Tag: Butter

Smothered Chicken with Gravy

On By lukephillaryhIn Classico2 Comments
Craig Claiborne Smothered Chicken
Classic comfort food

As if New York in January isn’t dreary enough, we now have Trump’s inauguration looming. Friday, January 20th. How did this date come so quickly? Back in November, I attempted to write an election related post. The draft begins, predictably, with a rehashing of my 24-hour emotional journey, from the morning of November 8 to the morning of November 9. There’s some political correctness. I avoid outrightly bashing Trump supporters and admit to living in a liberal enclave. And then there’s a recount of the meals I ate in the days following. They’re decadent, definitely self-indulgent and all international in origin:

On Thursday, Luke and I had ramen topped with a thick slab of pork belly and a perfectly poached egg, all swimming in a rich, miso spiked broth. Friday night, I ordered in. Chicken tikka masala and samosas, India’s ultimate comfort food. There were no leftovers. And on Saturday, I enjoyed a slightly more than I can afford Italian dinner, complete with a few glasses of Tuscan wine.

On Sunday, Luke and I agreed we had to return to cooking. 

For dinner we made Craig Claiborne’s Smothered Chicken. Americana comfort food at its finest, it was a reminder of our country’s wonderful unconventionality. Craig Claiborne, a child of Mississippi, grows up and becomes the preeminent food editor of his time for the most sophisticated U.S. publication, The New York Times. He’s credited with broadening Americans’ food horizons, but he still had a deep appreciation for classic American home-cooked food. Easy, delicious, heartwarming – we finished this meal feeling a little lighter. Not necessarily in calories, but certainly in spirit. Our country no longer felt like such a foreign place.

Remembering this dinner and these days, I’m still wondering how I can do more. And what could that “more” mean? In a muddled way, I’ve thought about “more” a lot and have ended up not doing much at all. Perhaps the answer is to think less and simply act more. Not necessarily through a grand initiative, that takes a lot of toiling to think up, but with positive, incremental actions each day. Make an effort to be consistently informed and accountable. Make an effort to think constructively and avoid defaulting into a pessimistic mindset. Make an effort to be open, to question, to listen. Make an effort to understand. This election, for me, has been a reminder of some personal complacency. And in these next four years I don’t want to be comfortable. So while I may be enjoying comfort food, I’m making it my personal mission to avoid a metaphorical food coma.

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken (the smaller the better), spatchcocked
  • salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 2 TBS unsalted butter
  • 2 TBS all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Directions:

  1. We maybe should’ve started this post with a disclaimer…Craig Claiborne insisted that a cast iron pan be used for this recipe. But, we won’t discourage you from trying it out with a large skillet! Start by making sure the chicken is at room temperature and thoroughly dried off. If your chicken has been in the fridge, season with salt and pepper, and then let it rest on your counter for 30 minutes before preparing. After 30 minutes, pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
  2. Melt the butter in your cast-iron skillet. Add chicken, skin side/breast side down. Fold the wings under the breasts to secure. Cover the chicken with a plate and the on top of the plate place a brick or 2-3 heavy cans – something heavy to weigh the plate down. You want good contact between the chicken and the skillet. Cook over low heat undisturbed until skin is nicely browned, about 25 minutes.
  3. Once browned, remove the weight and plate. Turn the chicken so the skin side is up. Replace the plate and weight and continue cooking for 15 minutes more.
  4. Remove the chicken and pour off fat from the skillet, leaving about 2 TBS in the pan. Add the flour to the fat and stir with a metal whisk over medium heat. Then gradually add chicken broth. When thickened, return chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with plate and weight and continue cooking for 20-30 minutes, until the meat is exceptionally tender. Finish by spooning the sauce on top.
  5. Cut into serving pieces and enjoy immediately! We served with mashed potatoes, though rice, biscuits, or crunchy bread would also be tasty. Anything to sop up the gravy!

Details: Serves 4

Choco Chip COOKIES

On By lukephillaryhIn ClassicoLeave a comment
Chocolate Chip Cookies milk
Milk, a critical accompaniment

Luke and I received a very exciting gift this past Christmas: a Cuisinart 5-Speed Handheld Mixer. Faaaaancy! (Hint hint: we’re being a wee bit sarcastic). But actually, this new mixer has added some much needed power to our baking. And though I’m missing the arm workout I would get from whisking together the butter and sugars (those calories I burned justified an extra cookie) the ease of our handheld mixer gives us an excuse to make choco chip cookies on an even more frequent basis.

We’ve tested many choco chip cookie recipes through the years and this one crafted by baking queen Christina Tosi has become our go-to. After eating a stack of these tasty cookies, you’ll be seriously satisfied.

