Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!

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Herbed ChickenIn 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.

Mahogany ChickenAnd in this corner, weighing in at a firm 3.25 pounds, the Contender, Jessica Cogan’s 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 Cogan’s Mahogany contender has got the legs to run away with it all.   Marquis of Queensbury rules apply!

Round 1

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

Round 2In 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

Round #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!!

End of FightAmazing!! 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, Jessica Cogan’s 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!!

Bloom, Bloom, Ka-Boom!!

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Squash BlossomThe first of my harvest has arrived with a bloom and ka-boom!

About 6 weeks ago I planted a number of tender little shoots.  Some tomatoes, some peppers, an eggplant, a few watermelon and a handful of squash; zucchini, yellow crook neck and patty pan to be precise. This last week these little charges bore the fruits of MY labor.  In my post Organic IS Marketing Hype you will see the early photos of my garden and my very first squash blossom of the season (as seen here).  This beautiful little flower yielded the rather rotund patty pan you see below.

Patty Pan

Now every Second Sunday of the Month my friends and I gather around a large table where we drink too much wine, eat too much food and tell each other too, too may lies. Inevitably in this raucous Bacchus caucus, a voice of dubious authority will pipe up and say something like, “These tomatoes taste great but the ones my grandfather grew in his garden were amazing!!”  Now while I am not a grandfather I do have a garden and I can state with some authority that the freshly-grown-in-my-own-backyard vegetables do taste amazing!! Luckily I live in California where fresh really is fresh and the quality and variety of produce it truly remarkable. But even they can’t compare to the incredible difference in flavor, color and texture that home grown, fresh-off-the-vine vegetables have. And I must tell you there is something tremendously cool about going out to the garden every night and harvesting my own dinner.  In my own little mind I hear the plant gently offering up its fruit that I might live another day. “Dear Mr. Tom, You have been so kind to me. You’ve taken me in and given me this wonderful planting bed to lie in.  You feed me, water me, and protect me from vile pestilence.  Please accept this offering in small exchange for your love and protection.”  or something like that.  Out of respect for these noble plants I vow never to waste their efforts.

Sizzling Saute PanSo right after harvesting the mother of all Patty Pan squash I tucked in to it with my 10″ chef’s knife dicing it in to  3/4″ cubes.  The remnants of an onion waited patiently in my fridge for just this opportunity.  A quick chop put this savory bulb into 1/4″ pieces. This onion, with 3 cloves of garlic smashed, hit the hot olive oil soaked pan with a sizzle. On their heels went my darling Patty Pan.

Sitting beside this purple read onion of mine I found a tail-end chunk of prosciutto.  I sliced off a fat inch and trimmed it into lardons.  Into the pan they leapt to join their sauteing brethren. A big fat tablespoon of tomato paste, a cup of white wine, add a big spoon to stir and Voila!  Dinner is served.

Ratatouille

I topped this luscious Ratatouille with a heavy hand of grated Parmesan cheese and a chop-chop of basil.  I couldn’t get a fork into it fast enough. Who’s got two thumbs and a mouthful of goodness?  This guy!

Eat Well and Smile Often,

tj

 

p.s. Why is it Rat-atouille?  Wouldn’t it sound better being Cat-atouille?  (maybe not)

Fee, Fie, Fo, Farrum!!

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Or “How Farro Can You Go?!”

fArro MedioFarro is a wheat that has been grown in Italy since the Roman times when it was referred to as Farrum!  Now I really don’t know how farro it can go but it has come farrum.

Enough silliness, farro is a name given to 3 cultivated hulled wheat species, einkorn, emmer and spelt, also know as farro piccolo, farro medio and farro grande respectively. They have a very hard husk and require further processing after harvest in order for us to make use of its nutty goodness inside.  While Farro was the predominant grain for centuries it has been replaced by wheat like durum which are free threshing, light hull that removes when threshing. It has made a recent comeback though as the quest for more local and bio-diverse crop systems are being planted and is often raised organically.

As a food it has a great nutty taste and a very toothsome texture. Many cooks boil it like rice in broth or add it to soups. At the Union Street Faire Sunday June 3rd I’ll be assisting in a demonstration in making a risotto styled dish called farrotto.  It’s made in exactly the same way as risotto except with farro instead of arborio rice.While a little time consuming the lovely creamy texture combined with the nutty flavor and toothsome quality make this a remarkable dish.

For a recipe please be sure to drop by Suzanne Griffin’s website.

 

Eat Well and Smile Often

 

tj

 

To-farro, To-farro, I love you To-farro, you’re only 30minutesofstirringinapan Aaaaa-Waaaaaayyyyyy!!!!

 

Many thanks to http://www.underutilized-species.org/Documents/PUBLICATIONS/farro_in_italy.pdf as the main resource for this piece