Recipe 56: Roast Chicken with Sorrel Cream Sauce

Challenge #1: I am a city kid, I didn't test things I found on the river bank floor as a kid, they were likely polluted. The river was the closest thing I had to a woods near my house. It was three blocks away, but provided a good spot to get away sometimes. So, I felt a little envy while researching sorrel and learned that one woman had eaten this off the forest floor as a kid, and made her friends eat it, and didn't know until she was older what it was. Now I've learned that it is similar to spinach, but its not really(more on that later).

So, where to get this stuff? I look at Meijers, they usually have most of my questionable stuff. But they were taking down the herb display and had oregano and rosemary left when I came through. I wanted to scream. Being it was a friday night after work, I nearly did. I went to midland and checked there-I needed to buy Jelly-Belly's for pacifiers to top the cupcakes for the baby shower. I started looking online, thinking this might be special order since its not winter here. I found very few suggestions and combed Meijers produce department again. Finally, this afternoon, during my third trip to a Meijer this weekend, at my very own Mount Pleasant Meijer, they have the herb rack back up, and I find the most expensive sorrel the above mentioned blogger I was envious of would never have paid for. But I'm on a mission and this recipe was still relatively affordable-another first for an Emeril recipe;-).

Challenge #2: The sauce calls for a dry white wine. I could use a cooking wine, but real wine gives a better flavor. However, I drink reds, not whites. I'm not sure which ones are dry much. I just know not to buy Table wine, these are usually sweeter. I found a nice Reisling I had been surprised by before. I picked that one out, but decided to see if Meijer's book section had a simple little black book of wines, or wine demystified there. They actually had a Wine Bible by someone who understood much more about wine than I ever will. It was somewhat overstimulating in all of its info, and might have been considered a wine encyclopedia. However, I did find a small section with the info I needed, by luck as much as not. And it suggested a Sauvignon Blanc for a dry cooking wine. Since I believe the Riesling tends to be a bit sweeter, I switched my wine choice to Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc. Next time, I'm curious to see how the Reisling tastes.

After all the work to find the sorrel and pick out the wine, and to figure out how to quarter this bird, I think the roasting was the easy part. Last time I roasted a chicken, I left the bird whole and cut off what we needed. This time, I asked the meat counter at Meijer and they refused due to cross-contamination issues. It made me wonder if they wash their surface after every cut. Since they didn't have any pre-quartered birds, which I mentioned, I brought home the whole bird. James had originally offered to quarter it for me, but I didn't yet have the sorrel and didn't plan to cook it that day. I decided to attempt to do it myself. This didn't go quite as easy as I'd hoped. I called James for advice. It sounded like what I was doing, but I made him come over and help anyways. He was so supportive when he told me I had most of the cut made for him. I realized as I heard popping, I just needed to apply some more pressure. He proceeded to cut up some onions for me, then went back home to rest. He'd had a long day and he was sore.

I chopped the sorrel and added it to the butter then rubbed it all over the chicken and under the skin. I added the onion to the mix and the thyme with lemon zest as I did not find lemon thyme for this.I quartered the lemon and piled this and garlic cloves atop the chicken quarters as well as the onions and some of it around it. I thought it would add to the flavoring of the chicken better than packing it around. However, if you want crispy skin, you need to pile around not on the chicken. I then cooked the chicken for about 40 minutes and began to make the sauce while the chicken was resting.

I added the butter and the shallot to the pan, and heated the shallot, not letting it turn brown. I then added the wine and began to let it reduce. I'll be honest here, as I smelled the wine while cooking in the sauce, I wasn't sure I had chosen the right wine, or that I shouldn't have used something else. I could still smell the flavors after adding the heavy cream. Once I added the sorrel and spinach and lemon juice, as well as the chicken pan drippings, the sauce smelled much better. I nearly burned myself trying to get them out of the roaster. Oh well, wouldn't be the first time.

