The Rumble.

I made a whole turkey.

When you've mastered roasting a chicken, and the only place to go is up, turkey is a natural next step. Granted, this is before Thanksgiving, so no one's thinking turkey...yet. Once you read this recipe, you'll be planning ahead.

This was also part of the West Side Story inspired meal I served up to my American Musical Theater class (see below). I can't say enough good things about this turkey. Even for a turkey virgin, it managed to stay moist and cook through in a decent amount of time. It was also super, super flavorful and that gravy was worth every last calorie. I don't know what my family is planning, but this is the only thing I want on our Thanksgiving table this year.

Adobo Turkey with Red-Chile Gravy

from Gourmet, November 2010

For adobo

• 4 dried guajillo chiles (2 ounces), wiped clean
• 3 dried ancho chiles (1 1/2 ounces), wiped clean
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 (1/2-inch) piece cinnamon stick, smashed
• 2 whole allspice
• 1 clove
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme leaves
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For turkey and gravy:

• 1 (12-to 14-pound) turkey, neck and giblets (excluding liver) reserved for turkey stock
• 2 cups water, divided
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• About 4 cups classic turkey stock , divided
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• Melted unsalted butter if necessary

• Equipment: kitchen string; a 17-by 14-inch flameproof roasting pan with a flat rack; a 2-quart measuring cup or a fat separator

Make adobo:
Slit chiles lengthwise, then stem and seed. Heat a large heavy skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat until hot, then toast chiles in batches, opening them flat, turning and pressing with tongs, until more pliable and slightly changed in color, about 30 seconds per batch.

Transfer to a bowl and cover chiles with boiling-hot water, then soak until softened, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast spices in a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Drain chiles, discarding liquid, and purée in a blender with spices, garlic, herbs, vinegar, water, oil, and 2 teaspoon salt until very smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside 1/2 cup adobo for gravy.

Marinate turkey:
Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt evenly in turkey cavities and all over skin, then rub remaining adobo (a scant 3/4 cup) all over turkey, including cavities. Fold neck skin under body, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with string. Transfer to rack in roasting pan and marinate, covered with plastic wrap and chilled, at least 8 hours and up to 24.

Roast turkey:
Let turkey stand, covered, at room temperature 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in lower third.

Add 1 cup water to pan and roast turkey 1 hour.

Brush turkey with oil and add remaining cup water, then tent loosely with foil and rotate pan. Roast (if bottom of pan becomes dry, add 1/2 cup more water) until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (test both; close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 3/4 hours more (total roasting time: 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 hours).

Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into pan. Transfer turkey to a platter and let stand, uncovered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 175 to 180°F).

Make gravy while turkey stands:
Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add 1 cup turkey stock and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into 2-quart measure and skim off fat (or use a fat separator), reserving fat. Add enough turkey stock to liquid to bring total to 5 cups.

Whisk together flour, 6 tablespoon reserved fat (if there is less, add melted butter), and reserved 1/2 cup adobo in a heavy medium saucepan, then cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 3 minutes (mixture will be thick). Add pan juices and stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, whisking, then simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt.

Serve turkey with gravy.

A person can develop a cold.

I'm back to blogging because the rest of my life is work. I need to remember that I used to have hobbies and things I liked to do for fun.

In my second-to-last semester of college I took a class called American Musical Theater. Those of you who know me know I love a good showtune. In order to study for listening quizzes and make friends, I decided to host listening quiz parties. The class would be invited over to listen to the soundtrack of the week and eat a themed meal. Oh yes, you read right: A themed meal.

So, "Oklahoma!": Tequila Sunrises (Oh, What A Beautiful Morning...), BBQ Popcorn (...corn is as high as an elephant's eye), Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad with a Chipotle Ceasar (the farmer), a hearty beef chili (the cowman), and a Pear-Butterscotch pie ("why did you take the trouble to bake my favorite pie?").

And then..."Guys and Dolls". Adelaide develops a cold due to not being married, so I made a chicken soup. She also is a Hot Box Chick, and loves him a "bushel and a peck"...Yeah, I got into it. The rest of the menu included spiked lemonade, cuban sandwiches, and a New York Cheesecake. Those of you who know "Guys and Dolls" will get the references.

