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Best Quick Roasted Chicken

November 3, 2011 by Mary Frances 3 Comments

Roast chicken in a cast iron skillet just out of the oven.

Finished chicken just out of the oven

They say that many a chef is judged by how good their roast bird is. I have tried many different ways over the years. Debating whether or not to truss the bird with string (Julia) or cut slits in the skin and shove the legs in there. (Anthony Bourdain) Starting with high heat to sear and then lowering it and basting it throughout (I still do like this method – more on that later) or Julia Child’s recipe that involves turning the bird every 15 minutes (more work) or Jen’s method (our long term nanny for the boys) of covering it and roasting it longer. My brother, Mark, thought hers was the best! When he would come to visit in NJ, he would request Jen’s chicken for the first night of dinners. Then there’s Zuni Café’s version of salting the chicken several days ahead of time (really a brining of sorts) and then roasting in a not too dissimilar way from the method I like below. Tell me your favorite! I think this is the best quick roasted chicken.

This is a version adapted from Mark Bittman and my oldest son on the way to cook it, with my added touches. They say great chefs never throw anything away. I believe in that so I always save my parmesan cheese rinds. Shove them into the cavity of a bird or throw into your risotto and you will be amazed at how much flavor they impart. Using them in a roast chicken provides a parmesan flavored sauce, mixed with the chicken juices that is just divine. (That’s the end of the cheese rind sticking out of the cavity – don’t you go thinking of other things!)

THE BEST QUICK ROASTED CHICKEN – serves 4

One 3.5 lb. chicken (I like Bell and Evans, still)
Fine grind sea salt
Fine grind pepper (I use Tex-Joy brand)
4-5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
½ lemon
Parmesan cheese rinds
20 – 25 cremini mushrooms, washed, stems trimmed a little bit and left whole

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a cast iron skillet or heavy ovenproof skillet in the center of the oven. Trim the ends off of your mushrooms, wash, pat dry with a towel and let air dry. Thoroughly wash and dry your bird, inside and out. Distribute and shove sliced garlic, along with the thyme sprigs, under the skin on both sides of the bird – both breasts and legs and both sides on the back. Be careful not to rip the skin. Take the half of lemon and squeeze it inside the cavity to refresh the bird. Salt and pepper the cavity. Place the squeezed lemon half in there, along with more sliced garlic and thyme and shove in the parmesan cheese rind.

Pat dry the outside of the bird again, salt and pepper the outside.

Take the pan out of the oven and leave a hot pad on the handle immediately so you don’t forget and grab it. Quickly put the bird in the pan, breast side up (it will not stick) and shove mushrooms all around. It will be snug and please remember this pan is blazing hot so be careful.

Shove the hot pan with chicken and mushrooms back into the oven and roast for 35 – 40 minutes, undisturbed, until meat thermometer reaches 155 degrees. Remove chicken immediately from the hot pan by grabbing the cavity with long tongs and let rest on a platter, for at least 10 minutes before carving. Pour juices from pan on top and scatter mushrooms around. Please remember again to use a good hot pad on the handle. Too many times I have grabbed one of these, forgetting it had been in that crazy hot oven. (For burns, tea tree oil is the best but is not a good smell around food.)

Now, you tell me if this isn’t the easiest and fastest way to serve a delicious, moist, mouth watering roast chicken?

Delicious and easy roast chicken with mushrooms

My Mom’s Pea Soup with Ham

October 31, 2011 by Mary Frances 4 Comments

As many of you know, I grew up in suburban St. Louis – Webster Groves – and left for college at Parsons School of Design here in NYC. So whenever I would go back home, my Mom would always have a big pot of pea soup with ham waiting for me as my first dinner home. It was my request as I adore pea soup and my mom made the best. My father would help her watch over it and stir every once in a while, referring to the simmering soup as it was “smiling”. And then he would “sweeten” it some more with Tabasco when she wasn’t looking. My friend Joan even remembers and still has my Mom’s handwritten recipe card. My card is pretty beat up and in my handwriting. I must have gotten the recipe over the phone from her. I had no idea that Joannie had an original Mom-handwritten one or that she had the recipe at all!

Now is the perfect time to make pea soup. Make a big pot and freeze some for later. Mom always seemed to have a ham bone with meat left on it to use. I use ham shanks from my butcher Bob. He cuts them in half to be able to get more flavor out of them while cooking and these babies are really meaty. (see photo below) Once again, I have made this recipe my own and changed up Mom’s. Another butcher in Summit, NJ gave me the tip of adding whole milk or cream at the end, to smooth it out and that it does! I hope you love this as much as I do.

