Cutting up a Chicken

I am the fourth oldest of ten children. We grew up in a small village in the middle of the Canadian Province of Alberta, and we didn’t have much money. These facts combined, mean that I was raised on very few processed foods (it was more expensive to buy enough Hamburger Helper to feed us all than it was to make a hamburger casserole from scratch and add in “stretching” ingredients.)

It also means that for the most part, when we had chicken, it was either leg quarters (thighs and drumsticks) because they were inexpensive, or a couple of whole chickens cut up into parts.

I was about 11 or 12 when Mom first guided me through cutting up a chicken. I clumsily learned how to find the joints, pop them and then carefully slice through. And thanks to Mom’s patience and close supervision, when I was done, it looked more or less like chicken parts were supposed to look.

After I moved out nd got married, I fell into the trap of the bland, boneless, skinless world of easy and “healthy” chicken. With few exceptions, I never cooked dark meat, and rarely cooked chicken with bones in it. I’m sure my kids had related the word for the chicken we had for dinner to the word for the birds we saw in books and on TV, but whether they made a real-life connection from the reality of the boneless skinless meat to the walking, squacking feathered creatures, I have no idea.

Of course, as you know if you’re been to our farm website or have been reading this blog for very long, you know that three years ago we moved to Washington State and started raising chickens. As we butchered the first batch of chickens and I started preparing them for the freezer, those chicken cutting-up lessons of my youth came in very handy.

As time went on and customers came by to get their chickens, I began to get questioned about how to cut up a chicken. I quickly realized that many people didn’t have the privileged childhood I had, and have never cut up a chicken in their lives. One lady told me that she and her mother had spent over an hour trying to break down one bird, and in the end, it was a mess. Others have told me that they always roast or poach their birds whole rather than attempt to cut them into parts.

Any time I get asked, I am happy to give a quick demo and explain the process, and I like to think that some people go home with their fresh chickens afterward and attempt the process for themselves.

A couple of months ago, as I was looking for something online, I found a link to a terrific video demonstration on cutting up a chicken.  Then the other night our dinner guest appeared to be amazed that the chicken breast on her plate looked like one that you would buy in a store. It made me realize how lucky I was (though I never would have thought it at the time) to grow up in a home where I did get the experience of learning how to cut up a chicken.

So for those of you who have not had the same opportunity and experience, here is a wonderful demo on how to cut up a chicken. Although of course, if you’re coming by the farm this summer to pick up your chicken and would like a personal lesson, let me know. I’ll be glad to help.

Chicken Cordon Bleu – Chicken of the Week

Tonight we had a guest for dinner, so I left work 1/2 hour early so that I’d get home early and dinner wouldn’t be too late. But, as happens with so many well thought out plans, this one was thwarted.

Traffic.

It took way more than an hour to travel what normally takes 20 minutes. But even though I spent so much of my time this evening surrounded by brake lights, I still was able to get an amazing (it’s no time to be modest) dinner on the table before 7 p.m.

I know what you’re thinking…Chicken Cordon Bleu? How could something so amazing be done so quickly?

Well, there’s two answers to this question.

First, I did some of the prep work last night. Second, the recipe is nowhere near as challenging as you might expect. And third, I’m just that good. (I know I said two answers, so just pick your two most favorite from the above list.)

So if you want an amazing, yet easy, weeknight dinner, simply:

Take a boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut a pocket in the side. Into this pocket, stuff a piece of ham, cooked bacon or prosciutto (my pork of choice) and a piece of cheese (I used Ementaler, but it could have been Gruyere or Swiss or almost any kind you like.) Use toothpicks to close the chicken. Repeat for the number of servings you want. Place all chicken in a pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (The overnight rest helps it hold together when you cook it.)

The next day…

Heat the oven to 375. Also, heat 1/2″ oil in a skillet.

Set out three pie plates, dishes, pans or other vessels of choice. In the first, put about 1/2 c flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. In the second, mix 1 egg with 1 T water for every 3 chicken breasts you are cooking. In the third pan, dump in some panko breading along with salt and pepper – maybe 1/2 cup panko for every chicken breast you’re making. You probably won’t use all the panko, but it’s easier to have too much than to just have barely enough.

Remove toothpicks from the chicken and, one at a time, dip/dust the chicken in the flour, then dip in the egg wash then finally cover in the panko. Set chicken aside. When all the chicken is breaded, carefully place in the hot skillet. Cook until chicken is golden brown on one side, then turn it over and brown the second side. Place on baking sheet.

When all chicken is browned, place it in the oven for about 15 minutes. It’ll be done when a thermometer reads 160 degrees in the middle of the chicken.

That’s it. If it sounds like hard work, think again.