Note about sorrel: once I got it home I did taste it. It did not taste like spinach. It wasn't nearly as bitter. It was more like a Boston lettuce without as much water content and a crisp refreshing apple zing to the aftertaste. I thought it very nice and will be adding sorrel to our herb garden this year.

I did leave out the tarragon. James and I have pretty much determined we just don't care for tarragon. I think it would work very nicely with the flavors in this recipe, which complemented each other beautifully, but tarragon is just not something we like enough to include in most recipes.

I will definitely make this recipe again. James and I may have a new favorite. And its not terribly hard either, once you get the chicken quartered. For that, James suggested the pick of the chicks, in which case he knows each piece of chicken will get its own clove of garlic;-).

Recipe 55: Quinoa with Toasted Pecans

The challenge: small this week, Pecans take up a larger part of the food budget when you work for peanuts. I really need to start working more for pecans. Other than that, I think I have yet to encounter such a simple recipe in this book. That may be challenge #2-searching out an easier recipe.

I mixed 1 part quinoa to two parts chicken stock, brought it to a boil, then simmered for 15-18 minutes. In the meantime, I chopped 1/3 cup of parsley leaves and a 1/4 cup of pecans. I then toasted the pecans until they smelled good. I set them aside in a ramekin and enjoyed my morning coffee while I waited for the quinoa. Once it was ready, I mixed it all in together added a tablespoon of olive oil, and enjoyed a refreshing nutty breakfast with a parsley that added a nice bit of flavor to it. I didn't expect the parsley to be so enjoyable or this to be such an easy to make breakfast dish.

Challenge #3: get more quinoa and keep some chicken stock in the house. Yes, chicken stock, it appears to be for breakfast too. I will definitely make this recipe again. James had already eaten when I called him to tell him it was done, so I'll have to add his take on it later.

I will definitely make this dish again.

Recipe 54: Carrot Salad

The Challenge: coordinating dinner with James. First he forgot I had plans to make dinner, and pulled out chicken breast that needed to be used and got veggies ready. So, Wednesday night was out. I planned for Thursday night, but fell in Curves as I was getting ready to workout. I called him to tell him I'd be home early to put ice on my knee. I still planned to make dinner at this point. The knee was only bruised, but he so thoughtfully called and offered to pick up KFC for dinner. I really couldn't turn him down. I was planning to make MorningStar Spicy Black Bean burgers with the carrot salad, and part of me couldn't help but wonder if he wouldn't just keep making dinner till I made the veggie burgers for lunch on the weekend and served him one cold later. I decided my sweet James was simply being thoughtful. The next night, after wearing heels to work foolishly, and throughout shopping, I was ready to be done.

But he came over and offered to help even. I was grateful, my knee was ready to rest. It didn't get to right away, but I was on my feet less than if I'd been cooking for someone who didn't help with dinner. He even ribboned the carrots for me the way I showed him to;-), according to the book instructions. He also minced the ginger, garlic and sliced the shallot as requested. How sweet is this man?

I grated the lemon zest, juiced the lemon(found the new wooden reamer a wonderful tool), added the honey and salt, some cayenne(I don't know where my crushed red pepper went off to-might have left it at James'), and James chopped the mint.

I blanched the carrots in oiled and salted water, and whisked the vinaigrette with the above spices and olive oil and cumin powder. I skipped the mortar and pestle. I don't think I have one, and I didn't ask James to bring his over. I combined the carrots and the vinaigrette, then added the mint and cayenne pepper.

It was a nice, simple refreshing salad, but not one James would want made for him. He wasn't impressed. I think you really have to carrots or ginger and lemon juice to enjoy this dish more. James did think I might have added two much of one or the other, and since I'm known to have a heavy hand with ginger and I didn't measure the lemon juice, he's probably right. (But you are all sworn to secrecy!).

I myself would make this dish again, but probably for a dish to pass at a party or for a small brunch gathering with friends, probably using a little less lemon or ginger or both.