But literally, this soup is the best Chicken Noodle I've ever made or had. I also totally made it up as I went along.

Adelaide's Lament Chicken Noodle

A Whole Chicken, 5 to 8 lbs

1 Lemon, cut into quarters

1/2 cup white wine

Parsley

1 Large Onion, diced

Carrots, about 6, diced

Celery, about 6 stalks, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 bay leaves

1 t rosemary

1 t thyme

Salt and pepper, to taste

Chicken Stock, 10-16 cups

1 lb wide egg noodles

1. Roast the chicken. My preferred method is to lather the chicken with a few tablespoons of butter, salt, and pepper and place the lemon in the cavity of the bird. Add whatever herbs you have handy inside, too. A little dried rosemary and thyme go a long way here, too. I roast my chicken in a dutch oven I bought at a thrift store ages ago--I recommend the same. You'll make the soup in the same pot. Your chicken will probably roast for 2 or so hours.

2. Remove the chicken from the dutch oven and place the dutch oven, with all the drippings, on the stove top. I'll fully admit that this isn't a healthy recipe. Pour in the wine and let the "gravy" reduce. This sauce is the base of the soup that makes it so flavorful.

3. Add the vegetables and garlic. Let them cook down for a few minutes, until the onions are translucent and the carrots and celery start to soften. Meanwhile, chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.

4. Add herbs, salt and pepper. Start slow, you can add later.

5. Add the chicken stock. I'm pretty sure I used homemade for this one, and it's worth it. Needs more salt, but so delightfully delicious (and free!).

6. Bring the stock to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook according to directions. Add the chicken when the noodles are about done--it only needs to re-heat.

Remember, soup is an art. You add what you want; taste and change as you go. This is a more classic chicken noodle, but I can imagine roasting the chicken with Five Spice powder or chili-garlic sauce, spiking the sauce with saki and adding lots of miso to the broth. I've been dying to find ways to use more rice noodles, too.

Stock.

The last incarnation of the chicken was, of course, stock.

Laura and I have a stock bucket on the bottom shelf of our freezer. We throw onion skins, about-to-go-bad celery and carrots, and leftover fresh herbs we know we'll never use right in, almost like a compost. When the chicken carcass comes, we're always ready.

I hope that making stock becomes almost routine in our house, as stock is expensive. If you're looking for further instruction on making stock, I've already posted about it here.

The question then, of course, became, "What to do with the stock?" Stock freezes great, so we managed to hold off about a week before breaking out the larger of the two containers. I went for an old favorite, the Orzo and Spinach Soup with Chicken Meatballs. I posted about it when it was still weather inappropriate. With all the snow we've been having, I think it might be just the right time. If you use the homemade stock, chances are your stock won't be as salty as one from a store. Be sure to season well.

And there you have it--four meals (Roast, Enchiladas, Salad and Soup) from one bird.

As a side note, I want to point out that this is my 100th post. What started out as a conversation between Alex and myself has grown to include seminarians, friends, family and (as revealed this morning) a former teacher. While it has never been my goal to have more than three or four people actually read this, I want to thank those of you who keep me cooking and baking, and on occasion, talking about Jesus.

Chicken Salad.

Chicken salad isn't very photogenic.

I couldn't get one good shot--try as I might--that wasn't blurry. Maybe that's because chicken salad isn't meant to photographed. It is meant to be eaten.

I really like chicken salad, provided it doesn't have eggs. When you make it yourself, you can safe-guard against things like this. This recipe comes from SmittenKitchen, using some more of the leftover white meat from our "I made a whole chicken" series, but is certainly inspired by a Karen Hunter recipe.

Cherry Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches. Just the name makes my tummy rumble. We get to eat the crusts we cut off--I have a hard time sharing and, if I'm not the one making them, taking advantage of whoever is offering.

This chicken salad recipe could very easily be swapped out with dried cherries, however, might be too chunky for tea sandwiches. I ate it between slices of toast, in a bowl over lettuce (as shown), and, in my most desperate moments, out of the bowl with a fork.

Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad
from Smitten Kitchen

serves 4-6

4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) cooked chicken (about 1 3/4 lb) (I halved the recipe and used about 2 cups from the roast chicken)
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 celery rib, diced into small bits (1 cup)
2 or more tablespoons finely chopped shallot (I skipped this)
1 cup dried cranberries
2/3 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar, if you have it, or champagne or white wine vinegar works well, too (you know, we have about 4 different kinds of vinegar, and none of these. I used red wine vinegar)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon or herb or your choice (I used parsley)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Really complicated directions: Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl until combined well.

Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce

My dear friend Addie loves pumpkin everything. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin scones, pumpkin colored hats--she is in heaven when fall arrives.

Just the other day, she was lamenting the disappearance of pumpkin both at Starbucks and everywhere else. I tried to find her a pumpkin muffin at Au Bon Pain the other morning and found she was right.

Thankfully, I keep a can of pumpkin puree in the cupboard at all times, as one never knows when a muffin craving will sneak up on me. When I saw this recipe in Everyday Food's new book, Great Food Fast, highlighting pumpkin as a savory flavor, I was curious to try it again. The best thing we ate in Lesotho, in my opinion, was roasted pumpkin. When combined with mashed potatoes, it was heavenly.

It is also true that I love enchiladas. Having the chicken already on hand, I decided to try it.

It was surprisingly good--with a little salt. I under seasoned the dish in all regards, as it lacked both salt and heat. I regretfully de-seeded the jalapeno chile and forgot to season the sauce before baking. The pumpkin sauce ended up tasting a little bland by my standards, but done right, I think this could be a real winner. And perhaps satisfy Addie's love of pumpkin past the fall.

Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
from Great Food Fast
Serves 4

1/2 roast or rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat shredded
6 scallions, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
4 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno chile, quartered
1 teaspoon chili powder (though I added more, and some cumin)
2 1/2 cups water
8 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) grated sharp white cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 425. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with the scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.
2. In a blender, puree the pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, 2 1/2 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper until smooth. Pour 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of an 8" square baking dish.
3. Lay the tortillas on a work surface; mound the chicken mixture on half of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Roll up each tortilla into a tight log; place seam side down over the sauce in the baking dish.
4. Pour the remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with cheese. Place the dish on a baking sheet; bale until the cheese is golden and the sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Everyday Food mentions that you can assemble this dish up to 8 hours ahead of time, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to bake. Just add a few extra minutes to the cooking time.

A whole chicken.

When I was in high school, I did musical theatre. Surprise, surprise.

During dress rehearsals, the week before the show, Mrs. Hunter (the caterer I work for) would generously come and feed us. I remember looking forward to dress rehearsals for that reason alone, and guessing all day what the menu would be.

Would it be her famous chicken dijon? Or the chicken and olive pasta salad I loved so much? And, as always, we prayed for her perfect chocolate chip cookies.

One infamous day, that is still referenced a great deal, I was standing backstage and hear someone yell, "A WHOLE CHICKEN!"

Yes, Mrs. Hunter had brought us individual roasted chickens with red potatoes and haricots verts. People thought this was the fanciest, most special and most delicious thing they'd ever eaten. And at that moment, it probably was. After spending so much time in a high school auditorium, singing and dancing for 8 hours after school, "grateful" doesn't seem to cut it. We probably should have dedicated every show to Karen Hunter Catering.

When our subletter Jeff moved in to Laura's room, I wanted to go all-out for our first meal. Because, in my mind, a whole roasted chicken is the most special thing, that is what I did.

Being that the chicken was so big, I turned a lot of the white meat into chicken enchiladas with a pumpkin sauce and cranberry walnut chicken salad.

There's no recipe for this chicken, other than to say I rubbed the outside with copious amounts of butter, seasoned heavily with salt and pepper, and baked according to the label. I'm excited to find other ways to season and flavor the bird, now that I know a little bit more about what I'm doing (when I read "remove the giblets", I almost panicked. Little did I know, they were already pre-packaged in a bag that I simply had to pull out).

This 6 lb. chicken fed us for an entire week--between the enchiladas and chicken salad, as well as the dark meat (which Jeff ate) and the stock from the carcass--for only $5.

The next few posts will be about this chicken's journey, from roast to stock.

Tomato Paste.

At the beginning of the school year, I bought a small can of tomato paste. I used about a tablespoon for something-or-other, wrapped the remaining paste it in foil and plastic wrap, and stashed it in the freezer (a la Karen Hunter).

