There's nothing like a weekend of fresh culinary shows to inspire the cook in you — and this morning, PartySugar was gushing about a recipe for Whole Duck with Green Peppercorn Glaze that chef Alex Guarnaschelli made yesterday on her show, Alex's Day Off. She mentioned that even though the recipe looked easy, she'd never made duck at home before. It left me wondering: How many of you have prepared duck at home?
Source: Flickr User FotoosVanRobin
Get your Monday off to the right start by making a fast and simple chicken roast that'll also be a versatile add-in for meals later in the week. Buy twice the whole chicken needed for yesterday's meal and pan-roast the remaining chicken in a skillet until juicy and aromatic. Serve it alongside a simple salad and crusty baguette for a rustic meal. You can easily incorporate any of the leftover roast chicken on top of a Spring salad, in a hero sandwich for lunch, or a cheesy baked casserole. For the recipe, read on.
After a long week of admittedly too much partying, I'm in the mood for an easy, nourishing meal. Tonight, I'll be using my slow cooker to make a bacon-flecked stew with white wine and a whole cut-up chicken, reminiscent of the French countryside favorite coq au vin.
Hours later, when the scent wafting from the crockpot tells me that dinner's ready, I'll enjoy it at the table with the rest of the leftover wine. Sound like a relaxing close to a long, busy week? Then make the recipe yourself when you read more.
Chicken enchiladas aren't always a fast and easy dinner option, but with a few adjustments, you can surprise your family by serving them as an indulgent midweek meal. Cut extra time by using cubed pieces of already-cooked chicken and pre-grated cheese, and you'll have the steaming casserole in literally 30 minutes. Having friends over for the weekend? Impress a crowd with enchiladas made from slow-cooked layers of poached chicken, homemade enchilada sauce, and roasted pepper salsa. A recipe for either occasion, when you read more.
Workweek off to a harried start? The best remedy is a rustic supper that'll remind you to slow down. Tonight, keep it simple with a Greek chicken dish that makes use of leftover chicken and calls for a short list of easy-to-obtain ingredients.
Roast chicken and vegetables with seasonings, aromatics, and oil, and you've got a meal to savor only 45 minutes later. For an added touch, serve with a bowl of avgolemono. See the recipe, after the jump.
A lazy Sunday is the perfect time to experiment with slow cooker techniques. Even if your idea of crockpot cuisine doesn't extend beyond throwing stuff into a pot, consider taking a few extra minutes to dredge your meat in flour, then brown it in a skillet before braising. A Provençal stew doesn't require many extra steps yet has more complexity and body than basic crockpot chicken.
Black Nyons olives, crushed tomatoes, and basil add layers of flavor. To try out the recipe, keep on reading.
Seeing PartySugar's menu for a Greek dinner made me realize how long it's been since I've made my favorite Greek dish, avgolemono. If you've never heard of this homey soup (av-what?), avgolemono is a Mediterranean specialty made up of four basic elements: chicken stock, eggs, lemon, and rice. When preparing it, remember to add the hot broth gradually to the lemon-egg mixture, otherwise you will cook pieces of the egg. Prefer not to work with raw poultry? Throw already-cooked chicken breast into the simmer. Or, make it a complete, from-scratch meal by poaching chicken breasts with rice, vegetables, and herbs. See which recipe fits your cooking style when you read on.
When it comes to game day eats, dips are convenient, chili is comforting, and pizza is solid, but none of them hold a candle to the reigning champion of Super Bowl snacks: fiery, vinegar-laden chicken wings.
While it's a Sunday requirement, buffalo chicken isn't the most ideal to make; even with special cooking equipment, its deep-fried preparation can be dangerous, messy, and odorous. Leave it to the king of food science, Alton Brown, to come up with an alternative cooking method for buffalo chicken.
His recipe calls for steaming, chilling, and then baking the chicken wings. It's healthier, less messy, and even my sports fanatic boyfriend can't tell the difference! For a baked version that achieves the same crispy, crackly results, keep reading.
Following a weekend bacchanal full of Champagne kisses and caviar dreams, usher in the brand-new work week with a down-to-earth meal that's affordable, wholesome, and easy to prepare.
Use leftover chicken thighs, leftover white wine from your New Year's celebration, and frozen vegetables to create an aromatic chicken braise.
Serve the one-pot meal atop a heaping mound of brown rice, and you've got a healthful dinner. See the recipe when you keep reading.
Those of you who are on the lifelong quest to make the perfect roast chicken, should turn your attention to something called air-chilled chicken. To Americans, this term might be a relatively new or even foreign one, but in other parts of the globe, such as Europe and Asia, this three-hour, specialized chicken-raising process has been popular for decades.
Conventionally raised chickens are typically dunked in iced, chlorinated water to bring down the chicken's temperature after it's been slaughtered. Compare this to air-chilled chicken, which have been eviscerated, sprayed with chlorinated water inside and out, and then rapidly cooled in cold air chambers in an effort to keep bacteria to a minimum.
In the US today, only a handful of smaller plants use the air-chilling process, a production method that is just beginning to catch on in the mainstream. Although air-chilled chickens cost significantly more, producers claim the result is a better-tasting bird that's retained its natural flavors and boasts a crisper skin after roasting. What's your take on it?
Source: Flickr User Joe Shlabotnik
