One $5 Chicken, Three Dinners

Of all my favorite kitchen soirees, I especially love the fragrant preparation of a fresh herb and garlic roasted chicken. So it begins. I march past those pre-cooked deli-roasted $5 chickens, right on back to the meat counter, pick out a medium sized whole bird for $4.81, bring it onhome. Since I am currently rolling my left knee on one of those roller-assists due to a broken ankle, I am unable to get to the 2nd garden terrace that is my herb garden. I can see it up there, the rosemary, sage, and thyme has its winter look about it, a bit weathered and tough looking. Tough like Clint Eastwood in an Arctic storm, not tough like an over-done flank steak. The winter flavors become intense and almost pitchy, like the voice of Jack Palance, not the sticky stuff on the Christmas tree. At any rate, the herbs would have made a lovely winter roasted chicken had I been able to reach them. Instead, I pushed some fresh garlic under the skin with just a dot of butter, salted the whole thing, and put it in the oven along with 3 Yukon gold potatoes. An hour later I ate a crispy baked potato and some most flavorful sliced chicken. Meal 1.

Meal 2. The next day I steamed up a pan of basmati rice, infused as it cooked with a pod of cardamon and a couple of whole cloves. That was delicious with a few slices of broccoli and some of the chicken. While the rice cooked, I pulled all of the rest of the meat from the chicken and simmered the bones, skin, and juices along with some garlic and celery throughout the evening for a beautiful stock.

(Intermezzio) The third day's dinner I won't count in this project since I didn't eat the chicken. Instead, I grated one of the baked potatoes from Meal 1 and fried them in a bit of canola oil for some wonderful hashed browns, which I ate with 2 poached eggs and a piece of wheat toast. Highly unusual for me to eat eggs, but no one needs to know... Those baked potatoes were too much to resist. As a kid on my first restaurant job, I went in early Sunday mornings to grate the leftover baked potatoes from Saturday dinner service for the Sunday breakfast hashed browns. They weren't Yukons, but they tasted great, and thanks to time and age for the delicious luxury of Yukons. I love breakfast for dinner. My friend Danny once determined to eat breakfast for every meal. I think he made it several weeks; it was probably a Mikie Burger that got him.

Meal 3. The final meal with the $5 Chicken. I pulled the cold fat from the top of the stock, and cooked it up into a Red Curry Chicken Soup, using the leftover rice from Meal 2. The fragrant spices enhanced the Thai flavors, along with a few mushrooms, half an onion, more garlic, and some incredible curry paste that my friend brought from Thailand. Curiously labeled all in Thai, with what I believe to be the expiration date of 06/11/2552. Any thoughts on that?

Even if you add another five dollars for the potato, the half cup of basmati, a few mushrooms, some garlic, and a flower of broccoli, I still ate 3 meals for under $10. Plus they were delicious, uncomplicated, low fat (with the exception of the illegal egg dinner), and low effort. I'll tell you how to do it all below, but first I want to talk about that chicken.

While I've been working on this meal progression, I've had no less than 3 people start a cooking conversation with 'I picked up one of those $5 deli chicken at the grocery store, and....'. Most of us are suspicious, but cover up the question of grocery store fast food with justification of convenience. I'd like to address that. I brought my chicken home, switched on the oven, pulled out a pan, slapped the chicken in it, peeled a garlic (this took the most time), crammed it under the skin, threw on some salt, potatoes on the side, and shoved it in the oven within ten minutes. At which point I went on about my business of arriving home, putting my things away, petting and feeding Daisy, grimacing at the cat, turning on the fireplace, finding slippers, etc. By the time I'm settled in to my evening, the chicken is done and it's time to eat. What were you going to do with that pre-cooked chicken, skip the getting-home orientation debriefing and sit down at the table with your jacket on and eat the warm chicken? ( I actually had a 1:00 dr's appointment once where the dr. told me he had just eaten an entire Albertson's chicken on his lunch hour, needed some protein. Now that made sense in an odd way, even though he looked a bit regretful.) My point is that you probably haven't saved any time. Unless of course you just wanted to make some fast chicken tacos, but why not have the roasted chicken tonight and make the tacos with the leftovers tomorrow? Since we haven't gained any time, I like to look at what we have gained. To do this, I text my son, who happens to be one of those 3 people telling me about their $5 deli chicken, to save me the label. He texts me back that I'll be pleased to know that it includes corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, and a few of those hidden msg items that we were just googling this afternoon. A list a mile long in the seasoning, but "only 8" synthetic ingredients. Note recipe below, ingredients: Chicken, butter, garlic, salt. If my Dad were here right now, he'd tell me my problem is I think too much. I have another 3 paragraphs on the ramifications of the ingredient 'chicken'. Enough. Just have some fun, roast your own chicken and see what happens.

