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perfect roasted chicken, every time (part one)

October 14, 2011
the main event
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Every time you roast a five-pound chicken, that is. And that chicken has to be quartered, you know. Besides that, there are only…nine more rules:

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Season the chicken well with salt and freshly ground black pepper on each side.

3. Sauté the legs skin side down over high heat in a pan with a bit of oil. Cook until the skin is brown and crispy; check on it frequently to make sure it does not burn.

4. Transfer the legs to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes.

5. While the legs are roasting, saute the breasts as you did the legs.

6. Once the legs have been roasting for 10 minutes, add the breasts to the sheet pan and reduce the heat to 375-degrees. Cook for 10 minutes more.

7. Reduce the heat again to 350-degrees and roast for an additional 10 minutes.

8. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.

9. Eat as is–I won’t judge you, it’s delicious–or stay tuned for Parts Two and Three to make it special enough to eat in your underwear. Stick with me and you’ll end up with something that looks like this:

carbo loading

October 10, 2011
the main event, the underwear diet
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The best thing about exercising is the excuse to eat more. Since starting culinary school, I’ve taken to running to balance out the dramatic rise in butter consumption. Last weekend I participated in a mud run–six miles of trails, studded with military-style obstacles, with mud pits planted at the halfway point and just before the finish line.

Naturally, the night before the big race, I had to carbo load. I mean, how else could I have possibly made it through such a race without a stomach stretched out with carbs?

Pasta carbonara. It’s easy, delicious, and doesn’t take much time to perfect. While the pasta is boiling (I used orzo), saute onions and bacon. In a separate bowl, beat eggs together with parmigiano reggiano and a ton of freshly ground black pepper.

Once the pasta is done, drain well and add to the bacon and onions. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and stir until warmed through. Season with salt to taste, and top with extra cheese and pepper.

Not only do I want to eat this in my underwear, after burning off all the calories during the mud run, I want to do pretty much anything in my underwear. And if you start moving around some more, you’ll wanna do the same.

i did it my way

October 8, 2011
the main event
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Last night in class we were given free reign in the kitchen: prepare a dish using fillets of flounder and any ingredients we could find. It was like a watered down, amateur version of Chopped, but it was scary as hell. I had to work extra-hard to control my bowels.

At the end of the assignment, I had produced a solid dish that I felt met Chef’s standards. On the bottom was a hash of sweet potatoes, chorizo, shallots, scallions, minced garlic and fresh ginger, sauteed in butter and oil and seasoned with lime juice and S & P. On top of the hash went sauteed flounder and a fried egg. Everything was topped off with a lime hollandaise sauce. And so is born, flounder hash, perfect for any time of day.

Chef loved the dish; his only complaint was there was too much hash on the plate and the presentation could have been cleaner. My friend and classmate, Hana Choi, stated she would eat it for dinner, in her underwear. That, to me, screams success.

adult nuggets

September 29, 2011
the main event
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This past Sunday, I spent most of the day recuperating from the maniac pace of the preceding week. Some of this process involved watching football (yes, I am getting adjusted to the fact that it’s now a part of my life) and enjoying a beer. The problem with this scenario is that I was lacking the proper nourishment that such a day requires.

I had in my refrigerator sweetbreads that I had removed from the freezer the night before. (Don’t know what sweetbreads are? Mwahaha…Check it out.) I ditched my original sweetbread plans without looking back and headed in the opposite direction: sweetbread nuggets. It had been years since I’d dunked a chicken nugget into my childhood invention, kusto–a blend of ketchup, mustard and mayo. I figured sweetbreads’ mild, sweet (get it?) flavor would be a great (and totally unnecessary) swap for chicken.

My sweetbreads were already prepped, sliced and breaded prior to freezing. For instructions on how to prep them before cooking, click here. Once they’re sliced, dip them in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Shallow fry them over the stove in a deep pan on both sides until the coating is browned to your liking. Once they come out of the oil, place them on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Serve with kusto–it’s a musto. (Oh boy, that was rough.)

You know I ate these in my underwear and a big, oversize t-shirt. And I ate all of ’em.

may the farce be with you

September 27, 2011
the main event
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One of my new favorite words is “farce”. French for “stuffing”, farce is a great way to sneak extra flavor into an ordinary meal and utilize those leftovers otherwise waiting to rot in the back of the refrigerator.

We made this in class:

And I made this in my underwear:

(Couldn’t eat it in my underwear, though. There were people around.)

To make my version, you’ll need to gather a few items:

-boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (trimmed of excess fat, pounded thin)

-mild Italian sausage (in bulk, or casings removed)

-leftover apple-onion chutney (recipe featured in the post, “if it’s got goat cheese…“)

-toothpicks (don’t use broken up skewers, like I did. That’s just ridiculous)

–S & P

–flour

–eggs (beaten)

–ground pretzels (d.i.y.)

–oil

Lay the breasts or thighs flat. Stuff with a bit of sausage and chutney. Do not over-stuff; you’ll end up getting frustrated and making a mess. I promise.

Roll the chicken tightly and secure with toothpicks. Season the outside with S & P. Coat the farced chicken in flour, then egg, then ground pretzels. Brown on all sides in oil over medium-high heat to create a crispy, golden crust. Finish in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.