Chicken and Dumplings

My husband is a fan of chicken.  You could prepare it in any way and he's likely to enjoy it.  So if I make a chicken something and he likes it, that's not a good measure of success.  However, if I like it a lot, that's saying something.  I recently bought a enamel coated cast iron dutch oven, and that's how I prepared this, though you could use a standard one.

Ingredients
6-8 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
3-4 chicken legs or 4-5 chicken wings
2 onions, finely chopped
2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, in 2 inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 tsp dried thyme
3 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 c white wine
kosher salt
black pepper
vegetable oil

Dumplings
2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 c buttermilk
1 egg white

Non-standard supplies
Far separator, but you could spoon it if you lack one

Instructions

1. Heat dutch oven with 1 tsp vegetable oil
2. Pat thighs dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper
3. Add thighs, skin down and cook over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes per side, until golden brown
4. Cook thighs in batches if needed.  Remove from pan after browned - it's ok that it's not fully cooked
5. Drain chicken fat/oil from pot, but don't wipe the pot clean
6. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook until caramelized, about 10 minutes
7. Just as vegetables are finishing, add garlic and stir to prevent burning of garlic
8. Deglaze with wine and add thyme
9. After all browned bits are lifted, add chicken stock
10. Return par-cooked thighs to the pot, add raw legs/wings and simmer, covered for 45-55 min
11. Test chicken thighs with a knife, and it should be tender
12. Remove all chicken from pot and turn off heat.
13. Discard legs/wings 
14. Let thighs rest, cool until they can be handled without injury
15. Drain/Skim fat from broth
16. Remove skin, bones and anything gross from the thighs, then cut into bite-sized pieces
17. Reunite the chicken and the broth and bring to boil -- meanwhile prepping dumpling dough
18. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a bowl
19. Stir melted butter into buttermilk with a fork - the butter will form solids.  Add egg white to butter and buttermilk
20. Pour liquids into flour mixture and stir with a spatula until all powder is wet and dough forms a ball
21. Add parsley to pot
22. Form dough into gumball sized pieces - approximately 20-30 and add to boiling broth
23. Wrap a kitchen towel around the lid of the pot so the evaporated moisture doesn't return to the pot and cover
24. Let dumplings cook for 13-15 min, until toothpick comes out clean

Shredded Mexican Chicken

Great for tacos, quesadillas or Mexican lasagna!

Ingredients
4-5 boneless skinless thighs, fat trimmed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
4 c water

Non-standard supplies
None

Instructions

1. Add water and all spices to a pot and stir to incorporate powders
2. Add chicken
3. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes
4. Cover (mostly) and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes
5. Shred with two forks before serving

Chicken Tetrazzini

I made this for the first time and husband really liked it.  I am not making many modifications to the recipe, but the timing and sequence.  Note that this will take a while to prep (an hour or a bit more?). However, once it's in the oven, it's easy for you to sit with guests and chat.  Oh, and this is a fattening recipe.

Ingredients
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 # sliced button mushrooms
1 large onion, finely chopped
7 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh thyme
1/4 c white wine
1/3 c all purpose flour
1 qt whole milk
1 c heavy cream
1 c chicken stock
1/2 c frozen peas
1/4 fresh parsley, minced
1 c parmesan, grated
1/4 c bread crumbs, dried
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter
12 oz dried spaghetti or linguini
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
kosher salt
black pepper
olive oil

Non-standard supplies
None

Instructions

1. Measure out milk and cream and allow it to warm on counter before you start cooking chicken.
2. Trim chicken, sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and pan fry in 1 tbsp butter & 1 tbsp oil or 4 min on each side.  If not fully cooked, it's ok.  Remove from pan and rest.
3. In same frying pan, add another 1 tbsp butter and oil and saute mushrooms until liquid is almost gone and mushrooms are golden - 7 or 8 min, approx.  Add onion and thyme to mushrooms and cook until just translucent.  Stir in fresh garlic during last 1 minute of cooking careful not to burn garlic.
4. Remove veggie mixture and place in large mixing bowl.
5. In a large pot, begin boiling water for pasta
6. Without wiping out frying pan, add 3 tbsp more of butter to frying pan and melt over medium low heat..  Whisk in flour and continue whisking for 2 min to create roux.
7. Whisk in milk, cream, nutmeg, 1 3/4 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp pepper.  Cover sauce and bring to boil.  Once boiling, uncover and simmer to thicken.
8. Meanwhile, prepare pasta al dente when water is ready.  Drain.
9. Preheat oven to 450
10. Grease 9x13 baking dish
11. While pasta is cooking, shred/cut chicken into bite size pieces and add to mushroom mixture.
12. Run water over peas to remove ice crystals and add to bowl.  Add parsley, too.
13. Pour wine over mixture.
14. Mix breadcrumbs and cheese in a small bowl.
15. Add pasta to bowl.
16. Ladle in sauce and toss to coat mixture.  Once coated, add one more ladle.  It's ok if you don't use all the sauce.
17. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.  Top with 2-3 more ladles of sauce on top.  Sprinkle crumb/cheese mixture on top.  Dot with remaining butter.
18. Bake for 25 minutes.  Top will be browned, crunch and sauce will be bubbly.

Baked Breaded Chicken Breasts

Here is a simple recipe that you can modify easily depending on the flavors you like.

