101: chicken stock

Sometimes I read cookbooks where the author seems to think we're still cooking on these:

Especially when they say it takes hours to make chicken stock. Yes, good chicken stock must simmer for hours. But that doesn't mean you need to WATCH it simmer! Almost everyone has a crockpot - perfect for chicken broth.

Place chicken bones from one or two chickens in a crockpot. I recently started putting only the large bones in the crockpot. It reduces the mess in straining it later. Add any or all of the following: a few whole peppercorns, a bay leaf, a quartered onion (or if you are quite frugal, save the ends of the onions you normally discard), a chopped carrot, a chopped stalk of celery.

Simmer on your lowest setting overnight. Allow to cool for an hour or more, then pour into a holding container through a strainer.

101: Roast Chicken

Roasting a chicken is a good basic skill for any home cook. Roast chicken is inexpensive yet very tasty. And once you get past the first one, really pretty easy. The leftovers are great for soup, chicken salad, casseroles ...

Preheat oven to 500.

First - place your roasting pan next to the sink. Open the package of chicken in your sink. Remove the plastic bag of ... ummm ... chicken innards. I normally discard these. The days I'm feeling more ambitious I roast them, and use them for making gravy.

Place the chicken, breast side up, in the pan. I normally cook two at once because it is only 10% more work to make two at a time.

Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place one or more of the following aromatics in and around the chicken: quartered onion, peeled garlic cloves, celery stalks, quartered lemon, peeled shallots, sprigs or rosemary, fresh sage leaves ...

Put the chicken in the oven. After about 30 minutes (after the top skin starts to brown) turn the oven down - to 350 if you're pretty hungry, or 250 if you need to leave the house for a little bit. Roast to an internal temperature of 160. When you take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest it will continue to to rise in temperature in the middle enough to reach the government specified 165.

Allow the chickens to rest at least fifteen minutes before serving. If you're making the chicken specifically for something else, allow the chicken to rest for at least an hour before "picking" so you don't burn your fingers.

Freezing summer's goodness

Did you buy a little more corn than you can eat this week? Or maybe your coworkers are bringing in the fruits from their tomato vines? "Put it up" for winter!

Corn: to prepare sweet corn for the freezer: use a serrated knife to saw down the edges of a corn cob (stand the corn on end). Gather the golden nuggets into a air tight container (Tupperware, freezer proof canning jar, etc). The kernels will be wonderful for soup later - especially a crab-corn chowder!



Tomatoes: If the skins don't care to come off, score the bottom with an "x":

Plunge them into boiling water for just one minute. Pull them out with a slotted spoon, and wait five minutes so you don't burn your fingers. But then it will be easy to peel away the peel.

Some tomatoes don't seem to require blanching (the minute in boiling water)

Don't look now! Naked tomato!!

Chop the tomato and pack tightly in a plastic container (leave head room for expansion). Obviously you won't be able to use the thawed tomatoes for a perfect summer burger in the dead of winter, but they are healthy addition to stew or soup in February.

101: Croutons

A great frugal use for old bread bits, so you don't just toss them. (bread pudding, french onion soup, bread crumbs or strata would also be good uses). If I had some leftover "good" bread and it's gone a bit stale, I'll throw it in the freezer until I'm ready to use it. A good crouton makes all the difference in an otherwise boring salad (or a pureed soup!)

Cut with a knife into cubes, or just rip your stale bread:

Pour in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (or melted butter) and toss until each piece has at least a bit of oil. At this you can add seasoning. Salt is a must. Other things you might add (just one or two): pepper, paprika, chili powder, thyme, oregano, garlic salt or garlic powder, powdered parmesan, rosemary.

Bake at 400 or 450, but don't leave the kitchen. I ended up letting them cook about five minutes on one side, pushed them around with a heatproof spatula, and then another five minutes or so. You want them to be lightly browned, but mostly just dry. Let them sit out for a couple of hours to COMPLETELY cool. Store in a plastic bag or airtight container.