NCT Cooks Challenge 23 Oct 4 - Oct 11 CHICKEN

VeraBlue

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
1. Pasta (unstuffed, filled or otherwise layered)
2. Chicken
3. Duck
4. Something from the ocean/pond/lake/stream/river/puddle
5 Ground Cow
6. Smoked Pig
7 Cream
8 Your favourite spice
9 Your favourite herb
10 Stew
11. Middle Eastern
12. Chinese
13. Seasonal vegetable of your choice (must be 'in' season)
14. Dessert

#2 Chicken! Seems familiar, yes? So, not exactly a do-over from last week, (last week's challenge was Fowl, so any bird could have been utilized) but it seems more and more of us are eating chicken!

Let the games begin!
 
Chicken is always a good bet for us, since we eat it at least three times a week. Maybe it'll cool off enough that I'll get ambitious and make the Indian butter chicken I've been wanting to make.
 
Pasta Salad – Marinated B/S chicken breast, broccoli, mushroom caps, green onions, black olives, stuffed green olives dressed with EVOO, flaxseed oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt, ground black pepper, ground red pepper flakes, garlic & onion powders, thyme & rosemary. I like to make this the night before so it has time to chill well and the flavors can meld.

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Beautiful photo, Peeps - that broccoli looks gorgeous! And your dinner for tomorrow is all done! That feels good, huh?
 
MexicoKaren said:
Beautiful photo, Peeps - that broccoli looks gorgeous! And your dinner for tomorrow is all done! That feels good, huh?
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Thank you Karen! Yup this will be with either burgers or chili. They can chose which. The broccoli and mushrooms are raw and they pick up all the flavors of the seasoning and dressing.
 
I made chicken broth (or stock ... I can never remember which is which) yesterday.

That counts, right???

Lee
 

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QSis said:
I made chicken broth (or stock ... I can never remember which is which) yesterday.

That counts, right???

Lee
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That is a thing of beauty!! Of course it counts and when will you be here with my bowl of soup? I'll put the coffee on! Boston is only 3 hours ride.
 
I made rotisserie Cornish Hen seasoned with Lawry's Seasoning Salt. I wasn't sure if it was actually chicken so I looked it up on Wikipedia and turns out it is just a young chicken....ya learn something new everyday!
 

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Mama said:
I made rotisserie Cornish Hen seasoned with Lawry's Seasoning Salt. I wasn't sure if it was actually chicken so I looked it up on Wikipedia and turns out it is just a young chicken....ya learn something new everyday!
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I AM DYING HERE!! I want your dinner!!
 
Sweet and Sour Chicken - This came out really tasty, and I'll be making it again. Here's what I did:

- chopped up a large chicken breast into chunks
- dredged the chicken chunks in cornstarch
- deep fried them

- lightly stir fried red bell pepper and onion

- made a sauce with apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, Minute Maid orange
juice concentrate, chicken broth, pineapple juice, ketchup, and
thickened it with a cornstarch/broth mixture

- tossed the chicken, bell pepper, onions, and some pineapple chunks
together and coated all with the sauce


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Cooksie said:
Sweet and Sour Chicken - This came out really tasty, and I'll be making it again. Here's what I did:

- chopped up a large chicken breast into chunks
- dredged the chicken chunks in cornstarch
- deep fried them

- lightly stir fried red bell pepper and onion

- made a sauce with apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, Minute Maid orange
juice concentrate, chicken broth, pineapple juice, ketchup, and
thickened it with a cornstarch/broth mixture

- tossed the chicken, bell pepper, onions, and some pineapple chunks
together and coated all with the sauce


SweetandSourChicken.jpg
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OH LORD that looks fantastic!! I copied you directions!!
 
That looks incredible Cooksie!! I really like that plate too! Great job on the recipe and the plating! :clap:
 
Cooksie, that looks good!!!!!!!!!!!! :applause:


I'm thinking maybe.........do I have everything at home?........maybe a quick stop at the grocery for some pineapple will do it!!!!!!!!!
 
Thanks you two! I know that the recipe sucks :mrgreen:, but you already know that I don't measure a lot of things.
 
We had Chicken Marsala tonight.



We fought over who got to lick the pan.





 

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Fried Chicken

Took some monster drumsticks, double dipped in an egg wash and flour, then fried for about 8 minutes per side. After that, baked in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes for perfect doneness and a crispy crust.
 

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Cooksie and SS - your chicken dishes look like something out of Bon Appetit. Beautiful dinners!

Edited to add: while I was writing my post, Keltin posted those FANTASTIC chicken legs and mhend posted her beautiful chicken cakes. Please - let us all know how you made those. They look wonderful!

I have to say that my whole chicken in the crockpot was an unqualified success. It will never make the pages of Gourmet magazine, but it really tasted good - Jerry gave it a 9.9! And there were no potatoes involved!

Here is how I did it - based on a recipe I found at All Recipes, which (of course) I changed a bit.

First, I skinned the chicken (except for the wings - too difficult). Then I made a sauce as follows:

1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp Worcestershire
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBS hot pepper flakes

Mix this all together, put the chicken in the crockpot and pour the sauce over it. I cooked it breast side down for the first half and then turned it (that's why it looks funny). This was not a huge chicken (about 3.5 pounds), so after six hours on low, it was done. I took out the chicken, cooled it a bit, and refrigerated it until dinner. I let the sauce continue to cook, and added a couple TBS cornstarch. Then I put the breast meat back in with the sauce about a half hour before we ate, to warm it up, and acquaint the chicken a little better with the delicious sauce. Served with rice, zucchini and some green onions for taste and color. And a little bit of watermelon.

Oh, let me tell you - it was moist, it was SO tender. Just yummy. Definitely a keeper. AND - we have leftovers to eat for lunch tomorrow!

Thanks, goatherder - you are the one who gave me the idea.
 

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That looks marvelous Karen! Awesome! Love the plates and the flowers in the setting - great pic!

I also love the rice mold you did. How fun is that?!?!? Eating should be fun, and you always come through! Great job! :clap:

Got room for a boarder?????? :lol:
 
Looks great mhend! I bet they were fork tender and didn't need a knife? Great approach and technique. Loving it!
 
Keltin said:
Fried Chicken

Took some monster drumsticks, double dipped in an egg wash and flour, then fried for about 8 minutes per side. After that, baked in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes for perfect doneness and a crispy crust.
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OH LORD!! That is a thing of beauty Keltin!! I want some chicken breasts done like that!! Strange question: what comes first .................. no no not that LOL
what DIP comes first the egg wash or the flour? I usually do flour then egg.
 
For me (and double dipping) it is egg wash - then flour - then egg wash - and more flour. Makes it all sitcky and it holds well. Fries up with a thick and crunchy crust that way.

For a thinner crust, a single dip of egg wash first (on dry chicken parts) then the flour and on to the frying.
 
Keltin, that almost enough to make this city girl try frying chicken! I haven't had homemade fried chicken since my mother died, in 1967. Maybe it's time I learned!

Karen those flavors sound amazing. I don't own a crockpot. Do you think the combination would work as a slow braise?
 
Thanks, Keltin - those flowers were (really!) just laying on the table because I bought them today and have not put them away...(well, I tucked them in a bit). I learned to serve rice like that (just put it in a pyrex custard dish, smush it down firmly, and then dump it on the plate) because most of the restaurants here serve rice that way. Just makes it a little prettier.
 
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SilverSage said:
Do you think the combination would work as a slow braise?
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Thanks, SS. I think it would work, but it would need to be v e r y slow...that's what a crockpot does, after all. Try it and let us know!
 
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