The tomato paste returned for these meatballs--an atypical dinner choice for me--but since we have so much angel hair pasta laying around, I wanted to try and use some of it up prior to Laura's departure (Laura has gone to Morocco for the semester, have I mentioned that?). Matt was also over for dinner, and as you may recall, Matt loves spaghetti.

But the way this recipe uses tomato paste sent me running out for more. It deepens the flavor, and adds a really hearty richness to sauces and other recipes, like this one. I've been adding it to everything lately. Just a little goes a long way.

The meatballs were great, too. We used turkey bacon instead of the pancetta, which may have made the meatballs greasier than intended. The best thing about these meatballs is the fact that they're baked--no messing with hot oil!

Baked Chicken Meatballs
Serves 4
From Smitten Kitchen

3 slices Italian bread, torn into small bits (1 cup)
1/3 cup milk
3 ounces sliced pancetta, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large egg1 pound ground chicken
2 tablespoons tomato paste, divided
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F with a racks the upper thirds. Soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about four minutes.

Cook pancetta, onion, and garlic in one tablespoon oil with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large skillet over medium heat until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Cool slightly.

Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. Lightly beat egg in a large bowl, then combine with chicken, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, pancetta mixture, bread, and parsley.

Form 12 meatballs and arrange in another 4-sided sheet pan (I used a 9×13 roasting dish). Stir together remaining tablespoons of tomato paste and oil and brush over meatballs (the paste/oil does not mix in any cohesive manner, but just smoosh it on and run with it) , then bake in upper third of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes (though mine took a good 5 minutes longer).

Serve over angel hair pasta with plenty of grated Parmesan.

Chicken Piccata with Capers and Sweet Corn

I am finding it very difficult to remember summer.

Watermelon, blackberries, peaches...It all seems so far away now, as I sit in my unheated apartment wearing three layers. But there was a time when fresh sweet corn was readily available, and I would stand over the trashcan and husk it just as the sun was setting (around 7 or 8 o'clock).

Though sweet corn season is over, I feel as though I should record this recipe just so I remember it for next year. It was the perfect combination of flavors--the salty capers, the sweet corn, the acidic lemon juice and crisp white wine. We came up with this one ourselves, just trying to get rid of a few ears languishing in the fridge. Maybe you'll try this with frozen corn, or mark it on your calendar for next year.

Chicken Piccatta with Capers and Sweet Corn
Serves 2
Adapted from Gourmet, October 1991

3/4 lbs. whole skinless boneless chicken breast, halved lengthwise
2 Tb. unsalted butter
1 Tb olive oil
4 Tb dry white wine
2 Tb fresh lemon juice
2 Tb drained bottled capers, chopped
3 Tb minced fresh parsley leaves (use 'em if you got 'em, but it is optional)
1/2 lb. spaghetti or angel hair pasta

Halve the chicken pieces horizontally with a sharp knife and flatten them slightly between sheets of plastic wrap. In a large, heavy skillet heat half the butter and the oil over moderately high heat until the foam subsides. Saute the chicken pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper, 1-2 minutes on each side or until they are cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a platter and keep warm (Aaron's mom taught us this trick--just stick in the microwave. It'll keep your food warm without even being on!). Add the wine, lemon juice, capers, and corn, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the chicken and simmer for a few minutes, bringing the ingredients together. Serve over spaghetti or angel hair pasta, garnished with parsley.

Cook Chicken.

I am not a vegetarian, but I rarely cook meat. There was honestly only two instances where I had in my last kitchen--steak, on Valentine's day, and Mrs. Hunter's chicken Dijon.

My anxiety over cooking meat has nothing to do with how gross it is, or ethical issues over where it comes from, but rather a fear that I will not cook it long enough and will give everyone food poisoning.

In an effort to face my fears, I've tried a few chicken recipes.

I'm really glad, too. This recipe was incredible--and so ridiculously perfect for a fall evening. I had it bookmarked for at least a year, and am really sad I didn't try it until now. I halved the cider cream sauce, made only two chicken breasts and served the whole thing over mashed sweet potatoes (to which I added nothing but butter, a little cream, and hot sauce--would have used adobo sauce if there had been any in the pantry).