Ingredients
1 c sour cream
1/4 c dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 c corn flakes, crushed
black pepper

Non-standard supplies
None

Instructions

1. Whisk sour cream, mustard, garlic, and pepper in a shallow bowl. 
2. Add chicken and coat thoroughly.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, turning occasionally
4. Preheat oven to 400
5. Grease a baking dish with butter or non-stick spray
6. Mix corn flakes and soup mix
7. Press chicken into dry mix to cover.
8. Bake in prepared dish for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken internal temp is 145.

Variations

• Omit the soup mix and use fried onions as the crust in lieu of corn flakes (add salt too)
• Substitute yogurt for sour cream for less fat
• Use a flavored mustard 

How To: Meat Temperatures

You'll find all sorts of articles showing you what is "medium" versus "rare", or "cooked" versus "dangerous".  I find most of them to be too conservative. Remember, the meat continues to cook after you take it from the oven.  But resting meat is important.  Tent with foil if needed.  Resting allows for two things to happen -- 1) it keeps the meat cooking.  The bigger the piece, the better it retains heat.  2)  It retains some juices via reabsorption.

• Whole Chickens, when the breast is 150, it's done.  
• Chicken breast meat (boneless)  I cook to 145.   
• Pork I cook to 145.  I've never had trichinosis.
• For beef, I like my meat medium to medium rare.  Definitely pink, but warmed throughout.  If it's a steak or a roast, the meat is slightly thready.  135 and it's off the heat, to come to 145.

My idea of perfectly cooked:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This is a favorite among my friends.  I make it in advance, freeze it, then reheat it for a party.  There are shortcuts for the chicken, but I strongly advise you to follow my instructions - the flavor payoff is worth it.  Oh, and don't tell anyone there's dark meat.  A lot of people fancy themselves white meat only snobs.  They will never know.  Half the recipe if you want, but since you can freeze the leftovers, I think you might as well make a lot.

Ingredients
2 cooked plain-flavored rotisserie chickens from the grocery
1 - 8oz pkg cream cheese
16 oz crumbled blue cheese
1 bottle of blue cheese salad dressing
1 bottle of buffalo wing sauce  (Frank's is tasty)
1 8 oz pkg shredded mozzarella cheese

Optional ingredients
celery salt
crushed red pepper
tabasco
black pepper

Non-standard supplies
none

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Pick the chickens once they're cool enough to handle, but still warm.  It's gross, but necessary.  remove skin, bones and all the gross things that accompany chicken on a bone -- you know what I mean.
3. After all the chicken is in a bowl, go over it again and pull out anything that texturally doesn't fit in just to be sure you don't upset the diners.  Cut pieces with a knife if needed.  You want it to be bite-size but identifiable.
4. Add buffalo sauce --  I'd say a cup at first.  The vinegar will evaporate from the warm meat, and some of the spices will soak into the chicken.
5. Add half of blue cheese crumbles, softened cream cheese and 1 cup of the salad dressing.  Stir together.
6. Add optional ingredients of your choice or more Franks to add more heat.
7. Since I'm not sure how much meat your chicken yielded, just keep adding dressing and blue cheese until mixture is coated and making a gross wet sloshy sound when mixed and tastes good.  Since the chicken is cooked, taste it.  
8. Bake until fully melted and bubbly, stirring periodically.  It will look greasy because of the buffalo sauce, but that's ok.
9. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 mins.  Stir again before serving.  Cool before freezing.

If you freeze this, store it in a ziploc bag, not a lidded container.

To serve from frozen:  Thaw in refrigerator overnight.  Spread in baking dish, heat at 375 until bubbly, stirring occasionally. (about 45 minutes from chilled)

Serve with tortilla scoops, crackers or celery sticks.

Slow Oven Chicken (healthy method)

Braising is just a method of low, slow cooking.  It is usually very easy but requires a lot of time.  This is "fast" by braising standards.  The skin will be removed, so this is a low-fat preparation but it's tender, juicy.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken - 4 1/2 to 5 lbs
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, medium chop
10-12 cloves garlic (whole)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 stalk of celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper

Non-standard supplies
A lidded pot big enough for the whole bird -- an oval dutch oven or tin roasting pan will work
Fat separator  (ideally, but we can improvise)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250 and put rack on lowest setting.
2. Throw away chicken parts - giblets etc.  Then pat dry and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (all sides)
3. Prep chicken by heating olive oil (2-3 tbsp) on stove top until almost smoking.  Place chicken in pot, breast side down,
4. Add bay leaf, rosemary, garlic, celery, onion to pot.  Let cook for 5 minutes until chicken is browning.
5. Flip the bird in the pot and cook other side for 8 minutes, breast side up.
6. Cover pot with aluminum foil then place lid on pot  (double seal)
7. Bake for 90 minutes or until breast is 160 degrees.  Chicken will no longer look browned and skin will NOT be crispy.
8. Place chicken on cutting board and cover with foil from pot.
9. Strain juices in fat separator which are dark and throw away bay leaf and rosemary sprig.  If you don't have a fat separator, try spooning out as much fat as you can from the top.
10. Heat juices over low heat, adding garlic, onion and celery solids to warm.  Add lemon juice to taste.
11. Peel skin off chicken and carve.  Serve topped au jus - it's supposed to be thin, not a gravy.