"Blair P. Houghton" > wrote in message
...
> Well, actually, I had a brain-fart and thought Thanksgiving
> was *this* week. So I was at the store Sunday and loaded up.
>
> D'oh!
>
> But that meant I don't have to wait until Thursday! so I
> got to cook it all up today.
>
> Here's what I had:
>
> grilled spatchcocked chicken w/ southwest seasoning (Emeril's SW
blend)
> flaky biscuits (pillsbury's Grands)
> mashed potatoes
> homemade chicken gravy
> salad w/ homemade balsamic italian dressing
> chateau st jean fume blanc
> pumpkin pie w/ homemade whipped cream
>

Ummmm, now that does sound like a warm and heartty meal ! I too have
purchased a few things ahead of time, one being 3 cans of whipped cream. I
am down to one can and I havent even had a piece of pie yet! ;-)

peace,
Barbara




> Everything turned out great, despite a couple of detours:
>
> I used the spatchcocked ('butterflied') chicken recipe from
> the Cook's Illustrated book, _The Best Recipe: Grilling &
> Barbecuing_. You cut out the backbone, flatten out the
> chicken, tuck in the wings and the legs, then pound it
> with a mallet to even it out. Then when you grill it you
> put a sheet-pan containing a couple of bricks on top of
> the bird to keep it flattened out for more even cooking.
> It was a 4.5-lb bird (smallest I could find in three
> different stores) instead of a 3-lb bird, but I just
> extended the time to 20-25 minutes per side and it cooked
> up perfect; 168F in the Breast and 185F in the thigh.
> It almost fell apart when I took it off. The only
> seasoning I did was I sprinkled the Emeril's Southwest
> blend on when it had about 10 minutes left.
>
> The funny part is this: I'd put a potholder on my
> grill's side shelf to hold the pan and the rock (a big
> river rock from the yard in lieu of two bricks) while
> I was flipping the chicken. Then I put the pan and
> the rock back on the bird. Then I decided, you know, I
> should oil this pan a little because it was kinda stuck
> to the chicken when I took it off the first time. So I
> got the oil from the kitchen and came back to remove the
> pan, and I looked at the shelf--and the potholder was
> gone! I looked on the ground and the table behind me,
> and then slapped my forehead and looked under the pan.
> The potholder was ON THE CHICKEN! D'oh! I lifted it off
> okay, and just didn't bother using the weighted pan for the
> second half of the cooking. It probably crisped the skin
> a little better by not having the pan protecting it;
> the bottom of the bird is flatter anyway and needs the
> weight less. Next time, I'll oil the pan from the outset.
> Despite that, the chicken was fantastic.
>
> Second detour: I was preheating the oven for the biscuits,
> and set it to 450 instead of 350, expecting to turn it
> down when I put them in. And of course I forgot to turn
> it down. They came out okay, if a little early and a
> little more browned than I'd planned. Sort of dutch-oven
> crispy on top. But not underdone inside, and just as
> tasty and flaky as desired.
>
> Here's the gravy recipe:
>
> heat up 8 oz of chicken stock (not to boiling; just so it isn't cold).
> get 1.5 tbs of oil hot in a pan.
> add 2 tbs cake flour to oil and whisk until bubbling begins to
subside.
> drizzle chicken stock into roux, whisking gently but
> thoroughly, and continue stirring until gravy begins
> to thicken.
> add salt and pepper
>
> For this next time I think I'll use a better quality of
> store-bought chicken stock. The Swanson brand was okay,
> and extra convenient as it has a soda-can type flip-top,
> but it wasn't spectacular.
>
> Italian dressing:
>
> whisk together 2 oz EVOO and 2 oz balsamic vinegar
> 1 tsp italian herbs (Emeril's Italian blend; there's nothing
> phony or goofy in Emeril's seasonings, so I have no trouble
> being a serial plugger for them)
> add salt and pepper
>
> This dressing is even better with rice-wine vinegar;
> it makes more of an aioli consistency. Something in
> the balsamic doesn't let that happen.
>
> As meals go, even with the snafus, this was killer.
> And snafus mean it can get even better.
>
> --Blair
> "Tomorrow: killer chicken salad."