Oven Fried Chicken

Oven Fried Chicken

 

If I were marooned on a desert island and had the choice of one unlimited supply of protein, I would choose chicken thighs.  The flavor of chicken thighs marries so well with any ingredient that it can invariably be cooked hundreds of ways without being similar to other dishes.  Chicken thighs absorb flavor beautifully and whenever I make a braised chicken dish, I use the thighs because the dish comes out beautifully.  This technique is not the classic way that fried chicken is made but it comes out nicely.

 

 

Oven Fried Chicken

8 pieces of chicken thighs, bone in

2 cups of Italian flavored breadcrumbs
3 small eggs
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  Put 1 cup of butter flavored Crisco in a baking dish big enough to hold the chicken and put in oven to warm up while you prepare the chicken.  The pan should stay in the oven for at least 20 minutes or until the oil is bubbling.

Put the breadcrumbs in a pie plate (without holes).  Put the eggs in a pie plate (without holes).  Mix the spices with the egg mixture.  Dredge the chicken first in the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs.  Place on holding plate until the baking dish is ready.

Place the chicken skin side down in hot oil.  Salt lightly.  Place in oven and allow the first side to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove pan from oven, (leave the oven door open to let out a little heat) turn chicken over and put back in oven but reduce the temperature of the oven to 350F for the remainder of cooking time (at least 30 minutes). 

Remove chicken from fat and allow to drain for 10 minutes on a rack covered with brown paper.  Serve hot.

Ossobucco

Ossobucco

Home chefs are sometimes concerned about trying classic dishes which sound more complicated than they are.  Ossobucco is a perfect example…it’s just a braised stew.    It is not difficult to make but you do need some very special ingredients for it to be authentic and taste fabulous.  Veal stock does not appear on the shelves of many supermarkets so I make a batch about once a month and freeze it.  You can substitute chicken stock but it’s not the same.  I have yet to find veal stock on the Internet but I’m sure it’s out there somewhere.  Classic ossobucco is a Milanese recipe that originated in Italy.

For this recipe, you want to have brown veal stock.  (I have included a recipe for brown veal stock below.  There are other types of veal stock but we’ll save that for another time.)

The other key ingredient to this recipe is pancetta.  Pancetta is Italian bacon and it has a unique flavor which lends itself beautifully to ossobucco.

Prep time for this recipe is at least 30 minutes but once assembled, it just simmers away.  You can simmer it in the oven, in a crockpot or on top of the stove.  Just allow for a minimum of two hours of cooking time and the flavors will be layered properly.  I serve this dish over buttered noodles.

Ossobucco

Ingredients:

6 to 8 Veal Shanks
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
½ lb. of pancetta, diced
Olive oil and butter
4 cups of brown veal stock
1 big head of elephant garlic, finely chopped (that’s about six or seven big garlic pieces)
Fresh chives, finely chopped
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Italian parsley
Fresh Thyme
Dried mushrooms, reconstituted
Dry white wine (about two cups...I use a Pinot Grigio)
Salt, pepper and garlic

If using the oven, preheat the oven to 300F.   

Preparation:

In a large dutch oven, put two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 pats of butter.  Over very slow heat, brown the pancetta.  I sometimes throw in pork fat too (never hurt anything) for extra flavor.  You want to cook this extremely slowly so it browns nicely but does not burn.  When the bacon is nicely golden brown, remove the dutch oven from the stovetop, fill a large glass bowl with a paper towel and spoon out the bacon.  (You are reserving the fat in the pan so do not discard this.) 

Put the dutch oven back on the stovetop.   Sauté the onion very slowly until translucent over slowest heat.   Remove the pan from the heat.  Spoon onions into a holding bowl.

While the onion simmers, take a piece of cheesecloth and make a spice garnish with the rosemary, any other fresh herbs you want to add.  Set aside.

There are many methods for preparing the shanks themselves.  Some chefs like to roast them at a high temperature in the oven.  That works very well and requires no attendance.  I prefer to braise the veal shanks in the dutch oven after the flavors have started to blend together.  You may need to add a tad more of the olive oil and butter.  Put the dutch oven back on the stovetop, and the heat should be around medium low.

To prepare the veal shanks, dry them.  Dredge them lightly in flour, salt and pepper them lightly. 

Slowly braise the veal shanks until they are golden brown.  Carefully remove them from the dutch oven and put them in a holding bowl.

Remove the reconstituted mushrooms from their liquid but reserve the liquid.  Slowly simmer the mushrooms and the chopped garlic over very low heat. 

When the mushrooms are golden brown, remove the dutch oven from the stovetop.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Put all the reserved ingredients back into the dutch oven.  Place the garnish in cheesecloth on top of the stew.  Finish the cooking process.

Some chefs like to add tomatoes to this dish but I like my version without tomatoes.  Some of the classic recipes also use celery but if you make the veal stock with celery, the flavor will be there and there is no reason to add celery.

Veal Stock

Veal stock is very simple to make.  For brown veal stock, I use a combination of beef consommé and chicken stock.  It is basically a stock used to make other dishes.  It freezes well so if you are taking the time to make this expensive stock, do a large version of it and freeze it.

