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Knowing how to poach chicken can save your life

pot of water on stove, boiling
Last night, I taught my friend Shay how to poach chicken breasts. She's going through a tough time at work, is coming down with the newest cold on the market, and couldn't bear the idea of cooking for herself. Food is harder for her than it is for most, as she's got some food allergies that preclude simply calling out for some Egg Drop soup from the local Chinese place. But she can eat chicken and so we poached.

We brought a pot of water to a boil and added salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, a bit of olive oil and a few herbs from the small patch in the yard (if you don't have any fresh herbs, that's okay. A cracked clove of garlic is also be a nice addition to the poaching liquid). When the water was rolling, we dropped the chicken breasts in. I looked at her and said, "Now we wait about ten minutes." She said with surprise, "That's it?" I replied, "Yep, that's it."

There is so much you can do with some poached chicken. You can shred it and, with the addition of a little mayo and spices, turn it into a simple chicken salad. You can cool it down, slice it, and eat it on toast. You can dice it, flavor up the poaching liquid a bit, add it back and have a simple little soup. Or, as my mom likes to you, you can also boil up a potato and eat it with the chicken, salting each bite as you go. The thing to remember about poached chicken is that once you've got the water boiling, most of the work is already done. After a long day, when all you need is a comforting, protein-packed meal before you tumble into bed, remember poached chicken.

Foodie Flicks: Truffle turkey a la Gordon Ramsay



You might think it's too early to hear about turkey, but here are a few reasons to check out the video above: Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend, doing a practice round just means more gobbles for you, and finally, it's got truffles!

The above is a quick run-down of Gordon Ramsay's roast citrus turkey with truffle butter. Personally, I can't imagine eating turkey without a lot of turkey juice-laden stuffing, but at least there's a breadcrumb saute to accompany this mighty fine bird, which comes out of the oven with a deliciously crispy crust and buttery flavor.

But if you don't want to add another turkey to this year's meal plan, try it with a chicken!

Tip of the Day: Quickly defrost your chicken

Do you ever have a craving for chicken at the last minute, when there isn't time to defrost some? Read on for a quick way to defrost your chicken breast pronto.

Continue reading Tip of the Day: Quickly defrost your chicken

Midweek Meals: Thai barbecued chicken

Thai barbecued chicken is marinated in coconut milk then grilled to set in all the flavors. A final garnish of scallions adds a pop of color!
The only thing better than coming home to a home cooked meal is having a home cooked meal that doesn't take two hours to prepare. Thai barbecued chicken is a refreshing meal that tastes like the last days of summer, but with a kick! This isn't your ordinary barbecued chicken. Don't be afraid of all the ingredients, you probably have many of them in your pantry. While the chicken only takes about 30 minutes to cook, it does need to marinate.

Make sure to prepare the marinade the night before, refrigerate and before leaving for work the next morning, add the chicken to the marinade and put back into the refrigerator.

Continue reading Midweek Meals: Thai barbecued chicken

Midnight Molded Food - Cream Chicken Salad



From Dainty Desserts for Dainty People (1915), Knox Gelatine

I'm interrupting the semi-regularly scheduled Midnight Sausage series to share molded food images and recipes from my personal collection of early-to-mid 20th century cookbooks. There will be aspic. There will be mousse. There will be various gelatins. All will be semi-solid and of debatable degrees of edibility.

Please feel free to shimmy and shake your way to the comments section to share your very own magical, masticable molds of yore.

Previously - Brain Loaf

Get a free McD's Southern Style Chicken Sandwich or Biscuit today

Michael Phelps' 12,000 calories a day notwithstanding, I'm dubious that the US Olympic teams are marching en masse to the Beijing Mickey D's for their pre-event chowdown. Still, that shouldn't stop you from pole vaulting on over to Facetheglory.com to download a coupon for a free Southern Style Biscuit or Sandwich today. Come armed with a hearty appetite and a color cartridge, 'cause the coupon is valid from August 15th through September 1st, and only if it's printed in color.

Yeah, I know that the analagous Chick-Fil-A sandwich tends to be the crowd favorite 'round these parts, but really, are you gonna look a gift chicken in the mouth?

*A reader just brought to my attention that a medium or large drink must be purchased to receive the freebie. I highly recommend the Sweet Tea.

Facetheglory.com

Southern Style Biscuit Review

Hebrew University study shows that red wine can increase your longevity!

Over the past few years, as wine has undergone repeated studies, it has started to seem like the modern-day fountain of youth. According to its various supporters, it can fight off streptococcus bacteria, reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and flush one's system with antioxidants. Still, all of these pale beside wine's greatest claim to fame: the so-called French paradox.

