Weeknight roast chicken, or how to get a child to eat dinner

this image courtesy examiner.com

There are two things that have become essential to my weeknight cooking repertoire: ease of preparation and getting my daughter to eat it. On the first point, contrary to what you may think of me, I am not a huge planner when it comes to dinner. At least not like I used to be. But even when I had more time to plan, shop and prepare (and I even threw an occasional dinner party) I still mostly decided what to cook an hour before serving it.

 I get that the planning is half the battle and I know people who plan out their meals for the whole week on Sundays. But for me that's hard because I don't know how I am going to feel on any given day. It's not because I am not organized or don't like to be efficient. I see the need, especially with kids, to be both of those things and, like anyone else, my time is now more crunched. But I like to be spontaneous with food. I like to eat what's in season or what looks good that day at the store and just go with my mood on any given day (which also includes ordering take-out or going out once in a while). Also, my moods change weekly, if not daily, for what I feel like cooking and eating. I might see a magazine photo that catches my eye and get excited about trying it. Or I might go on a meat kick or a healthy vegetarian kick or any number of things. And I'm always trying new recipes.

Like this one for spiced sweet potato and roasted broccoli toasts which blew my mind recently. (Recipe link to bonappetit.com). I saw it, I wanted it, I thought June would eat it because broccoli and sweet potatoes are two veggies she's always loved (I was wrong), so I made it.  I left out the red chile in the sweet potato to make it kid-friendly and replaced pistachios with peanuts and almonds since that's what I had in the pantry. I'll make them again because they were so good. And if I keep trying, I may just get June to eat them.

But back to my second point. Also contrary to what you may think (and to everything I expected), I have a child who is a "picky eater." At least she is right now. It's just a phase, I know, and a completely normal one for a 3-4 year old, as far as I can tell. And it kills me. I love food, I love to cook, I cooked my own baby food, I had her eating charcuterie plates in high end restaurants when she was 18 mos old. And yet, these days I can hardly get her to eat the (mostly) delicious home-cooked meals I put on the table. She loves carbs: pasta, bread and pizza, and sweets of course, but getting her to eat her protein and her veg or --God forbid, a curry or beef empanada--you'd think I was torturing her.

So our rule of thumb now is keep putting delicious, healthy, home-cooked food in front of her and don't make a big deal out of it (don't fight, don't cajole, no bribes for dessert) and either she eats or she goes to bed hungry. No special meals or substitutions will be made. Out of pure stubbornness she has gone to bed with hardly any dinner on more than a few occasions lately. (By the way, if you have a "picky eater" right now too, this blog/experiment on the NYTimes parenting site has some useful tips).

Which brings me to the title of this post.

 Who doesn't love a simple roasted chicken? And who doesn't need a quicker way to prepare one? I used to brine, salt, truss, rotate, stuff with all kinds of herbs and pastes back in the days before I had June. And then in the last year or so found myself picking up a rotisserie bird from the local market and throwing together a few sides on busier days. But those store-bought birds are not only not good quality chickens, they are almost always dry and flavorless. This Cook's Illustrated "Weeknight Roast Chicken" turned that around --and made a happy if slightly cave-girl-like eater out of June last night. For the first time in a long time, we had no mealtime battle, we talked about something other than what she was or wasn't eating, and we all licked our fingers it was so moist and flavorful.

This is all there is to it:

Weeknight Roast Chicken (adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

Buy a 3 1/2- 4 lb good quality chicken (such as Springer Mt. Farms).

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees, placing a 12-in ovensafe skillet on middle rack.

Rub chicken all over with olive oil. Pat chicken dry and season all over with salt and pepper (If I have time or think of it, I do this an hour in advance to give the skin a chance to air-dry (in the refrigerator of course) and the seasonings to soak in but it's not necessary).

Take chicken out of fridge at least 30 min before roasting as a cold bird will cook unevenly and throw off cooking times. Transfer chicken, breast side up, to heated skillet in oven. Roast until breasts reach 120 degrees and thighs 135, about 25-30 min. Then turn down oven to 325 and continue to cook until done, about 25 more minutes *(160 degrees for breasts, 175 for thighs).  Remove chicken, let rest for 20 min before serving.

