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Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Volume 6 Issue 96 - May 17, 2004 Chef2Chef Recipe Club Member Forum: http://forums.chef2chef.net -------------------------------------------------- Hello Recipe Club, It's always a pleasure to introduce Chef June Jacobs CCP as our Recipe Club host. I know I'm in for a great learning experience and I'll get some "Keeper" recipes for sure. This week Chef June will teach us a thing or two about chicken. Chicken Almost every week some supermarket in your area will have a sign in its window advertising chickens at (perhaps) 69 cents per pound. I don't recommend it. Cheap chicken is no bargain. Almost all the chicken sold in this country comes from a few large corporations. Their goal is dirt-cheap chicken, and the consequences of this priority aren't especially appealing. Factory fowl: To cut costs, growers often leave bedding (wood shavings) on hen house floors for a full year. This creates unsanitary surroundings, and produces dense ammonia fumes that attack the chickens eyes and lungs -- stressful conditions that do nothing to enhance the health of the birds or the flavor of their meat. Chilling effect: Because meat producers pre-package their birds, fluids get trapped, necessitating shipment at about 4 degrees below freezing. (Strangely, the birds can be labeled "fresh".) Many producers set "sell by" dates allowing birds to be sold up to two weeks after processing. If you can't find responsibly raised chickens in a market near you (yes, they are going to cost more than the "cheap chix"), you can order them directly from http://www.smartchicken.com Boning Chicken Breasts Chicken breasts are generally available in your market already boned and skinned. I prefer to do that work myself because not only do I save the labor charge, I also end up having bones for stock. It's really very easy once you've practiced on a couple. (I find it easier to bone a whole breast than halves.) Here's how: Place the breast section on a cutting board with the ribs closest to you. Holding a boning knife in your dominant hand, make a long cut across the breast half just above those rib bones. Now, holding your knife as flat as you can along the breast, run the blade along the bone and under the meat. When you get to the top of the breast, use the knife this time to detach the last of the meat from the bone. Check to make sure you haven't left the "supreme" behind on the bone. After you've done one or two, you'll wonder why you haven't been boning your own all along! -------------------------------------------------- BusyCooks.com Organize all your recipes on your MAC or PC with BusyCooks RecipeDB software. Enter Coupon ID: CHEF2CHEFCPN at time of purchase to receive a 10% discount. Quickly add, edit and search your recipe collection. Import recipes from BusyCooks.com without the need to type anything in! Create a shopping list and print out your recipe when needed. http://www.busycooks.com -------------------------------------------------- Chicken Breasts with Peaches and Champagne Sauce You've practiced boning your chicken breasts, and here's a delicious way to serve them. Summer will soon be here, and fresh peaches will be in abundance. Peaches aren't just for dessert! Try this yummy, summery combo of boneless breasts and peaches. The Champagne sauce is light and flavorful. Makes 6 servings Ingredients: 3 cups ripe peaches (about 4 medium-sized) peeled and sliced 9 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 3 whole chicken breasts (about 3 pounds), skinned, boned, halved sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste 3/4 teaspoon paprika 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 3/4 cup chicken stock 3/4 cup brut Champagne 1 1/2 cups finely chopped shallots Preparation: Toss sliced peaches with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown and set aside. In a sauté pan over medium high heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the chicken, sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika, and sauté for 2-3 minutes on each side. Do not overcook. Remove to a platter and set aside. Drain the peach slices. Add to the pan and sauté for about 2 minutes. Remove to the platter with the chicken. Cover to keep warm. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the shallots. Cook until they become translucent. Continue cooking further until they caramelize. Deglaze the pan with Champagne. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits that have stuck to the pan. Reduce liquid to almost a syrup. Add the chicken stock cook until liquid is reduced by almost two-thirds. Whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons butter, one at a time. When the sauce is slightly thickened, return the chicken and peaches to the pan and heat through for about 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken to the warm platter. Top with peaches. Serve sauce separately. [If you are serving the plates, begin by putting a little sauce on each plate. Put a chicken breast on top and surround with peach slices.] Wine Tip: Why not serve what you cooked with (or better)? Champagne makes any meal a party. Choose a nonvintage brut, or one of the excellent American Sparklings. I especially like the ones from Iron Horse http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com -------------------------------------------------- ChefsEmporium.net We supply traditional chef uniforms as well as designer printed, chef pants and aprons and hats. We offer chef coats in a wide range of colors. We carry women's chef jackets - designed and tailored specifically to fit the female physique. We also carry the full range of Kingston McKnight Non-Slip footwear, designed specifically for harsh work conditions usually found in the hospitality industry. http://www.chefsemporium.net -------------------------------------------------- Chicken Tetrazzini Here's a great way to use your practice chicken breasts if you feel they don't look good enough to serve. Don't discount this dish as "old-fashioned!" It is easy and delicious to serve for a buffet dinner. It can be made way ahead of time and frozen in the casserole dish you will bake and serve it in. Makes 10 servings (or 50) Ingredients: 1/2 cup (2 cups) unsalted butter 1 pound (4 pounds) mushrooms, sliced 1/3 cup (1 1/3 cups) flour 3 1/2 cups (14 cups) chicken stock 1 cup (4 cups) heavy cream 1/4 cup (1 cup) dry sherry 1/2 teaspoon (2 teaspoons) salt black pepper to taste 1 cup (4 cups) Parmesan, freshly grated 5 cups (20 cups) diced, cooked chicken (or choose cubed turkey or crab meat) 1 pound (4 pounds) spaghetti, cooked al dente) Preparation: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter appropriate dish(es) and set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter and sauté mushrooms for 5 minutes. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in chicken stock and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened. Stir in cream, sherry and salt and pepper and half of the cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Arrange 1/3 spaghetti in dish, sprinkle with 1/2 the meat and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat layers. Cover with rest of spaghetti and sauce. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Wine Tip: If this dish will be the focus of your meal, a tasty companion would be a buttery Chardonnay, such as Trefethen or Far Niente. -------------------------------------------------- QUESTIONS, Comments, Technical Support: http://forums.chef2chef.net |