Rosie Fries Boneless Chicken Thighs.

 

 

 I'm having a picnic today.  Indoors at my kitchen counter, but I can pretend.  And fried boneless chicken thighs are on the menu.

 Let me just tell you, I got this DOWN.

They were perfect. 

 

 

 The chicken was tender and juicy.  The crust was just the right thickness, full of nooks and crannies, and crisp as could be.  The flavor had a tang from the buttermilk bath and a spiciness from the seasonings I'd thrown in.  And it was all wrapped up with a sweet buttery sauce that balanced so very nicely with the spices.

Rosie's Fried Boneless Chicken Thighs With Special Sauce

 

8 boneless chicken thighs

Buttermilk, enough to cover thighs

 

Buttermilk Bath

Pour a little buttermilk to cover the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Place the thighs in the dish.  Pour buttermilk over top and tong the thighs around during the bath.  Let thighs soak for at least an hour.

 

"What does the buttermilk do," you ask?  Or maybe you didn't, but I'm telling you anyway.

Well, the lactic acid in the milk breaks down the chicken's protein and muscle fibers, tenderizing the chicken, making it juicy, and giving a nice subtle tang to the flavor.  And the thickness of the buttermilk promotes a more substantial crust.  Dredging the buttermilk-soaked thighs through the flour/seasoning/breading mixture creates micro-clumps that adhere to the chicken and fry up a little bit thicker and deliciously crisp.

 

Breading Mix:

 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup corn starch

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp ground pepper

Mix all ingredients completely.

 

Heat peanut oil (about 1/2 inch) in large skillets over medium heat to 375°.  I have 8 thighs, so I'm using 2 skillets.  You don't want to crowd the pan when frying.  Give the chicken some room

 

Pick thighs out of buttermilk, letting excess drip off, then dredge through breading mixture, coating the thighs.

 Gently lower thighs into hot oil, one at a time, 4 to each pan.  The temperature of the oil when I put the chicken in was 375°, but this will decrease. Keep the heat at medium.  Do not pick at and push the meat around.  Place it in and leave it alone.  After about 13 minutes, the first side was a lovely golden brown, so I turned the thighs over and cooked about another 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  If you have a temperature probe (which I highly recommend), chicken meat is ready at an internal temperature of 165°.  Remove thighs and drain on rack.

 

 

Sauce for fried thighs:

 In a small saucepan, combine:

4 TB unsalted butter

2 heaping TB honey

1 heaping TB brown sugar

Handful of pecans

 

Stir over medium-low heat until bubbly, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, and pay attention.  You want the color light brown.  Keep stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Add in a handful of pecans.  Remove from heat.

 

Be careful when you're cooking the sauce.  If your heat's too high, you can caramelize that sugar real quick and then it's just a step away from being burned.

 

 

 I started thinking about it and I could only think of one way this fried chicken could be any better.

 

And that's with a glass of champagne.

 

Bubbly with crisp chicken is how you take a picnic to the next level.

 

 Pour some sauce over fried chicken and leave some in a bowl for dipping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosie Makes A Shrimp With Dill Appetizer

 

 

 

I happen to have fresh dill from when I made that oh-so-good 

 

 dill and Dijon potato salad 

with no mayo and I was remembering a recipe my Auntie used to make - a dill and shrimp appetizer. (And there's a story behind the recipe, to be related later.)   I decided to recreate it from what I remembered of the recipe, sorta, and put my stamp on it.  I later found the original recipe, which I'll give to you also, and I wasn't too far off from it.

 

 

 

 

 Here's how I made the shrimp and dill:

    

 Auntie's Shrimp and Dill Dip She Got From Jackie Modified by Rosie

(The original recipe would not have had Old Bay Seasoning in it nor would it have had fresh dill, but I like the additions, so there ya go.)

12 shrimp, cooked, cooled, and chopped  

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 TB ketchup

2 TB minced celery   

2 TB chopped fresh dill

1 tsp lemon juice

1-2 tsp dill seeds

 1-2 tsps Texas Pete hot sauce

 

Peeled and de-tract shrimp.  I don't say de-vein.  That's not a vein going down the back of the shrimp.  It's part of the digestive tract, so de-tract your shrimp. 

 

 To cook shrimp, bring water seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning to a boil. 

