Chicken in a Pot

This recipe appeared in the Washington Post Food Section, Wednesday, March 18, 2009, Chef David Hagedorn. This is chicken at its very best. I love this fowl. I made a couple of changes, noted below.

4 - 5 lb chicken, reserve the gizzard packet
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
dried rosemary
6 medium cloves garlic, crushed
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, small dice
1 medium carrot, small dice
2 ribs celery, small dice
4 sprigs thyme
1 stem rosemary
1 bay leaf
homemade chicken broth
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 t cornstarch
1 T cold water
Chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to 275ºF. (The original recipe states 250ºF, but after my first experience with this recipe, that just seemed a little too low. 275º works quite well.)

Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Grind together 1 t kosher salt, 1/2 t peppercorns, 1/2 dried rosemary, and 2 crushed garlic cloves. Carefully insert some of the rub underneath the skin on the breast, being careful not to completely separate the skin from the breast. Season the rest of the chicken with the remaining rub. (This is my own rub, Chef Hagedorn is probably blanching at the thought of using something like this....) Tuck the chicken wing tips under the chicken.

Heat the oil in a dutch oven or a (covered) roast pan over medium-high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Add the chicken, breast side down, and sear undisturbed for five minutes.

Using tongs, carefully turn the chicken over. Arrange the vegetables around the chicken. Cook for about five minutes, then add the herbs, remaining garlic, and chicken neck and gizzard, if desired.

Press a large piece of aluminum foil directly over the chicken. Cover the pot and bake for about 1-1/2 - 3 hours (or at least until the internal temperature of the thigh registers 155º).

Turn off the oven. Remove the chicken from the oven. Loosen the foil and remove the lid. Let the chicken rest for 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Carve the chicken into ten pieces (see carving note, below). Put the pieces on a serving platter, and cover with the foil. Place the platter back in the turned-off oven.

Strain the pan juices into a measuring cup. Press the vegetables against the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the vegetables. Skim the fat from the liquid and discard. Add enough homemade broth, if needed, to the juices to make one cup liquid. Pour into a small saucepan. Add the lemon juice, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Mix the cornstarch with the cold water, and whisk into the boiling liquid. Stir until the sauce slightly thickens and is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce over the chicken, or serve at the table separately.

Carving Note: Hagedorn has a five-step method for carving the chicken. It's very easy:

1. Use a carving knife to cut through the skin between the thigh and the breast
2. Pop the thigh joint where it joins the bird, and cut through the skin to remove the leg and thigh
3. Cut through the joint separating the thigh and leg.
4. Separate the wings from the bird at the joint, and cut through the joint, leaving an ample amount of breast meat on the first joint. Cut off and discard the wingtips.
5. Remove each breast half from the carcass. (Begin slicing through the breast at the breastbone. You can then separate each breast half from the carcass.) Slice each piece in half.

Saffron Fennel

This recipe also appeared in the Washington Post Food Section on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. David Hagedorn, chef. The fennel is crunchy and very tasty.

1 large fennel bulb with stalks and fronds
1/2 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t ground turmeric
1/2 t sugar
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 t finely grated lemon zest
1/4 t saffron threads

Prepare the fennel by removing and reserving the fronds. (If you are going to make this a day ahead of time, wrap the fronds in a paper towel and refrigerate them.) Remove the bulb's stalks and the outer leaves. (You can chop and saute the stalks as you would celery, and use it to make soup stalk.)

Cut the bulb in half vertically, and remove the triangle core. Slice the fennel horizontally into thin slices. (I misread the recipe and sliced it vertically. The diners still ate it enthusiastically.)

Combine the dry spices and the sugar. Put the fennel in a plastic food storage bag. Add the combined spices and the oil. Seal the bag, and mix well to completely coat the fennel. Transfer the fennel to covered microwave-safe dish. Cover the dish, and cook on high in the microwave for 5 minutes.

If you are making this dish a day ahead, cool the fennel, then refrigerate.

