Sunday, January 31, 2016

Light Stunt: Buttermilk Battered Chicken Wings for a Big Game Day Party Recipes #SundaySupper

Light Stunt: Buttermilk Battered Chicken Wings for a Big Game Day Party Recipes #SundaySupper


My long time readers might remember a chicken wings dish I published two years ago for a similar #SundaySupper theme. After looking at it again, I'll admit that the dish I published previously is a little labor-intensive, especially if you're hosting a game day party. Call this an update that is a little easier so the host can spend more time with their guests.

Inspiration Behind the Dish

Last autumn, I accepted a consultant role for a student business organization that is working to establish itself at the University of Washington's Bothell campus. I joined the organization when I was at school in California so I am familiar with it's operations. When I met this group of students, I told them I write a food blog so I thought I should put up or shut up when they hosted a barbecue on a Friday night a few weeks ago. I chose chicken wings because they can be served as a finger-food hors-d'oeuvres and it is an easy way to serve a large crowd, which translates well to a big game watch party.

Dish Details

Chicken wings are a sports bar staple, however I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com a little more intriguing. More on that below. The night I prepared this dish for the barbecue, I had to double the ingredient quantities since I was feeding approximately fifty people but I replicated it again a couple of nights later using the original amounts.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 pounds chicken wings, split at the joints with the tips removed
1 1/2 all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
Vegetable oil, for frying
Flat leaf parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)

Method

1. Place the chicken wings in a resealable bag then pour the buttermilk over them and add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Ensure all of the chicken is submerged in the buttermilk, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the wings are soaking, combine the flour, paprika and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mixing bowl, then fill a stockpot with vegetable oil to at least a 1-inch depth and heat to a temperature of 350° Fahrenheit.

2. Once 30 minutes have expired, drain the wings, then dredge them in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.


Deep fry them in batches until the wings are golden, approximately ten minutes. Using a slotted spoon, drain the wings on a paper towel lined plate before serving, garnished with parsley leaves.


Final Thoughts

The link I referenced above has fifty chicken wings recipes but I specifically chose the eighth for a couple of reasons. First, the members of the student organization requested that they not be too spicy and second, I wanted to test the pairing of buttermilk and chicken for myself after hearing of Chef Thomas Keller's legendary buttermilk fried chicken.

The feedback I received from the student organization was positive, but I really only had a bite or two that evening just to evaluate doneness. When I went back and replicated the dish a few nights later, I was surprised to find the wings so well seasoned considering only 1 teaspoon of salt was used.

Hopefully, these other dishes prepared for this week's #SundaySupper theme will be helpful if you're still planning for a watch party. They're listed below.

Appetizers and Sides
Main Dishes
Desserts and Drinks
Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It's easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

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Sunday, January 10, 2016

Deconstructed Steak Poutine: Top Sirloin Steak with Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Buttered Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy for a 'Let's Poutine' #SundaySupper with Idaho® Potatoes #FWCon

Deconstructed Steak Poutine: Top Sirloin Steak with Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Buttered Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy for a 'Let's Poutine' #SundaySupper with Idaho® Potatoes #FWCon


Before I begin, let me be one of the last to wish you a Happy 2016!

To start this new year, I must congratulate Isabel of Family Foodie for a number of reasons. First, it's the fourth anniversary of her founding Sunday Supper Movement, but more than that, she was able to get January recognized as National Sunday Supper Month and, more specifically, the second Sunday of January National Sunday Supper Day, both occurring annually from this year going forward. You might have seen the National Sunday Supper Month Kickoff with last week's #SundaySupper event.

There are many ways to participate in National Sunday Supper Month. I highly encourage you to take the Sunday Supper Pledge to support the mission of bringing back #SundaySupper around the family table. Also, you can complete the sentence I cook because... in addition to a daily Instagram Photo Challenge. Click on the links above for more information.

Inspiration Behind the Dish

Another way to celebrate is to participate in the Idaho Potato Commission Recipe Contest for National Sunday Supper Month. To enter the contest, contestants must create a recipe inspired by a poutine using Idaho® potatoes, among other requirements. See the link above for complete details. The task of creating a poutine-inspired recipe using Idaho® potatoes was also assigned to the twenty participating bloggers in today's Let's Poutine #SundaySupper event. By now you might have guessed that this post is sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are those of the individual bloggers. Please visit Idaho® potatoes website, 'Like' their Facebook page, and follow them on twitter, instagram and pinterest.


Let's discuss the dish for a moment. The poutine originates from Quebec and is comprised of French fries topped with a brown gravy and cheese curds. If I can be candid for a moment, poutine is considered fast food there in Canada and a Canadian friend of mine even went so far to call the dish drunk food. Many of my colleagues within #SundaySupper were introduced to the poutine at the Food Wine Conference last summer where Saturday's lunch was sponsored, in part, by Idaho® potatoes so it's a little ironic that the dish was so well received. I think that the dish's execution in addition to the various flavor pairings offered that day contributed to its warm reception. My story with the dish is a little different because my chef friend put a short rib poutine on his menu at his restaurant when it opened in 2011, so I was familiar with it when I attended last summer.

Dish Details

I've always been a little suspicious of the dish because a gravy is defined as a sauce made from the juices secreted from a cooked protein so the absence of one has always confounded me. It's the reason why I included a protein in my re-imagined dish here. One of the requirements of this dish is that I use Idaho® potatoes, so thankfully, the supermarket I usually patronize had them in stock:


I borrowed the red wine gravy recipe from myrecipes.com, but the other components of the dish are original.