*Note: This high oven to low oven temp process achieves a nice brown skin, with really tender and moist breast meat and perfectly cooked dark meat. The C.I. version has you turning the oven off after the first 30 min and continuing to cook as the oven cools down, slowing the evaporation of juices. My oven not being that precise, I was afraid to do this so I turned it down instead and I think the result was just as good. As always, use a good thermometer as times may vary so check your chicken and err on the side of less, not more time, remembering that temperatures continue to rise when chicken is resting.

Carve chicken and serve-- and watch the happy faces at your table.

Vinegar braised chicken (finally) and other stuff

I've been meaning to blog about this delicious Spring dish and not even the pleading of Facebook friends who saw the photo the night I made it has gotten me closer to doing it, until now. I guess life has been busy. June is a whirlwind lately, full of energy and sass and plenty of words. She is the most talkative little girl I've ever seen. She pretty much can express anything she wants to with limited words and it's really fun, mostly. Until she says something like "Go away mama." That hurts and happened only once, but I think it goes along with having a toddler. Their worlds are so frustratingly small at the same time that they are developing so fast and they can't get there fast enough for their little minds to be happy. And we're always telling them "No" and "Be careful" and "Do this and Do that" that sometimes I just want to let her do whatever she wants and not get in the way. Luckily, I have not really had to discipline her too much as she's pretty mellow and hardly ever throws a tantrum. I can count on one hand the number of times she's done something that resembled a tantrum and I'm grateful. But some days are still hard... and long.

She's on Spring break from the Mom's day out program this week and we're having fun. Here she is last weekend at the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. I love this photo and we had such a good time that day.

But back to the chicken. This was one of those dishes that I got inspired to make from one of my magazines. It was in April Food and Wine. And I will go back to it again and again because it was so easy and turned out so beautifully. We practically licked our plates when it was gone. Isn't it just Spring in a dish?

So here is the recipe. I tweaked it a bit and added little tiny French green beans that I had in the freezer, plus halved the amount of leeks and added an onion since that's what I had. And instead of creme fraiche, used sour cream because it's essentially the same thing and easier to find. I almost always have some in the fridge. If you make it, let me know how it turns out!

here is miss sassypants in the new hat and sunglasses her Papa got her for our trip to the beach in a couple of weeks.

Going to be a big weekend for cooking and entertaining. We're having family and friends over for Easter brunch on Sunday and June and I will dye eggs and hide them in the backyard for her and her friends. Also having some friends over for dinner who we haven't seen in a long time so I'm looking forward to a busy weekend of cooking, baking and enjoying everyone's company. Happy Easter!

buffalo wings and baby birds

Last weekend I catered a graduation party for my friends Ross and Jimmy. Their son was graduating from high school and they threw a backyard party for about 60 people. It was my first catering job post-baby and I was a little unsure of how I'd get all the work done, but somehow I did. It was more intense because I had to pack it all in to just a day and half, but having a baby really does make you budget time more effectively.

Plus, I had a little "helper" encouraging me from the sidelines.

I made "bombay sliders"- little mini turkey burgers with spices like cayenne and cumin and a garlic curry sauce. I made them for a party I had a couple of years ago and they were a hit. I didn't snap a picture of them because I was too busy setting everything up at the party when they finally got put together.

But here is the huge pot of meat I mixed up before rolling it into about 100 mini patties.

The one thing the guest of honor requested were chicken wings, a favorite of the high school aged crowd. I had never made them before and am not a fan of them usually, but I found a recipe that had a lot of good feedback and I was surprised at how good they turned out. I bet people went to town on them at the party. A friend who was there raved about them afterward. They were pretty labor intensive but totally worth it. They tasted just like the kind you get in a bar, only slightly better because mine were baked. Calling them healthy would be a stretch (they are dredged in a flour and spice mixture, then soaked in melted butter and hot sauce before being baked), but still better than deep frying.

In addition to the chicken and burgers I made three salads: herb potato salad (from Ina Garten's recipe), a couscous with roasted zucchini and peppers and a spinach salad with cannellini beans and a nice shallot vinaigrette. Again, too busy to snap photos of the finished products, but here are a few of the prep, with June supervising from her chair.

my other companion in the kitchen

I think my friends were really happy with the food and I am sure it was a great party. Now that my first post-baby catering gig went well, I think I'm ready to dive back in. Bring on the parties! If nothing else, I will be cooking for a crowd again next month for June's first birthday party. And I always want to throw a big party for Daniel's birthday but he almost never wants one, preferring instead to go camping or do something small. Boring.