Fresh Herb & Garlic Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken

2 Tbsp butter, soft.

2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, chives, parsley, what looks good)

2 cloves garlic, minced.

kosher salt.

as many potatoes as you want to bake.

canola oil.

Turn the oven on.

Pull the giblets out of the cavity. I throw them away, but put the neck in the pan with the chicken. It will roast up to a deep flavor and enhance the stock you're going to make tomorrow. Also pull out any extra wads of fat you may see in there.

Rinse the thing off and set it in a roasting pan. Smoosh the butter, herbs and garlic together, and feed it under the skin of the chicken. To do this, gently work your fingers under the skin starting at the breast above the cavity. Break the membrane of the skin until you have a path that works along toward the thighs. Push the butter along this route, getting a bit of it down by the legs and thighs. Don't worry about distributing it too well, it will melt through as the chicken heats. Throw some salt over the whole thing.

For the potatoes, rub them with some canola oil, throw some kosher salt on them, and put them right in the roasting pan next to the chicken.

Put it in the oven. 350 standard is fine. Convection is even better, 275-300 depending on your oven. Bake to an internal temperature of 165, taken in the thigh. This will probably be an hour. Get yourself one of those instant-read thermos if you don't have one already. Trust me, you'll use it.

If you have time after dinner, go ahead and pull the meat from the bones right now. It's easier to do with a warm chicken than a cold chicken. Put the bones, skin, that neck, and all the pan juices in a big soup pot, rinse the roasting pan with some clean water to get every last bit, and put that in too. Put the pot in the fridge and you're ready to start the stock when you get home tomorrow. Wrap the pulled meat separately and refrigerate. And good night!

Steamed Rice

1 cup basmati rice

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 cup cold water

1 pod cardamon

2 whole cloves

So many people ask me about cooking rice, so here you go. Get some good quality basmati rice. A trip to BooHan Market on South Tacoma Way is always a fun time, and you can pick up a little red curry paste while you're there.

Choose a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Put all the ingredients in it, and turn on the heat. Leave it uncovered until it just starts to boil. Watch it, don't let it boil as you'll evaporate the water that you need to plump the rice. As soon as it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low and put on the lid. Steam for 25 minutes. If liquid comes out from under the lid at any time, it is too hot. Take it off the burner for a minute, then put it back when it's calmed down. If your burners are hot, it may not calm down. Just turn it off.

Red Curry Chicken Soup

4 cups chicken stock

whatever meat you've pulled from the bones

4 cloves garlic, minced.

1/2 onion, diced

2 stalks celery and leaves, sliced

a few mushrooms, sliced

canola oil

leftover rice

1/2 to 1 can coconut milk (optional)

2 Tbsp (to taste) red curry paste

fresh basil and/or cilantro for garnish

Put the stock on the stove to heat with the garlic, bring it to a boil.

Meanwhile, saute the onion, celery, and mushrooms in some oil. Salt and pepper a little, and finish it with a bit of white wine, sherry, or mirin, whatever you have. Or not. Add all of that to the soup, along with the rice and the coconut milk if you're using it. Let it all simmer together until it's all happily married and the vegetables are tender, about a half hour at least. Season to taste. Start adding some red curry paste, a tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go. It's going to depend on the heat of the paste and the tolerance of your taste.