SOPHIA’S COUNTRY SPLIT PEA SOUP – ADAPTED
1 lb. dried split green peas
1 ham bone with meat on it or 2 ham shanks, each cut in half
1 ½ cups chopped onions
1 ½ cups chopped celery with leaves – about 3 stalks
5 carrots, peeled and sliced in rounds
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
4 dashes Tabasco plus 3 more at the end
1 tsp. dried thyme
Salt
Pepper
4 smallish red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into eighths
½ cup whole milk or cream

Wash off peas in cold water, drain, then cover with 2″ cold fresh water and let sit for one hour. Drain again, add 14 cups of cold water, put on high heat and let come to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Add the ham bone or shanks, 2 bay leaves and 25 whole peppercorns. Simmer very slowly for 2 ½ hours, skimming any foam, stirring every once in a while, partially covered. Then add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, Tabasco and thyme. Simmer for another hour, uncovered, then add potatoes and simmer for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until potatoes are tender. Remove ham shanks or bone to a platter and remove all meat from the bones. Discard bones and fat, put shredded or small bite-size chunks of ham back in the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste along with 3 more dashes of Tabasco and ½ cup of milk. Serve with buttered rye bread. We loved to dip it into the soup. Yummy and so soothing and comforting.

one ham shank

my original recipe

Traveling

October 30, 2011 by Mary Frances 3 Comments

Last night we were supposed to go out to dinner but with the major snowstorm upstate, we chose not to travel, built a fire and stayed put. Instead we traveled to Greece with a French side trip!

We started with store bought hummus – Sabra brand with roasted garlic. Now what I always do, and I think this makes it just a little more special, is drizzle high quality, extra virgin (of course) olive oil on top and then sprinkle on some ground cumin. I served it with whole grain pita chips and some fresh red pepper strips. Fast, easy and delicious!

I then made Melissa Clark’s recipe for Moussaka that was in the NY Times Dining section this past week. It was called “Greece on a Speedboat” – which was supposed to mean that this was the speedy, sort of short-cut version of moussaka. Well, it still took 2 1/2 hours! And it was good but it wasn’t great. To me, when you spend that much time on something, it should be great. And I guess to make the authentic version takes even longer! We have been to Greece several times. I love Greece, even Athens, and Santorini used to be our special place but now it’s too crowded. The Greeks are lovely laid back people yet all their traditional dishes are very labor intensive. Ever make Baklava or watch someone make it? All those separate sheets of thin pastry, each one buttered, layer upon layer. Yikes!

But let me tell you about the salad I made. It was a Jacques Pepin recipe also from the Times the week before this last. He wants you to make it with frisee but my little local market doesn’t even sell that. I guess it’s too expensive and they don’t have a calling for it. So I substituted a bunch of watercress and a sliced endive. I figured these two combined could substitute the slightly bitter frisee bite he was looking for. It was delicious – I’m thinking it may have even been better! You tell me.

Here’s the recipe. I love his way of making the croutons rather than roasting in the oven. You must constantly toss them but you have more control and can achieve beautifully colored croutons with just the perfect crunch and this uses much less oil than oven roasting which equals less calories. Yay! The dressing is more mustardy – very French and very delicious.

FRISEE WITH CROUTONS AND SPICY OLIVES
Adapted from “Essential Pépin” by Jacques Pépin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011)

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups 1-inch bread cubes
1 tablespoon olive, canola or peanut oil (I used olive oil)
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 teaspoon crushed and finely chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large or 2 small heads frisée, cut into 2-inch pieces (5 to 6 cups) or one bunch of watercress, large stems removed and one endive sliced in rounds
1/4 cup pitted spicy green olives, cut in half
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained, each cut in half or thirds

Drop bread cubes into a skillet and sprinkle oil over them. Toss gently and cook over high heat, tossing constantly, until cubes are browned on all sides. Remove from skillet.

Mix mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and vinegar in a large serving bowl. Whisk in oil.

Add the frisée or watercress and endive, olives and sun-dried tomatoes to the bowl and toss thoroughly. Divide among 4 salad plates and sprinkle the croutons on top.

First course or a main meatless meal

October 29, 2011 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

Let’s bridge Greece and Italy – or let’s just use up things in my refrigerator that need using! This is fantastic and could be used as a great first course or a main meatless meal.

BUCATINI WITH EGGPLANT, FRESH TOMATOES, SPINACH AND FETA
Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a first course

1/4 cup olive oil
5 large garlic cloves – peeled and thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 medium eggplant, cut in quarters lengthwise and then sliced 1/4” thick
1.5 lbs. fresh plum tomatoes – about 7, cored and cut into quarters lengthwise and then sliced into 1/4” slices
1/2 bunch or 4 oz. fresh tender spinach leaves, (or baby spinach) stems removed, washed and air-dried
2 oz. Greek feta cheese, cut in 1/4 cubes
1 lb. dried bucatini No 6 pasta or spaghetti or fettucini
Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated
Chiffonade of basil to garnish

Prepare the eggplant and salt layers of it in a mesh colander to draw out and drain the bitterness. Use fine sea salt. Let sit while you prepare everything else, the longer the better, but do this for at least 20 minutes.

