Ginger Roast Chicken and Pasta with Tomato Pan Sauce

Ginger Roast Chicken with Pasta Pan Sauce - from Splendid Table website 2013         

                         1 1/2 - 2 hours for a 4 lb bird plus 2- 48 hours for seasoning to marinate

We decided this was good comfort food, and the flavors of ginger, lemon & parsley (or basil) are very bright and cheerful for winter, broccoli adds some good color.  Original recipe called for elbow macaroni. If you decide to branch out, choose a short shape with enough squiggle, such as cavatappi, to hold the sauce.

Plan ahead: For the best flavor, season the chicken 8 to 24 hours ahead of roasting.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger, divided
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• One 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, preferably with giblets
• Juice of 1 lemon (we like Meyers)
• 3/4 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
• 12 ounces pasta
•  3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
• One 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices, or 1 scant pound fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• Nice amount of broccoli (or zuke or summer squash)
• 1/4 cup chopped  flat-leaf parsley (or basil)

Instructions

Season the chicken. In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 tablespoon of the ginger, 2 teaspoons of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper.

 

Pat the chicken dry inside and out with paper towels. (If the chicken has a LOT of extra fat, trim some. Use the giblets in your roasting pan but not the liver). Gently loosen the skin over the breast and thighs of the chicken and rub about 1 Tbspn of the ginger mixture under the skin. Rub 1-2 tsp inside the cavity. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken (and I like to put the squoze-out lemon inside the cavity). Salt the chicken and let it dry some.  Smear the surface all over with about 1 teaspoon olive oil. Season with more salt and pepper. Tuck the wing tips back so they are secure under the neck bone. If you are gingering the bird ahead of time, refrigerate it for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours. If you are not seasoning  in advance, let the bird stand at room temp to allow some of the rub’s flavoring to penetrate; it can safely stay at room temperature for up to 2 hours.

 

Oven: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 degrees .

Roast the chicken in a medium, low-sided roasting pan  or baking dish (about 8 by 12 inches) breast side up on a rack. (If you have giblets, put them in the bottom of pan) .  Put bird in the oven, with the legs facing the rear wall. After 25 minutes, pour the wine over the chicken. If at any time the liquid in the pan appears to dry up, add 1/4 cup water (or more wine) to the pan. Continue roasting, basting the chicken a coupla times with pan drippings ,until the juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees, another 35 to 55 minutes.

 

Lift the chicken out of the pan, pour the juices from the cavity into the roasting pan. Transfer the chicken to a carving board (preferably one with a trough) and let it rest. Discard the giblets, but reserve all the juices in the pan- you're going to need for sauce!

 

Start the pasta  about 5 minutes before the chicken is done, cook until al dente. At the last couple minutes, add chopped broccoli to the water or in a steamer above pasta.

 

Meanwhile, make the sauce. I like to use a wok for this because you can dump the pasta in at end. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, the remaining ginger, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant and just golden, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes (save the  juices) and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes begin to brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and add the tomato juice from can, and the juices from the chicken and cook a little more.   (don’t skim the fat from the roasting pan juices; you want it to enrich the pasta)

 

Carve the chicken, and keep warm.  (Can leave in large pieces or cut up if you need to serve more people).

Drain the pasta and broccoli.  Add the basil or parsley to the sauce and stir, then add the pasta and broc to wok. Toss well to coat with the sauce. Serve alongside the roasted chicken pieces or mix up chicken slices and pasta. 

Reprinted from All About Roasting: A New Approach to the Classic Art by Molly Stevens. Copyright © 2011 by Molly Stevens. 

Cherry Snowballs: Best Cookie of 2013 Paloozer

Cherry Snowballs: Best Cookie of 2013 Paloozer

Original recipe makes 18 cookies

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup quick cooking oats

• 1/4 cup finely chopped sweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 pinch salt
• 15 maraschino cherries, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Beat 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour; beat for 5 seconds. Add oats; beat for 5 seconds. Add coconut; beat for 5 seconds. Add walnuts; beat for 5 seconds. Add salt; beat for 5 seconds.
3. Mix cherries into the butter mixture, beating until dough comes together and turns light pink from cherries, about 25 seconds.
4. Drop spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
5. Bake in preheated oven until slightly golden, 18 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar into a shallow dish; roll warm cookies in sugar to coat. After rolling all of the cookies once, roll again in confectioners' sugar to coat. Pretty with some sparkly sugar in 2nd roll.
6. Debrief of 2013: think about intensifying the cherry flavor

Cold Cucumber Yogurt Avocado Soup

1-2 English cucumbers, peeled and diced or  lemon cukes if you can get them

• 1 avocado, (pitted & peeled please) and diced 
• 1 tbspn lemon juice (helps keep avocado from going off-color) add zest if like the lemony taste
• 1 tbspn coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 sweet onion chopped (I ike Walla Wallas)
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic (to taste) or shallot
• 1 1/2  cup plain yogurt (I like to use 1/2 nonfat Greek and 1/2 whole fat something creamy)
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• freshly ground cumin to taste, or nutmeg if you're not a fan of cumin
• for a kick: 1 jalapeno or medium hot pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

garnishes:

 pretty with peppery nasturtium blossoms & leaf  or  mint, scallion, pepitas, za'atyr, lemon zest

Directions

Process or blend until very smooth.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Garnish & serve cold (nice to refrigerate bowls ahead)

Pasta with Kale & Parsnips

Pasta with Black Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Parsnips

Black kale—sometimes called cavolo nero—is dark green and becomes very tender when cooked. If black kale is unavailable, use regular kale.