In other news, my little girl is getting ready to walk!

And our screened porch is almost done! Sadly, not in time to beat the terrible storm we had the other night, but it survived. Just needs the door and we are good to go! I will be so happy to have a little bug-free oasis for me and my girl to hang out on.

And lastly, we spotted this mama bird in her nest steadfastly protecting her babies after a heavy rain exposed their home. After the storm, I saw the empty nest still in the tree outside our porch. I hope they made it safely to another location. It's been a pretty wild Spring in Tennessee.

February fun

Where has the month gone? I usually love cooking in February because I can do a lot of extraneous baking for Valentine's day, birthdays, because the weather is cold, you name it. This month, I can only think of two or three things I baked. One was this cocoa layer cake for a friend's 35th birthday party. I found pictures of the birthday girl and all of the people invited to the party (thanks, facebook), printed them and made little cardboard hearts to decorate the cake with. I saw something similar on Martha Stewart recently, but when I tried to find it on her busy website I couldn't, so I just made up my own version. I think it came out rather cute.

The cake got lots of rave reviews too, but who doesn't love a rich and moist chocolate cake? I didn't think it was one of my best but I did make it twice this month!

I also made this chicken pot pie recently--a comfort staple. But for all its down home simplicity, it is pretty labor intensive for a weeknight meal if you make it from scratch like I did. I had cooked the chicken the day before and used the leftovers in this. I had also made the pie crust who knows when and pulled it out of the freezer. But even still, it seemed like a lot of work. I guess because there are a lot of elements that are cooked separately and then put together before being baked. Ok, but it *was* delicious, especially when heated up for lunch the next day.

The highlight of this month was a trip I took to Iowa City to visit one of my best friends and her little girl who was born a month before mine. They are new b.f.f.s and it was soooo cute to see them interact and get to know each other as well as to reconnect with an old friend. Here are a few shots of the snowy weekend.

Happy February everyone!

cider vinegar-braised chicken

I have been inspired by my brother lately who is cooking in a newly re-opened restaurant inside the oldest building in Manhattan. Fraunces Tavern once hosted George Washington for dinner. That's how old it is. And the unique pub fare promises to be just as traditional but with a twist. Smoked lamb ribs, bangers and mash and house-made Irish bacon are a few of the items my bro has been working on.



Anyway, it sounds like a pretty meat-heavy menu, as it should be, and the preparations are all time-tested and old world (think American Revolution). Like boiling your meat until it's fork tender. Braising I guess would be the more modern way to look at it, but as long as the piece of meat is submerged in water or other cooking liquid (wine, stock, vermouth, beer) it qualifies. I like this cooking method because it's easy. It involves browning briefly on the stovetop, then adding elements that will then be part of a sauce such as garlic, carrots, fresh herbs, bacon, whatever really. Then adding the preferred liquid, bringing to a boil, and then popping the whole thing in the oven at a low temperature: 300 or 325 to simmer slowly for at least an hour. It produces some really juicy and tender meat, that's for sure.


speaking of meat, this is the huge prime rib my brother made for Christmas Eve. It wasn't braised but it was delicious

Because we eat only grass-fed and high quality meat in my house and I don't live near a real butcher, beef is only seldom on the menu. But we do eat a lot of good, free-range chicken from Springer Mt. farms. I used only the leg quarters in this dish, but any bone-in chicken pieces will do.

Start by browning some bacon or pancetta, then remove. Add the chicken pieces and brown well on each side. Then throw in a couple cloves of garlic, some carrots if desired and any herbs that make sense. I had rosemary and sage so I used them. At this point, you could make a little roux with some butter and flour just to thicken the mixture, but it's not necessary. Then add the liquid--in this case I used cider vinegar and chicken stock, about 3-4 cups worth. Let the whole thing come to a boil, and then off the heat and throw it in the oven (because you've used your oven-proof skillet, or cast iron dutch oven of course). Keep the temp low and cook for about an hour.