For years, scientists have wondered how the French, who have one of the most saturated-fat rich diets in the world, manage to have such a low incidence of heart disease. While they haven't been able to scientifically determine the mechanism at work, anecdotal evidence has suggested that France's impressive wine consumption might have something to do with the paradox. Recently, scientists at Hebrew University in Jerusalem have confirmed the link and have even determined part of its mechanism.

According to the researchers, when the body digests meat, particularly turkey and red meat, it produces two toxic chemicals, malondialdehyde and hydroperoxide. These compounds can cause cancer, inflammation, and heart disease. However, red wine contains polyphenols, a particular kind of antioxidant, that neutralizes the toxins and prevents their absorbtion into the bloodstream.

Continue reading Hebrew University study shows that red wine can increase your longevity!

Feast Your Eyes: Best BBQ chicken

gorgeous close up of bbq chicken
Looking at this picture makes me realize that I haven't had a single piece of barbecued chicken this summer. Seems I'll have to do something about that before the grilling season is out, possibly with this exact recipe (the volume of Everyday Food from which it comes is currently sitting on a stack next to my bed). This picture comes to us from the guys over at The Bitten Word, who discovered that until this batch of chicken, they'd been making barbecue the wrong way all their lives. However, it seems that they are now converts to this dry rub prior to cooking, saucing at the end of grilling technique.

Thanks Clay and Zach, for adding your image to the Slashfood Flickr pool!

Elevate your summer cook-out with gourmet hot dogs

gourmet hotdogs from D'artagnan
I remember once, while I was around 7 years old and playing at a friend's house, my mom stopped by with lunch for me (they were doing her a favor by watching me and she didn't want to impose on them to feed me as well). It consisted of a napkin-wrapped hot dog that she pulled out of her purse. I remember looking at with distaste, as the hot dog was wrinkled and grey, and the bun was also a sad affair. It was edible, but certainly not exciting. That experience colored my perception of hot dogs and it was years before I ate them with gusto.

Fast forward to the present day and I am singing a very different hot dog song. This conversion is in large part due to gourmet meat producer D'Artagnan's new line of exotic (and very tasty) hot dogs. They come in four varities - pork, beef, buffalo and duck and they are made from meat that was never treated with antibiotics or growth hormones. They are uncured, which means that they are nitrate-free. For all the fancy varieties of meat, they do still taste much like your classic hot dog. Larger than the traditional frank, they are filling, which means that while the pack only comes with four dogs, you'll only need to eat one to be satisfied, so there's plenty to go around.

I recommend eating them with potato salad and some good, whole grain mustard. Very tasty!

Feast Your Eyes: Dancing chicken

two upright roasted chickens
They first thing I thought when I saw this picture was, "OMG, dancing beer can chickens!" Mike had a similar thought, because he named the image, Limbo. Roasting chickens on the grill with beer cans inserted into the cavity is a great way to get a whole lot of flavor into your bird and keep the meat tender and moist.

Thanks Mike, for adding your picture to the Slashfood Flickr pool.

Crusted chicken with ginger mushrooms, onions and collard greens

crusted chicken with ginger mushrooms and onions, and collard greens
The other night, I found myself at my favorite Creole place and had one heck of a tasty crusted catfish with collard greens. (It was Southern Accent -- go if you're ever in Toronto!!) Even though I had it less than a week ago, I'm still dying for more. So, last night I whipped up a quick chicken version which proved to be one heck of a tasty summer meal.

It was also quite simple. First, I threw some sliced mushrooms in a pan with garlic, onions, and a bit of fresh-ground ginger. While they were cooking, I cut up one chicken breast, and followed the flour-egg-breading dredging technique using some crushed saltines. When they were limp and ginger-perfect, I took them off and threw the sliced collard greens in the pan with a little more ginger, butter, and garlic. While they cooked, I quickly fried the chicken, placed a few pieces on top of the mushrooms, and teamed it with the greens.

It was delicious, filling, and quick, but light enough for summer due the ginger flavor (which worked particularly well with the mushrooms).

Extreme Grilling: 4th of July roundup

man grilling
The Grand Rapids Press has a list of several dozen beef, chicken vegetable and fish tips for your Independence Day bash. Try wrapping fish in prosciutto or bacon to prevent drying. And cook snapper and other delicate fish in foil or on a plank so it doesn't fall apart.