Cooking Light OCTOBER 2010

• Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 2/3 cups)
• Total:45 Minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 cups (1/3-inch) diagonally cut parsnip (about 1 pound)
• 2 1/2 cups sliced onion (about 1 large)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 8 cups trimmed chopped black kale (about 3 bunches)
• 1/2 cup organic vegetable broth
• 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Sue adds hot peppers or chili flakes

Preparation

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add parsnip to pan; cook 12 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring occasionally. Place in a large bowl; keep warm.

2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan over medium-low heat. Add onion to pan; cook 20 minutes or until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in thyme and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in kale and broth; cook, covered, 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Uncover; cook 4 minutes or until kale is very tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a sieve over a bowl, reserving 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Add drained pasta to kale mixture. Stir in parsnips, 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; cook for 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Add remaining 1/4 cup cooking liquid if needed to moisten. Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Sue's note: instead of veg broth and salt, use FISH SAUCE!!!

Carol's Lemon Chiffon Pie

Bake a pie shell and cool. 4 eggs 3/4 c sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 c lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon 2 tsp gelatin, dissolved in 1/4 c of cold water Separate the eggs and beat the yolks. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and salt and stir. Add lemon juice and zest Cook in a double boiler, stirring, until it starts to thicken Remove from heat and add gelatin. Cool this mixture in fridge until it starts to set, about 1/2 hour Beat egg whites with 1/4 c of sugar until stiff - fold into lemon mixture and pour into pie shell. Chill.

Stuffed Peppers

This dish was invented when Secky and I (Sue) had a lot of leftovers from a mediterranean/middle east feast for a "West Wing" night. This recipe calls for a box of couscous, but you can use left over rice, lentils,etc.

4 big bell peppers
1/3 lb. ground lamb or beef
1/2 onion (sweet tastes good with pepper) minced
1/4 c mushrooms, small chopped pieces
1 eggplant; 2/3 for spread, 1/3 for chunks
1 box couscous with pine nuts OR about 2 c couscous plus 1 TBspn pine nuts
1/4 c hummus
4-6 cloves garlic
1/4 c golden raisins
small chunks of olives are also good to throw in
feta in small chunks also delish

herbs (oregano, thyme, zatyr good) & seasonings : add salt if you didn't use the boxed couscous

Turn on oven to 350degrees F-- or you can microwave the whole thing actually

Slice off the tops of the green peppers and clean out seeds, but keep the caps.

Brown meat with onions and seasonings (oregano is good) mushrooms and 1/3 of eggplant in small chopped pieces (or brown  meat & veggies separately if you're expecting some vegans for dinner). Er, expecting some vegans to HAVE dinner. Add the pine nuts to toast if you're not using the couscous box mix.

Meanwhile, cook the couscous;
wilt the the rest of eggplant with garlic in the microwave (or bake or steam). Mush up the eggplant and garlic in a blender, food processor or by hand so it's the consistency of a spread and mix it up with the hummus (or use  leftover baba ganouj and hummus).  If the eggplant is very dry,  you had very lean meat, or you're using rice instead of couscous, you may want to add a little olive oil and water to the eggplant mixture, so it creates a nice sauce inside the pepper.

Stand up the peppers in a glass or ceramic baking dish (tastes better on pepper than metal). Mix together the grain and meat mixture, (or keep separate for some veggie peppers) add other ingreds (raisins, olive, feta) fill the peppers about 4/5 and plop a big spoonful of the hummus/eggplant mush sauce on top. Put the pepper tops back on, and put in oven for about 20- 30 minutes. (or microwave for about 3 mins) I like the peppers still a little crunchy. If you don't like them al dente, put a little water in bottom of pan to steam the peppers, and cook a little longer. With smaller peppers, or pepper "boats"  you can also do these on the grill  

Vegetarian tacos

These can be made into a #vegan version by omitting the cheese, and made into breakfast by adding a fried egg. 4 6-inch tortillas 1 avocado, sliced 1 cup cooked beans -- pinto, black, whatever your favorite is 1 cup fresh corn 1 shallot, minced 2 slices of cheese or 1/4 cup shredded 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp cumin salt and pepper to taste 1 tsp cooking oil for sauteing Put a little oil in a small saute pan and heat with a medium flame. Add the shallot and sweat it for a few minutes. Add the corn and saute for about 5 minutes gently, until it softens. Add the beans and spices and continue to heat on low while you prepare the tortillas -- don't let it get too dry. taste and adjust seasoning. Lay the tortillas on a lightly-oiled griddle and heat on a medium flame for a minute, then flip over. put the cheese, if using, on the tortilla, and then the avocado. continue to heat until the bottom of the tortilla gets a little browned and crispy -- just a couple of minutes. add a quarter of the bean-corn mixture to each tortilla and serve with your favorite hot sauce. Serves 2 people -- 2 tortillas each.