Pull it out, plate the chicken, turn up the heat on the remaining liquid and reduce until you have a couple of cups. This is then poured over the meat and served nice and rustically, straight from the pot. Serve with some boiled potatoes or buttered egg noodles or Winter root veggies for a very simple, hearty meal.

old school italian favorites

Lately, you could not pay me to eat sweets! I guess because I am baking so much now I almost never want to eat the stuff. This is probably a good thing. A sweet tooth has plagued me all my life, until now. I can totally leave it and I crave savory dishes full of flavor and texture.



So I've been cooking from a new Cook's Illustrated special edition called Italian Favorites. I would link to their website, but they just make you pay for looking at their recipes and that's annoying. You might as well subscribe to the magazine and have something to keep --or better yet, just buy one every once in a while when it looks appealing like I do.

I have a love-hate relationship with the magazine. I love the in-depth recipe testing and they always get everything right. But sometimes making a simple dinner from the magazine makes me feel like I'm doing research on a dissertation (all over again) and I need to read every single word of the two-page single-spaced essay. And that's no way to enjoy yourself in the kitchen.

But the Italian favorites issue is a keeper. My aunt, who is also an avid cook, came to visit me recently and then went on a wild goose chase looking for a back issue because she wanted to make everything in it. I called up the magazine and had it sent to her house. It really is a good one. Some of the 'Italian favorites' I've tried are the above 'Chicken Marsala'. I veered from tradition and made it with Cinzano instead of Marsala, but it was close enough and very good. I also made the Spaghetti Puttanesca, which I make all the time but this one was different. It added anchovies to the usual olives, capers and tomatoes which I thought worked well.



I also made the 'pork chops with vinegar and peppers' and it was surprisingly good. It, like all of the recipes in this issue, reminded me of things I ate in my childhood. My mom made pork chops just like that and the chicken Marsala was probably served in all of the old hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurants we ate in growing up in Las Vegas. There are recipes for Fettuccine Alfredo and Chicken Piccata, Penne alla Vodka and Shrimp Fra Diavolo. It doesn't get any more old-school Italian-American than that!

One dish I am definitely going to make as soon as I find the time is 'braciole': Italian stuffed steak --a Southern Italian classic. My aunt nearly lost it when she saw that. She told me stories of all the wonderful Italian dishes my grandmother (who died when I was 5) used to make when she was young and dating my mom's brother. She told me of nights when she would come to dinner and just watch her cook and then eat the most delicious things. We went through old boxes of my mom's and grandma's recipes while she was here, stopping after each one so she could tell me a story about how they made it.


old italian women (not my relatives) courtesy of kitchenmischief.wordpress.com.

While I may not be able to re-create those family recipes exactly as they were, at least I can attempt some old Italian favorites in my own home and pretend that I was there. Thanks, Cook's Illustrated. You're not so bad after all.

my tribute to Julia

I am not a French cook and I don't rely heavily on Julia Child's recipes in my own kitchen. But the 'Julia hype' was all over the blogs, the magazines and the airwaves this month and for good reason. When I got to thinking about how she influenced me just by who she was and what she did, I realized I, too, just had to pay tribute.



After all, she didn't start to learn to cook until she was 37 years old and when I read this in her memoir two years ago, it is one of the things that motivated me to start this blog and devote so many hours to learning and cooking and experimenting over the last two years in my own kitchen. That summer I also read Julie Powell's book, Julie and Julia, and loved it. She seemed like a girl after my own heart.

Julia's birthday was on Aug. 15, coinciding nicely with the release of the new film Julie and Julia, based on these two books. I went to see the movie on the afternoon of its opening day. I took myself as a treat and sat there in the overly-air-conditioned movie theater on a hot summer day, smiling and crying and thoroughly enjoying myself. I loved the scenes shot in Paris in the markets and Meryl Streep's impersonation was almost as good as watching old footage of Julia Child's early TV program, The French Chef. I watched those, too, last week on PBS, experiencing her for the first time in the original format and fell in love with her all over again.

So, I decided since I was having people over for dinner one night last week, why not combine our dinner party with one of Julia's menus for a celebration in her honor. I used the recent bon appetit article from the August issue as my inspiration (with links to those recipes here). Even though I have Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I seem to read it more like a textbook than actually cooking from it. There is something about it that is so technical but also so accessible and I can see why it was such a seminal cookbook that enjoyed 47 editions!



