To Serve Jan
Jan. 15th, 2009 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
logisticsladI accomplished my second stab at cooking tonight! I decided to make Apple Chicken from my new cookbook and I invited my friend Jan over to give me feedback as to whether it was any good.
Ingredients:
3 apples (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Macintosh or combination)
1/2 Lemon
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp sugar
2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts (1.5-2.0 lbs total)
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
I had gone to Trader Joes a few days ago to obtain ingredients and they did not have any of the apple varieties suggested so I bought Fuji apples. They also didn't have single lemons. I was able to get a lemon elsewhere and when I was over at Jan's the day before, he had given me some Granny Smith apples that he had left over, hence the inspiration to have him taste the final product. We agreed that if it wasn't any good, that we would throw it out and order pizza. Fortunately, we didn't need to resort to that.
1. Core the apples, peel them, and cut them into 1/4 inch thick slices. Rub them with lemon to prevent discoloration.
This was actually the hardest part of the recipe, as I lacked the correct tools and skills. I do know how to core an apple, but peeling it was a challenge! I started by trying to use a paring knife and realized that my skill with it was so poor that it was only a matter of time before I cut myself. So I looked for my potato peeler, but couldn't find it. Then I noticed that my cheese grater had a long knife slot opening and I was able to use that. It took me about half and hour to core and peel these three apples, but the lemon really did work to keep the slices from turning brown! I realized that I could probably have used lemon juice instead of a lemon, but it did smell nice and fresh. I put them in a bowl for the next step.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet and saute the apples over medium-low heat, 5-7 min. Sprinkle them with sugar, and cook over high heat until lightly browned. Set apples aside.
I found this pretty easy to do, and the apples began to smell good as they cooked, which was encouraging.
3. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Cut each chicken breast in half. Flatten each breast with a meat pounder until thin.
No problem, although I actually forgot to tenderize and flatten the chicken breast, but it worked out ok.
4. Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Raise the heat, add the chicken, and cook until lightly colored, 2 min on each side. Remove chicken and set aside.
Ok, done. It's not fully cooked yet, but I suspect that there is a plan here...
5. Add the onion to the skillet, cover, and cook until tender and slightly carmelized, 8-10 min. Uncover, raise heat to high, and add vinegar. Cook the mixture down to a syrup, 1 min. Then whisk in cream, stock, and salt.
Ok, I'm very glad that they reminded me to cover the onions, because I would not have known to do that. Oops, I added the vinegar and the stock together. I'm pouring it out and just adding the vinegar to the onions. Ok, now to add the cream, stock, and salt. Hmmm, the onions sucked up most of the liquid so there isn't enough to whisk. Let's see what happens next.
6. Return chicken to the skillet and simmer gently in the sauce, basting often, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked, 3-5 min. Do not overcook.
Done. Actually, this took a bit longer because I had forgotten to flatten the chicken. But cooking chicken in a skillet is one of the things that I know I can do, so I was able to roll with this one. There wasn't a whole lot of sauce for basting, but there was some.
7. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and place on a serving platter. Add the apple slices to the skillet, cook over high heat until the sauce has reduced and the apples are thoroughly heated, 1 min.
Done.
8. Spoon the apples around the chicken, pour the sauce over, and serve immediately. Makes 4 portions.
Done and done. Actually, I think I used too much onion, which must be why there wasn't a lot of sauce, so I left a lot of the onion in the skillet. Jan and I enjoyed the apple chicken dish. I made some polenta (from a Trader Joes mix) to go with it and that also worked well. Jan noted that the chicken was perfectly cooked (whew!) and that the onions and apples went surprisingly well together. I liked it, but didn't love it. Then as I was describing what I had done to make the sauce, Jan asked if he could try something. He went to the kitchen and added more cream and stock to the onions and suddenly the sauce, which had indeed been sucked into the onion came out! We added it back to the chicken and this greatly enhanced the flavor of the dish! I knew that onions could suck up a lot of liquid, but I had no idea that one could make them give it back. Very cool. The mix of the tart apple, the sweetness of the apple saute, the vinegary onions, and the creamy stock sauce created several layers of flavor which really complimented the chicken. I'm very glad that Jan gave me the Granny Smiths, because I don't think the Fujis would have worked nearly as well.
I made another new dish and actually served it to someone. I accepted some helpful feedback on what I had done and learned something. And I cooked something yummy! I'm so proud of myself! Yay!!!
