Braised Chicken and Basic Sauce

Every now and again I try out a recipe from a magazine. Generally I look at all the pictures, scan the ingredients and make my own variation. I prefer that method because I do not have a suitable stand to hold a recipe book on my small kitchen counter. However, this time I “tested” out the recipe for braised chicken with dried plums from the September 2008 issue of Martha’s Everyday FOOD. There are a lot of great things about this magazine especially the small format and excellent photographs of mouth watering food. The one problem I always encounter with the dishes that I try is that richness is somehow missing. Either there is not enough butter, cream or cheese. I’m sure it’s more healthy, but I’m often left wanting more…

Braised Chicken with Dried Plums

You can get the precise recipe from Martha. My problem with the dish is that the wine (2 cups of dry white) was very overwhelming. The polenta on the side was too dense and the chicken seemed undercooked since it was browned on either side for 6 - 8 minutes total and then braised in the liquid for another 8 - 10 minutes. I was a little bit squeamish since my chicken was glassy and had colored juices running forth. Hmmm… Back to making up my own stuff, I guess.

Basic Sauce

Every summer when I have loads of vegetables to process I make this sauce. It’s easy, delicious, requires no canning equipment and was my mother’s idea. My mom is an expert canner. In this case I do not use the term lightly as the lady wins blue ribbons and this year Best in Show at our local county fair. No fear of botulism with her goods. I don’t have nearly the amount of vegetables that need to be processed so I make this simple freezer sauce and it’s just as delicious in my opinion because everything is roasted first. In this batch I roasted zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and green peppers at 425 for about an hour. Everything got a good dousing of olive oil and salt and pepper sprinkle before their roast. Once the vegetables are roasted, remove the skins on the tomatoes and let them cool in their juices on the pan. After it’s all cool, simply process the sauce in a food processor (in batches if you have a lot) adding olive oil to emulsify and freeze in small portions. I generally use it up within the first month because it’s so amazing. It’s great on pasta, pizza, ice cream.

An Old Standby

When we need a pick me up that is creamy and delicious, this family almost always wants two things: Chicken and Dumplings or Fettuccine Alfredo. It’s really as easy a boiling water for pasta - the secret is knowing how to make the white sauce (bechamel).  Just remember - equal parts fat and flour.

3 Tbs. Butter, melted in a sauce pan, add 3 Tbs. Flour, mix and cook down until it forms a paste.  This is called a roux.  Add approx. 2 1/4 cups of milk and whisk together.  Bring this up to a boil and then reduce.  As it thickens, use your whisk!  I added a 1/2 of grated parmesan to this sauce which caused it to thicken faster, but gave it the Alfredo taste.  I have no idea how the real Italians do it, but that’s my quick easy short cut way of making Alfredo sauce and not buying that strange tub of white sauce from the store.

I grilled some chicken tenders, sliced them up and layered everything on top of my fat noodles from Trader Joe’s.

Brand New Baby Greens

The thrilling part of getting your very first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share of the year is the brand spanking new baby greens.  Last week we got baby arugula and it was to die for.  After several soakings in cold water I finally got the sand off of the leaves.  Our farm is called Golden Earthworm Farm and it’s located in Jamesport, NY on Long Island.  Since it’s only about a mile from the sea, the soil is sandy and perfect for growing arugula and spinach.

Our dinner on Thursday night paid homage to the tasty aromatic green.  I didn’t have anything in the refrigerator except some Parmesan cheese and prosciutto.  I used a half box of Barilla thin spaghetti, boiled it then chilled it with cool water.  I added thin slivers of prosciutto, fresh arugula, olive oil, Parmesan, salt and pepper.

It was quick delicious, and best of all it didn’t heat my little kitchen up too much on a hot summer night.