Fourth of July this year has been a scorcher. Who better to roast with than friends and family?
Thankfully, we anticipated the relentless burn of global warming on New Orleans and this year acquired, just in time, a commercial daiquiri machine, into which, all liquids must now go. One of our barbecue attendees exclaimed that everything she drinks this summer should have the consistency of the frozen slush this machine produces. Orange juice 2.0. Beer slushie. Ice tea slurpie. Coffee granita. Only the frozen will get us through this season. From our experimentation thus far with this machine, here are some recipes which have been successful. We own a Margarita Girl single bowl machine, which holds about 6 liters and serves about 25 8oz drinks. It takes about 3 hours to freeze after the liquid is introduced to the unit.
Frozen Hemingway Daiquiri
50 oz rum
18 oz grapefruit juice
18 oz lime juice
12 oz simple syrup
96 oz water
Frozen Mint Julep
40 oz mint simple syrup
54 oz bourbon
108 oz water
In other news, we had a chicken die. Ned Nederlander passed, not because of the heat, but because Kermit the Dog got a little too excited in the backyard and Ned decided to creep outside the coop for an untimely snack. Sad. He has been memorialized with some new signage to keep bully dogs out and improve morale. Hens before mens.
And then we ate chicken….So, I haven’t been a “meat and potatoes” kind of gal until this recipe. WOW, flavor. I got home from a call shift and still had some energy to burn (or was that my stomach lining, with hunger?) and, to my chagrin, upon peeking in the fridge, saw I only had potatoes. Where had the rest of my veggies gone?? The stomach furnace rumbles… so with only potatoes, I checked the freezer and there was the saddest little frozen Cornish hen, who knows how many years old. But it was all meant to be. Randomly, Martina McBride’s cookbook called to me from the shelf, and I went to her, and opened to the index to find “potatoes” and lo and behold, this tasty hour-long recipe caught my eye.
I’ve never roasted lemons before, but now I always will.
Chicken and Potatoes with Roasted Lemon and Rosemary Sauce
Adapted from Martina’s Kitchen Mix: My Recipe Playlist for Real Life
1 ½ pounds small potatoes
3 large lemons
¼ cup Bono Val di Mazara Sicilian Extra Virgin olive oil (This stuff is WOW)
Kosher salt and fresh pepper
1 Cornish hen
2 tsp Ruth Ann’s Muskego Ave Chicken and Fish Penzeys seasoning (a lemon and pepper blend)
2 TB minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 TB unsalted butter
Cover the potatoes in water and bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain, let cool slightly, and slice in half.
Zest one of the lemons and set the zest aside. Get the broiler going and cut lemons in half. Arrange with the cut sides up and brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil 6 inches from the heat until browned and soft, about 10 minutes, and let cool. Squeeze the lemons over a strainer into a bowl, yummy, yummy roasted lemon juice, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425. The Cornish hen should also get slathered with olive oil and salt and pepper and the lemon zest. Put breast side up on a pan, and roast for 30-35 minutes until inside temperature registers at least 180 degrees.
Meanwhile, put a skillet on the stove top and put some butter and about ¼ cup chicken broth into the skillet and heat until butter is melted. Place the potatoes flat-edge down into the skillet and cook until the liquid evaporates. Place garlic into pan and add a little more chicken broth, let evaporate, about 2 minutes. Combine together roasted lemon juice, the remaining broth and rosemary. When the chicken has about 10 minutes left, take it out and place it on top of the potatoes in the skillet.
Pour half of the lemon rosemary sauce over the whole thing and put in the oven to bake until the chicken is done. Then take the chicken out and put on a platter, return the potatoes in the skillet to the burner and add the last amount of rosemary lemon broth. Make sure you are scraping the bottom of the skillet to get the sticky brown bits (YUM) and then plate the potatoes around the chicken, reserving a bit of thickened broth/fond/yumminess to either serve on the side or to drizzle over the potatoes and chicken.
Oh my gosh.
This would be a perfect reheat-able leftover to take for lunch. Recently, I tried out the HotLogic mini, a lunchbox you can plug in at work and cook your meal/reheat leftovers for lunch! I love it—especially when you are working somewhere without a kitchen or microwave, or if you are travelling—you can still pack your own food to cook and avoid the temptation to eat out or eat fast food!
Another real gem in McBride’s cookbook is the Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup, which has such an amazing flavor with masa blended into the cream. YUM. Crumble some tortilla chips and cheddar cheese on top.
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from Martina’s Kitchen Mix
1 1⁄4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups (32 ounces) chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon paprika
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomatoes with diced green chiles, undrained
1⁄3 cup masa harina (if you have a Mockmill, just grind a little finer some corn meal!)
1 1⁄3 cups milk
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (16-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
2⁄3 cup heavy cream
1⁄3 cup Greek yogurt
Garnishes: shredded cheese, sour cream/Greek yogurt, diced avocado, cilantro, lime wedges, corn tortilla chips, hot sauce
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place in a greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Pour 1 cup of the broth over the top and cover. Bake 45 minutes or until done. Remove the chicken, reserving the cooking liquid. Shred the meat with 2 forks.
2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add the onion and jalapeno; cook 3 minutes. Add the garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the remaining 3 cups broth, reserved cooking liquid, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and tomatoes.
3. Whisk together the masa and milk until blended. Stir into the soup. Cook over medium-high, stirring frequently, 10 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens slightly. Stir in the chicken, black beans, pinto beans, and corn. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the cream and sour cream. Serve with the desired garnishes.