This menu started out with this beautiful, flaky tart, a pissaladière nicoise. It really was a delicious crust and the salty anchovies, black olives and sautéed onions were a classic combination. It was a basic pate brisèe tart crust, but in addition to the butter, there were 2 tablespoons of chilled vegetable shortening--not my usual fare, but it really did make for a flaky and beautiful tart crust.



The main course was poulet sautè aux herbes de Provence. In true Julia form, I bought a whole organic chicken from the market and cut it up into eight pieces myself. I was proud of myself for doing that, as if it were some major accomplishment. But really, growing up in the age of ready-made and plastic-wrapped everything, it makes me feel self-sufficient and somehow cool to be able to save money by buying a nice chicken and cutting it up myself. It came out great. As you can probably guess, the distinguishing factor of this preparation is the use of traditional herbs like thyme, basil and fennel seeds, plus garlic, and sautèeing the chicken pieces in a whole stick of butter. It was delicious, subtle in flavor, moist and had good color due to the browning in butter.

The sauce was a little too French for my tastes, combining egg yolks whisked with wine and lemon juice over low heat while adding the reserved pan juices a little at a time. It tasted and looked heavy to me and I ended up serving it on the side instead of pouring it over the chicken. But everyone loved it.


(photo courtesy bon appetit, because mine didn't look that pretty)

I also made Julia's Ratatouille recipe (above), which involves more steps than the one I usually make, but it was nice and fragrant and more of a stew than usual. I liked it, but it was no big revelation. The season is right for it though, and I just happened to have a large purple eggplant, peppers and tomatoes from the garden and I used yellow squash instead of the zucchini the recipe called for. I don't think it would have made a big difference.

I served a simple green salad with vinaigrette and a basket of crusty French bread on the side. We drank a lovely French chardonnay and I served a sample of locally made artisan chocolate from the new Olive and Sinclair chocolate company for dessert.

It was a simple and fun meal, one that I am not likely to make again soon, but a fitting tribute to a woman who certainly inspired me and who, almost fifty years later, continues to inspire so many cooks around the world. Thank you, Julia!

Winter blues no more

Now here's something that makes me happy. It's a chocolate-raspberry ganache cake that I made recently for my boyfriend's mom's birthday. Composed of two layers of moist chocolate cake (the secret ingredient being sour cream), with a layer of raspberry jam and ganache in the middle, smeared with more ganache and dotted with fresh raspberries, it was a heart-warming thing to make. I'm not talking about how it made me or anyone feel when eating it (that was good too). No, I'm talking about what it does for me to bake a cake.

Nourishing the soul and calming the nerves. These are the direct results of baking for me. Or cooking. Or anything that involves me in my kitchen alone or with my best guy and our sweet dog who likes to assist from her perch on the floor in front of the sink.

In this, the middle of winter (6 weeks to go until Spring!), when we've had very cold weather for weeks and weeks, and the days are short and often dark, it's baking and cooking that lift my spirits, not to mention filling our bellies.



Take this weeknight mac n' cheese, for example. It took nothing to prepare. Just cook some macaroni. Toast some bread crumbs. Melt some butter, cheese and milk. Add a little nutmeg and salt and pepper and combine with pasta. Throw in some wilted kale for green, fill a baking dish with this goodness, sprinkle the top with the toasted bread crumbs, more cheese and bake for about 20 minutes. Oh, it's yummy and warm and sure, it'll cost you some calories. But whatever. It's the middle of winter, like I said.

Here's something else that warms my soul: a simple roasted chicken over roasted root veggies for an easy and delightful mid-winter meal.



And, for something to pick me up in the afternoon when all I want is to curl up with a good book next to the fire but work keeps me at my desk: a shot of espresso with a homemade biscotti.



It's all good. It's winter. And it'll soon be Spring. So stop complaining and get in the kitchen (I tell myself) and don't forget to breathe.

PS: Happy one-year anniversary to me and to the Joy of Cooking!
Two things I'm thankful for: 1) I still have this blog name and no lawsuits and
2) this song: "the times they are a'changin" (bob dylan, covered by mason jennings on "I'm not there" soundtrack).

Organic chicken with brown rice and peppers (I'm back!)