Ingredients

1 pound russet Idaho® potatoes, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
4 8-to-10 ounce top sirloin steaks
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk plus more if necessary
2 cups baby arugula
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Bleu cheese crumbles, for garnish

Method

1. Boil the Idaho® potatoes. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and fill with enough water so that the potatoes are submerged by at least one inch, then season the water with kosher salt. Place the saucepan over high heat and boil until they are fork tender, approximately ten to fifteen minutes. Drain the potatoes with a colander and place them back in the saucepan.


2. Prepare the steaks. While the potatoes are boiling, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and season the steaks with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sear the steaks in the pan, four minutes per side for medium rare, then remove from the pan and set aside to allow for carryover cooking while the other components of the dish are prepared.


3. Prepare the gravy. Create a roux by reducing the heat under the skillet to medium and add an additional two tablespoons olive oil. Whisk in the all-purpose flour and continue to whisk frequently until brown.


Deglaze the pan with the red wine, loosening the fond from the bottom of the pan, then add in the beef stock and simmer until thickened. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, as necessary.


4. Finish potatoes. While the gravy simmers, mash the drained potatoes or pass them through a food mill. Add butter and scoop some potatoes over so the butter melts. Once melted, stir in the milk until the potatoes absorb the fluid. More milk may be added until the desired consistency is reached.

5. Prepare the salad and finish the dish. Whisk together the remaining one tablespoon olive oil and lemon juice, then season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the arugula with just one or two teaspoons of the vinaigrette-just enough to wet, but not wilt, the leaves. Cut each steak diagonally in half, across the grain then place some gravy into a squeeze bottle. To plate, spoon some potatoes onto the plate towards the front but still in the center. Place a couple of dollops of gravy beside the potatoes, then put one half of the steak on the potatoes, then place the other half off center so the interior is exposed. Top the steak with the arugula salad and garnish with the bleu cheese crumbles.

Final Thoughts

Those that know me know that I rarely publish a dish without consulting my copy of The Flavor Bible first. I certainly did here but the flavor profiles noted were nothing unusual. Each of the main ingredients used were noted to pair well with each other: steak, potatoes, cheese (specifically, bleu cheese), arugula, butter and red wine.

I'm not the only #SundaySupper member that prepared a poutine-inspired dish. Check out the others below:

Breakfast:
Appetizers:
Main Dish:
Plus: Poutine Variations for National Sunday Supper Day from Sunday Supper Movement

Have you signed the #SundaySupper pledge to eat together as a family? Do it right here!

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It's easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.


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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Chicken Cacciatore Pronto for a Last Minute Holiday Recipes #SundaySupper

Chicken Cacciatore Pronto for a Last Minute Holiday Recipes #SundaySupper


If I could be candid for a moment. I was going to publish this dish separately until I saw this week's #SundaySupper theme of Last Minute Holiday Meals, hosted by T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley and Wendy of Wholistic Woman. I think it fits in nicely with the theme because it's a braised dish which is perfect for the weather, but it's chicken so it's not simmering for hours which means it can be prepared quickly.

Inspiration Behind the Dish

I have become very familiar with this dish over the years. If memory serves me correctly, the first time I prepared it was for a dinner party I hosted. At the time, I was still a novice cook that only knew to follow recipe instructions, but kept coming back to it once I realized how well thought out the dish is. It ended up having a profound influence on the direction of my cooking style.

Dish Details

I have adapted it over time but the source recipe can be found on page 166 of Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking By Michael Chiarello with Janet Fletcher.

Ingredients

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup hot water
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup tomato purée
1 cup chicken stock

Method

1. Finish the mise en place. Place the dried porcini in a small bowl and pour the hot water over them and set aside for 30 minutes so the mushrooms rehydrate. While you're waiting, I recommend puréeing the tomatoes, mincing garlic and chopping parsley. Once the mushrooms are rehydrated lift them out of the water with a slotted spoon and chop, then set aside to reserve. Pass the water in which the mushrooms were soaked through a double layer of paper towels, then set aside and reserve.

2. Sear the chicken. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with a thin layer of olive oil (approximately 1 teaspoon) and place over medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, then place in the skillet, skin side down, to sear once the olive oil starts to smoke until well browned, approximately eight to ten minutes. Turn and sear on the second side, approximately two minutes, then remove from the skillet and set aside.


3. Layer flavor and simmer. Drain all but one tablespoon of the oil from the skillet and return to the stovetop over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir until it starts to color, then two tablespoons parsley and reserved porcini, stirring until fragrant. Add the tomato purée, chicken stock and reserved mushroom broth, scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen any fond. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat, cover the skillet and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked through, approximately thirty minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet, then raise the temperature to high, boiling the sauce to reduce and thicken, approximately five minutes. To serve spoon the sauce on the plate and top with chicken and garnish with the remaining parsley.


Final Thoughts

The word cacciatore is Italian for hunter and is considered a rustic dish out of central Italy that is commonly made with onions, tomatoes mushrooms and bell peppers, as I've previously demonstrated, however I like this version for extracting such incredible flavor from basic ingredients and, as I said above, it cooks quickly. Possibly the only ingredient that might seem exotic is the dried mushrooms, however I have found that they are readily available at most supermarkets. Chef Chiarello notes in his book that thighs are the part of the chicken that is best for braising because they're moister and, therefore, don't dry out as easily as say breast meat, for example. This dish taught me how to layer flavors and opened my mind to the concept of a mirepoix. I also find the utilization of the water used to soak the dried porcini in the braising fluid quite innovative.

I've prepared an entrée here, but don't miss the many other last minute holiday recipes of varying courses prepared for this week's #SundaySupper, which are below.

Beverages
Breakfast
Appetizers
Main Dishes
Side Dishes
Desserts
Quick and Easy Holiday Recipes #SundaySupper by Sunday Supper Movement


Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It's easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

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