Recipe 53: Five Grain Salad

The challenge, Part 1: Amaranth-where in the world do I buy this? And can I get it for less than $10.00 (for about a pound)? I checked a local co-op. They used to carry it, but not any longer. I checked Meijer and Witbeck's(my local grocer), they didn't carry it either. I called the local health food and supplement store. They no longer carried it. James and I finally remembered the Spice Shoppe, but they went out of business in November. I looked online, and found the cheapest on e-bay for $2.10, but had to pay $6.95 shipping. I hate paying more than shipping costs. Even if it does come to my door. I estimated this was more than shipping costs. And everyone else wanted ten dollars or more for Amaranth. Finally, after nearly two weeks of searching-including Grand Rapids and Midland stores; I made a trip to the local health food store and inquired. Maybe she had some in back she hadn't sold. No, but she would order me some. I ordered it, to the simple tune of $4.49 for a pound and waited for it to come in.

The challenge: Part II, This recipe includes rice and long grain wild rice blend. Both take long times to cook-about 45 minutes. I only own two medium sized saucepans and one small one. One of the medium sized saucepans was being used for tomato sauce for a non-Emeril recipe. I do like to knock a recipe or two out during the week, so I don't have to worry so much about creating up to three recipes on the weekend. This recipe is technically five recipes in one. I started it Thursday night, only to find myself searching for something suitable to serve for dinner, as this was going to take some time, oops.

The great 5 in 1 recipe includes Amaranth, Quinoa, Millet and Wild Rice in addition to brown rice(fancier is better). I think I used Jasmine rice. I still subscribe to a food budget. Its also rice I used for a previous recipe. After I cooked most of the grains, and I think I overcooked the Amaranth, I put the recipe aside, as my bedtime arrived sooner than I liked. I revisited the recipe on Saturday evening after a family gathering. I re-did the Amaranth, realizing my ratios were off, and came out with a nutty, well-intentioned grain creation. I proceeded to dice the fennel, radishes, and chop the fennel fronds, I added the liquids, and segmented and chopped the orange and juiced 1 of the oranges for a liquid. Then I added the salt and pepper and mixed it in with the grains.

I tasted it before I put it in the fridge and thought I had near perfection. I put it in the fridge overnight and took to my brother's house for the last of our Christmas gift exchanges(thank goodness;-)). I did taste it in the morning, as a very small part of my breakfast--It was still good but was probably better the night before, when everything was mixed fresh.

The recipe calls for this salad to be refridgerated from 4 hours up to 4 days then served at room temperature. I personally, would mix it, and serve it still warm. I would also add more oranges.

It does make a lot, and I might make this recipe again, though James did not care for the flavor(not enough hot peppers, I think;-)). I think I will make it again upon request only.

Also, because the grain seeds for the non-rice portions of this tend to be a little crunchy and small, they get into sensitive teeth more than expected. Even the rice can sneak in there if you are not careful. Some people that tried it, while they enjoyed the flavor, found it difficult to eat due to their sensitive.

Then my oldest niece, Jessica tried it. Her grandma and I joked about the reports going back to her brother and sister: "Psst, don't eat the salad, its not good." I didn't catch the first part of whether she really told her sister, "don't eat the salad," or to eat it. The part we all caught was, "It's whole grain." I suspect its close to what Grandma and I were joking about, and we all overheard her, for a good laugh. The recipe may not be perfect, but its reasonably healthy;-) and still edible, as long as you like whole grain.

Recipe 52: Green Onion SpoonBread

The challenge: remembering that I wanted to add to this recipe when I made it. Epic fail;-). Most of the time, I have cooked a recipe exactly as it is listed in this cookbook, and most other attempts. However, in the intro, this recipe suggested adding garlic, corn or bacon or to let your imagination run wild. It still came out good, it just needed something. I was thinking paprika or peppers. A friend suggested bacon once I clarified that its like a corn bread, only moister than I remember ours being, and not as dense.

