Cavatappi and Christmas
I know, I know... let's get Thanksgiving over with before we start with Christmas - and I really do agree - but this retirement thing has me wound up and rarin' to go.
After hitting the gym this morning, I headed down to the basement and started pulling out the Christmas Bins - specifically to get to the tablecloths, napkins, table runners, place mats, holiday towels - all of the soft goods that can stand a good washing after being tucked away for a year.
We wash the tablecloths and napkins as we use them, but there are things that go out that are more utilitarian or decorative that don't necessarily see the inside of the washing machine every year. Or every other year. Or ever.
Today, I washed every bit of it - two full washer loads - and ::drumroll, please:: ironed it all!
Retirement - the time to do things you don't have the time, desire, or energy to do whilst being gainfully employed.
Victor, of course, is getting nervous and is threatening to put a padlock on the basement steps. Methinks he thinks I'll be bringing the tree up any minute. Not to worry, though... I'm merely plotting and planning. Getting organised. Friday, while all of the crazy people are out battling each other, stuck in traffic, and otherwise spending far more money than they can afford, will be the perfect time to deck our halls. Turkey soup will be simmering on the stove and Christmas Carols will be playing throughout the house - and they will be playing throughout the house. I just set up the Amazon Echo and the various Dots as a speaker group and the smart plugs to turn on the trees.
Can you tell I'm really looking forward to this?!?
Be afraid. Be very afraid...
While I was downstairs washing and ironing, I had chicken thighs stewing on the stove. Multi-tasking.
In the braiser with the chicken was a chopped onion, chopped garlic, chopped bell pepper, red wine, and tomato sauce. When the chicken was cooked, I pulled it out and shredded it - and added it back in with basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, and some S&P. Next, went a bag of arugula.
I cooked it all down, added some cooked cavatappi, let it simmer a few more minutes, and called it dinner.
We're going, not hosting Thanksgiving this year, so I'm cooking a small turkey tomorrow so we'll have the requisite leftovers and soup carcass. We're making a dessert and an appetizer. We're getting off easy!
Dia de los Muertos
I didn't know anything about Dia de los Muertos growing up. November 1st was All Saint's Day - a holy day of obligation. November 2nd was/is All Souls Day. Not surprisingly, Christian and non-Christian holidays all seem to coincide with one another.
Then, again, I don't think I knew much about any ethnic holidays growing up - other that St Patrick's Day - and that was corned beef and cabbage and The Clancy Brothers. In grammar school I was part of a quartet that serenaded shoppers at Fairlane Market on two St Paddy's Days and I was in at least one parade. I don't even remember Cinco de Mayo being much of anything. Of course, that was before I was thrown out of Tijuana at the tender age of 16 or so. Long story...
There was Chinese New Year, of course, growing up in San Francisco, but I have to admit I was in the Navy and in Hong Kong before ever knowing what Gung Hay Fat Choy was. And there was also Columbus Day - an Italian holiday - but it wasn't Italian like Italy Italian, just like St Patrick's Day wasn't Ireland Irish.
I think it's great that kids, today, have so much more opportunity to learn about other cultures and different customs, traditions - and foods. If we're ever going to change minds about different races and cultures, we need to teach our kids to embrace the differences - not fear them.
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
Well... this isn't exactly where I was headed when I started this little missive - it's amazing how things can take on a life of their own, sometimes!
My plan for dinner tonight was to make something vaguely Mexican in honor of the day - and even make my own corn tortillas. I've never been really good at making corn tortillas - the flour ones come out pretty good - but corn always eludes me a bit. I have seen Mexican women make them by hand - merely patting the dough back and forth in their hands. It's an art - and I am not an artist. I don't have a tortilla press, but little things like that never seem to stop me.
Agin, my tortillas didn't come out as I wanted, so I decided to make an enchilada casserole instead of enchiladas.
The tortilla recipe is pretty basic:
Corn Tortillas
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
Add 2 cups masa harina and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of the warm water and stir until the water is absorbed.
Slowly add the rest of the water to finish the dough.
Form into balls and press in a tortilla press or smash with a flat-bottomed pan or bowl.
Fry in a hot dry skillet for about 2 minutes per side.
Mine didn't quite come out like the hand made ones those lovely ladies made, but they tasted pretty good. I broke them up and layered cooked chicken, cooked Mexican Chorizo, green chiles, and cheese - along with chipotle powder, cumin, Mexican oregano, garlic powder, ancho chile powder, and a pinch of salt. I used a jar of Salsa Verde for my sauce.
375°F oven for 45 minutes.
It wasn't exactly traditional, but it was a nod to all of my friends south of the border.
Compartir la comida en la amistad - Share food in Friendship.
The End of Week Ten
We're both down twenty pounds!
This, boys and girls, is pretty heartening - it means all of this work is actually paying off! We feel better. We have more energy. Everyday tasks are easier to do. It's a flippin' miracle.
This proves me wrong about eating with impunity as long as the food, itself, is good. I did it for years - and slowly gained weight while my activity levels decreased. Eating good food is of major importance - but the volume of food has to be realistic. We were eating way too much.
I've always joked that at any given moment, the neighborhood could drop by for dinner. That has changed. I'm actually starting to learn how to cook smaller portions. It's not as easy as it sounds for someone who is more intuitive than recipe-follower. But I'm getting there.
One of my greatest achievements is I'm actually weighing pasta! 2 ounces per serving. It's remarkable how much 2 ounces of pasta actually is - especially when we have always just cooked half a pound for the two of us - and eaten it! I just shake my head at the excess...
Tonight's pasta dish was a throw-together that ended up taking forever. I thought I'd cook the pasta right in the skillet with the veggies, broth, mushroom liquid, and Marsala. Sadly - for me - I picked the wrong pasta. I chose a mini rigatoni that on a good day takes close to 20 minutes to cook. Put it is a skillet with other stuff and it takes a lot longer. A lot longer. It was easily 35 minutes, although it came out perfect and totally full of flavor!
Pasta with Mushrooms and Chicken
- 8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 oz assorted dried mushrooms, reconstituted in 2 cups boiling water
- 6 oz frozen spinach
- 4 oz chicken breast, cubed
- 1 cup dry Marsala
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups mushroom soaking liquid
- 4 oz pasta
- Italian seasoning
- salt & pepper
Brown chicken in skillet and set aside. In same skillet, sauté mushrooms and onions until onion is translucent and mushrooms give off their liquid. Add garlic and reconstituted mushrooms - chopped, if large.
Add Marsala and cook a moment. Stir in mushroom liquid and bring to a boil. Add pasta and a cup of chicken stock. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, stirring at least once.
Stir in reserved chicken, spinach, and add more broth, as necessary to continue cooking pasta. Add seasonings
Recover and reduce heat. Simmer until pasta is cooked - up to another 15 minutes depending on style of pasta.
If sauce seems too thin, uncover and boil to reduce - or - add a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a bit of water.
Really good, really rich, and really easy! My favorite kind of meal.
On another note, we're coming to the end of the hot peppers. I still have a batch to cook up and there's easily one more basket-full in the garden, but Victor took the reddest of the reds and dried them last night.
200°F in the oven for several hours and then turn it off and leave them overnight.
I put them into the food processor this morning and made some fresh pepper flakes!
These guys are H.O.T. I almost choked breathing in the dust from the processor.
I love it!
A happy end to Week Ten and an optimistic start to Week Eleven.
Life is good.
The End of Week Nine
It's been nine weeks. Nine whole weeks since we began this odyssey. And, slowly but surely, it's starting to pay off - Victor is down 19 pounds, I'm down 17 1/2. Hallelujah!