Garnish with the fresh herbs. Enjoy!

December Events at Affairs

Welcome December! Time for all things chocolate, when our kitchens are full of that wonderful stuff, along with the usual fruits and nuts, peppermint candies, caramels, and whatever else we can think of to combine with chocolate. And that’s just the bakery! The ‘hot side’ of the kitchen is busy planning and cooking for private parties and lunches, while keeping the dining room happy with holiday specials like fresh pomegranate waffles and pumpkin pancakes. Hungry?

I’m here to tell you about two up-coming holiday events here at Affairs. These are festive gatherings, and you can reserve a spot for one or a table for eight, your choice. Either way, we hope you will enjoy our Affairs holiday hospitality.

Here they are! If you wish to join us, please call or email for reservations.

1

Holiday Chef’s Dinner

Enjoy a 5-course holiday dinner with some of Chef Gay Landry’s

favorite holiday traditions. Each course will be paired with

an appropriate wine from some of our best regions.

MENU:

Coquilles St. Jacques

scallops poached in crème sauce, dusted with white cheddar cheese, and roasted au gratin

Wine: Domenico De Bertiol Prosecco (NV)

Spinach Salad

with warm bacon vinaigrette, baked brie, and Gay's Cranberry Quince Chutney.

Wine: 2007 Bigi Est! Est! Est!

Ginger Fig Pork Tenderloin

pan seared and finished with ginger fig cream, a holiday favorite, by request.

Wine: 2007 Atalaya

Slow-roasted Beef Short Ribs

in pan gravy, with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and caramel pecan local butternut squash.

Wine: 2007 Windham 'Mr Higgins' Syrah

Gay’s Holiday Desserts

Wine: Samson Estates Hazelnut "Oro" Port (NV)

Bring a friend or two, settle in for one of Gay’s memorable dinners, drink some good wine, and have some holiday fun.

Reserved table seating, impeccable service, and a great time had by all.

Day: Friday, December 11

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Price: $75

Reserve Now!

Phone: 565-8604 or email: affairscafe@affairs-chocolate.com

2

Christmas Tea

Join us for a memorable holiday

afternoon with a friend, a mother or daughter, or all of the above.

Beautifully appointed tables are set for tea, with chef’s savories, pastries and desserts served on tea trays at table.

MENU

Cucumber Sandwiches

Bay Shrimp Salad Sandwiches

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Ham & Cheese filled Croissants

Miniature Beef Wellingtons

Mushroom and Mozzarella Puffs

Miniature Quiches

Miniature Monte Cristos

Fruit Picks

Affairs Dessert Hors d Ouevres

Chocolates and Spiced Nuts

Tea Service

Laughter and Friendship

By Reservation

Day: Sunday, December 13

Time: 11—2 pm

Price: $18

Reserve Now!

Phone: 565-8604 or email: affairscafe@affairs-chocolate.com

Hope to see you soon, and in the meantime, best wishes to you and yours.

Gay Landry

Affairs Café & Bakery

www.affairs-chocolate.com

affairscafe@affairs-chocolate.com

2811 Bridgeport Way W.

University Place, Wa. 98466

253-565-8604

Affairs emails are intended to keep you informed of weekly menus and special events. Access to this email list is restricted, and it will not be sold or shared. If you would like to discontinue your listing, please email back and I will make that adjustment. ….Gay

Same sauce, different decade.

No wonder it works. On a whim, I find on a Google search that my Squeezo Strainer is still being manufactured. It’s a (still!) all-metal, (still!) hand-crank device which takes whole tomatoes and pours beautiful fresh sauce out one end and skin and seeds out the other. Simple, and from that you can cook down the best tomato sauce you’ll ever eat which in turn makes the best pasta sauce and world’s best chili. The Bloody Marys are another story. Internet tells me that this thing was made first in America in 1907 by some kid from Italy hungry for sauce. Like I said, no wonder it works. No motivation like the savory garlic simmer of a pot of sauce.

