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What are your thoughts on leftovers?
I am perfectly happy with leftovers as-they-are for lunch (or even breakfast), but when it comes to dinner, I usually want things in a different form. Which is one of the great things about roast chicken – the leftovers are endlessly adaptable. Soups, pastas, enchiladas, sandwiches, you name it.
Last night, we went with tostadas.
Grilled tortillas, black beans (homemade this time and on hand, but canned just as often), spinach, a bit of cheese, tomatoes, avocados and my favorite chipotle-lime cream (with yogurt last night). Combined with some heated-until-crispy leftover shredded chicken.
So easy, fresh and so good – meals like these give leftovers a good name.
I am infinitely curious about what people eat and make for dinner at home. Not “magazine” weeknight dinners, or even blogs that showcase only one component or require endless time, but real dinners. To be honest, if I make dinner 3-4 nights a week, I consider that a HUGE success. I know there will be a dinner or two out, plus perhaps take-out and a ‘single gals’ dinner of popcorn or wine and cheese.
So every so often, I thought it would be fun to showcase a real weeknight dinner. Some of course will be more fun than others, but that’s life, right?
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While there are very few things I love more than roast chicken for dinner, I think it might be Billy’s absolute favorite. That, plus how easy it is, and the guaranteed leftovers means that it is without a doubt the most often repeated dinner I make.
This is the version I most often make – the crispy skin and short cooking time keep it in constant rotation – although I did through a lemon and some garlic in the cavity on a whim. Instead of my usual green salad with vinaigrette, I went for a super fast riff on Zuni’s bread salad. Toasted bread, tossed with a warm garlic vinaigrette and pan drippings, plumped currants, pine nuts and arugula.
Perhaps not the healthiest of Monday night dinners (at least not for me, as I think the skin is the main course), but definitely makes for a happy way to start the week.
What is most often in your dinner rotation?
Until recently, I had always bought chicken two ways:
- Whole – generally for roasting
- Unique parts – breasts, thighs, etc – but multiple of the same kind – usually for easy dinners.
And then I made fried chicken, and everything changed.
I bought a whole chicken and had the butcher cut it up – as fried chicken naturally needs to be a mix of all the parts.
It was so easy that a few days later, when I was making Smitten Kitchen’s buttermilk roast chicken, I did the same thing. Except that while walking home from the store, I realized it needed to brine overnight. So I rerouted the breasts to that night’s dinner, and left the remaining thighs, legs and wings to marinate (and threw the back in the freezer with other chicken scraps for stock).
Plan was to roast the breasts bone and skin on (more flavor) – but that also means more time (and less healthy) and dammit I was hungry and needed dinner immediately. So I reluctantly cut the breasts off the bone and removed the skin and with smidge of salt, pepper and olive oil, threw them on the grill (pan).
10 minutes later and boneless, skinless chicken breasts that were good. Really good. Good enough that I have since used this trick again this week.
Why was this the best boneless skinless chicken breast of my life? My (unscientific) reasoning is that since the whole chicken was just cut and the then the meat just removed from the skin and bones, that it stayed incredibly moist and fresh. Makes since, sense packaged meats or even those pre-cut in the butcher case are already starting to dry out and lose flavor.
And now I am starting to wonder if half the reason that fried chicken and buttermilk roasted chicken were so damn good is because of this. But that’s good right? It’s all in the ingredients anyway…
So there you have it – better chicken any time – oh, and cheaper too!! Because let’s face it, as boring as they are, occasionally we all need some bonless skinless chicken in our lives.
For some reason, I have been struck with a major case of blogger’s block – with cooking, writing, photographing, creating – you name it.
So here are a few pics of things I have made recently, but that for some reason or another never made it up. Hope you enjoy these little snippets, and that I get my mojo back soon!
xxo
C
One Saturday I was craving and egg salad sandwich, but we were out of bread. So I made Kim Boyce‘s Oatmeal Sandwich Bread. And I was fairly insufferable the rest of the day, feeling smug and proud that I made bread just like that. 
I don’t make pasta all that often for dinner, but when I do, this Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage is my go-to. My love of broccoli rabe {or rapini} knows no bounds and it is fast and easy for a weeknight dinner. You can of course use pork sausage, but I usually do turkey here – and of course hot italian!
My dad made an amazing crown pork roast, but unfortunately I only snapped a few pics.
