Poached Chicken

This recipe is the companion to my Almond Tarragon Chicken Salad post.  Poaching is a quick and easy way to cook poultry for any kind of salad, so it's a good culinary skill to master.

A couple of notes:

• You need a skillet with a cover for this recipe.  Preferably a nonstick, but I did it in a normal skillet just fine.
• Buy chicken breasts that are the same size for equal cooking time.  
• An instant-read kitchen thermometer is a pretty useful gadget for cooking meat.  You can buy a cheap one anywhere – I got mine at Target.

Poached Chicken

Makes 4 cups
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3-4), trimmed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
2/3 cup water

Directions:

1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Add the chicken and cook until browned on one side, about 3 minutes.

2.  Flip the chicken, add the water, and cover.  Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the thickest part of the breast reads 160-165º on an instant-read thermometer, 6-8 minutes longer.

3.  Transfer the chicken to a carving board and allow to cool.  Using your fingers or forks, shred the chicken.

This recipe is from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.

Guest Post: Chicken Soup

Today I have a guest post by my fellow culinary-minded classmate, Andrew. Super excited about this one, he's a pretty awesome cook. Check it out!

I like simple, modular recipes that highlight the flavor of the main ingredients. I also tend to use more aromatic vegetables than most recipes call for. The recipe below is actually three in one: a simple roasted chicken main course, a brown chicken stock to keep on-hand in your freezer, and a soup chock-full of veggie chunks and with a rich roasted chicken flavor.

Chicken Soup [3]:
Meat from 1 Roast Chicken [1]
½ gallon Chicken Stock [2]
Two pounds of onions
One bunch celery
One bunch carrots
4 cloves garlic
Olive Oil
3 Fresh or frozen thyme sprigs
Black pepper
Salt

[1]
Pre-heat oven to 450 F
Remove giblets from whole chicken and pat dry with paper towels. If desired, remove wishbone. Generously salt the inside and outside of the bird. If using, insert probe thermometer into the deepest region of the breast. Place on a rimmed baking sheet or oven-safe skillet and bake for about 1 h, or until the thermometer registers 156 F, or until skin is golden brown and crispy. Let rest for at least 15 minutes to allow the interior temperature to rise to 165 F (if using only for soup it’s OK if the meat is slightly underdone). Remove breasts, legs, and wings (secretly eat the oysters, they’re the best part). Reserve pan drippings.
[2]
Add chicken carcass and pan drippings to a pot or slow cooker and cover with water. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 4-12 hours, or until the bones crush to moderate pressure. Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer (with two layers of cheesecloth if clarity is desired). Refrigerate and remove (and reserve) the layer of fat on top.
[3]
Dice onions, carrots, and celery. Mince or crush garlic. Cover the bottom of a large pot in a thin layer of olive oil and/or rendered chicken fat. Add in onions, carrots, and celery, salt and pepper lightly, and cook; adding garlic a few minutes after the other veggies. When onions are translucent add in chicken stock and three springs thyme and bring to a simmer. While soup is simmering chop chicken meat into bite-sized pieces. Add in chicken and simmer on low until chicken is heated through. Taste the stock and add pepper and salt in increments until the stock tastes intense but not salty (the amount varies depending on the salt level from the roasted chicken and stock). If you want to know what taste you’re going for try ladling a small bowl of soup and salting until just past your desired level of seasoning. When soup is seasoned allow it to simmer for at least 15 minutes, and serve over rice or with a side of crusty bread. The soup will be even better the next day.

Peeling and Seeding Tomatoes

Tomato season is here!  I've been waiting for tomatoes to show up in my CSA because it's one of my favorite parts of summer.  Tomatoes are versatile in hot and cold dishes across many cuisines.  To make a lot of dishes though, tomatoes need to be peeled and seeded.  Luckily, this prep step is incredibly easy and fast.  Look for recipes in the next few weeks that use this essential skill!

The idea here is to loosen the skin with a dip in boiling water for 15-30 seconds, then to plunge the tomato into ice water to stop the cooking process.  The second dip is referred to as 'shocking' and is commonly used in cooking vegetables.  The seeding is done over a strainer and bowl to reserve the juice.

Peeling and Seeding Tomatoes

Time: 15 minutes

Directions:

1. Fill a medium pot about 2/3 of the way with water and bring to a boil.  Fill a different large bowl with ice water.

2. While the water heats, rinse and core the tomatoes.  To core, use a sharp knife to cut a circle around the stem of the tomato.  The core should twist out pretty easily.  Turn the tomato over and score the bottom with an "X".

3.  Once the water is boiling, use a slotted spoon or spatula to add the tomatoes.  Use a timer set to 30 seconds to ensure the tomatoes get out quickly.  Do not add too many tomatoes in one batch because you probably won't be able to get them out fast enough.  You do not want the tomatoes to begin cooking.