I hafta tell ya, though, this has not been the easiest thing I have ever done. Our trainer is really starting to push - and there are moments when I'm not sure I'm going to survive. Trying to breathe and catch a breath is the hardest part - other than trying to lift some godforsaken thing over my head or trying to pull myself up just one more time - when I have 12 more to go after that. Piece of cake. A walk in the park. The seventh circle of hell.
But... we're getting there - and that's the whole reason we're doing this.
I'm rather enjoying the eating habit change, although it's still a bit strange getting a new cooking magazine and not immediately heading into the kitchen to try out the latest gooey dessert. On the other hand, I like feeling full after eating a lot less that I used to. And I do feel better.
The next test is Wednesday when I go in for my annual physical - I'm curious as to what the numbers are going to be...
And speaking of eating... It's rapidly becoming soup season! I'm rushing it just a little bit, but I do love soups! I did a clean-out-the-refrigerator pot this evening - Eggplant and Chicken! It worked.
Eggplant and Chicken Soup
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 leek
- 1/2 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 1 hot red pepper
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 carrots
- 6 small red bliss potatoes
- 3 green onions
- 6 oz cooked chicken
- 1 1/2 qts chicken stock
- 1 can diced green peppers
- 1 can great northern beans
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp sumac
- 1 tsp ras el hanout
- salt and pepper
Cut eggplant in half, rub with olive oil, sprinkle with cumin, salt, and pepper, and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. Cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile, saute onion, leeks, garlic, red pepper, and bell pepper in a pot. When wilted, add spices and cook about 30 seconds. Add broth.
Scoop eggplant pulp into pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, blend everything to a smooth consistency.
Add chopped carrots, celery, chopped tomatoes, quartered potatoes, and drained beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 10 minutes.
Add cooked chicken and heat through.
Taste for seasonings and adjust, as necessary.
Ladle into bowls and top with chopped green onions.
As I said - a clean-out-the-'fridge soup. And it worked on every level. Just enough spice to make it interesting, the eggplant made the broth creamy like a bean soup, and everything else made it hearty and filling - perfect for those of us who are watching what we eat!
Tomorrow is going to be the test - we're heading up to New York City for the day. Coney Island. I've never been there. Weather permitting, we'll be walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and catch the subway in Brooklyn down to the amusement park.
I see a Nathan's Hot Dog in my future...
Chicken Stock
Last night, as I was making my shopping list, Victor said, if you get a couple of chickens I'll make chicken stock and you can can it. With an offer like that, how could I refuse?!?
We both prefer homemade stock, but lack the freezer space to make and freeze it. I honestly never thought of canning it, but it was a brilliant idea - and easy as 1-2-3!
I spent $12 for 2 chickens - 99¢/lb at 6 pounds each. Chicken stock is $1.99/qt. I got 9 quarts and all that cooked chicken. Even with using a bottle of wine and the vegetables, I'm ahead of the game, for sure!
We broke out the big pot and into it went two whole chickens, 2 onions, quartered - skins and all. 6 carrots, halved - skins and all. 6 celery stalks - leaves and all. 3 bay leaves, 6 garlic cloves, a handful of peppercorns, a bottle of pinot grigio, and some salt. And then filled it with water.
Put it on high to boil and then let it boil away for about 3 hours.
I strain it and then skimmed the fat. Into hot sterilized jars, and then into the canner.
This was seriously too easy.
I didn't filter it so it's not crystal clear, but I don't really care about that. The flavor is fantastic - and that's the important part.
I think this is our new normal!
And... because I had broth and chicken, I made soup!
Chicken Rice Soup with Leeks and Lemon
Since Victor made a vat of chicken stock, I thought it only fitting to make a small pot of chicken soup. I'm clever like that, sometimes.
My mantra is soup is soup is soup. You put stuff in a pot and make it hot. And... that is generally my thought on it. But every now and again, I like to see what's out there - what others are doing or revisit things from the past.
