Rotisserie Review: Herbed Chicken
Sep. 1st, 2008 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjMy call for an impromptu dinner party to partake of another rotisserie experiment rousted out one vegetarian (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
xrian) so I trolled the neighborhood to round it out with a few carnivores and got bites from both the tenants.
The meat For the chicken, I was vaguely following a magazine recipe which called for brining the chicken overnight first. I've decided I don't care for brining -- the resulting salt content is too unpredictable. (Although I rather like salty food myself.) So I brined a whole chicken overnight, then mixed up a paste of chopped scallions, Italian herb mix, mustard, minced garlic, a little butter, and a splash of lemon juice which was introduced under the skin as far as I could reach. I centered the chicken on the spit and fired up the two side burners (out of four). It occurs to me that the designer of the rotisserie attachment doesn't quite understand the ideal physics of the method because the burners run back to front while the spit runs side to side. The heat should be parallel to the spit. But it worked adequately, with a nice amount of browning but no burning. There was a baste of butter with more Italian herbs and a small splash of honey to help with the glazing. In a little over an hour it hit the desired internal temperature.
The appetizer At the farmers' market, I'd run across a Carrot of Unusual Size that brought to mind my "appetizers using veggie rounds instead of crackers" experiments and, on reassurance from the grower that it wasn't woody and would be good raw, I chose one with about a 2-inch diameter. This was peeled, sliced, and then smeared with either a soft goat cheese or a dab of tomato-and-olive brushetta spread.
The salad-like-object Heirloom tomatoes (red, orange, and green) sliced and sprinkled lightly with truffled salt.
The veg An assortment of amusingly-shaped and -colored summer squashes, quartered in ways that best preserved their amusement value, brushed with olive oil and broiled, with grated goat cheddar sprinkled on for the last minute of broiling.
The starch A brown and wild rice mixture, steamed, then finished in a skillet with sautéed scallions, celery, crimini mushrooms, and pine nuts.
The dessert The night before, put one very ripe strawberry, sliced, in the bottom of a liqueur glass. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and a teaspoon of brandy. Let sit. In a double-boiler, mix 1.5 cup light cream, 3/8 c. sugar, 1/4 c. chestnut flour, 1/2 c. pistachio flour, and a pinch of salt. Heat, stirring periodically with a whisk until well thickened. Add a dash of rosewater, whisk again, then spoon over the strawberries to fill the liqueur glasses. Chill until ready to serve. (Makes 8.) I added the chestnut flour because I wasn't certain about the thickening properties of plain pistachio flour and I wasn't willing to risk failure by experimentation. I'll try it again without the chestnut and see how it goes.
The results: Either I did something wrong with brining the chicken (despite having followed the magazine recipe) or it simply isn't my thing. The chicken was delicious -- absolutely delicious -- but I'd rather let my diners control their own sodium intake a bit more. But I'm starting to get more confident about the whole rotisserie thing. The bird was done to a turn, as they say, and meltingly tender. The tomato dish was heavenly (if simple). The carrot appetizers will be added to the repertoire. The other sides worked, although not particularly special. The pudding was divine and has inspired me to do a whole red-and-green menu (to go with my previous orange-and-purple menu). (The idea will be to use the colors in non-obvious ways, e.g., not just "red meat and green vegetables".)
I've realized that I need to get past three mental roadblocks for dinner parties. The whole last-minute spontaneous open-ended thing is fun on occasion, but I suspect it's also a crutch. 1) Yes, fixing a date in advance creates a Commitment which will then make me feel unwarrantedly burdened. Deal with it. 2) Yes, sending out invitations in advance to specific people means that I have to identify specific people I want to have dinner with and negotiate schedules with them. Deal with it. 3) Putting out general invitations to the general ether is not an appropriate way to deal with fear of rejection. Deal with it.
xrian) so I trolled the neighborhood to round it out with a few carnivores and got bites from both the tenants. The meat For the chicken, I was vaguely following a magazine recipe which called for brining the chicken overnight first. I've decided I don't care for brining -- the resulting salt content is too unpredictable. (Although I rather like salty food myself.) So I brined a whole chicken overnight, then mixed up a paste of chopped scallions, Italian herb mix, mustard, minced garlic, a little butter, and a splash of lemon juice which was introduced under the skin as far as I could reach. I centered the chicken on the spit and fired up the two side burners (out of four). It occurs to me that the designer of the rotisserie attachment doesn't quite understand the ideal physics of the method because the burners run back to front while the spit runs side to side. The heat should be parallel to the spit. But it worked adequately, with a nice amount of browning but no burning. There was a baste of butter with more Italian herbs and a small splash of honey to help with the glazing. In a little over an hour it hit the desired internal temperature.
