| Dinner plan! Well, if you're not already cooking dinner by yourself, let's try one out. This particular lesson is about reutilizing what you can. Also it gives a lesson in order of execution. Multitasking is always happening in a kitchen. Always stirring and watching, skimming or flipping, etc... Everything has an order of doing things. When cooking more than one dish at a time, tasks become more specific in order to be efficient. And besides, it gives you an idea what kind of crap cooks have to go through day in and out for 10 hours straight. Remember, you can reuse certain things, like water used for boiling, or drippings from a roasted chicken. In fact, let's just do that. Let's get some things together. Baked Chicken w/ potatoes and vegetables Serves 4 veggies of your choice (preferred: Frozen in bag, mixed. canned mixed veggies can also be used, though I'm not fond of the water it's preserved in) butter 4-6 med. size potatoes, large dice 1 small can evaporated milk 4 chicken breast or thigh, trimmed (fat removed, skin left on or reserved if desired) 1 can chicken stock 2 tbsp AP flour seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder, lemon) chives First... Place a pot of water on the stove, leaving it to boil. Then... Spray non-stick spray on a sheet of foil on a baking pan. If you can, make a little point on one of the corners of the sheet of foil, stretching a little past the edge of the pan. Season your chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and lemon to your taste. Start baking at 325-350. While that's going on... Put your veggies in the pot of water and reduce heat to simmering. Season and add at least 2 tbsp of butter. Next... Start peeling and dicing your potatoes... Leave the diced potatoes in a bowl of cold water to prevent them to change colors to brown. **Make sure to check on your chicken and veggies from time to time** In another pot, whisk the can of chicken stock and flour together until well mixed. If you'd like, add a handful of minced onions. Start to simmer the mix in med heat. Stir occasionally. By now, your veggies should be done. With a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables and hold at a warm temperature. Make sure you reserve some of the water for the veggies to sit in (enough to fill 1/3 way). USING THE REMAINING WATER in the pot, place the diced potatoes in the pot and bring to a boil. Add more water if there's not enough to cover the potatoes. Bring back down to a steady simmer. **Remember your chicken?** Remember, fat is where most of the dish gets its flavor. If you chose to leave the skin or leave in on the side, there should be plenty of chicken drippings in the pan, and may be some drippings from the chicken itself (the easy pour spout created from the foil makes it a simple process.) Add the accumulated drippings to the pot of chicken stock (it should be thickened a bit) and whisk until incorporated. Return the chicken to the oven and finish cooking (remember what the internal temperature for chicken is?) After stiring your pot, set to low heat and let stand. **Remember your potatoes?** The water should have given your potatoes a distinct taste from your vegetables. Drain the water, leaving at least 1/4 (more or less) in the pot. The pototoes should be very tender and easily mashed. Start mashing your potatoes (either with a potato masher or a slotted spoon... a sturdy enough one.) Add evaporated milk and start whisking the potatoes, adding milk as needed. Add the chives if you have them. All that's left is your chicken. It should be ready temperature wise by now. Everything else should be holding. PLATING Okay... want to get a little classy? Who knows when you want to make a nice presentation for somebody. I'll try to make a small explination, then later I'll make the same dish again and show you my plated presentation. Place a serving amount of potatoes in the to the top left of the center of your plate. Place a piece of chicken on the center of the plate, so it kind of overlaps (leaning on, but not on its side of) the potatoes. Pour a small amount of gravy on the chicken where it is on top of the potatoes. Garnish either middle corner that is free with a serving of steamed veggies. Across from the other side, have a small piece of red leaf lettuce with a small slice of lemon cut in half on a free corner of the plate. A COUPLE OF NOTES... Don't add flour to hot liquids. The flour has to blend well with liquids, and when the liquid is hot it just doesn't. Always add it to cold liquids (if adding directly to a hot liquid) or stir in with a fat like clarified butter or oil (gradually brought to a hot temperature.) See for yourself if you dare... If you want to save time and use instant potatoes... Pour the amount of potatoes you'd like to use in a large bowl, then add in the water. Gradually add the milk and whisk until you get the right consistancy. Honestly, I'd rather do this... Love the easy stuff. With this, you turned regular potatoes into a more flavored version of itself, as well as enhanced the chicken flavor of your gravy. And cleanup shouldn't be so bad considering you didn't bring out excess bowls and such for mixing (instant potatoes excluded.) I admit though, this is probably common sense stuff, but to someone starting out it's a good practice run to prepare for any future opportunities that may come around. Besides, the best way of learning is by doing it, right? Another thing: The best recipes created are the ones that get tweaked by the user. If you got an idea, don't be afraid to deviate from the original. It's your dish, right? Do it how you want it! |
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