In which I make up a post as an excuse to use this picture of pears.
I absolutely love cold-weather cooking, and I've been immersing myself in doing just that lately.
The girls held a tag sale on Saturday, and while I wasn't (and didn't want to be) involved, I obviously had to stick close by and monitor the traffic situation while they were out in the driveway. I basically wore a path between the kitchen and the front door all day.
I can't say I minded one bit.
One of the things I made was a roast chicken, for the sole purpose of making stock. This is one of the last frontiers for me (the other one being homemade pasta), something that not only seemed daunting and involved, but unnecessary. Surely, someone else can do this better? (I feel this way, by the way, about most baked goods more elaborate than cookies and brownies.)
I couldn't have been more wrong. First off, what's the easiest thing in the world to make? A roast chicken. Secondly, the next easiest thing to make is chicken stock.
I've been using a version of Ina Garten's recipe for chicken + croutons; I slice up some onions and toss them with olive oil, and then roast a chicken (or two) over them, simply stuffed with a cut lemon and some thyme or rosemary.
Well, the logical next step, once the chicken is carved, is to put the...um...carcass (sorry to my vegetarian friends. Is this indelicate?)in a pot with the onions, cover it all with water, and get it cooking for a good long while. Then strain it well, and there you have it.
The term liquid gold comes to mind every time I think about this, but I do feel like a bit of a dork saying that out loud.
Anyway, I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you, any of this. I imagine you've been doing this for years (and making fresh pasta, to boot).
But, while I'm sharing, I've been staring at this cookbook , A Platter of Figs, for almost two weeks now, and I've decided that I'm not bringing it back to the library yet; that online renewal thing is my friend.
I'd tell you to "check it out", but that would be a bad pun, huh?
I'd love to hear what you're cooking these days.
More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt
Labels: A little random, Books, Cooking, Do I always have to have a title?, Tara
posted by Tara Thayer at
9:43 AM
12 Comments:
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, sounds like a great cookbook to try out then. I will look for it.
...that my friend is a beautiful photo.
i love ina's simple roast chicken and always make stock out of the carcass or stick in the freezer for later use.
a few months ago i discovered an amazingly easy and delicious way to prepare tofu (prior to this discovery i had many mishaps):
drain a 14 oz block of extra firm tofu
cut into 1/4" dice
put into a sealed container with
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
3TB toasted sesame oil
marinate 1-4 hours (turning once or twice)
preheat the oven to 450 degrees
then drain the tofu and bake in a single layer (on a parchment lined baking sheet ) for 20 minutes
you will have perfectly yummy browned cubes which are great tossed with soba noodles and broccoli or brown rice etc....
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/dining/23mini.html?_r=1
(sorry for the long answer but you know how i am about food)
Nope. Never made homemade pasta. But stock - all the time. Nothing's better than needing stock for a recipe and having a frozen block of it ready to go.
As it gets colder I drag out the slow-cooker and the gigantic dutch oven. I'm uninspired by dinner time so I love to cook in the morning while I still have energy. I love the smell of something simmering all day and not having to do any work come evening. Too bad my kids are not as inspired as I am by this type of cooking.
it's funny b/c i hate cooking the whole chicken. i'm a boneless breast girl. :) but i know if i'm ever going to make soup like my mom makes, i'm going to have to get over my squeamish-ness about chicken.
and what am i cooking? i can't stop baking--all things apple and pumpkin and cinnamon and ginger. i love fall baking!
Once you start cooking with homemade stock, you can never use the box stuff again. Liquid gold is right! And now that I have a big stock pot with a strainer insert, it's the simplest thing in the world. And you can't beat the bang for your buck - roast chicken for one dinner, chicken sandwiches for lunch, and soup for dinner!
the pasta thing is way easier than you think. trust me....it took me a long time to work up the gumption for that and when i was finished, i realized no gumption was needed. easy peasy.
More beautiful photos!
I am trying to bake the perfect baguette. So far, not so good. I'll keep you posted!
and what a beautiful picture of pears it is! now that it is no longer 100 degrees outside, i am finding joy in cooking once again. you've reminded me to take that chicken out of the freezer. there is nothing better than roast chicken, followed by a stock pot of liquid gold. my kids go ga-ga over chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles (i use good ol' betty crocker's recipe for egg noodles). and i love the library pun. i'm quite fond of puns.
i ordered organic chickens this week, they'll come tomorrow and i'm for sure making stock out of them. i've done it before, but admittedly don't do it often enough. but it's so fantastic for risotto, it's totally worth it.
and as for what's cooking these days...have you checked out the new blog i'm sharing with bee (of bee drunken?) http://domesticsensualists.blogspot.com/
we're cooking up a storm there.
and i've got to buy tofu so i can try tangled sky's recipe. sounds wonderful. and healthy!
It's all about the apples right now. And season premières, there are certain dishes that we only make in fall. Like Jaime Oliver's fish pudding, sounds terrible but oh! the joy.
The pear photo is definitely post worthy...and I have to say your post is worthy of the pear photo:)
One goal I hope to achieve this winter is to make pasta...I have owned a machine for a long time but have put off attempting it...as for liquid gold...I even make it from the grocery store's rotisserie chickens:)
love your pictures and I have NEVER roasted a chicken or made stock. I've been afraid too. Which is funny, because I've made many more creative and multi-stepped creations that required much more work!
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home