Chicken and Leek Pie


1 tbl olive oil
3 leeks, white part washed and sliced
1 brown onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic
600g leftover chicken, shredded into bite size pieces (feel free to usemore or less depending on what you have)

1 tbl chopped fresh thyme
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbl corn flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 sheet pre-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbl of water

Place oil in a pan over medium heat. Add leek, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent but not brown. Add the thyme and stock and bring to the boil. When reduced by about half, spoon a couple of tbls of the stock mixture into a small bowl, and add the cornflour. Stir cornflour mixture with a fork until all lumps have disappeared, then tip it back into the stock. Add chicken and cook for another minute. Check seasonings, then pour mixture into a pie dish.

Cover the pie dish with the sheet of puff pastry, cutting a criss cross vent (2 cm by 2 cm) in the middle. Pinch the pastry around the edges to seal and cut off any excess. Brush with the egg wash, then bake in a 200C oven for 25-30 mins or until golden brown.

Coq Au Vin for Barefoot Bloggers

This month's first Barefoot Blogger recipe was Coq Au Vin, chosen by Bethany of this little piggy went to market (such a great name!). As anyone who reads this blog will know, I love chicken braises (in fact "place in oven for 30-40 minutes" must be one of my all time favourite directions in a recipe). No surprises then that this recipe ticks all the boxes for me. The chicken was tender, and full of flavour. It was an easily expandable recipe - at this time of year, it is not unusual to have an extra soul at the table - so I just bought a couple of extra chicken legs and cooked them in with the rest of the chopped chicken. We all loved it - even the children. And for non-wine drinkers - don't be put off. The wine just adds a depth of flavour but no identifiable "winey" taste.



My only ever so slight issue was with browning the chicken. I always wind up with most of the chicken skin stuck to the bottom of the pot. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Check out how all the other Barefoot Bloggers went here.

And on a personal note, December means the start of the Australian summer holidays. We will be travelling a bit and I will have only intermittent computer access, so Merry Christmas / Seasons Greetings / Happy New Year to all. Despite my best intentions, some posts are going to have to wait till January!

Coq Au Vin

from "Back to Basics" by Ina Garten

2 tablespoons good olive oil
Ingredients
120g good bacon or pancetta, diced
1 (1.5-2kg) chicken, cut in 8ths
250g carrots, cut diagonally in 3cm pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade
10 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
250g frozen small whole onions (I couldn't find these, so I sauteed some small pickling onions in some oil and then added them)
250g cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced



Preheat the oven to 125C. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.
Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer.

Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.