I know that over the year I have had crown roast of beef and lamb (great holiday dinners), but to my recollection, this was my first with pork. He made herb garlic crust and we served it with a fennel orange salad with warm prosciutto dressing and {surprise, surprise} sauteed broccoli rabe with garlic and chile flakes. Will definitely be making this again…if only I knew what recipe he used!
And to change things up ever so slightly, I swapped by favorite roast chicken for one that added lemon and garlic. While it didn’t move into first place, it is fun to change it up – and I loved using the roasted garlic and lemons for a salad dressing that accompanied the chicken.
And of course, lots of messes have been made!!
I have a bit of a habit … some foods (like roast chicken) I usually make at home and rarely order in a restaurant. Unless I am at a place that is famous for it or I can split a few dishes with friends and try other things, I keep those home-y foods in my own kitchen.
And then other foods – whole cuisines actually – I generally save for eating out (or at least taking-out).
It’s not that I can’t cook them (or at least attempt – I’m willing to try just about anything), but I really don’t have the pantry for it. Of course I have some of the basics and can hobble together dinner with a slight “Asian” or “Indian” flair, but I am lacking the authenticity that generally comes from a larger spice collection (and a clue as to what you are doing – however some things cannot be helped).
So when I want the real deal Indian, I generally find a good restaurant, or at least a good phone number.
But after reading about my friend’s dinner of divine Indian food, I have had a serious craving for chicken curry with cashews at home. And stocked pantry or not, I couldn’t wait any longer.
Thankfully epicurious came to the rescue with a recipe that even my spice drawer could handle (curry powder, cumin and cayenne) and 514 positive reviews claiming that the recipe had depth and actually tasted pretty legitimate.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts. Not really a whole lot to say there – they just don’t bring much to the table. But, they are practical – they are lean, fast, easy and (relatively) cheap. Not anything to get too excited about, but a realistic dinner for most people many-a-nights.
They are the kind of thing that you keep in your freezer, something to have on hand. They generally aren’t something that goes from store to table in the same day for me. Nope, I’ll save that honor for pork or fish or the whole chicken.
But there are boneless, skinless chicken breast kind of days. Everyone has them. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.
This snow storm we are having caused me to have one. Not exactly the kind of weather that makes you want to go to the store. And someone wanted more than the soups and veggies I have been offering of late. Thankfully they defrost quickly – which again, makes them perfect freezer candidates.
The only problem was, I wanted something more than the standard pan sear that they normally get. Something with a bit more umph. I could have cut them thin and pounded them, for a piccata or milanese, but to be honest I didn’t really want to stand over the stove, even if they only take about 2 seconds to cook. I wanted to pop them in the oven and forget…
How often do you eat chicken? If you are like me and pretty much everyone else I know, it is one of the main standards, particularly at home. During the week, the boneless, skinless chicken breast makes many an appearance. It makes for a great weeknight meal – fast, healthy and there are umpteen ways to make it.
Sometimes, however, it just sometimes needs a little shakeup.
Enter the chicken thigh.
Read the rest of this entry »
Is it cold where you are? Fall is most definitely in effect here – and to be honest, for what I am used to, it’s down right winter.
It’s cold, and so all I want are warm, comforting, homey things, like that roasted chicken. I also want soup, and lots of it. And I will likely be eating soup every week until the last snow melts. I have a feeling that comes from my mom. She often had soup on the stove, and in fact her french onion soup and clam chowder where so legendary that the neighbor’s would specially request them.
Having my mom’s recipes and techniques definitely help my soups, but the real secret – the fail-safe thing to have on hand – the only way to make soup restaurant quality - is homemade stock. Think about it, it’s the only way to have complete control. Can you imagine The French Laundry using Swanson’s?
I know the world does not need another way to roast a chicken, so I won’t give you one. And you definitely don’t need me to say that something from Thomas Keller is good – EVERYTHING from him is practically perfect! However, considering there are numerous “famous” roast chicken recipes and techniques, I will elaborate on why his is my favorite – hands down.
Can you see it? As if the perfectly crispy, crackled brown skin isn’t enough of a reason itself. This is the kind of chicken that everyone eats the skin, picking and gnawing with their hands to get every little bit, leaving those little morsels stuck to your fingers where there is no escaping the fact that you must simply lick your fingers. Its okay – in fact, you have to here. And you have to because it is so good, you have abandoned any pretense of politeness after the first two bites.