I felt like I was cooking grits with milk, buttermilk, heavy cream and a little salt and pepper, then adding green stuff and baking it. I had to include egg whites beaten to a stiff peak and their yolks got mixed into the batter first, but it still came out good and moist, and probably able to be eaten with a spoon of one desired. That's my guess with the name.

This bread is pretty quick and easy to make, which is a plus and it stays very moist.I will add some bacon crumbles and maybe some garlic cloves next time I make this bread. I may even post an update when I do. I will definitely make this recipe again, I expect it will even be requested, with additions. It may be interesting to see what James' imagination will come up with when he tries this tomorrow.

Recipe 51: Red Grapefruit Sorbet

Challenge 1: Find red grapefruits and get enough to make 2 cups of grapefruit juice...Most lemons yield about a 1/2 cup of juice. How much do grapefruits yield? Second...the red grapefruits have red skins, right? So, why can't I find any individual ones, even at Meijer. I finally gave in and bought a 5# bag. Six grapefruits should give me enough juice, and they're red, plus they're marked. I came home to look at James and say, "You like red grapefruit, right?"

"As long as you get me a grapefruit spoon," he replies. Hmmm...should be easy, except Meijer stopped carrying silverware, and its not in the gadget aisle that I can find. We shall revisit the spoon. I promise.

Next challenge, time. I reviewed the recipe. Black pepper, with red grapefruit, hmmm....this could be interesting. The recipe seems easy enough, except I need to chill the simple syrup blend overnight and get crushed ice for the ice cream maker. I had better start making ice.

James helps me crush the ice, he's a little gentler at ice crushing than I seem to be, though this is great for relieving frustration. Now, how much ice is enough to fit in the ice cream maker? Keep crushing ice, hmmm...could have used an ice crusher, alas, I don't have one. I'm lucky to have the ice cream maker.

Now to layer the rock salt and ice and I hope I did it right. 30 minutes later, when the ice cream maker stops agitating, it appears I did make it right. Tastes sweet and tart too, Now I put the lid on, and finish freezing the sorbet in the freezer overnight.

We had a nice after dinner treat that is pretty good, with a simple sweet tart flavor, and a nice way to enjoy some red grapefruit flavor. And yes, it comes out pink;-).

Now back to the grapefruit spoon. I check around Meijer again, nothing. I go to Witbeck's, nothing. I check other stores I'm at, and nothing. Does no one eat grapefruit anymore. I haven't been to Goodwill lately, where I'm sure someone donated one, but I haven't had time to check.

Finally, while buying a friend's bridal shower gift, I remember to check Target. They have a set of two, with cute little yellow handles. I buy them. While making the sorbet and I think about making another batch, James runs off with one grapefruit spoon, and the rest of the grapefruits. I think he'll like this recipe, then.

I will make this recipe again, especially with the ice cream maker, and not having to worry about metal coffee cans. James liked the flavor of what he has tried so far, here's hoping he lets me take some home...;-).

Recipe 50: Orangecello

Happiness, bottled. I think. However, I've had to pour more than one drink, so it must be fleeting happiness...alas...have a health.

So, take a bag of oranges, 8 to be exact and zest them. Set the oranges aside for another purpose-Orange cranberry sauce (though you need zest for that as well), orange-clove pomanders(lots of cloves;-)), etc...maybe orange curd to be made for rosemary scones...looks like I'll be making those again.

Zest oranges into glass jar, add alcohol(Everclear), seal tightly. Let sit four days until zest is pale and alcohol is orange. This scared James, so of course I was curious, but we haven't tasted yet. The Everclear itself is pretty strong.