I feel like I've been on vacation. But not in a good way. Last night was my first time back in the kitchen in a loooooong time. My back injury is slowly healing and it felt great to be back at the stove! Although I have to say, my b.f. did a wonderful job of cooking and cleaning and taking care of me for over a week. He's the best.

So I cooked him an all-local, all organic dinner of chicken with brown rice and peppers last night. It was a hit --similar to a paella but without all the ingredients and healthier because of the brown rice. And such a cool feeling that almost every ingredient was from a nearby source.

The base of the dish was some expensive (but worth it) bone-in chicken breasts I had bought at the Wednesday Farmer's market at the Turnip Truck. The chicken (who I'm told ranged about like real chickens and ate a diet of grass instead of corn) came from West Wind farms, a 100% certified organic, grassfed meats and poultry farm in rural Tennessee. The only thing that wasn't local in the dish was the rice. The peppers came from our neighbors, the peas and herbs from our own little backyard garden, the garlic and the parsely from our CSA farm share, and the tomatoes were from a can (local Tenn. tomatoes are still not available --but soon!)

I browned the chicken first, then set it aside. Then I sauteed onions and garlic in olive oil, added the peppers, one bay leaf and some fresh oregano from my front porch herb garden. I cooked and softened them for a bit, then added the rice to toast and a carrot, chopped and 1/2 cup of white wine (or any other liquid like vinegar or broth to reduce). Add the chicken back in plus 3 cups of chicken broth, bring to a boil and then turn down the heat, cover and let simmer for at least 45 min. until the rice and chicken are cooked all the way through and most of the liquid absorbed.

This was an easy one-pot dish. And with all of those nice, fresh ingredients, tasted better than usual. I think we'll add this one to our regular line-up of weeknight meals. Speaking of regular, it will be nice to get back to my normal routine. I have alot of summer dishes I want to try and parties to throw! Not to mention a new look for my blog coming sometime this summer...

Simple (roast) chicken and (sweet) potatoes

Last night I had my friend Peggy (the culinary pioneer --see my archive) in town for one night before she headed down South to visit family before coming back up to Nashville next week. What to cook for a woman who travels the world in search of exotic food and connects others with new cuisines and cultures for a living?

I decided to keep it simple. Simple, good quality ingredients never disappoint, even IF you just got back from a culinary tour of Thailand and Laos! So I made a nice roasted chicken, served with a Moroccan sweet potato salad and sauteed kale. I am not usually a whole bird roaster, but I do it once in a while and sometimes it's dry or bland. So this time I thought I'd do some research on ways to make it moist and flavorful. I read that seasoning the bird a full 24 hours in advance and leaving it in the fridge until an hour before you're going to cook it works. So I used a seasoning mix that I picked up from Italy one time which has salt, pepper, rosemary, sage and garlic in it. I rubbed that all over the bird, and inside I stuffed some fresh parsely, sage, rosemary, half a lemon and some garlic cloves. It was a fresh, organic chicken from my neighborhood market, The Turnip Truck. I roasted it with some veggies and sweet potatoes alongside it in the pan, for 1 hour. I have to say, it was delicious. One of my guests said it was the best chicken he'd ever eaten. I just know it had lots of flavor and was truly moist.

My Moroccan sweet potato salad (which I found in Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food) had turnips thrown in there too, cubed, roasted for an hour in the oven, then seasoned with cumin, turermic, ginger and saffron threads, fresh parsley and lots of good olive oil drizzled over it before serving. The flavors were a nice complement to the chicken. The kale was just an afterthought - sautéed up with garlic and chili flakes, a drizzle of red wine vinegar to finish. Very nutritious and wintery.

For dessert, as I can't seem to have a dinner without making a dessert these days, I made a pear maple "johnnycake". This is usually more akin to a pancake, but with cornmeal added. But mine was more like a cornmeal cake. I cooked the pears in butter, sprinkled with all-spice, then transferred them to a cake pan, poured the cornmeal batter over them and baked it. I found this recipe in a magazine. It was good, not overly sweet and a little crumbly, and I served it with some creme fraiche alongside and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. No one complained.

Peggy brought a great wine from Selvapiana in Tuscany. mmmmm. It was great to see her and to have her over for dinner for the first time in my new house. I've had so many amazing dinners at her house in Colo. and it was great to be able to return the gift.