I suspect that, like me, each generation is somewhat ego centric, convinced of living in not only the center of the universe but the peak of importance. Or perhaps it was just me, my generation being so sure of our revolution of thinking and social change. In the midst of it all, 1979, I cut the order form from Mother Earth News, mailed a check to Troy, N.Y., and awaited my Squeezo. I was immersed in the cutting edge of sustainable earth, self-sufficient gardening. I lined my 100 quart jars of perfectly canned tomato sauce up next to jars of apple sauce, pickles, chutneys, salsas, beans, and corn, alongside bins of dried plums, apples, strawberries, and tomato rings, fanned bunches of dried herbs overhead. Potatoes, beets, peas, and squash safe in the root cellar.

Decades later, two states to the north, I share the Squeezo each year with my neighbor. I pulled 120 lb of roma tomatoes off of 8 plants this year, a good number for me and my new climate. I’d get a better harvest if I moved the whole garden. That little seedling that came home with my 6-year-old on Arbor Day is now 50 feet high and casts a mean shade. But my 12 quarts of sauce is plenty, and the last of the green tomatoes are ripening in a basket in my kitchen. What I thought was the only way to live turned out to be just one way, but my style remains. The certainty of my 20’s turned out to be the shape of things to come. How naturally today I turn to Google to research my Squeezo, the internet being a concept unheard of in 1979 and irrelevent in 1907. And still, how naturally hungry we all are for a great tomato sauce.

I have one issue left of Mother Earth News, August 1983, the end of my attempted self-sufficient farming. Tonight, no great surprise to find the publication online, with some great tips on ripening green tomatoes. Nothing really changes, just the messenger.

Day 4.

Friday, Day 4. The plan was to arrive at work early enough to complete the wholesale orders we were behind on. This involves no hard work, but a critical amount of time in order to melt, temper, clean, remelt, and temper two different kinds of chocolate. Needless to say, my 7 a.m. arrival turned into 8 a.m., which means the double americano with a bit of steamed milk went with me directly to the chocolate room. It is my belief, backed by years of formulated logic and calculation, that chocolate and wine are best tasted first thing in the morning. Without going into the chemistry of my theory, this is the time of day that your palate is the freshest. My wine purveyors are happy to schedule a 9 a.m. tasting with me, since most self-respecting bar managers are still asleep at that time. Same for chocolate, although my tasting days are thankfully over, given the accessibility of approximately 700 lbs of chocolate on any given morning. Today, however, I plopped myself down at the dipping table, palate clean, senses honed, and stomach growling just slightly miffed about the long-digested ear of corn. Those little drops of chocolate that fall around the pan when you're moving chocolate around are pretty easy to just pop right in, and the wonderful flavor of chocolate and perfect mouth-feel of cocoa butter cries out for another. I will admit right here to being addicted to chocolate, so of course the doors flew open and caution be damned. By the time the orders were filled, I had moved in to the office for my usual morning chores, grabbed a couple of cookies left over from last nights library capital campaign committee meeting, and by the end of the second one remembered my beautiful garden. That's always the way it is, the deceit of the body hides the truth from the mind until it's too late.
Lunch, atonement: That hot tub of carbohydrates kept me going until around 1:00. I put a potato and a golden beet in the oven to roast, same oil and salt treatment as in Day 1. I sliced my biggest carrot into coins, added a dot of goat cheese to the plate, sliced the hot potato, and ate them happily sitting in my garden under the big cedar. Carrot and goat cheese turns out to be nice. I turned off the oven and left the beet in there while I went back to work to deliver a cake to Harbor Lights. Happy Birthday Brian.
Dinner: It was the herb garden that gave me the idea to ask Amanda for an egg. I drove the 4 blocks over, and was rewarded with 6 eggs and a glass of wine, a Beringer Sauvignon Blanc, refreshing. Amanda explained that eggs of free-range chickens have twice the protein, and besides that she's now feeding them flax which ensures a dose of omega 3.
Back home, omelet in mind, I picked a 4-inch zucchini, one roma tomato, a leaf of sage, a sprig of fennel, a leaf of basil, a sprig of thyme, and a few strands of chive. I call it a Farmer's Omelet. Here's what to do: Get everything ready first. Stir up a couple of eggs in a dish with a fork. Put in a teaspoon or so of water, the steam from the water as the eggs cook will make them fluff. Slice the herbs. Cut half the tomato into 1/2" dice. The roma has less juice than regular, and won't mess up your omelet.
Melt a bit of butter and some canola oil in a hot egg pan. Clarified butter instead of the combo is the best, but the last thing I need hanging around the house is a squeeze bottle of clarified butter. Slice the zucchini very thin, and throw it around in the hot oil with some salt. When it takes some color, throw in a little sherry or wine and cook it off. I used some Madeira, a nice one left from a wine dinner, and poured myself a little glass while I was at it. It's Friday night. Pour the eggs into the pan, and turn and shake the pan to keep it off the bottom. Lay the tomatoes in and the herbs over that. I love flipping omelets, just do it over the sink unless you feel like cleaning the kitchen. If it doesn't flip, turn it into a scramble. Oh, I put a dot of the goat cheese in too. Love that.
You're done. Life is good. A chicken pecking around under the beans would be great, remind me to check how Daisy feels about that.