If it sounds amazingly delicious, just know that you’re right.

Of course, what really makes the meal superb is terrific company. But that’s a story for another time.

I’ll tell you all about it in June.

Soup Noodles

It’s been a rough couple of days in our household. My mother came down with a stomach flu on Tuesday, and Austin and I were copycats and decided to be sick on Wednesday. This morning, Austin was better, but I wasn’t, and Ryan was.

Usually when I’m sick I can still read about food. I think maybe its because when I read about food, its more of a fact-finding process rather than an imagining-what-it-tastes-like process. I read food blogs and cookbooks for the articles, not the pictures.

But yesterday, I couldn’t even do that.

By about 10:30 this morning, however, that all changed. I got hungry and food sounded good. And I even wanted to get up off my butt and cook something.

So I made soup noodles.

I pulled out a quart of frozen homemade chicken broth, dumped it in a pan with 2 cups of water, some chopped onions, a crushed clove of garlic and a couple of chopped up carrots. When it came to a boil, I added soy sauce until it tasted salty enough, then two “bunches” of my favorite organic udon noodles. Boil 5 minutes to cook the noodles, and we’re good to go. Better than packages of ramen, but without all the crap.

My Secret to Great Pizza

I have access to the world’s greatest pizza sauce.  You wouldn’t believe how much it cost me to obtain it and the danger I am now in just by revealing the fact that I have it.

This is a sauce that you can’t just buy. No, you have to know someone. You have to be in “the family.” You have to…

Actually, you have to wait and hope that my lovely sister Anna becomes a successful entrepreneur and starts selling her product on the shelves at your local grocery store.

Me? I just call my sister up and say I need more. Because in a blind taste test, by family chose her sauce overwhelmingly by a margin I’m too embarrassed to admit to.

My sauce was described as acidic and over-seasoned.

Hers was praised as rich and spicy. (Please don’t point out the irony of the fact that it says “Spicy and Rich” in Italian on the front of her jar.)

So Anna, if you’re reading this, I guess I need more pizza sauce.

For everyone else who can’t purchase this amazing sauce just yet, let me give you the perfect pizza crust recipe for you to store away for the day when Anna’s sauce is available to the masses.

Pizza Dough

• 2 1/2 c All Purpose Flour
• 2 1/4 t Yeast
• 1 t Sugar
• 1 t Salt
• 2 t Olive Oil
• 1 c Water (approximately)

Add all ingredients except the water to the bowl of your food processor with the regular chopping blade in. Turn on your food processor and add all but about 1/4 cup of water through the feed tube.

The mixture will start to look crumbly. Add a little bit of water at a time through the feed tube, just until the mixture forms into a ball of dough. Once the dough forms, leave it running for another minute.

Put dough in oiled bowl covered with a damp towel and let it rest. Each recipe makes about 1 large crust for us. I usually make 4-5 batches to feed our group.

Top with The World’s Best Pizza Sauce, Mozzarella cheese and your favorite toppings.

Bake at 425 degrees for 13 minutes on the lowest rack in your oven.

Mi Vida Loca Locamente (My Insanely Crazy Life)

10. Three boys out of school for the summer will use a total of 4,832,120 glasses a day (apparently one per sip of water), and will leave them ALL on the counter.

9. It’s hard to be inspired to cook when the kitchen is so hot that butter melts the second it is removed from the fridge.

8. According to the millions of mosquitoes living in the Northwest, I have the tastiest legs in the County.

7. One of my favorite times of the year are the weeks leading up to our anniversary. Paul and I always have so much fun planning for it.

6. The option to go online and put books on hold at the library so all I have to do is run into the library, grab the books, self-check them out and be driving away in 5 minutes or less really encourages me to read all kinds of things. Current favorite read: “Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul“, by Stuart Brown. A must read for all parents, teachers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and people.

5. The feeling of accomplishment when I receive a compliment on my cooking is addictive. I made corn chowder for my visiting aunt and uncle (who, by his own admission is incredibly picky) and they both loved it. Yay me!

4. Crockpots are amazing inventions, but only work well when you turn them on.

3. Boys who get splinters in their feet should learn their lesson and not walk on wood decks without shoes again.

2. It it a cruel, cruel joke of nature to have 100+ degree temperatures in this part of the country. And a horribly painful lesson to learn that such extreme temperatures can be devastating to chickens. On the flip side, we are truly blessed to have so many kind hearted, gracious and understanding customers. Thank to all for the kind thoughts sent our way.

1. In spite of everything that life throws at us, there are always bright spots and angels if we only open our eyes and look around.

1b. And did I mention how excited I am about our anniversary plan this weekend? Stay tuned, it’s gonna be deliciously fun!