The appetizer At the farmers' market, I'd run across a Carrot of Unusual Size that brought to mind my "appetizers using veggie rounds instead of crackers" experiments and, on reassurance from the grower that it wasn't woody and would be good raw, I chose one with about a 2-inch diameter. This was peeled, sliced, and then smeared with either a soft goat cheese or a dab of tomato-and-olive brushetta spread.
The salad-like-object Heirloom tomatoes (red, orange, and green) sliced and sprinkled lightly with truffled salt.
The veg An assortment of amusingly-shaped and -colored summer squashes, quartered in ways that best preserved their amusement value, brushed with olive oil and broiled, with grated goat cheddar sprinkled on for the last minute of broiling.
The starch A brown and wild rice mixture, steamed, then finished in a skillet with sautéed scallions, celery, crimini mushrooms, and pine nuts.
The dessert The night before, put one very ripe strawberry, sliced, in the bottom of a liqueur glass. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and a teaspoon of brandy. Let sit. In a double-boiler, mix 1.5 cup light cream, 3/8 c. sugar, 1/4 c. chestnut flour, 1/2 c. pistachio flour, and a pinch of salt. Heat, stirring periodically with a whisk until well thickened. Add a dash of rosewater, whisk again, then spoon over the strawberries to fill the liqueur glasses. Chill until ready to serve. (Makes 8.) I added the chestnut flour because I wasn't certain about the thickening properties of plain pistachio flour and I wasn't willing to risk failure by experimentation. I'll try it again without the chestnut and see how it goes.
The results: Either I did something wrong with brining the chicken (despite having followed the magazine recipe) or it simply isn't my thing. The chicken was delicious -- absolutely delicious -- but I'd rather let my diners control their own sodium intake a bit more. But I'm starting to get more confident about the whole rotisserie thing. The bird was done to a turn, as they say, and meltingly tender. The tomato dish was heavenly (if simple). The carrot appetizers will be added to the repertoire. The other sides worked, although not particularly special. The pudding was divine and has inspired me to do a whole red-and-green menu (to go with my previous orange-and-purple menu). (The idea will be to use the colors in non-obvious ways, e.g., not just "red meat and green vegetables".)
I've realized that I need to get past three mental roadblocks for dinner parties. The whole last-minute spontaneous open-ended thing is fun on occasion, but I suspect it's also a crutch. 1) Yes, fixing a date in advance creates a Commitment which will then make me feel unwarrantedly burdened. Deal with it. 2) Yes, sending out invitations in advance to specific people means that I have to identify specific people I want to have dinner with and negotiate schedules with them. Deal with it. 3) Putting out general invitations to the general ether is not an appropriate way to deal with fear of rejection. Deal with it.
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 03:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 03:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 07:47 am (UTC)We have those at our grocery store -- they're labelled as "winter peen" (winter carrot) as opposed to the smaller, more normal-sized ones which are "bos peen" (forest/wood carrot). The bos peens come individually shrink wrapped. We love them for soup, and I've never had one that was hard or woody.
Mom's Marinated Sweet&Sour Carrot Salad recipe
Date: 2008-09-02 01:02 pm (UTC)Combine: carrots, 1 med. red onion, thinly sliced, 1/2 c. chopped sweet green pepper.
Combine marinade in small bowl: 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) tomato soup, 3/4 c. sugar, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, 1/2 c. red wine vinegar, 1 t. Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 t. salt
Pour marinaade over vegetables & stir.
Cover; refrigerate at least 24 hours. (Drain off surplus marinade before serving.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-03 02:09 am (UTC)All of them were delicious. ;)