For previous posts: http://affairschocolate.blogspot.com

Day 2.

Wednesday, day 2.
Breakfast: My usual double americano with a bit of steamed milk accompanied a nice bowl of strawberries sitting at my desk. By noon I was famished. As soon as the restaurant was calm, I drove home to prepare a midday garden feast.
Lunch/Dinner: My Food Diary is an online database designed for tracking calories and nutrition for healthy weight loss. It confirms my lack of protein and carbohydrate, so I decide to add 2 servings of grains. Dinner became long-grain brown rice, a steamed ear of corn with a bit of butter and salt, and green beans. While munching a carrot appetizer, I seared the beans in a hot pan with a little oil and salt, this being my favorite treatment with the addition of garlic. When I told my friend Amanda my plan, she pointed out that I would never make it because I didn't plant garlic and onions. The onions I can live without, but she could be correct that lack of garlic could very well be my demise. For now, so far, it was delicious.
A bedtime snack became imperative. 10:00, I took the flashlight out to the garden and picked 3 small zucchini, doing my best to ignore and avoid the slug population. Hate em, but can't stand the killing part. Slice the squash thin, heat a pan with a little butter and oil, and fry them fast and hot with some salt. Plate and eat immediately. Trust me that this is better than popcorn. Crazy, you're thinking. Try it, but don't even think about buying zucchini. Find someone with a plant or two, believe me they will be happy to give you some. When you get it, run home and cook it. Amazing.
Salt, you wonder? Yes, I've salted most of the vegetables I'm cooking. I'm using kosher salt, a wonderful flavor for less quantity sodium. And my liberal salting is tempered by the rest of the menu content. There is salt in almost everything you purchase at the grocery store, and that doesn't even touch the massive quantities in fast food. Did you know there is salt in the milk you buy? There is salt in every baked cookie, cake, bread, cracker, and cereal. As a pastry chef, I can tell you that salt is not instrumental to either taste or chemistry in any of these items with the exception of bread. (Note that my bakery does not use salt in any pastries that do not use yeast.)
Great flavors, my garden put to work, and Food Diary gives me a happy face for consuming 13,160 units of vitamin A. And yet, the last two tablespoons of almond butter somehow made their way onto a cracker and up the stairs with me. Good night.
Previous posts: www.affairschocolate.blogspot.com

