It's Good for What Ails You

Chicken Pot Pie. Not many would turn that down. I suppose if your stomach isn't wanting to hold down crackers and sparkling lemon lime soda it doesn't sound good but otherwise it could be good for what ails you.

The school where I work seems to have had a rough go of the flu this year. Not only the kids but parents and teachers alike. When I heard one of the girls that works for me we sick with really yucky stuff going on for 3 days AND she has little kids, I knew I needed to take her dinner. Prince Charming and I discussed on the way to church what would sit well when sick. He suggested chicken, cheese and pasta. Our ideas overlapped at chicken. Something not too spicy and comforting is what sounded good to me.

On the way home from church we stopped, like we do every Sunday, at Costco. We got our weekly tomatoes, berries, cheese and a new shirt for me. Ok, never mind about the shirt. We picked up a roasted chicken which is always a great start to an easy and quick casserole.

Basically I'm going to give you the recipe I found on someone else's blog with the changes I made or would make. I doubled the recipe so PC, my mom and I could have it for dinner too with a salad. You can easily halve this recipe if you like. Serves 8 as is or 4 if halved.

I got this base recipe from http://damndelicious.net.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 roasted chicken, shredded
1 - 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
Chicken base, to taste



FOR THE BISCUITS

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 1/2 cup buttermilk or (2 tbl white vinegar in measuring cup then fill with milk to 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp of thyme and some lemon zest would be awesome

INSTRUCTIONS

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add cold butter, using your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and stir using a rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.
Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10- by 7-inch rectangle, about 1-inch thick. Cut out as many rounds using a 3-inch biscuit or cookie cutter as you can. Place biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet; set aside in the refrigerator. Cover with towel. I reworked the scraps quickly and gently to get a few more biscuits.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9X7 inch oval and a 8" round or whatever works for you.
To make the filling, melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth, milk and thyme, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken and mixed veggies; season with salt and pepper, to taste. I like to whisk in "chicken base" instead of salt to taste.
Add chicken mixture to prepared baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Top with prepared biscuits and bake until tops are golden brown, an additional 10-12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Eat. Feed your family and expect everyone to feel better in the morning. Yum!

Where in the world have you been?

I love to cook. EVERYONE knows that about me. Just because I haven't updated my blog in something like 563 days doesn't mean that has changed. I just take the path of least resistance at times. This past weekend I made a stop at the Hispanic market and bought some treats from the meat counter. One of my all time favorite things to do is go into a supermarket I've not been in before, especially ethnic markets. I prefer to go by myself. I want to linger over the many shelves of vinegars, numerous rices, interesting cuts of meat, swimming fish and fresh produce I've never seen before. I have no qualms about just standing on an aisle typing in unusual letter configurations into my smart phone trying to figure out what I'm looking at. Because I took French in high school going into a market where most things are labeled in Spanish may as well be Greek to me.

My son was the one to bring my attention to this little store in Santa Ana. He told me months ago about their tasty empanadas. Since I was in the area and had little on the agenda I thought I check it out.

It's a small store located on the ground floor of a 2 story building near the corner of Bristol and 17th Street. Without a good description I would have completely missed it. The quiet little market with low shelves made me feel like I could easily browse without being overwhelmed. What I didn't expect was a fresh meat counter stretching across 1/2 the back of the store. I worked my way from one end to the other making mental note of what I might do with all the choices. Headcheese?! Sweet lord, yes. Beef short ribs, yep. Blood pudding, yes please. (I ate a super yummy empanada too) I couldn't wait to take my finds home to Prince Charming knowing he too would be as excited as I was. Sure enough, he inspected the meat I had laid out on the island. We sampled the headcheese and determined it would be on our next round of Bahn Mi.

Sunday after church I removed the skin from the blood pudding (sausage) and sliced it about 1/2" thick

and fried it slowly in olive oil until cooked through but being careful not to burn it. That was not easy to do as the sausage turns black as soon as the heat hits it. I served it with gently fried eggs and buttered toast. Oh the sticky goodness and gently spiced "pudding" was a perfect match for the rich runny yolk and crispy toast. We wanted more but knew one sausage between us was enough.

Sunday afternoon I began the task of making slow braised short ribs. Cutting, seasoning, browning. Slow cooked mushrooms and onions then the ribs added back in with tomato paste, beef broth and a dark beer. The whole thing in the oven for 3 hours leaves plenty of time to make a parsnip puree and oven roasted asparagus. As you would imagine the meat fell off the bones and the puree was a perfect landing for the dark rich braising liquid.

Oh how I've missed telling you about our food adventures. Where have you been? Stand by, there is more to come.