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • splash of milk (preferably whole, buttermilk and half n’ half work well too)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 TBS non-fat milk powder (optional)
  • 2 cups choco chips (a mix of chips and chunks is always good)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
  2. Combine butter and sugars.  Mix vigorously with a whisk or with a mixer for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add egg, vanilla, and splash of milk.  Mix on high for 2-3 minutes, until the dough becomes pale and fluffy.
  4. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and milk powder.  Mix thoroughly, then add the chocolate chips, mixing them into the dough with a wooden spoon.
  5. Place similarly sized scoops of cookie dough on a baking sheet.  Pop em in the oven and bake for 11-13 minutes. You want golden brown edges.

Enjoy with a big glass of milk, hot cup of coffee or mug of tea ♥

Tip: Many pros recommend chilling cookie dough overnight before baking.  Luke and I are not the most patient people (but who is when it comes to choco chip cookies?!). We typically make a batch and then chill the remaining dough.  Verdict: the chilled dough does yield more evenly baked cookies. But no judgement if you scoff at this overnight chilling advice.  We agree, choco chip cookies should be baked stat!

To print the recipe, click here: Choco Chip Cookies

Classic, Simple Banana Bread

On By lukephillaryhIn Luke's DishesLeave a comment
Banana bread simple Nigella Lawson recipe
Baked to ~ perfection ~

Often, we purposefully set aside a couple of bananas, letting them get seriously ripe. We love a pile of black speckled bananas because it gives us the perfect excuse to make a loaf of banana bread.  And if we are ever lacking enough bananas, there’s a good chance our bodega on the corner will have an excellent selection of extra ripe bananas. This is Luke’s recipe (originally sourced from Nigella Lawson) and he is the b-bread maker. But I am the expert on moistness.  And, strongly believing moistness is a vital characteristic for perfectly baked banana bread, I always insist that we take the bread out of the oven a bit earlier than Nigella suggests. Despite banana bread being Luke’s domain, he begrudgingly listens. The result (in my opinion): perfectly baked b-bread.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup + 2 TBS whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3-4 **very** ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F and butter and flour a 9 x 5 inch bread pan.
  2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) in a medium sized bowl.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Then add the mashed bananas, whisking until incorporate with eggs and sugar.  It’s ok if there are a few banana lumps. Next, with a wooden spoon, stir in walnuts and vanilla extract.
  4. In 3 batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon until relatively smooth.
  5. Pour mix into loaf pan.  Give a few shakes to make sure the mix is even in the pan.  Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (Nigella’s suggestion.  We typically cook closer to an hour).  You can tell when the bread is ready by inserting a toothpick into the middle (the thickest part).  When you remove the toothpick, it should come out fairly clean.

Details: Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf of banana bread.

Perfect for breakfast, though we also enjoy a slice toasted in a buttered skillet with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert!

To print the recipe, click here: Classic Banana Bread

Salmon + Anchovy Butter

On By lukephillaryhIn Ode to NYT1 Comment
Salmon with anchovy butter Melissa Clark recipe
The salmon – nice and crispy!

Melissa Clark is one of our cooking idols. She’s just so likable in her NYT videos!! Luke proudly has run into her two times to and from Prospect Park (stalker…). This recipe is one of the first of Melissa’s that we tried out. It’s so simple and delicious it has become a staple. Make sure to get a baguette because as Melissa says, “Anchovy butter is good on EVERYTHING.” Very essential to spread some extra anchovy butter on a slice of bread.

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 TBS butter, softened
  • 4 anchovy fillets, minced
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
  • salt + pepper
  • 2-4 skin on salmon fillets (6-8 oz each, number depending on how many peeps you’re trying to feed! one fillet per person)
  • 2 TBS drained and dried capers
  • 1/2 lemon

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 400°F. In a small bowl (or mortar and pestle) mash together butter, anchovies, garlic, and salt and pepper.
  2. In a large oven proof skillet (cast iron pan!) melt half of anchovy butter. Add fish, skin side down.  Cook for 3 minutes over high heat to brown skin, spooning melted butter over the top of the fish.  Add capers to bottom of pan and transfer to oven.  Roast until fish is cooked through, 8-10 min.
  3. Remove pan from oven and add remaining butter to pan to melt.  Squeeze some lemon juice on top.  Garnish with parsley if you’d like!  And as mentioned above, a baguette is a nice edition to dip in the anchovy butter  – mmmmm!

Details:  As mentioned in ingredients, this recipe serves 2-4.  You can easily increase the portion size by cooking more fillets and mixing up a bit more butter!

To print the recipe, click here: Salmon + Anchovy butter