Chicken Breasts with Apples and Cider Cream Sauce
From The Frog Commissary Cookbook, who served this dish to 800 people in 12 minutes at the Philadelphia Art Museum--this recipe only serves 6, though.

Cider Cream Sauce
2 cups apple cider
2 Tb Dijon mustard
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup flour, seasoned with 1 1/2 t each salt and pepper
1/2 c clarified butter (we used about 4 Tb of regular butter)
2 large tart apples, cored and cut into 1/4" slices (we used Winesap apples, my favorites)

Make the sauce. In a 2-quart saucepan, reduce the cider to 1/2 cup. Whisk in the mustard and cream and reduce to about 2 cups over medium high heat or until thickened like a sauce (it should coat a spoon). Add the seasonings and set aside.

Make the chicken. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Heat 6 Tb of the butter in a large skillet. Add the chicken and saute for 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and saute for 3-5 minutes more or until done. Remove the chicken (we put it in the microwave to keep it warm, a great trick) and add 2 Tb of butter and the apples to the pan. Saute 3-5 minutes or just until tender. Pour any excess butter from the pan and add the cider cream sauce. Heat through while scraping up any little browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When hot, serve over the chicken breasts and serve with apples.

Heart and Soul.

These two photos are probably confusing you right now.

For starters, the first photo certainly doesn't look like the second. The second photo has (!) meat in it, too. What is going on here?

Making stock should be a basic part of any cook's repertoire. It is also extremely expensive to buy. I read somewhere about making stock from a rotisserie chicken--which I knew were sold at Bobby Chez (South, between Broad and 13th) on Sundays for $5. So for $5, I could have both the stock and the meat for a hearty chicken noodle soup.

The rest of the ingredients for stock I already had on hand, mostly because the ingredients for stock are things we would ordinarily throw away. The chicken carcass, onion skins, cheese rinds, unused portions of carrots and celery are really all you need.

I've started collecting stock items in the freezer. I cut the top off a 2 liter soda bottle and started saving onion skins, cheese rinds, root vegetables that were about to go bad...I'll be ready for stock any time.

Chicken Stock

Makes enough for one pot of soup.

Remember, this ingredient list is not absolute. This is just what I used.

1 rotisserie chicken carcass, with some meat/skin left on

2-3 quartered onions, with skins, bottoms and tops lobbed off

3-4 carrots, unpeeled, broken into 4-5 pieces

3-4 celery stalks, with leaves, broken into 4-5 pieces

3-4 cloves of garlic, cut in half

Bay leaf

1 tsp. rosemary

1 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1. Add all items to a 4 qt. pot. Cover with cool water. Bring to boil.
2. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Let the stock simmer from an 1.5-2 hours. It should reduce to 1 qt. of liquid.
3. Let the liquid cool a bit and then strain using a fine sieve into a container.
4. Refrigerate until ready for use. You can skim the fat once the broth is cool, too.

I'm very particular about my chicken noodle soup. I find the chicken in just about any canned soup too mushy and, dare I say, sketchy looking. That's why I was so excited to get roasted white-meat chicken in this soup, that I myself could pick over and control.

This soup, like stock, is also open to interpretation. I like a lot of vegetables in mine, so my soup probably had even more than listed.

Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves a lot of people.

Stock (recipe above) or 6 cups of your favorite
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
1-2 celery stalks, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tb olive oil
Salt and pepper
3/4 box Alphabet noodles (I'm not sure what the proportions would be for another type of noodle...but these are really fun. Hard to drain, but really fun.)
Half the meat from a rotisserie chicken, or one breast, chopped into bite-size pieces

1. In your soup pot, saute the onion, garlic, carrot and celery in olive oil until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the stock. Cook at a medium simmer until vegetables have softened, about 20-25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook your pasta to 'al dente' according to package directions. To drain the alphabet noodles, use a fine sieve or a colander lined with a clean, cloth dishtowel.
4. Add the pasta and the chicken. Let simmer for 10 or so minutes, until the chicken is warmed through.

I added more thyme, rosemary, black pepper, and plenty of salt to this, too.

This soup goes great with the pretzel rolls and with the NY Times Bread I'll be showing you next.