 (1 qt water : 1 TB Old Bay)

Drop in the shrimp and let water come just barely to a boil.  60 seconds usually works, but if the shrimp are larger, it might take a bit longer, up to 90 secs.  Drain shrimp, cool, then chop.

 

For the dressing, combine rest of ingredients.  Taste test and adjust as needed.

Stir in shrimp.

 

Serve with whatever crackers you like.

I like the dill-flavored Triscuits. 

 

 

 

And now, the story and original recipe:

  My Aunt used to make a shrimp and dill dip as an appetizer, which she probably called an hors d'oeuvre, for her "dinner parties."  And, yes, she was of a more gentile generation, when dinner parties were doable things. If I remember correctly, and I'm sure I do, she attributed the recipe to Jackie Kennedy.  And whenever she talked about making the shrimp and dill appetizer,  it sounded like she and Jackie were BFFs. 

 

Here's Auntie's Dill Shrimp Cocktail From Jackie:

1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined (sic), cooked

1 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 - 2 TB chili sauce

1 tsp celery seed

1 small onion, minced

1 stalk celery, minced with leaves

1 tsp or more, to taste, dill seed

Mix all together. 

 

 

Rosie Makes Banana Bread.

 

  

   Three cloudy/rainy days in a row.  And I'm enjoying it.  Making a few comfort items for myself.  First it was the squash and zucchini quiche and now I'm knocking out some banana bread.  Cause nothin' says comfort to me like banana bread slices, toasted with butter, a crossword puzzle, and a cup of coffee and being left alone and being curled up on a comfortable sofa.  But since I'm good if I get one out of the list there, let's just go with the banana bread.

Whenever I make banana bread, I go with black-skinned, mushy, fermenting bananas. If you see fumes emanating from the banana, all the better.  And if I happen to find some bananas that are exhibiting any of the above properties and I'm unable to answer the call right then and there, then I wrap and freeze them for another day.  And that day is upon us.  I found a pack of 4 bananas in a freezer bag and set to work. 

Rosie's 4-Banana Bread

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature 

1/3 cup Activia Vanilla Yogurt (1- 453 g container)  I already had the yogurt in my fridge and used that because it sounded really good.  However, you could substitute plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.)

4 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Heat oven to 350°.

Butter a 9 x 5-inch baking pan.  (I used glass.) 

In medium bowl, mix dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In large bowl with hand mixer, beat butter, adding brown sugar gradually, scraping down sides, until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in yogurt, bananas, and vanilla.  Remember to scrape down sides of bowl. 

Add dry ingredients slowly, beating on low speed, until just combined, being careful not to over mix.  Stir in pecans.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with offset spatula.  Batter will be on the thick side.

Bake at 350° for about 60 minutes.  Halfway through baking, rotate pan and loosely cover with foil to prevent top from getting too brown.  To test for doneness, nsert a toothpick in center.  If it comes out with just a few moist crumbs, you're good.  

Cool banana bread in the pan set on a cooling rack for about an hour.  Slide a knife or offset spatula around bread and remove from pan, letting it cool on rack. 

   

Mise en place

Have everything out there and ready to go.

That way, when you need that eye of newt,

you know it's there. 

I just hate it when I have to stop in the middle of everything

and go looking for a frog tail,
so just be sure you have everything assembled.

 

    

Sort of a thickish batter.

 

 

Pour into buttered pan. 

  

Smooth out the top.

Let cool in pan about an hour.

Turn out of pan and...

... cool on rack.

Nice texture and crumb.

The end piece toasted with butter on it.

That's the best part! 

Enjoy.

Rosie Makes Peruvian Pasta For Her Guests.

I was having guests from Lima for lunch and  I do not mean Lima, Ohio.  I mean the other Lima.  As luck would have it, I had just found this recipe for Peruvian Pesto in my fall issue of Cook's Illustrated. So, we're having tallarines verdes (green noodles) for lunch today, a lush spinach- sauce based pasta.  Peruvian Pesto is a creamier, richer, smoother version of  what I usually make - the pesto we all know and love - Pesto Genovese, with basil, pecans instead of pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.

