Chicken Soup

Ah, Jewish penicillin, as they say. Nothing tastes better than home-made chicken soup when one is feeling under the weather. This crazy TX weather (snow on Friday!) has snuck up on us, and now my husband is sick, too. Plus, it seems I can't get enough soup these days since the weather turned cooler - as I look back and realize that I've made one, after another, after another.

Making chicken soup isn't very difficult at all, but it does take time, and a few tips make the difference. These I've learned from various sources over the years. Of course, starting with the boiler plate from my mom and grandma, and going from there.

Tip #1 - you must use chicken with bones. Any chef will tell you that bones have flavor, but equally important in the case of making soup, is that cooking the bones & cartilage releases the natural gelatin. Note: This also means that the soup will 'set' after it cools down in the frdige. You can either start with a whole chicken, and/or use parts that have a higher bone-meat ratio like legs and wings. Bonus - these parts are usually less costly than boneless breasts. I made this soup yesterday with a few pounds of organic drumsticks and only paid $6.

Tip #2 - throw everything in and worry about making it pretty later on. I picked up a tip a few years ago to use onions with the skin (I searched the web just now to try and give proper credit, but have no idea where this came from originally,) which helps impart a beautiful golden color. At the very end, use a strainer or chinois, with cheesecloth if you want a totally clear broth, but this is unnecessary in my opinion. I'm too frugal for this next tip, but I've seen recipes that discard everything used to make the broth after it is strained and add in new veggies, if desired. I was going to take a picture of the straining process, but the collection of bones and mushed veggies was wholly unappetizing.

Tip #3 - while the soup needs to cook on the stove for hours, the chicken meat will definitely be over-cooked if it remains in the pot that long. But, the bones need to remain in for hours in order to give up their goodness to create a flavorful broth. Solution - after an hour or so, remove the meat from the bones, set aside, and return the bones to the pot.

Tip #4 - if you are making chicken noodle soup, boil the noodles in a separate pot and add the cooked noodles in at the end. Putting uncooked noodles in the soup pot uses up good broth.

Chicken Soup

Inspired by mom and grandma

2-3 pounds of chicken, with lots of bones

2-3 large carrots, sliced in 1" rounds

2-3 stalks celery, cut in 3" sections

1 onion, cut in half

1-2 parsnips, cut in 3" sections

1 bunch dill

1 bunch parsley

salt (be generous) & pepper

water

Throw everything in the pot and add enough water to cover. Place a lid on the pot and simmer; try to avoid a rapid boil, as this will encourage scum to form on the surface. After an hour take the chicken pieces out, remove the meat and set aside, and return bones to the pot. Taste broth and add more salt and/or pepper if needed. Continue to simmer, covered, for another 2-3 hours.

When soup is done, remove carrots and set aside with chicken meat. You can also retrieve celery and parsnip, if desired. Pour all contents of the pot through a strainer or chinois (with cheesecloth, if desired.) Return broth to the pot, add in chicken meat and carrots. Serve with egg noodles (boiled in a separate pot) or matzoh balls.

Arroz con Pollo

Seriously, who doesn't appreciate one-pot meals? Even in my attempts to feed the kids dinners that aren't typically labeled as 'kid food' I'm genuinely not looking to make my life harder. Though, I'm quite sure that my husband believes otherwise. Anytime I come across a dish with protein, vegetables & carbs all together I think "Whoo hoo!" Even though it's a rice dish, it is sticky enough for young Charlotte to practice using silverware without too much frustration. But, the best part about making a one-pot meal, even better than the reduction in dishes to be done that night, is the fact that this makes lots of leftover, which means far fewer dishes for at least two to three more nights!

When America's Test Kitchen said this dish gets thumbs up, I was on board. Despite their claim of always having the most perfect recipe (technique is always impeccable, if not a huge pain,) the base recipe for this dish is very much boiler plate, and I felt compelled to poke around and see what others had included in their versions. I came across one which advised me to use beer and capers - two more thumbs up. Further inspiration came from my favorite grocery store, which is amazingly only 1.0 miles from our house. A fact which makes me smile every time I think about it. When I saw piquillo peppers (a store brand, no less! I could hardly believe it either!) I knew they would find their way into my version too. I've never bought them before - heck I don't think I've ever eaten them before - but I was excited after seeing them make many appearances on Iron Chef America.

I must say, humbly, the house smelled amazing while this was cooking. And the taste? Well, let's just say that Charlotte used this inspiration to string together four words as she declared "yummy chickens! more please!" Cuteness!

