Bird is the word: spatchcock

Repeat after me: Spatchcock!

Everyday Food tells me this is the proper term for chicken, etc, when you remove the backbone and flatten it for cooking. The technique offers quick roasting (~30 minutes) and thoroughly-crisped skin, plus an opportunity to shout "Spatchcock!!" at your guests or significant other all evening. Instructions here.

In truth, I didn't actually have a whole chicken available for spatchcocking. So I tested a recipe from the magazine with chicken thighs, and it was pretty fantastic, plus speedy and cheap. I'll try again with the real butterflied bird. In case you can't spare $3 for the magazine, here's a summary of the "recipes:"

• Spatchcock Chicken
• ... with Potatoes: Roast chicken with potatoes. Garnish with thyme.
• ... with Chickpeas: Roast chicken with chickpeas. Garnish with cilantro and lime.
• ... Chicken with Tomatoes: Roast chicken with smallish tomatoes and 1/2 C white wine. Garnish with basil.

Above is the chicken with chick peas (also known as garbanzo beans, a name I prefer because it reminds me of muppets). I'm sure you can dream up your own creative variations on flattened poultry, along with ways to use this word in everyday conversation.

Dumplings, rediscovered

Dumplings evoke ultimate old-world kitchen charm: they seem to exist everywhere, from potstickers to pirogi, matzo to gnocchi. Drop dough -- shaped, filled, flavored, or plain -- into a hot liquid, and there you have it: Dumplings, just like grandma made (whether she made them in Armenia or Korea).

Also, "comfort, value and simplicity" are really hot right now. The very definition of dumpling.

Still, I was hesitant to write about dumplings. I mean, really? Is this soggy biscuit worth documenting? But these are delicious -- think mid-century American Sunday supper. Awesome comfort food, showing some semblance of planning and effort (but really requiring very little of either). A more contemporary version might include whole-wheat flour or different spices and herbs, but for now this will be a staple.

Still have turkey in the freezer from Thanksgiving? Defrost it. You might reduce the initial cooking time by 5 or so minutes, if using leftovers -- just make sure the sauce still reduces to the desired consistency.

Chicken and Dumplings

From Everyday Food.

For chicken + sauce:

• 3 T butter
• 1 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 carrots, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 C flour
• 14 oz low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or turkey), in large pieces
• 10 oz frozen peas

For dumplings:

• 3/4 C flour
  
• 2 T chopped fresh dill, or 3/4 tsp dried dill weed
• 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 C + 2 T milk

In a Dutch oven, heat butter over medium. Add onion, carrots, and thyme. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft. Add 1/4 C flour and stir briefly; add broth. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Arrange chicken in pot. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Now dumplings: In a bowl, whisk 3/4 cup flour, 1 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and dill. Stir in 1/2 C milk. Dough/batter should be very soft -- if it will not plop readily from a spoon, add additional 2 T milk.

Come back to the pot. Stir in peas. Drop dumplings on top, evenly-spaced, in 10 large tablespoons. (I use this medium cookie scoop, which keeps everything evenly sized.) Cover. Simmer 20 minutes, till dumplings are just firm -- they'll still look soft, certainly not baked, but should be delightfully fluffy to eat.

Weeknight paella

The Internet can be trouble for cooks. Endless pages of potentially untested recipes sometimes lead down a path that conveniently fits what's in the fridge -- but is not necessarily a winner in any other sense.

But sometimes you get lucky. I searched around online for a paella that fit my supplies at home, and this Chicken and Shrimp Paella from Cooking Light turned out pretty great. You could definitely find something more traditional or luxurious, but I doubt many people want search for mussels, clams, and snails for Tuesday dinner. Shrimp, chicken and sausage are manageable.

The preparation wasn't taxing -- it took about an hour from start to finish. It also made a huge quantity (even after I decreased the amount of chicken by 30%), so halve the recipe if you're not a fan of leftovers.

Chicken and Shrimp Paella

Adapted from Cooking Light

4 chicken thighs, skinned

1 tsp chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 tsp olive oil

2 hot Italian sausages

1 C chopped onion

1 1/2 C uncooked Arborio rice

1/2 C diced plum tomato

1 tsp paprika

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

1 T dried garlic

3 C low-sodium chicken broth

3/4 lb shrimp

1 C (1-inch) diagonally cut asparagus

1 C frozen green peas, thawed

Preheat oven to 400°.

Sprinkle chicken with rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add chicken and cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm.

Crumble sausage into pan and cook 1 minute. Add onion; cook 7 minutes, stirring. Add rice, tomato, paprika, saffron, and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring. Return chicken to pan. Add broth and 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Stir in shrimp, asparagus, and peas. Cover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until shrimp are done. (Original recipe only listed 5 minutes for final cooking time -- I actually did 12 minutes, and it was perfect, so check after 5 minutes, then continue if necessary.)

