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General Cooking (rec.food.cooking) For general food and cooking discussion. Foods of all kinds, food procurement, cooking methods and techniques, eating, etc. |
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![]() "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." |
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