Arroz con Pollo

Adapted from Arroz con Pollo and Arroz con Pollo

Pollo (chicken)
4 cloves garlic, pressed or mashed
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper
4-5 chicken thighs (with bone & skin)
3-4 chicken breasts (with bone & skin)

Arroz (Rice)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 teaspoon pimenton (or regular paprika)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 bay leaf
1 pound chopped tomatoes
1 12 oz bottle beer
1 1/2 C chicken broth
2 C long grain white rice
1/2 C manzanilla (green olives) with pimento, halved
1/4 C capers
1/2 C piquillo peppers, roughly chopped

1. Combine ingredients for marinade, then add chicken pieces to coat. I'd prefer to use all thighs, but some folks in this house prefer white meat, so I use both for this recipe. Set aside (in the fridge) for half an hour or so.

2. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and green pepper and cook until softened. Move veggies to the side, increase heat to medium-high and add chicken in a single layer on the bottom.  Let cook, undisturbed for 3-4 minutes, then flip and leave for another 3-4 minutes. (I needed to do this in two batches because my pot is not wide enough.) Remove all chicken from pot.

3. Add pimenton, oregano, cumin and rice to the pot. Stir to combine so spices coat rice and vegetables. Add tomatoes, manzanillas, capers, piquillo peppers, beer and chicken broth. Return chicken to the pot and try to ensure it is covered by liquid. Add bay leaf, cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low.

4. After 20 minutes or so, remove chicken from the pot, (and the bay leaf if you can find it, if not don't forget to pull it out later.) If rice is too dry or sticky, add additional 1/4 C broth. Replace lid. Remove the skin from chicken, and remove chicken from bone by using two spoons to pull it apart into large, bite-sized pieces.

5. Return chicken to the pot and gently mix everything together. If rice is tender, turn off heat and let sit for five minutes before serving.

Poule au Pot

Spencer thinks this is funny to say out loud. I'm sure I'm not saying it quite so accurately myself, as I never formally studied French (though I was in the French Club in high school - trips to see French films in NYC and eating chocolate croissants!) Translated, it is referred to as French Chicken in a Pot. Jim is still in Paris, complaining about the number of steps in the Eiffel Tower (really, you're complaining sweetie? while I'm home with a barfing toddler?) so we are continuing our culinary tour of Europe each night.

I'm a huge fan of America's Test Kitchen. A few years ago, my sister and I surprised each other with a gift subscription to Cook's Illustrated for Hannukah. I love their attention to detail, and how they make so many iterations of each recipe to get it absolutely perfect. Though, I let my subscription lapse after that year because, as much as I enjoyed reading it each month, I never found myself actually cooking anything from the issues and the black & white sketches just didn't inspire me. Not long after, I discovered that America's Test Kitchen airs on PBS on weekend mornings. Seeing these exact same recipes in color on the big tv screen has got me hooked. I've tried so many and they are always, of course, perfect!

Recently aired was an episode entitled "French Classics, Reimagined" and I saved it on the DVR because I knew I'd be making their French Chicken in a Pot. And, I happened to have a whole chicken in my freezer from a local poultry farm I purchased at a meat co-op. I've prepared plenty of whole roasted chickens before, but this technique was new to me. So new, in fact, I didn't actually have a "pot" to cook it in and ended up using a lidded deep sautee pan. Nonetheless, this chicken tasted AMAZING. So moist, so delicious - two little kids and I put away half of a 3 1/2 lb bird, and both kids were begging for more of the jus. Seriously. It's that good. Whole chickens are inexpensive, even tasty organic ones.

Poule au Pot

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen French Chicken in a Pot

1 whole roasting chicken, best available you can find. Giblets removed and discarded, wings tucked under back
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion , chopped medium (about 1/2 cup)
1 small stalk celery , chopped medium (about 1/4 cup)
5 medium garlic cloves , peeled and trimmed
1 bay leaf
1 medium sprig fresh rosemary (optional)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon juice from 1 lemon

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Add chicken breast-side down; scatter onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary (if using) around chicken. Cook until breast is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon inserted into cavity of bird, flip chicken breast-side up and cook until chicken and vegetables are well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove Dutch oven from heat; place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in thickest part of breast and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, about an hour for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 lb bird, closer to 2 hours for a 5 to 6 lb bird.

2. Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with foil, and rest 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain chicken juices from pot through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator, pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids or save to return to the strained liquid (you should have about 3/4 cup juices). Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then pour into saucepan and set over low heat. Carve chicken, adding any accumulated juices to saucepan. Stir lemon juice into jus to taste (about 3/4t for every 3/4C.) Serve chicken, passing jus at table.