4. After 15-30 seconds, rescue the tomatoes from the boiling water and immediately plunge into the ice water.  Remove the tomatoes from the ice water within one minute.  You'll get into a rhythm with the process.

5. Peel the tomatoes!  Begin at the X on the bottom, and it should come off like butter!

6. To seed the tomatoes, set up a bowl and strainer.  Cut or tear the tomatoes apart, using your hands to remove the seeds.  Once you've finished all the tomatoes, use a spatula to swish the seeds around, getting all the juice you can.

7. Store the tomatoes and juice together until ready to use in a recipe!

How To Freeze Fresh Vegetables

As I've mentioned, this summer I subscribed to a CSA (community supported agriculture) share, so I've been getting a bag of yummy fresh produce each week.  It's been an adventure in creative cooking, some of which has been documented here.  However, since I've been traveling nearly every weekend this summer, I quickly learned how to freeze my veggies so as not to waste them.  My freezer sort of looks like a veggie explosion right now, but it's all good!

Freezing Fresh Vegetables

Technique: Blanch the veggies, immediately plunge into ice water, dry, and package for freezer.

Directions:

1. Fill a large saucepan or Dutch oven with enough water to cover vegetables.  Boil the water.

2. Wash and prep the veggie.  Basically you want to freeze the vegetable in the form you'll be eating it.
Example: Destem and chop spinach or other leafy greens.

3. Once the water is boiling, add the veggies, cover, and boil for the time listed below.  Use a timer for accuracy in order to avoid over blanching, which will result in sad, tasteless veggies.

• Okra, 3-5 minutes
• Green beans, 3-5 minutes
• Corn on the cob, 7 minutes (small), 9 minutes (medium), 11 minutes (large)
• Use a corn zipper to take it off the cob once it's cooled.  This gadget is awesome, everyone should have one!
• Whole baby carrots, 5 minutes
• Broccoli spears, 5 minutes
• Cubed eggplant, 4 minutes
• Onions, 3-5 minutes
• Button mushrooms, 3-5 minutes
• Asparagus, 2-4 minutes
• Spinach, 2 minutes
• Cauliflower florets, 1-2 minutes
• Summer squash, 1-2 minutes
• Sugar snap peas, 1-2 minutes

4.  After boiling, drain and immediately place the veggies in ice water for the same length of time that you blanched them.  This icy dip stops the cooking process to maintain the best flavor.

5. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel, then place vegetables in a single layer, without overcrowding, on a waxed paper- or foil-lined baking sheet and freeze.  

6.  Transfer frozen veggies to a heavy-duty freezer bag.  Label and date the bag and freeze for up to three months.

Basic instructions from Taste of Home Ultimate Freezer Cookbook, Fall 2013

Summer Squash and Salsa Gratin

Summer is squash season.  Squash and I have a difficult relationship. When it's that first summer grilling feast, squash serves as the solid foundation for delicious vegetable kebobs.  I savor that squash, but after the seventh time of eating squash on a stick, I start to wish it would vanish and never return.  That's why when I found this gratin recipe, I praised Mark Bittman aloud in my kitchen.  Squash need not be plain and boring and repetitive, it just needs a little salsa love.  And to be smothered in cheese, of course.

Kitchen Tip:  I learned this little trick in a cooking class at Whole Foods.  For anything that needs to be coated in oil, be it for grilling or roasting, throw the prepped veggie into a big ziploc, drizzle in the oil, salt and pepper, seal the bag (important) and toss that bag up and down.  Do not fill the bag more than half full of vegetables, or else the bag will rip and you'll be covered in veggies and oil.  After tossing, you have successfully coated your veggies, used less oil than you would have if you'd drizzled and tossed it in your pan, and eliminated one step of cleaning.  Congratulations.

So simple!

Summer Squash and Salsa Gratin

Time: 30 minutes

Makes 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon canola oil

2 medium yellow squash or zucchini, halved and sliced into 1/4-inch slices

4 oz salsa

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar, Monterey Jack, or crumbled queso fresco

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup crushed tortilla chips (optional)

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Grease an ovenproof dish with oil.  Note that this recipe will only take up half of a 9x13 pan.

2. Toss the squash in oil and salt and pepper to taste.  On an indoor grill or in a skillet, cook the squash until it is browned and tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, coat the cooked squash with salsa and cilantro.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour this mixture into the prepared pan and top with cheese.  Sprinkle on tortilla chips and pumpkin seeds, if using.

4.  Put in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and browned, about 25 minutes.  Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream or keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes.  

Now you can keep on loving that squash as it shows up everywhere for the entire summer!

Recipe modified from How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman