Jurassic Chicken with Mushrooms and Cream

This is a hearty cool weather dish from Jura France, with an intriguing fragrance from the mushrooms -- and if you can afford it, the nutty vin jaune. We typically use a tough old bird because it has more flavor than a young hen. Based on Art of Eating #72, November 2006.

Garnished with chicken skin cracklings, served over dumplings

I couldn't justify the cost of wines from Jura to cook with -- it's pricey in the States but not too bad in France; a friend once brought to drink: it's an unusual earthy wine with a distinct "rancio" aroma reminiscent of rancid walnuts.  I substituted for the requested Jura sous-voile and vin jaune wines with an unoaked, slightly buttery Chardonnay, and added a bit of sherry at the end to give the suggestion of nuttiness. Morel mushrooms are traditional, but porcini work too; don't use shitake as their flavor is too distinct. Even these dried mushrooms are about $20 for 100 grams, so here we use a mix of dried porcini and fresh cremini mushrooms.

The crisp skin condiment is my own twist on this as I don't enjoy soggy skin.  Although it's not traditional, we have served this with Spätzle which worked very well.

42 gram Dried Morel or Porcini Mushrooms
500 gram   Cremini mushrooms, fresh, sliced
1 whole Chicken (we've used an old 5# gallina)
Salt
Pepper
1-2 Tbs Flour, just enough to dust
2 ounce Butter
1 cup White Wine (e.g., unoaked, slightly buttery Chardonnay)
2 cup Chicken Stock (or mushroom hydration water)
1/4 cup Vin Jaune Wine (I used the same Chardonnay)
2 cups Heavy Cream
1 splash Lemon Juice
3 Tbs Sherry
Parsley, finely diced for condiment

Re-hydrate the Dried Mushrooms in cool water for 30 minutes.
Cut up the chicken into 8 pieces: drumsticks, thighs, breasts, wings;  remove and reserve skin.
Season with Salt, Pepper, and dust lightly with Flour.
Saute Chicken pieces in Butter in a wide pan so they lie in one layer, cooking until the flour is cooked; do not brown.

Slowly saute lightly floured pieces until barely cooked

Add 1 C Wine and Chicken Stock, cover and cook slowly so the chicken doesn't color, turning as needed.
The breasts should be done in about 15 minutes or less, remove; the others parts should take another 15 minutes or so, remove.
An giant old Gallina will take a lot longer, perhaps an hour.
Skim excessive fat if you have any.
Reduce until it's nearly a glaze.

Meanwhile...

Crisp the reserved skin from the Chicken by placing flat in a non-stick skillet, top with a pot lid or other object to keep it flat, and cook on low, turning over occasionally. It should eventually come out like crispy thin-cut bacon. Cut into shards.

Chicken skin cracklings are sooooo good

Remove the Chicken Meat from the bones and shred into bite-sized pieces.

Saute the Cremini mushrooms in some Chicken fat from above.
Slice the rehydrated Mushrooms, cutting out any woody stems, and add them to the saute.

Add 1/4 C vin jaune or other Wine, Cream, Mushrooms, and reduced Chicken liquid.
Cook and reduce until it just coats a spoon.
If you need to add moisture, strain some Mushroom liquid.

Reducing the cream with the mushrooms

Add the chicken meat and heat through.
Just before serving add the Sherry and mix through.
Add a splash of Lemon Juice if it taste a bit flat, just a touch.
Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve with dumplings or over Spätzle, garnish with Parsley and Chicken Skin cracklings.

Dumplings cook covered on top of the finished dish

BBQ Rosemary-marinated flank steak

This is an easy, flavorful and aromatic prep for a lusty steak. You can use beef flank, or the similarly tastey flap (vacio) cut  as in these photos -- both are toothsome but beefy. It just needs a night in the fridge for the flavors to penetrate, then cooks up quickly on the BBQ.  We once cooked this (after marinading) sous vide to very rare, then froze in its bag, and took to a party where we finished it on a hot BBQ to sear -- worked fabulously.

From Cooks Illustrated, May & June 2005, by Elizabeth Germain, serves 4-6. Other marinades suggested in the article include Garlic-Ginger-Sesame and Garlic-Chili.

Rosemary beef flap steak with grilled asparagus and smashed baby potatoes

  2 pounds Flank Steak (one whole), patted dry
  2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
  6 cloves Garlic
  1 medium Shallot
  2 Tbs Rosemary Leaves, fresh
1/4 tsp Black Pepper, ground

Poke each side of the steak about 20 times with a fork.
Sprinkle the Salt over both sides.

Poked and salted

Blend Oil, Garlic, Shallot, Rosemary Leaves until a smooth paste.

Whiz the ingredients into a paste, no need to be fussy about this

Smear both sides with the paste.

Smear the marinade on both sides, then wrap tightly

Wrap tightly with cling film (cellophane).
Marinade overnight up to two days.

Wrapped and bagged, you can freeze it after marinading overnight

Wipe paste off steak so it doesn't burn during cooking.
Sprinkle both sides with Pepper.
Grill directly over very hot barbecue coals until well browned, 4-6 minutes.
Flip and grill 3-4 minutes.
It should still be quite pink, any more and it will become tougher.
Cover loosely with aluminum foil and allow juices to redistribute
about 5 minutes; it will cook a bit more from carry-over heat.
Cut across the grain into very thin slices and serve with a robust red wine.

