This is from an old food column of mine. It goes pretty well with the
Bachelor in-the-grocery-store thread.

"First, cut up a chicken." To my grandmother this meant: go into the
yard, catch the chicken, wring the chicken's neck, cut off the
chicken's head, pluck the chicken etc. ad nauseum. My mother bought
whole (dead and dressed) chickens at the supermarket (cheaper than
quartered) and cut them up at home.

I learned how to cut up a whole chicken - through the breastbone, cut
off the leg quarter, bend the drumstick away from the thigh until it
snaps, separate the thigh and the drumstick, cut the wings from the
breast, even how to "fold" the wingtips back to make that neat little
"triangle" shape.

When I got older and was buying my own chickens, I discovered the
"cut-up" version. I also discovered that you could buy just thighs or
drumsticks or breasts. You could even buy boneless breasts, but since I
had more time than money, I learned how to bone the breasts.

Eventually I had less time and more money and I found skinless,
boneless, flash-frozen breasts. Easy to use, relatively inexpensive, no
waste. I was convinced this was the ultimate in chicken convenience.

Nope! Now I'm back to whole chickens - from the deli rotisserie,
juicy, tender, well-done and perfectly seasoned. Take one home for
about six bucks and you're twenty minutes away from darn near any kind
of cuisine you fancy.

Tex-Mex Chicken Fajita in a Pita

One deli roasted whole chicken
4 pita or pocket breads
Shredded iceberg lettuce or salad-in-a-bag
1 cup shredded Colby or jack cheese
Salsa (from a jar or homemade)
1 avocado peeled and sliced
Sour cream (regular, low-fat or no-fat)
Sliced ripe olives
Sliced green onions

Pull meat off the chicken and shred or slice into bite-size pieces.
Halve pita breads across and open into pockets. Stuff each pita half
with about 3 tablespoons chicken, a handful of lettuce, some cheese and
a spoonful of salsa. Pass other ingredients at the table. Serves four
to six with leftovers.


Greek Chicken Salad

One deli-roasted whole chicken
4 to 6 cups torn greens or salad-in-a-bag
2 ripe tomatoes cut in wedges
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 cup Greek olives (or substitute black or stuffed green olives)
4 green onions,sliced
Balsamic vinaigrette (homemade or bottled, the new Kraft=AE Greek
vinaigrette is good.)

Pull meat off the chicken and shred or slice into bite-size pieces. On
individual plates, place about a cup of mixed greens. Top with shredded
chicken. Arrange about 4 tomato wedges on the edge of each plate. Add
olives and sprinkle with feta and green onions. Pass vinaigrette at the
table. Serve with good French or Italian bread or fresh bread sticks.
Serves four to six.

Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes

One deli-roasted whole chicken
4 cups cooked pasta (shells, penne, rotini etc.)
1 cup regular or light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 cups seedless grapes
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced green or red bell pepper
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

Pull meat off the chicken and shred or slice into bite-size pieces. Mix
mayonnaise, lemon juice and celery seed. Toss with remaining
ingredients. Serves four to six as a main course.

Have fun!
Lynn from Fargo

Lynn from Fargo wrote:
> [snip interesting history]

> .... Now I'm back to whole chickens - from the deli rotisserie,
> juicy, tender, well-done and perfectly seasoned. Take one home for
> about six bucks and you're twenty minutes away from darn near any
> kind of cuisine you fancy.
>
[snip recipes]

Here in the L.A. area there is a restaurant chain called Zankou which
sells really good rotisserie chickens with an outstanding garlic paste
to spread all over them. Armenian, I think. But I have had no luck
whatsoever with supermarket-deli chickens. I've tried them maybe half
a dozen times from as many different places over the past ten years and
every single one has been very overcooked, and most of them dry and
badly seasoned. Not to mention that I believe they only use old birds
about to be out of date. They certainly would be a great convenience
if I knew how to pick out a good one. What do you look for?

-aem