Hawaii's KGMB has a video of Tyler Florence making a grilled pork tenderloin for a big 4th of July cookout. He suggests stocking up at a wholesale club like Sam's to save when feeding a crowd.

BBQ.about.com has chicken, pork and beef brisket recipes, with ideas for kebabs, potato salads, ice tea, sangria, and something called 'flag fudge.'

Nashville's WSMV teaches you how to build a top notch grilling station, from grills to spatulas to thermometers to lighter fluid.

Kalyn's Kitchen has some cool 'think outside the burger' ideas special for the 4th: grilled shish kabobs with whole wheat pita and tzatziki, grilled salmon with maple syrup glaze, grilled chicken with tarragon mustard marinade, grilled tri-tip with salsa.

Epicurious has a bunch of burger ideas: Feta burgers with grilled red onions, jalapeno burgers, open face lamb burgers with mint yogurt sauce, buffalo burgers with pickled onions and smoky pepper sauce, sun-dried tomato burgers with balsamic-glazed onions, porcini-Gorgonzola burgers with veal demi-glace, tamarind-glazed turkey
burgers, sesame tuna burgers....

Also on Epicurious: A complete guide to grilling. Rubs and marinade recipes, technique tips, how to test for doneness, where to taste the best regional barbecue. With input from grill guru Steve Raichlen.

Martha Stewart has a very tasteful (naturally) Fourth of July menu. Check out the ribs.

Global Gourmet has another grilling guide. Check out its rundown of recipes from their favorite grilling cookbooks. Whoopi Goldberg's Big Bad Ass Beef Ribs, anyone?

Even vegetarians get in on the grilling action, at Vegetarians in Paradise, with recipes for Independence Day grilled tempeh steak, grilled veggie skewers, grilled red onions and grilled corn on the cob.

An entire farm in a burger



Behold the Whatafarm burger, which according to alanbeam.net, via about.blank is "a burger ordered from the Whataburger chain and includes chicken, egg, cheese and bacon. 2 parts cow, 2 parts chicken, 1 part pig."

I'm all for the orgiastic multi-species chow down, what with my penchant for Kentucky burgoo (2 formats of cow -- old and young, lamb, pig, and chicken) and applaud the orderers for their gastronomic gumption. If I were being all harrumphy about it, I could note that the menu offers pig in sausage form and a fish filet as well and they opted for neither, but hey - Michelangelo didn't knock out the Sistine Chapel on his first jaunt up the scaffolding.

We salute you with all hooves, claws and trotters up!

[Via about:blank]

Summer leftovers: Endive stuffed with grilled chicken

stuffed endive

I realize that none of these ingredients are considered wild like the things I usually write about, but it keeps within my love of frugal foods. I love turning leftovers into something that makes people say you made this with what?

Leftover grilled chicken is a great starting point. I use it on top of salads, or as a great starter for fajitas. Endive, along with its cousins frisee, radicchio, and escarole, is a relative of the plant chicory, which is seen along roadsides all over the country. Don't expect to pick and eat wild chicory though. It is almost always too bitter to use. I will cover other uses for it in a later post. A few years ago I had the pleasure of attending an event at an upstate college where the chef went crazy on endive hors d'oeuvres. This wasn't one of his creations, but that event inspired me and started my love of this wonderful spoon-shaped green.

Separate your endive into individual leaves. Lay a thin slice of cheese (I used an aged swiss) along the bottom of each piece of endive, then add two to three small chunks of your grilled chicken, a small slice of avocado, some chopped sweet onion, and cover with alfalfa sprouts. Drizzle some olive oil over each one, and a small amount of sea salt and ground pepper. Serve any extra ingredients around the stuffed leaves.

I guarantee that your leftover-phobic family members will be cured after trying this.

Record corn prices raise other food costs



The floods in the Mid-West are causing a nationwide increase in food prices across the board. Corn and soy prices are increasing dramatically which means other foods that depend upon them are increasing as well. Expect to see many grocery items like meats, cheese, eggs, milk, oil, etc. increase in price.

I spent summers as a child in the corn fields of Iowa, many of which have become lakes, with the gently hills small islands. Now many of these farmers are calling it quits, selling off the farms and getting out of the business. Animals are being sold off, which means a short term meat glut, but a long term shortage. Don't expect prices to go down from the quick influx of meat, because the long term shortage is so visible that prices have to start reacting now.

This is going to have such long term effects that you can expect your Holiday turkeys and hams to cost quite a bit more than last year, and possibly even more the year after that.

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Tip of the Day

When cooking apples, save your apple cores and peels. Boil them for a half hour, simmer them, and save them for the next apple pie!

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