Liz and Bob's Feb. Meal Pics

Here are a few pictures of our Feb. meal. I'm going to have to take lessons from Gregory on how to take yummy looking food pics. Once again I would encourage you to try cooking your next chicken this way. Very easy and very delicious. The chocolate dessert - well let's just say that I had it for breakfast a few days in a row (minus the ice-cream). Wonderful with morning coffee - then I had the whole day to work it off....
Hugs to all - I'll be picking the meal for next month - thinking about a nice Irish Lamb stew.

Chicken Licken

“Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal...”

Julia Child

Julia Child's comment suggests why this blog has such appeal...it's a cyberspace dinner party with my beloved sisters. We loved the lemony chicken. Like Liz, I asked the butcher to cut it for me. From the start of our interaction, it was obvious that the Germans don't understand 'butterflied' chicken...And at first, when I asked him to cut out the backbone, I pointed to the breastbone...needless to say, he was a bit confused. After my lesson on chicken anatomy, I explained again with gestures, putting my hands together, as if in prayer, then opening them out, with the thumbs together and placing my palms flat on the counter. The butcher disappeared into the backroom and a few minutes later returned with it beautifully butterflied. What an easy roast! The vegetable salad reminded us of a salade Nicoise we enjoyed in the south of France...minus the tuna. We can't get fresh asparagus at this time of year so I substituted green beans...the aoli sauce lacked flavour (not sure why...anemic tarragon?), so Andrew thought to pour some of the lemon sauce from the chicken on top...horrified at first ("Would you sit down to a dinner at Gasthof Widman and mix everything together like that?!!!"), I tried it later myself and found that, on the plate with the lemony chicken sauce, the salad tasted great! The chocolate fudge cake was everything a chocolate cake should be...now I know why they call it devil's food!

FEBRUARY MEAL

Happy February! We have been enjoying a very mild winter her Wisconsin. I hope that this recipe will not be too difficult for us. I have never butterflied a chicken before and for those of us that buy them in a store, perhaps the butcher will do this for you. Since we celebrate Valentines Day this month I thought that a rich chocolate dessert might be in order. Also at this time of the year, we start to crave more vegetables,especially greens and I thought that this combination potatoes and vegetable salad might work with the chicken. I think you could really add or subtract any of the veggies from this according to your liking, but that the potatoes should not be excluded as they go so well with the aioli. Happy Valentines Day to my loving sisters!!!

ROASTED GARLIC AIOLI SALAD

Roasted Garlic Aioli Sauce

2 whole garlic heads

2 cups prepared mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or tarragon

salt and ground black pepper to taste

COOKED VEGETABLES

4 cups potatoes cut into bite-sized chunks

4 cups halved mushrooms (about 1 pound)

3 cups red bell pepper strips

1 pound asparagus, tough stem ends removed

RAW VEGETABLES

rinsed and chopped lettuce or other fresh greens

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

2 scallions, sliced on a severe diagonal

hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters

pitted black olives

Roast the garlic, cool, then squeeze the soft garlic out of the skins into a food processor or bowl. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill or tarragon. Whirl or whisk into a smooth sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Steam or boil the potatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper and asparagus, one vegetable at a time until just tender. Drain and set aside at room temperature.

On a large serving platter, make a bed with the greens. Arrange the cooked vegetables in the center and the tomato wedges around the edges. Sprinkle with the scallions and garnish with the hard-boiled eggs and olives. Offer the Roasted Garlic Aioli Sauce in a small serving bowl to pass at the table or in individual cups.

ROASTED LEMON CHICKEN

Serves 3 to 4

Avoid using nonstick or aluminum roasting pans in this recipe. The former can cause the chicken to brown too quickly, while the latter may react with the lemon juice, producing off-flavors.

INGREDIENTS

• 1whole chicken (3 1/2- to 4-pounds), backbone removed and butterflied (see related Step-By-Step)
• 3tablespoons grated lemon zest plus 1/3 cup juice from 3 lemons
• 1teaspoon sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 2cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• 1teaspoon cornstarch
• 3tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. SEASON Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Combine lemon zest, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in small bowl. Following photo 2 (of step-by-step), rub 2 tablespoons zest mixture under skin of chicken. Season chicken with salt and pepper and transfer to roasting pan. (Seasoned chicken can be refrigerated for 2 hours)

• 2. ROAST Whisk broth, 1 cup water, lemon juice, and remaining zest mixture in 4-cup liquid measuring cup, then pour into roasting pan. (Liquid should just reach skin of thighs. If it does not, add enough water to reach skin of thighs.) Roast until skin is golden brown and thigh meat registers 170 to 175 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and let rest 20 minutes.

• 3. MAKE SAUCE Pour liquid from pan, along with any accumulated chicken juices, into saucepan (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). Skim fat, then cook over medium-high until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Whisk cornstarch with remaining water in small bowl until no lumps remain, then whisk into saucepan. Simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Carve chicken and serve, passing sauce at table.

MORE LEMON FLAVOR IN LESS TIME

Butterflying the chicken may be unfamiliar, but this surprisingly simple process makes it easier to flavor the chicken with lemon—and it speeds roasting, too.

• 

  1. Use kitchen shears to cut out the backbone. Flip the bird over and press to flatten the breastbone.

• 

  2. Carefully loosen the skin, then rub zest mixture into the breast, thigh, and leg meat.

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  3. Roast the flattened chicken in the lemony sauce so that its flavor can permeate the meat.

  
  

  
  

  HERSHY'S HOT FUDGE PUDDING CAKE

  Ingredients:

  • 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, divided
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1-1/4 cups hot water
  • Whipped topping

  
  

  Directions:

  • 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.
  • 2. Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated
  • sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water
  • over top; do not stir.
  • 3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes.
  • Serve in dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Garnish with whipped topping.
  • About 8 servings.

  
  

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