Apple-braised chicken

8:40pm: Apple braised chicken, the first of the recipes I mentioned in my Amazon Fresh post, was described as "quick." And the instructions are simple, requiring only one pot and a few steps: pan-fry chicken to crisp the skin, remove from pot; saute shallots; add apples; return chicken to pot and bake.

An hour and a half after starting the process, however, the pot still has 20 minutes of braising. Not "quick." I check the recipe to see if I misread that word. At lease everything smells appley and chickeny and delicious, even through my heavy dutch oven lid and sturdy Viking oven door. :)

9:03pm: Opening my pot of braising chicken thighs reveals thoroughly disintegrated apples -- not the the perfectly soft, roasted wedges I had been promised. Unfortunate, but I think it's salvageable.

I let everything continue as instructed for the remaining 20 minutes, with the lid off, then remove the chicken and attempt to reduce the slushy apple/cider/chicken liquid mixture to something like applesauce. Or gravy? Something edible.

9:32pm: I added mashed potatoes to the menu, in place of the now-absent apple wedges. The chicken/apple slush reduced very quickly on the stove, and I think will work as a sauce of sorts. The chicken, fortunately, looks perfect.

Autumn Roast Chicken & Vegetables

A weekend away with friends needs only a few things: lovely seasonal weather, time to sleep in late, and plenty of good food. We began weekending together in Summer 2008, and while the weather is out of our hands, the food keeps getting better.

2 teaspoons took over the kitchen on Saturday night, for roast chicken and vegetables. Simple food. The ingredients and measurements are estimates -- adjust to suit your tastes and availability. Whole chicken would be nice practice for anyone attempting their first Thanksgiving turkey -- just remember that while the process is the same, the details will differ (specifically cooking time, and possibly your herbs).


Autumn Roast Chicken
One whole chicken was more than enough for six people (though admittedly we were not starving, thanks to plenty of snacks and a big late breakfast).

• 1 Chicken
• Fresh herbs: 5-15 springs of thyme, oregano, anything else growing in the garden
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• Olive oil
  
• Salt and fresh pepper

Rinse and pat dry the chicken, and lay breast up. Stuff with halved or quartered lemon and orange, quartered onion, and peeled garlic cloves, and about half of your herbs. You won't eat this stuff, so don't worry about perfect cutting or peeling.

Twist the wings up and back, and tuck the tips under the body -- your bird will be posed as if basking in the sun. (If you really love crispy wings, skip this step.) Tie legs together with kitchen string (or perhaps dental floss, if you happen to be weekending some place without kitchen string -- we won't tell anyone).

Drizzle bird generously with olive oil, or brush with butter. Salt and pepper well, and tuck the rest of your herbs under the chicken's wings, between the legs, and around the outside. We also recommend rubbing the zest of the lemon and orange on the entire chicken for extra flavor. Surround with vegetables (next recipe).

Bake at 400 for about 1.5 hours. Chicken is done when legs wiggle easily and juices run clear.

Earthy Root Vegetables
For those unaware of what exactly constitutes as a root vegetable, here's the short of it: it's the edible part of a plant that grows underground. Root veggies are typically packed with carbohydrates and dietary fiber. They are also easy on the wallet and you can get a nice selection for a meal for under $6-7. Now, most people are aware of potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, (and probably beets -- Raven is a beet fiend and has been cooking a ton of great recipes with them lately. See her recent beet soup recipe here.) but there a few other notable roots out there that you should have on your radar:

Rutabaga - Think of it as a cross between a turnip and a potato (don't forget to peel this one)
Turnip - A little on the blah side, but here's a tip: the smaller the turnip the sweeter the taste
Parsnips - My new favorite root addition this season. It's definitely carrot-esque, though it has more spice than sweet.

I have always loved the ease, flavor, and heartiness of root vegetables. You really can't mess up this recipe. Simply peel (you can leave the potatoes unpeeled if you'd like) and cut the veggies, drizzle (well, more like pour) a good coating of olive oil over the entire dish. Season with salt, pepper and fresh herbs to your liking. We used fresh thyme, rosemary, and oregano straight from the garden. Dried herbs will work as well, though for this dish I highly recommend splurging on the fresh stuff.

You can either cook the veggies in the same pan as the chicken, or, if you plan on pairing this with a different entree, you can cook them in a separate dish at 450 degrees until the veggies are soft (about an hour). Check on them from time to time, and if anything starts looking a little dry, just drizzle a little more olive oil on it.

Despite our initial fears of preparing a whole roast chicken (come on, buying a whole bird is a little intimidating) this meal turned out to be extremely simple in both preparation and necessary ingredients. The most time consuming part of this meal was peeling and cutting all of the vegetables, and waiting the 2 hours for the chicken to fully cook. But when there's enough beer, wine, cheese, rock band and good friends to distract you from the delicious smells that will most surely tantalize you for the next 2 hours, the time seems to fly by.