Archives for posts with tag: chicken stock

creamy carrot + tarragon soup

June 20, 2011 //
0

makes 4 cups

  • 8-10 medium-large carrots, or about 3 cups, diced small
  • 2 celery ribs, or about ¾ cup, diced small
  • ½ large onion, or about ¾ cup, diced small
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
  • 2 tbsp fresh tarragon
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cups chicken stock (can be made with vegetable stock)
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • black pepper, several cranks on a grinder
  • dash of cayenne pepper, optional
  • crème fraîche (or sour cream), for garnish
  • fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

heat oil in a large pot over medium-high. add the carrots, celery, onions and salt and sauté until the celery has softened and the onions are clear, about 5-10 minutes. stir in the garlic, tarragon and black pepper and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes.

pour in the chicken stock, stir and bring to a boil.

reduce the heat to a simmer for about 25-30 minutes until the carrots are very soft. turn off the heat and use a hand blender to purée the mixture. you can use a regular blender, but it is just more of a process.

gradually pour in the milk, mix well, and season with more salt and pepper to taste. add cayenne if you want some kick.

garnish with a dollop of creme fraiche (or sour cream) and sprinkle with parsley. you could easily make this with a vegetable stock, and would be a great option for a meatless monday meal. i just always have homemade chicken stock on hand. also, this is a great chilled soup.

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Categories meatless monday, recipes

chicken pot pie

April 20, 2011 //
2

the great thing about chicken pot pie is that it can be made with basic ingredients you already have on hand. i like to switch the veggies up a bit here and there, but this is what i did tonight:

  • 1 unbaked double pie crust dough (this should be made first, so you can prep and cook the rest while it is in the refrigerator. if it chills longer than an hour make sure you let it sit out for 5-10 mins before rolling it out.)
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless cooked chicken meat, bite sized pieces
  • 1 1/4 cups carrots, diced
  • 1 3/4 cups fingerling potatoes, diced
  • 1 cup fresh peas, or thawed frozen ones
  • 1/2 cup celery, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp celery seed
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 egg

put the chicken, carrots, potatoes, peas, and celery in a sauce pan. toss in a touch of  s+p and celery seed, and add enough water to cover. bring to a boil for about 15 minutes, or until your veggies are just soft, but not mushy.

let them drain…

in the meantime, you will make the roux (use the same sauce pan if you like) with the remaining ingredients shown below:

cook the onions and garlic in the butter over medium heat until soft and translucent. gradually stir in the flour, add the spices, and then add the stock and milk slowly, stirring continually. simmer over medium-low heat until thick. set aside while you roll out your dough (or, if you are cheating, take your pre-made pie dough out of it’s package, and put in the pie pan.) place the chicken and veggie mixture in the now lined pie pan.

pour the roux over the chicken veggie mixture slowly, making sure it doesn’t overflow…

lay the top pie dough over the filling, trim if necessary, fold both layers under, and crimp. whisk the egg and brush over the top of the crust and crimped edges. make 4 slits with a sharp knife.

bake in a pre-heated oven @ 450° for 45 minutes. let cool for at least 15 minutes, or longer (it’s not to torture you) if you can stand it, before cutting in to it, just so the filling has a chance to set. cut and serve in wedges. enjoy!

(note: i have substituted some of the carrots and fingerlings, for turnips and parsnips, but i don’t see why trying other types of veggies might be interesting too. as long as you end up with roughly 3 1/2 cups of uniformly diced veggies to boil with the chicken you should be good.)

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Categories pie, recipes

lemon roasted chicken

April 19, 2011 //
4

this was extremely simply and produced juicy lemony meat. first you will need to butterfly your bird. then shove about 2 tbsp of salted lemon zest under the skin, sprinkle the skin generously with s+p, and put it in a roasting pan (preferably one that is not aluminum or non-stick, such as glass).

whisk together 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, 2 tbsp lemon zest, 2 cups of chicken stock, and 1 cup of water. then give the chicken a bath. pour the mixture into the roasting pan until it reaches the sides of the thigh skin.

bake at 475° for about 40 minutes (the thigh meat should register 170°-175°) and the skin is crispy. let it rest on a cutting board for about 20 minutes. i recommend one with a reservoir, because it will ooze juices. while you wait, you can reduce the pan juices down to about a cup, thicken it with a tsp of cornstarch, whisk in 3 tbsp of butter (off heat) and some fresh thyme, and you will have a delicious sauce to put on top.

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