In this corner, weighing in at a plump 3 1/2 pounds the current heavy weight roasted chicken champion of the world: Madeline Kamman’s Herbed Butter under-the-skin.
A traditional French technique for chicken that can be used for roasting or Sous Vide cooking. This mighty dish has charmed royalty the world over and stands as the pinnacle of simple poultry preparation.
And in this corner, weighing in at a firm 3.25 pounds, the Contender, made-by-mom-at home Mahogany Chicken. The pride of the borough, this friendly approach to adding flavor should not be underestimated; stylish, smart and sassy. Who will be the winner is anyone’s guess. Kamman’s herbed champion has the breasts to put up a great fight. But The Mahogany contender has got the legs to run away with it all. Marquis of Queensbury rules apply!
Round 1
In the left corner prepped with just a rub of salt and pepper on the skin: The Mahogany Contender. In the right corner with an herbed butter rubbed under the skin directly on the breast: The Herbed Champion.
The judges score this round evenly. An equal effort from both birds.
The Contender’s basting marinade is 1 part brown sugar, 1 part balsamic vinegar and 1 part dry vermouth applied after the first 45 minutes of cooking then every 15 mins after that until done.The Champion’s herbed butter is 1/4 cup butter, salt, pepper, garlic. rosemary, thyme and basil.
Round 2
In the left side of the oven The Contender holds its own against The Champion. But don’t count out the slippery moves that Herbed Butter can bring to this fight. The heat is up for both of them and so far neither is backing down from a basting.
Uh Oh! The Champ is showing signs of melting down while the challenger, showing great poise under all this heat, is just crackling away. The crowd is silent watching these to birds go head to head in headless combat. Never before have we seen such fancy footless footwork. Ding! Saved by the bell.
Round 3
The final round and The Contender is putting on a show. Evenly browned after multiple bastings She’s showing no sign of legging off. The Champ, a little unevenly used from the butter directly under the skin, is still in the fight. Her delicious herbs giving off the airs of a true champion, one who never quits.
The Fight is Over!!
Amazing!! Never before is the history of Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner have we seen anything like this before. Who would have guessed it? Folks, just who could have foreseen the outcome of today’s match up? Not you, not me, nobody could have predicted this!! After 1 hour and 25 mins in a 350°F oven the judges score the final numbers equally at 170°F. I still can’t believe it. My hats off to both of these plucky fighters. I guess we’ll just have to wait until after they cool down before we can get a taste of what happened here today. My oh my! I’ve never seen anything like it before. No sir- ee.
Judge’s Decision
In a 2 to 1 vote the new Roast Chicken Heavy Weight Champion of the World is . . . . an upset!!
Madeline Kamman’s age old classic recipe proved feisty but it’s moves were a bit outdated and predictable. The Contender, made-by-mom Mahogany Chicken takes the title with it’s even browning and moist marinaded flavor. Our hat’s off to both the fighters in this matchup. What? What’s that I hear? A rematch?? That’s right folks you heard it here first. These two birds aren’t done flapping their wings yet. Until next time . . .
Eat Well and Smile Often,
tj
p.s. Run Chicken Run!!
Originally posted 6/11/12
I recently got called on my cooking BS.
Now to the title of this piece and how Pilav became Pilaf. In 1533, at the age of fourteen, Catherine de Medici of Italy married Henry II, king of France. Henry, to our benefit you’ll soon discover, was much more interested in his mistress Diane de Poitiers than his new bride. Catherine as a result was excluded from politics and all things court like. Instead of staying by her husband’s side she traveled the country with her entourage. Here comes the good part. The Italians, being the great travelers and traders they are, brought back not only goods for commerce but great heaps of culture from around the globe. In Catherine’s entourage were chefs schooled in cross cultural cooking techniques and the dishes they inspired. As they progressed around France, Catherine chefs would require the assistance of local cooks to prepare the Queen’s meals. Catherine moved on but the cooking techniques remained, Pilaf included. While there has been some trifling debate as to whether Catherine actually had this much effect on French cuisine, those of us who study it can precisely time its rise to the Renaissance period. So there!
What to do? What to do? What to do? A winter’s day ripe for hot tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. But, tomato season is over and I just can’t get my self to buy those pale pink, baseball hard orbs the grocer labels as tomatoes. I remember my mother trying to get the Kids to eat vegetables during the winter and serving us these rock hard, white tomatoes with a wedge of iceberg lettuce and an oversize portion of bleu cheese dressing. Yes, health was on her mind.
Anyway, this weekend the rain was coming down and Suzanne and I were hankering for something warm and satisfying. Tomato soup sounded great but alas . . . no fresh tomatoes. Wait!! That is not entirely true. While they were not fresh off the vine in the minute, I did have a jar of tomatoes that I put up right after picking. I reached into my pantry and came out with a quart jar of lovely ripe, stewed tomatoes. One of the great challenges of having an edible garden is using all of its produce. This year I went heavily into tomatoes and was rewarded with a bumper crop. Take a minute to review my 
The next step is my favorite. I like to blend my soups. Now some cooks like to use immersion blenders, those little electric motor sticks with wimpy little blades that barely move your soup around the pot. Me, I like using a blender on low speed until I get the texture I want. And . . . every once in a while I forget to keep my hand on the lid and oops, I get a little messy. Occasionally I will strain my soup to remove any extra chunky bits. I tried that this time and was not happy with the results so I dumped the solids back into the pot and was happy that I did.
Giving the puree’ a taste test I found the soup to be a little flat so I added just a pinch of kosher salt. Wow!! Did that pick the flavors right up. Normally I would add some acid to brighten the flavor but the tomatoes brought just enough to the dish so no vinegar was needed.
Fortunately for me she did not stop there. Suzanne also whipped up a little fresh pesto which she used to coat a slice of freshly baked baguette. On top of which she added slices of Gruyere and Mozzarella. Get that all melty in the toaster oven and Man!! What a meal.
So, this last rainy weekend, Suzanne and I tucked into freshly baked bread topped with pesto and cheese with a steaming hot bowl of tomato cream soup. Took the shivers right away. My advice is: If you find yourself wanting for grilled cheese and soup one rainy day, dig a little deeper into the pantry and see just what might make make the day a little brighter.
I love bread. I love bread with butter. I love bread with olive oil . . . and balsamic vinegar!! I love bread with cheese. I love bread with cheese and tomatoes and basil!! I like bread in rolls. I like bread in loaves. I like to slice it, dice it, rip it and chew it. I like it as the bookends of my sandwich or as a crusty chunk in my soup. I like it for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner. I like it when I am hungry and even when I am not!! I like to toast it, soak it, dip it and fry it. Almost any way I can fix it I will try it!!