Prepare the tomatoes and place in a separate large bowl and salt it as well with sea salt, toss with a spatula and let sit. This will intensify the tomato flavor.

Warm the olive oil and sauté the sliced garlic on very low heat for 10 – 15 minutes. Do not let it brown.

Start a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.

Cut cheese and slice the basil leaves.

Take paper towels and squeeze and dry the eggplant and add to the skillet with the garlic and olive oil. Raise heat to medium and sauté until the eggplant is fork

tender. When the skillet becomes dry, drain the tomatoes in the same mesh colander and add their juices to the skillet.

Cook the pasta al dente and drain, saving some pasta water, just in case you need a little moisture.

In a large bowl you used for the tomatoes, layer 1/3 pasta, 1/3 fresh tomatoes, 1/3 eggplant mixture, 1/3 spinach, feta cheese and grate some pecorino on each layer. Continue until all is used up, pour in any extra tomato juice and toss and combine. The heat from the pasta and eggplant will warm the tomatoes, wilt the spinach and melt the feta. Garnish with more pecorino and the chiffonade of basil.

I hope you LOVE it!

cut salted eggplant

Chopped and salted tomatoes in a yellow bowl.

chopped salted tomatoes

Finished dish before basil garnish

A fantastic first course!

October 28, 2011 by Mary Frances 5 Comments

This is just so good! Easy and healthy too. Now you could ask your fish monger to do the cleaning but the last time I did that at Stew Leonard’s, he just made a mangled mess out of the cute little fish. My regular fish monger, the wonderful guys at Sea Breeze on 9th Ave and 40th St., won’t clean or filet them because they are just too small. But it’s so easy to do it yourself! So toughen your stomach and get going!

GRILLED SARDINES
– serves 2 as a first course

4 whole sardines
4 thin slices of lemon, each cut in half
4 – 8 fresh thyme sprigs
olive oil
salt
pepper

Light a grill or preheat your broiler on high.

Start with freshest whole sardines with clear eyes. Wash each fish and with a sharp knife (always have your knives sharp), carefully slit the underside of the fish to remove the guts. You will be cutting 2/3’s of the way down the fish from under the head and not all the way to the tail and you’ll be cutting a tiny bit more that halfway into the fish’s body. Do this under running water and grab the innards out with your fingers and get the inside thoroughly clean. Pat thoroughly dry with a paper towel, inside and out. Rub olive oil on the outside of each fish, sprinkle with salt and pepper on one side, then sprinkle salt and pepper on the plate you’re going to use and place the unseasoned side of the oiled fish on the plate and rub around to salt and pepper the bottom side. (Isn’t that a neat trick? I learned this at a cooking class/birthday party for my friend Deb at a fancy restaurant.) Cut each lemon slice in half and place in the cavity of the fish along with a spring or two of fresh thyme.

Grill or broil for approximately 2 minutes on each side. They’re ready when the tip of a knife flakes the thickest part easily, and the outside is nicely browned and crispy.

Filet the fish as you eat and enjoy!! Fish are actually more flavorful when cooked with the bones in. These are yummy! You can serve with more fresh lemon but we think using the juices from the grilled lemon is enough.

Revise yourself!

October 22, 2011 by Mary Frances 5 Comments

I have been oven-roasting cauliflower with olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin for some time now and it is delicious. But sometimes you need a change. So I am always on the lookout for quick cooking, delicious vegetables to get on the table fast for a weeknight meal. I look at weeknight meals as it’s okay to spend a little time on the main dish but then the vegetable and carbohydrate should be simple and easy. Like rice in a rice cooker while oven roasting asparagus with olive oil and finishing with lemon juice and lemon zest, plus a little more olive oil. So this week, I had a prospective client dinner meeting on Wednesday and my husband cooked for himself and Zach. I had asked him to please use up the plum tomatoes as they were getting too ripe. He forgot. So I’m looking at these soon overripe tomatoes as I’m preparing my cauliflower and say why not? It was great, adding an additional flavor along with some juiciness and color – so important!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH CUMIN & TOMATOES
Serves 4

1 head of cauliflower
2 – 3 tbs. olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 tbs. ground cumin
3 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise, then cut into 4 or 5 chunks.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash, dry and separate or cut flowerets of the cauliflower to be approximately the same uniform size. Pile in the middle of a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle on 2 – 3 tbs. olive oil, sprinkle with salt, fresh pepper and cumin. Pile on chopped tomatoes and toss the whole thing well with a spatula/flipper/pancake turner.

Roast on a top shelf for 20 minutes or more until cauliflower is fork tender. Toss again when testing.

Enjoy!