Then you make a syrup, but its more water than sugar, a little more than 2:1. Stir frequently until sugar dissolves and syrup is clear, do not allow to boil. Allow syrup to cool, add it to alcohol blend and stir to mix. Pour into clean bottles with tight-fitting screw tops or corks, Set aside for two weeks at cool room temperature to allow alcohol to mellow.

So, I started on this about a week before Christmas, and it was technically ready Wednesday or Thursday night. I had James bring it out of the basement tonight while he was doing laundry. We tried it, of course. I thought it tasted like a screwdriver without all the orange juice. James made whisky face and declared it too sweet. Too sweet is what I love about it, though it has been making me crave sweets tonight.

I must admit, I went over to James' after 10PM to claim the cookies that were left there and some left over magic bars, all the while looking at the recipes for the healthier food I should be eating.

Its good, but will I make this recipe again? Probably, as it will make nice gifts for adults that have turned 21 or older and enjoy imbibing, and some days, when you definitely need a beer, but one won't cut it, maybe I'll pull this out again. My cares are certainly forgotten right now, I even listened to my best friend's complaints almost cheerfully tonight due to this stuff. It does make some things easier, the question is: will I get up in the morning? And how will I feel? But it is a fun little ride while it lasts.

Happy Imbibing...beware the gifts of Tanya, they may include strong alcohol;-).

Recipe 49: Meyer Lemon Pudding Cakes

Ooey-gooey molten Meyer lemon lava goodness...oh, yeah, babe. Here is Emeril's true genius at work. These babies are in the kitchen screaming warm ooey-gooey we've got you reduced to baby talk goodness. I will make this recipe again. I like lemons, I like lemon pudding...then they put it in cake, and bake it in a water bath. Now I see how they make chocolate lava cakes.

There was a challenge-there is always a challenge. Where in the world am I going to find Meyer Lemons? Not lemons, not any old lemon, not a farmer's market lemon, when all the farmer's markets are closed when I come home, but a Meyer lemon, one the Chinese crossed with a mandarin orange and got a better flavor and less acid. Where? I checked the health food store, I checked Meijer. I checked Witbeck's. I wondered and I pondered. Then I checked Meijer produce again, near the grapefruit, I needed ruby red for another recipe coming up. And in the single grapefruits and organic citrus, I found bags of 6 Meyer Lemons, and they did not entirely break my budget. 3 Cheers for reasonably affordable Meyer lemons!

So, tonight I creamed butter and sugar and zested six small Meyer Lemons that should have been zested six days ago, or left in the fridge until I really was going to make them;-). Then I laboriously separated the eggs one at a time and added the yolks to creamed mix. Then I added flour and most of the rest of what I needed to add.

Note for egg whites: Wash and dry bowl thoroughly and carefully before use, do not touch inside of bowl with hand. I only touched the edge. Keep all shells and yolks out of the egg whites, use clean and dry spoon or fork to remove egg shells. If any other debris gets in, especially yolk or oil, set aside for egg white omelet and start over. Eggs are very picky about forming stiff peaks. So I washed and dried my beaters, and took a deep breath after fishing out the egg shell with a spoon, and hoped I wasn't too interrupted. Then I proceeded to drop the beaters in set my mixer to 1. I got cloudy egg whites, then wondered at it for half a second, then proceeded to foamy, and wondered at it, keeping beaters in. This was my first time, that I recall. (I may have tried this before but with not much luck, so I gave in and used beaten egg whites.) I pulled the beaters up for a 1/4 of a second and put them back in when I didn't see any attempt at peaking. Then I started getting really foamy, then something cloudy and fluffy again. And when I thought I might be there, I gingerly pulled up the beaters and had peaks standing with points at attention! YES! I got lucky, damned lucky! I was so happy not to have to separate more eggs and do this again.

To my best friend, Andrea, I thank you for calling me Sunday to ask me about this, so that I figured out what I needed to in order to do this right.

Then I took the egg whites with stiff peaks and folded them into the egg yolk creamy mixture. As soon as I checked the recipe, I realized I forgot the buttermilk. I added the buttermilk and almost grabbed the mixer. Then I re-read, Do not overmix. i stuck to the spatula and mixed the buttermilk in carefully but as fully as possible.

Then I poured the batter into six cute little ramekins, and gave them a 1/2 way up the side water bath. I looked at the oven I was supposed to put them in, and realized the oven was not preheated. Oops. That's a quick fix. Turned oven on to bake, came back in five minutes and said warm enough. Then I baked them for 35-40 minutes. And dug the spoon in before I pulled any ramekins out to cool.

I will definitely make this recipe again, probably this weekend. I think I have a new favorite crave-worthy food. And drat, damn Emeril, there goes the diet, again!

Recipe 48: Creamy Spiced Rice Pudding

Shhh...don't tell, I've never been a big fan of rice pudding. Oh, wait, that's not a secret. But I wouldn't want to disclose that everywhere before I gave this recipe a fair shot. My hopes for this recipe were not as high as the Orange Cranberry Sauce, but I wasn't entirely disappointed either. I simply don't like bland food, and this is still bland. Though it got a fairly good reception when I treated James' family to midnight dessert on New Year's Eve. I didn't know how else to get rid of it;-).

So, this recipe calls for aromatic long-grain rice, such as Louisiana popcorn rice, Texmati, basmati, or jasmine. I got Jasmine. I couldn't find Louisiana popcorn rice. So, I got the one that met my budget instead. Since I think the aromatic of the rice plays a part and some people liked this recipe, if they find some Louisiana popcorn rice, I'll make it again or copy the recipe for them.

Also involved are an equal amount of water, standard amount of cinnamon stick (about 3 inches long), a couple pinches of salt, 2 pinches ground cardamom, 1 pinch ground coriander 4 amounts of whole milk, 1/4 amount of heavy cream(plus more for serving), a little over 1/3 of the amount of brown sugar, plus more for serving. I used a little extra of the brown sugar and spices. I usually do spice heavily, and as I mentioned before, I don't like bland foods.

This took a little patience, as you heated the rice with water and spices first, boil, stir, cover and simmer on low until water is absorbed. Then you add the milk 1 to 2 amounts at a time until it is thick and creamy, about 8 minutes each time. Stir the rice frequently at first and near constantly as more milk is absorbed. It will stick to the pan if you don't.

When the milk is absorbed, remove the pan from the heat, cover, leave alone for 15 minutes. Rice pudding is to be served warm with heavy cream and brown sugar.

This pudding traveled in my new Christmas gift(a 3 quart enameled cast iron pot in red) to Cadillac for a New Year's Eve family gathering with James' brother and sisters. His other brother, Bill, smartly departed snowy Michigan for Florida. They have returned, I'm not sure why;-).

My favorite part of this dish was hearing that some people did like rice pudding and most were willing to try it. I try not to force my cooking on too many people. Though if they're good, I'm going to probably make you want them. My second favorite part of serving this dish was heating it up as the ball dropped and serving it after our champagne toast and hugs around the room. I thought we should have simply formed to concentric circles and turned in opposite directions, but that takes all the fun out it, I guess.

Most that tried the pudding enjoyed it, I was really glad for that. Even more glad though, was receiving Ben's suggestion that I add some orange pieces to pudding. It was a good suggestion, the citrus flavor went really well with the pudding. Ben added just lime to his serving before I put orange in anything and it added a nice subtle hint of something more than just rice pudding. I expect this pudding could pair well with many citrus flavor. I've also been told and have seen that some put raisins in the rice pudding, which would likely cook up well, just use less sugar. I'd be curious about bananas sometimes. I suspect that things that go well with milk would work really well in this pudding, especially those that go well with cinnamon and cardamom.

I will not be as likely to make this recipe for myself again, but if requested for a special occasion will kindly provide it. At that time, I may experiment with the bananas. But that could be another blog.