Not too long ago, I wrote about the quesadilla and its culinary history involving the fusion of different cultures and cuisines.  Tallarines verdes is another dish that involves the merger of the foodscapes from two different cultures.  In the mid-late 19th century, many Italians immigrated to Lima, Peru, bringing with them their culinary traditions, resulting in Italian-Peruvian fusion recipes such as the tallarines verdes.  This green noodle sauce showcases ingredients more readily available in their new Andean home.  Instead of basil, the sauce gets its brilliant green color from spinach (along with a little basil).  The rich and creamy sauce comes from the addition of evaporated milk, which was introduced to the Peruvian pantry in the late 1800s to early 1900s.  The featured cheese is queso fresco and the nut used is the pecan. Extra additions include sautéed garlic and red onion.  Everything is puréed until velvety smooth, then it's all tossed with fettucini, which is cooked in the water used to blanch the spinach.  Blanching the spinach helps ensure a smooth sauce by breaking down compounds in the cell walls of the spinach, thus yielding a finer texture.  The satiny smooth texture of the sauce is characteristic of this dish.

Before I start the food, here are some of my Peruvian Treasures - Gifts from my Guests.

  

This is Tumi.

My guests gave it tumi.  

 

In Peruvian culture, Tumi (from Quechua word for knife)  is a ceremonial artifact used by pre-Columbian cultures to cut the throats of sacrificial victims.  In Modern Peru,  a Tumi hanging on a wall means good luck.

 

This particular Tumi hangs on my wall next to the dining table.

Good luck!

Heh...

This is Wally.  

Yes, Wally Llama.

The Peruvian llama was central to Peru's economy and culture. It was a pack animal, essential for transporting goods and crucial for their fertilizer for use in agriculture.  Also used for their meat and wool and for the occasional sacrifice (by a Tumi) to appease the gods, it was a true multipurpose animal. 

 Now, here's how to make Tallarines Verdes:

Tallarines Verdes

(Peruvian Green Noodles) 

1 TB vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped red onion

2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

3/4 tsp salt, plus salt for cooking greens and pasta

6 oz (6 cups) baby spinach

1 oz (1 cup) fresh basil leaves

2 oz (1/2 cup) queso fresco, crumbled

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/3 cup pecans

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

12 oz fettuccine

 

Bring water to boil in large pot. 

Add 1 tablespoon salt, spinach, and basil. 

Blanch 20 - 30 seconds, until just wilted.

With spider skimmer or slotted spoon,

drain greens and transfer to small bowl.

When cooled, squeeze out excess liquid. 

 

Do not discard water. 

Keep water in pot for the fettuccini. 

 

While you're waiting for the water to boil,

heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering.

Add onion and cook until it just softens.

Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.

Remove from heat and transfer to blender. 

 

Transfer blanched greens to blender with onion and garlic.

Add queso fresco, evaporated milk, pecans, pepper, and salt.

Process until smooth, about 2 minutes,

scraping down sides of blender.

 

Return water to boil.

Add pasta.

Cook, stirring often, until al dente. 

Reserve 1 cup cooking water,

then drain pasta.

 

Add sauce to the empty pot and cook over medium heat,

stirring, until warmed through, 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in fettuccini

and about 1/3 cup reserved cooking water

and stir until sauce just clings to pasta, about a minute. 

Add more reserved water as needed to adjust consistency.

Season with salt to taste. 

 

Serve immediately. 

 

 

Sauté onions.

 

Add in garlic.

Lightly sauté.  

 

 

 

Measure out 6 ounces of spinach. 

Add spinach and basil to boiling, salted water.

Blanch greens and remove from water.

Sautéed red onion and garlic in blender already.

Squeeze excess water out of spinach and basil.

Measure out pecans, evaporated milk, and queso fresco. 

 

All into processor.

And process away

until it's luscious and lush

and creamy and satiny and velvety.

Yes!  

All those things! 

 

This is intense. 

Cook sauce in pot for a few minutes until nice and warm.

Add cooked fettuccini and stir to coat. 

 

And this is the only picture of the fettuccini and sauce that I have because I was cooking about 1/2 dozen different things to present to my guests and I didn't want to be intrusive with my camera and have them wonder why in the world I was taking pictures of their lunch.

 

Soooo,  I had some of the sauce leftover and I made more green noodles.

Here we have cavatappi pasta.  They're like spiraled elbows, relatively thick with ridges, which make them perfect for carrying a lush sauce like this pesto. 

 Then I cooked a batch of farfalle pasta.  The name comes from the Italian for butterflies.  I added that to the cavatappi.

 

 

And I've been calling them "bow ties" all this time.

"Butterflies" is so much more fun! 

 

   

 

This was a hit.