Thai Chicken and Coconut Milk Soup (Gaeng Dom Yam Gai)

This is a great combination of flavors: richness from the coconut milk, brightness from lime juice, and funk from fish sauce. Some foodie friends compared it favorably to the one at their favorite Thai place in DC. It's easy to make but requires some specialized ingredients; it won't be at all the same without the fish sauce!

The recipe is based on Jennifer Brennan's The Original Thai Cookbook, and I've been making it since 1989. I've modified the original recipe to avoid the chicken bones and fat from skin in the finished soup -- they distract from the rich coconut and bright lime flavors. Proportions here are pretty flexible. You can use all white meat, or all dark, or a combination; be careful not to overcook the white meat. You can use frozen chopped lemongrass instead of fresh stalks. Galangal is similar to ginger but has a more exotic aroma.

3 C      Coconut Milk, Thai/Vietnamese(2 13.5 fl oz cans)
3 C      Water
1 pound  Chicken, skin removed, deboned, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 stalks Lemon Grass, bruised and cut into 1 inch lengths
1 thumb  Galangal, sliced thin
3        Green Onions, finely sliced
2 Tbs    Coriander Leaves, chopped (1 large bunch)
3        Serrano chilis, fresh, seeded, chopped (to taste)
3 Tbs    Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
4 Tbs    Lime Juice (from 2 limes)

In a sauce pan, thin Coconut Milk with Water and bring to low boil.

Add Chicken pieces, Lemon Grass, and Laos Powder. (If you find the woody chunks of Lemon Grass and fresh Galangal annoying in the finished soup, you could wrap them in a cheesecloth bag).

Reduce heat and simmer until Chicken is tender, about 5 minutes. Do not cover as this will tend to curdle the Coconut Milk.

When Chicken is tender, add Green Onions, Coriander Leaves, Chilis.

Bring heat up just below boiling, briefly.
Remove pan from heat, stir in Fish Sauce and Lime Juice.

Serve in heated bowls.
An off-dry Riesling wouldn't be unwelcome.

Stir-fried String Beans, Snap Peas, or Asparagus

This is quick and easy, with straight-ahead flavors; it's also good with String Beans, Snap Peas (shown here) or Asparagus, but may take a bit longer to cook. From Greg Lee, 1988.

Served on white rice

1/8 Cup Oil
1/4 tsp Salt
2 clove Garlic, minced
1 pound String Beans, Snap Peas, or Asparagus (cut up)
to taste Chili flakes
2 Tb Sherry

1/2 Tbs cornstarch
1 tsp Sugar
2 Tbs Soy sauce
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock (Water or white Wine if desperate)

Heat pan, add Oil and Salt.
Lower heat, add Garlic, fry until light brown.
Add Beans and pepper, turn heat to high.
Stir-fry until beans change to deeper green; don't cook much, they need to retain their shape when done.

Cook fast and hot, I like a little scorching

Add Sherry.
Cook covered 2-3 minutes until barely crunchy-tender.

Meanwhile, combine the Cornstarch, Sugar, Soy, Stock.

When Beans are done, remove cover; add cornstarch mixture.

The sauce finishes cooking the veggies, and cornstarch thickens it

Stir until thickened.
Serve with rice.

Gnocchi alla Romana: baked semolina gnocchi

This is not the standard boiled gnocchi with potatoes and flour, but a rather rich and warming variation using hard semolina flour, cooked with milk, eggs and cheese, then baked. It took me a couple times to get the texture right, but it's rewarding, great for cool weather.  This recipe is based on Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking", and similar to recipes I've seen online.

Semolina is a hard wheat grown in the south of Italy, typically used in Puglia, so it's interesting this is a Roman dish. The grind we find is much more coarse than typical flour, almost the grind of fine corn meal; in our latest rendition, we used a middle eastern brand, Ziyad, which was very coarse, but it worked well. You may have to adjust the milk to semolina ratio if it's too thin or thick.

You cook it much like polenta, stirring the grain in the milk until thickened. When spread out, it should hold its shape, and when cool, firm enough to cut without slumping too much. If it's too thin, it will be sloppy when cut and spread when baking, but still taste good.

Serves two.

500 ml    Milk, whole [2 cup]
100 g     Semolina
 80 g     Parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated [1/2 cup]
to taste  Salt
  1 whole Egg, beaten
 26 g     Butter [1 Tbs]
  5 g     Butter, chilled hard for grating

Heat the Milk in a pot just below boiling.
Sprinkle in the Semolina and whisk to mix well.
It will seem way too thin but the Semolina will absorb the Milk and thicken quickly.
Keep whisking until too thick, then switch to a stiff spatula and continue cooking.
It should start pulling away from the sides of the pot and be rather difficult to stir.
If it's too thick, it will probably form a mass in the center or cling to the spatula,
but try to keep it exposed to the heat, spreading it on the bottom of the pot if necessary.
Cook about 20 minutes to ensure it's thick, so it will set when cool.
Remove from heat, mix in the 26 g Butter and 2/3 of the Cheese, and Salt to taste;
let cool and mix in the Egg quickly so it doesn't set.