Return to Back to the Earth

Monday: By the end of the day I had harvested a sizable basket of potatoes, beets, carrots, zucchini, beans, and tomatoes. On my back porch I keep a commercial size prep sink pulled from the restaurant equipped with a high-powered pre-wash wand that I use as a garden sink. The potato was huge and beautifully thin-skinned, an obvious meal for one. That's when it occurred to me. I had purposely planted conservatively, with the exception of cucumbers, mixed salad greens, and cherry tomatoes which I supply for the restaurant. I began to realize that if I was going to do justice to my garden I would need to eat a lot of vegetables, and maybe only vegetables. I love a challenge.
In 1972 I read my first copy of Mother Earth News. Being a dreamer and an idealist, I purchased with my then husband a 40 acre parcel and joined the "Back to the Earth" movement. More on that later. Today's experiment will be salted with some age-appropriate realism, but the values of eating local, small-is-beautiful, and a love of the earth is still there. Self-sufficiency has been tempered to recognizing the need for sustainability, with the burden on all of us as a culture and not just on my old 40 acres or my current .3 acre. Gary Snyder said, begin to change the world by beginning at home. My mother said 'Look in your own back yard.' I'm interested in how this all comes about, and suspect that global change, reduced like a balsamic reduction sauce, is individual. Besides, I'm curious, frugal, and determined. Let's eat that garden.

Tuesday: Day 1.
Breakfast: Strawberries.
Lunch: Carrots, lots.
Dinner: The potato. I rubbed it up with canola oil and sea salt, having decided that condiments were exempt. Same treatment to three good sized beets, one golden and two red, and baked them all in the oven.
This is a great way to cook beets. When they are done, you can take a slice from the stem end and pull the peel right off. If they are very fresh, they peel like a skin. Otherwise you may need a little paring knife. At this point, you can eat them hot or chill for a roasted beet salad. Mix them up with a bit of red onion and some peppers if you have them, toss with a little orange vinaigrette and top with some crumbled feta.
The potato was golden hot, slightly crispy-chewy skinned, and tasted like a fresh autumn morning. Not particularly earthy, a description often used on a potato, but a more fresh and clear taste. The oil and salt was flavor enough. One must take care not to over-complicate fresh flavors. I sliced it with a chef knife and ate it standing at the stove.
8 pm: Looking at my produce basket and feeling pretty good about how much I ate. Next to it is the peanut butter and the end of my loaf of multigrain bread. Seriously considering growing peanuts next year.

The Swing

(For Sale: A child’s swing, used)

I came to buy the swing.

You advertised a swing, Ma’am?

Oh yes, the swing – a lovely swing.

We bought it only yesterday it seems.

It was our son’s fifth birthday.

Put it right here, love,

Here by my kitchen window.

I want to watch my darlings

As they play and swing,

For all too soon

I fear, they will be grown.

Look at the baby now,

Reaching for the ropes

And trying out her tiny hands

To pull herself up on the seat.

And look! she’s swaying

Back and forth

Her plumpness holding to the swing

And vying gravity

To pull her to the ground.

And Scott, he takes such care of her,

To see she gets no bumps

If he can help it.

Is it my swing, Mother,

Because it came on my birthday?

No, Sweet, it belongs to all three of you.

Daddy and I only thought

This was a good day

To buy a swing.

There, Becky Dear, you hold the baby Joan

And swing and sing to her

As I have sung to you

So many times

When we sat, you and I

In the big rocking chair,

Singing and pretending

The chair was a lovely swing,

A lovely, lovely swing.

Mother, the man is waiting.

He came to buy the swing.

Oh yes, Joanie, the swing.

You ask what price is it?

Do you have little ones, sir,

Who will use the swing?

Yes, Ma’am, three of them.

Take it then – there is no price.

I ask only this:

That you put the swing

By a window

And watch your little ones

As they swing,

As they swing, as they swing.

Grace Abia Brown Shriner

1911 - 2007