Ingredients:
3 apples (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Macintosh or combination)
1/2 Lemon
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp sugar
2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts (1.5-2.0 lbs total)
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
I had gone to Trader Joes a few days ago to obtain ingredients and they did not have any of the apple varieties suggested so I bought Fuji apples. They also didn't have single lemons. I was able to get a lemon elsewhere and when I was over at Jan's the day before, he had given me some Granny Smith apples that he had left over, hence the inspiration to have him taste the final product. We agreed that if it wasn't any good, that we would throw it out and order pizza. Fortunately, we didn't need to resort to that.
1. Core the apples, peel them, and cut them into 1/4 inch thick slices. Rub them with lemon to prevent discoloration.
This was actually the hardest part of the recipe, as I lacked the correct tools and skills. I do know how to core an apple, but peeling it was a challenge! I started by trying to use a paring knife and realized that my skill with it was so poor that it was only a matter of time before I cut myself. So I looked for my potato peeler, but couldn't find it. Then I noticed that my cheese grater had a long knife slot opening and I was able to use that. It took me about half and hour to core and peel these three apples, but the lemon really did work to keep the slices from turning brown! I realized that I could probably have used lemon juice instead of a lemon, but it did smell nice and fresh. I put them in a bowl for the next step.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet and saute the apples over medium-low heat, 5-7 min. Sprinkle them with sugar, and cook over high heat until lightly browned. Set apples aside.
I found this pretty easy to do, and the apples began to smell good as they cooked, which was encouraging.
3. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Cut each chicken breast in half. Flatten each breast with a meat pounder until thin.
No problem, although I actually forgot to tenderize and flatten the chicken breast, but it worked out ok.
4. Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Raise the heat, add the chicken, and cook until lightly colored, 2 min on each side. Remove chicken and set aside.
Ok, done. It's not fully cooked yet, but I suspect that there is a plan here...
5. Add the onion to the skillet, cover, and cook until tender and slightly carmelized, 8-10 min. Uncover, raise heat to high, and add vinegar. Cook the mixture down to a syrup, 1 min. Then whisk in cream, stock, and salt.
Ok, I'm very glad that they reminded me to cover the onions, because I would not have known to do that. Oops, I added the vinegar and the stock together. I'm pouring it out and just adding the vinegar to the onions. Ok, now to add the cream, stock, and salt. Hmmm, the onions sucked up most of the liquid so there isn't enough to whisk. Let's see what happens next.
6. Return chicken to the skillet and simmer gently in the sauce, basting often, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked, 3-5 min. Do not overcook.
Done. Actually, this took a bit longer because I had forgotten to flatten the chicken. But cooking chicken in a skillet is one of the things that I know I can do, so I was able to roll with this one. There wasn't a whole lot of sauce for basting, but there was some.
7. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and place on a serving platter. Add the apple slices to the skillet, cook over high heat until the sauce has reduced and the apples are thoroughly heated, 1 min.
Done.
8. Spoon the apples around the chicken, pour the sauce over, and serve immediately. Makes 4 portions.
Done and done. Actually, I think I used too much onion, which must be why there wasn't a lot of sauce, so I left a lot of the onion in the skillet. Jan and I enjoyed the apple chicken dish. I made some polenta (from a Trader Joes mix) to go with it and that also worked well. Jan noted that the chicken was perfectly cooked (whew!) and that the onions and apples went surprisingly well together. I liked it, but didn't love it. Then as I was describing what I had done to make the sauce, Jan asked if he could try something. He went to the kitchen and added more cream and stock to the onions and suddenly the sauce, which had indeed been sucked into the onion came out! We added it back to the chicken and this greatly enhanced the flavor of the dish! I knew that onions could suck up a lot of liquid, but I had no idea that one could make them give it back. Very cool. The mix of the tart apple, the sweetness of the apple saute, the vinegary onions, and the creamy stock sauce created several layers of flavor which really complimented the chicken. I'm very glad that Jan gave me the Granny Smiths, because I don't think the Fujis would have worked nearly as well.
I made another new dish and actually served it to someone. I accepted some helpful feedback on what I had done and learned something. And I cooked something yummy! I'm so proud of myself! Yay!!!
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-16 04:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-16 06:24 am (UTC)Congrats
Date: 2009-01-16 01:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-16 03:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-16 04:28 pm (UTC)I've had cooked onions/apples with pork chops (*cough*gentile cooking*cough*), and it's very good with venison. I think that version also had raisins and brown sugar.
I look forward to your show on Food Network.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-16 09:35 pm (UTC)So when do we see your show on the Food Network?