Ingredients:

6 to 8 lbs. of veal bones (necks, shanks, etc.)
2 large yellow onions, chopped
2 fresh carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
Four cloves of garlic, chopped
3 to 4 bay leaves
¼ cup of chopped Italian parsley (fresh)
3 to 4 sprigs of Rosemary
2      32 oz. cans of chicken broth
2 cans of beef consommé

Cut a piece of cheesecloth and put the bay leaves and rosemary in the center.  Tie the cheesecloth with twine and set aside.

 
In a large dutch oven, put 2 tbl. of extra virgin olive oil and 2 pats of butter. 
Prepare the veal bones exactly as we did in the above recipe.  Slowly simmer the veal bones until golden brown.  Add all the remaining ingredients.  Simmer for several hours.

Allow the stock to cool completely before freezing.  The little meat on the bones makes a great snack.

Caesar Salad

Perfect Caesar Salad

         

Caesar Salad is a perfect first course when made properly.  My recipe was developed simply because I loathe the main ingredient of Caesar Salad...anchovies.  In my version, you get a perfect dressing without the slimy fish.

It is attributed to Chef Caesar Cardini of Mexico and if you are a Julia Child fan, watch the episode where she talks about Caesar Salad.   It must have made a strong impression  on her if she carried that passion for it  throughout her lifetime.

 

This recipe is easy to make but technique is everything.  Eggs must be at room temperature.  Romaine lettuce must be fresh and crisp.  And buy parmigiano reggiano©.  If you have time for making fresh croutons, it is definitely worth the effort.  And, my preference is to make Caesar Salad dressing in one of my food processors because you don’t need to grandstand making salad at the table in your own kitchen.

Caesar  Salad

Dressing:

Fresh Romaine Lettuce

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (we will do an extensive lesson another time)
One lemon at room temperature
One egg at room temperature
2 inches of anchovy paste
1 large clove of garlic
1/3 cup of parmigiano reggiano©
A dash of Worcestershire (I use white) 
Croutons

Put everything but the olive oil in your food processor.  Process until blended.  Taste and add lemon and/or cheese accordingly.

Assembly:

Break up romaine lettuce by hand and place in a salad bowl.  Pour dressing over lettuce.  Add croutons.  Serve.

Downhome Meatloaf

This meatloaf recipe is one that is good to have in your recipe box because it can be made very elegantly or very simply depending upon what you serve with it.

One Day Ahead:

1 lb. of ground chuck
1 lb. of  ground pork
1 tsp. of Bell's seasoning
1 egg

In a large mixing bowl, toss all above ingredients with a fork.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Downhome Meatloaf

Preheat oven to 400F

1/2 of prepared meatloaf mixture
1 pkg. of McCormack Sausage Country Gravy mix
1 egg
1/2 lb. of pork sausage

Mix well.  Hold at room temp for a while (maybe an hour).

Bake for 45 minutes or until done.

Variations:
Add one can of French Onion rings (the kind you put in green bean casserole); fried mushrooms; cheddar cheese; gorgonzola....be creative

 

Chicken Shepherd's Pie

Chicken Shepherd's Pie is a wonderful comfort food.  This is a classic way to prepare this dish...the chicken is simmered ahead of time in large portions to be used in multiple preparations.  The potatoes are also done ahead.  The taste of this dish improves with freezing.  Make ahead and either freeze or refrigerate for serving at a later time in the week.

Chicken Shepherd's Pie
3 to 4 cups of prepared chicken
4 to 6 cups of prepared potatoes
1 cup of parmigianno regianno cheese

Preheat oven to 350F



Chicken Preparation:
12 chicken thighs, skinned and boned
32 oz. of chicken stock
six cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
one onion, peeled but left whole
2 stalks of celery
2 stalks of carrot
1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper each

Simmer all of the above ingredients for several hours.  Allow this to cool properly.  Strain the stock, cool and reserve in containers either by freezing or refrigerating.  Separate chicken into three portions.  Freeze two.

Potato Preparation:
6 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
salted boiling water
1 stick of butter

Put potatoes in pan.  Drop temperature to simmer and cook potatoes until fork tender.  Drain the potatoes of water, put  potatoes back in pan.  Put in one stick of butter.  Cover pan, walk away.

Assembly:

Butter and flour a glass casserole dish.  Put prepared chiken in bottom of pan.  Cover with half of prepared potatoes.  Sprinkle with half the cheese.  Cover with remaining potatoes.  Sprinkle remainder of cheese.  Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown.

Strawberry Shortcake

If you could make a strawberry shortcake the size of a regular cake that was only 175 calories and contained no fat, this is the one for you.  Assembly is quick and this tastes terrific.  Once assembled, simply refrigerate until serving time.  Feeds six to eight people.

Ingredients:

1 store bought sponge cake (no calories or fat)
1 32 oz. container of Cool Whip
2 pkgs. of frozen strawberries, thawed

Assembly:

With a good serated knife, slice the cake into two portions, putting the bottom portion on your serving dish.

Cover the top of the bottom portion with strawberries.  Add four spoonsful of Cool Whip and spread with knife.  Cover with top part of sponge cake.

Using a spatula, frost entire cake with Cool Whip.  Top with strawberries.  Refrigerate until serving time.  Serve with remaining strawberries and Cool Whip.