Lightly oil a smooth cutting board, nonstick baking sheet, parchment, your counter, or even a bit of cling film; I don't recommend using water as Marcella does, as it thins the Gnocchi making them soggy.
Spread out the cooked grain and smooth it out to about 1 cm thick; I covered it with cling film and smoothed with the side of a spatula then removed the film.
Let cool so it sets firm.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
Lightly butter a baking  dish, about 20x20 cm / 8x8 inch; in these photos, I used a glazed ceramic casuela with about a 25 cm diameter; you want to cover the surface with the Semolina mixture with some overlap.
Cut into 4 cm (1.5 inch) disks with a cookie cutter or glass, dipping the edge into water to prevent sticking; layer these in an overlapping manner like shingles.

A circular overlapping shingle pattern

Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 Cheese on top, and grate the last bit of firm butter on top.
Grind a bit of black pepper if you like.

Topped with the remaining cheese, grated butter, black pepper

Bake near the top of the oven about 15-20 minutes until heated through, the top has browned a bit; you may want to crank up the broiler briefly to finish if you're not happy with the browning.
Let rest 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Attractively browned

Frog Legs: Korean fried style, for leap day

Korean fried chicken wings are delightfully crunchy, and we found the treatment works really well with frog legs too. If you add chili pepper to the dredge and slurry, it gives them a heat which reminds me of Buffalo wings. The meat is sweet and more tender than chicken wings, a treat.

Look at that delicate crispy coating!

We've taken Serious Eats excellent recipe for Korean wings and rewritten it to separate the dredge and slurry ingredients. We're not including any sauce here because I don't think it's necessary and there are so many choices (a Gochuchang-based Buffalo sauce could be fun).

We found the frog legs at the H-Mart Korean supermarket; interestingly, one store had perfect sized ones, and the other had a different packaging where they were larger than we wanted for chicken-wing-sized handhelds; legs from a Chinese supermarket were scrawny and more boney; all were farm grown in Vietnam. Look for about 6-8 pairs per pound to get the right size, a little over an ounce for each leg you'd serve.

1 Kg    2 Lb    Frog Legs, about 12-16 pairs
1 liter 1 Qt    Oil for frying: peanut or vegetable

Dredge:
 90 g   3/4 C   Cornstarch
 30 g   6 tsp   Kosher Salt
 30 g   6 tsp   Cayenne Pepper
7.5 g   1.5 tsp Baking Powder

Slurry:
 70 g   1/2 C   Cornstarch
 10 g   2 tsp   Kosher Salt
  3 g   1/2 tsp Baking Powder
 70 g   1/2 C   Flour, All Purpose
  5 g   2 tsp   Cayenne Pepper
120 ml  1/2 C   Cold Water
120 ml  1/2 C   Vodka

Cut the frog leg pairs into individual legs, pat dry.

Separate each pair, easy with a decent knife

Combine the Dredge ingredients in a large ziptop baggie, drop in a few frog legs, seal, and shake to coat.
Shake off excess dredge and lay on rack over pan.
Repeat with all frog legs.
Let dry 30 minutes to overnight in the fridge

Dusted and rested overnight in the fridge

Heat the Oil to 180C/350F.
Whisk the dry Slurry ingredients, stir in the Water and Vodka; it should be the consistency of thin paint, if not, adjust with a bit more vodka or corn starch. (the Vodka prevents the development of gluten which would make the coating more chewy, like southern fried chicken, instead of crispy).
Pour Slurry into a ziptop bag.
Add all legs, seal bag, and shake, rattle and roll to coat evenly.
Remove each frog leg, let excess drip back into baggie, and add to the Oil.
Continue to add all the legs, perhaps in batches, to avoid over-crowding.
Fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

First time, I dipped in a bowl, but coating in a bag was easier

Remove to a wire rack.
Eat while hot.

Close-up of finished legs

Hop Scotch cocktail

We were looking for Leap Day drinks, and figured a hop-based cocktail would be fun. Turns out Hop Scotch is a thing. The honey was complementary and the slight hop bitterness was good balance.

Hop pellets worked well, but hop leaves (even compressed) did not as they expanded and absorbed all the liquor. Next time, I'd increase the hops a bit as they were barely noticeable, but I don't want this to come out IPA-bitter.

Hop Honey Syrup

1 C   Water
1/4 C Citra Pellet Hops, 13.9% alpha acid (high bitterness) [37g, 0.25 ounce weight]
1/2   Lemon, zest added, quartered, pressed
1 C   Honey

Bring Water and Hops to boil; the hops should break apart.
Add Lemon zest, juice and hulls, and Honey.
Stir then simmer covered a while to infuse.
Strain through fine mesh.
Keep in fridge any you don't use.

For each Cocktail

2   fluid ounce Scotch Whiskey (we used Famous Grouse)
1/2 fluid ounce Hop Honey Syrup

Stir, pour over a large ice cube.
Garnish with a strip of lemon zest.