chicken stock

Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass (or 4 or 5 big legs, several wings etc) with the leftover meat and skin on
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
parsley/thyme etc
salt/pepper

Put the chicken in a big pot, fill with enough water to cover the bird. Add all the veggies roughly chopped and skins/leaves included. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let cook for several hours until the chicken has basically fallen apart, meat off the bones etc and all the veggies are very soft. Drain through a colander or cheesecloth saving the water and discarding the veggies. Use as is or bring to a simmer and reduce even further. As it cools it will gel and the fat will rise to the top, you can skim it off (my chicken seems to be very lean and there isn't much to skim off) or leave it in for flavor.

Freezes very well, in mini Tupperwares or ice cube trays. You can use any veggies you want or have lying around, I've also added bell peppers, garlic, potato skins etc Just make sure they're washed.

This is a great way to use up chicken that you normally would be throwing away for future soups, risottos and anything else that calls for chicken stock. It has FAR less sodium than bouillon cubes or prepackaged stock and tastes delishous! ;-)

risotto

Risotto

1 onion
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups risotto rice (the round kind)
veggies
1 liter chicken stock
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Dice the onion and saute until clear in the olive oil and butter. Add the rice and mix well. Add the white wine and lower the heat to a simmer. As the rice absorbs the liquid start ladling in the chicken stock letting it absorb between each ladle full. When you're about 2/3 through the stock add diced veggies (zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers etc) and any meat (turkey, chicken, seafood) and continue to simmer and add half the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let sit 5 minutes.

Serve with more Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top!

When the rice is just cooked through remove from heat and add 1/2 package of

Coconut chicken

Coconut Chicken

* 2 skinned chicken breasts (I used escalopes de dinde)
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup unsweetened dried coconut

Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. In a shallow bowl beat the 2 eggs and on an extra plate pour about 1/2 of the coconut.

Dip the chicken in the egg, making sure to cover all of the chicken with egg.

Then transfer the chicken onto the coconut plate and "bread" it with coconut, repeat with the second breast.

Then cook over medium heat until cooked through.

I served it with fresh squeezed limes but I bet a nice chutney would be delicious too!

salsa couscous chicken

Salsa Couscous Chicken

While preparing couscous ahead of time brown slice almonds in an oven/frying pan.

Combine:

2-3 tbs white raisins
2 cups salsa (I prefer medium or hot as the other flavors reduce the spicyness)
2 tbs hot water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tb honey

and set aside to plump raisins. Slice chicken (about 1.5 lbs) and saute in olive oil and crushed garlic, brown on all sides.

Add salsa mixture, cover and reduce heat. Cook for about 20 minutes until chicken is done. Serve over couscous and garnish with almonds or pine nuts.

teriyaki sauce

My Mom's favorite teriyaki sauce

Korean Barbecue Sauce:

1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 garlic cloves minced
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced

Combine in a sauce pan and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar and blend the flavors. Then cool and pour over chicken pieces in a glass or ceramic container (I use zip lock baggies). Marinate at room temp for 2 hours or in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours/or overnight. Grill the chicken or bake in a pan in the oven. Depending on the size of the pieces (wings vs thighs vs breasts) I bake them for 30 minutes or so at 350 degrees. The chicken turns out so tender, just falls off the bones...

*not my picture, when I can I'll use pictures I take, otherwise its google image all the way...