While the fennel is cooking, rinse the reserved fronds, and pat them dry with a paper towel. Chop the fronds as you would chop parsley.

When the fennel has cooked, remove the dish from the microwave and stir the dish contents to mix. Stir in the chopped fennel frond. Serve immediately.

Hagedorn cooks the fennel in the plastic storage bag. I did this, and the corners of the bag failed, dripping fennel juice everywhere. So I'm going to stick with cooking it in a microwave-safe dish.

Lentils

The original recipe appeared in the Washington Post Food section on Wednesday, March 18, 2009, David Hagedorn, chef. I changed a couple of the ingredients. This is a very tasty side.

1 c "French" lentils
3 c vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 dried thyme
2 medium garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1 medium potato, small dice

Rinse the lentils. In a small saucepan, combine the lentils, broth, and spices. Bring to a boil, and add the carrot and potato. Cover and simmer on a lower heat for 30 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are soft.

I made this the day before I served them. They really taste better the second day. I just cooled them down for an hour or so, then refrigerated them overnight. I warmed them up the next day before serving.

Peach-Apricot Cobbler

This recipe was modified using a similar recipe from the Washington Post Food Section, March 18, 2009, Page F8. From David Hagedorn.

2-12 oz packages frozen peaches, defrosted
4 oz dried apricots, diced (about 1/2 c)
2 oz crystallized ginger, diced (about 1/3 c)
1 stick unsalted butter
1-1/4 c flour
1-1/4 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1 T baking powder
1-1/4 c whole or low-fat milk
1 t almond extract
1 t vanilla extract

Mix together well the fruits, ginger, and sugar. Set aside at room temperature for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Cut the butter into pieces, and place in a 10" cast-iron skillet, then place the skillet in the oven to melt the butter. It should turn brown, but not burn.

Mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the milk and extracts until the batter is smooth.

Remove the skillet from the other. Pour the batter into the skillet; a crust will begin to form around the edge. Use a slotted spoon, and arrange the fruit on top of the batter, taking care not break the crust around the edge.

Bake in the oven for an hour until the crust has a deep golden brown. Cool slightly and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Note: I fixed this dessert in too small a skillet (the original recipe says "medium" but does not define medium. I used a 9-inch skillet which was much too small. Happily, the dessert tastes so wonderful that it really doesn't matter what the dessert looks like coming out of the oven!

Scalloped Potatoes

These are not your usual scalloped potatoes.

7 T unsalted butter, divided
2 lb Golden Yukon potatoes, pared and sliced (1/8")
1 medium onion, sliced (1/8")
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/2 lb mushrooms, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c flour
2-1/2 c milk
1/2 lb Gruyere or sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t Louisiana hot sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 c chopped parsley (optional)

In a large, heavy skillet, melt 4 T butter over low heat. Add the onions, green pepper, mushrooms, and garlic, and cook over low heat until the vegetables are cooked down and soft, about a half hour. Stir the vegetables occasionally, while cooking.

While the vegetables are cooking, pare and slice the potatoes into a bowl of cold water. Drain and rinse the potatoes in a colander.

Butter a 13" x 9" pan with 1 T of the butter. Set the pan aside.

Stir the flour into the cooked vegetable mixture (keep the burner on low). Slowly stir in the milk, and bring to a boil over low heat. If you haven't already done so, you should grate the cheese, now....

While the sauce is cooking, arrange one-third of the sliced potatoes to cover the bottom of the prepared pan. Salt and pepper to taste. As soon as the sauce boils, stir in the grated cheese, and stir until all of the cheese is blended in. Stir in the cayenne pepper, hot sauce, and parsley. Remove the skillet from the burner.

Spread one-third of the cheese sauce over the potatoes. Layer one-half of the remaining potatoes, and salt and pepper them. Top with one-half of the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining potatoes and sauce.

Mix the bread crumbs and 2 T melted butter. Spread the bread crumbs on top of the potatoes. Bake in a 350° F oven for 45 minutes.