We were raised on soup and crusty bread and as much as I talk about not replicating recipes, I'd love to be able to make a bowl of her vegetable beef soup. She wrote out a recipe, but... it's not her soup. The other reality is she never quite made the same soup twice - it was always similar and always really good - but it was never exactly the same. I don't try and make hers. I just miss it.
But I digress...
I headed over to the NY Times Food Section to see what they had in the way of chicken and leek soups. I was thinking something like a traditional cock-a-leekie since I had lots of leeks. What I found was a similar soup - but with lemon juice and thickened with eggs. Be still, my beating heart!
Chicken Rice Soup with Leeks and Lemon
adapted from NY Times - Martha Rose Shulman
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 pound leeks, sliced thin
- 1/2 cup short grained rice
- 4 large eggs
- Fresh juice of 2 lemons
- 1 cup diced cooked chicken
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Hard cooked eggs, for garnish
Combine the stock and leeks, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add the rice and continue to simmer until it begins to break down - about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
Remove about a cup of broth to cool a bit. Stir in chicken.
Beat together the eggs and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
Just before serving, mix the semi-cooled broth with the eggs. Remove the pot from the stove and quickly stir the egg mixture into the soup.
Garnish with sliced hard cooked egg and black pepper.
This was really awesome - and is being added to the fall and winter rotation.
AND... there's enough for lunch, tomorrow!!!
Eggplant and Shallots
The eggplants are still coming in and I've been looking for more and different ways to cook them. Every time I turn around, there's another one or two ready to eat - and the neighbors are starting to avoid me. We have breaded cutlets in the freezer, we have caponata in jars downstairs. I hit the NY Times a few weeks ago and did an eggplant search. Lots of recipes - and far too many of them are mere variations of the same thing. I did see one that looked somewhat promising - a dish with eggplant and shallots with a chicken breast on top - so, armed with an eggplant and lots of shallots, I went to work.
The evolution of a recipe...
The recipe was fairly straightforward - saute large hunks of shallots, add cubed eggplant, ginger, and cilantro. Chicken breast rubbed with ginger and grilled...
The first change was the cilantro. Victor is of the taste like soap contingent, so we tend to avoid it, when possible. I picked fresh herbs from the garden - parsley, basil, oregano, and mint. Those flavors sound more Italian-ish, so I marinated the chicken in red wine, garlic, and olive oil.
At the point in the recipe where I was to add the ginger, I reached for a bottle of pistachio liqueur and added a handful of roasted pistachios. And when it was all done, Victor mentioned getting some balsamic - the good stuff - and drizzling it on top.
The end result was pretty darn good - and reasonably different from where I started.
That, of course, is half the fun of cooking.
Grilled Chicken with Eggplant and Shallots
- 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
- 6 large shallots, peeled
- 8 oz chicken breast
- 1/4 cup pistachio liqueur
- 1/3 cup roasted pistachios
- 1/4 cup minced mixed herbs - parsley, oregano, mint, basil...
- S&P, to taste
1 hour before cooking, marinate chicken in 1/2 cup red wine, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 tbsp olive oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Set aside. Prepare a hot grill and cook when eggplant mixture is halfway done.
Peel shallots and leave whole of small, cut in half lengthwise, if large. Saute in olive oil for about 10 minutes - until nicely softened. Add cubed eggplant and mix well. Lower heat to medium, cover pan, and cook until eggplant is softened and cooked through - about 15 minutes - stirring occasionally.
When eggplant is almost fully cooked, remove cover and stir in pistachio liqueur and pistachios. Add fresh herbs and S&P, to taste.
Continue cooking until liqueur has evaporated and eggplant and shallots are tender.
Drizzle with good-quality balsamic vinegar.
This really did come out good and the eggplant and shallots are a perfect side dish on their own - without the chicken breast. As we ate, we thought of other additions, such as raisins or chopped apricots, maybe dried figs. It's definitely something that can be played with time and time, again!
I have a new favorite eggplant dish!
Brussels Sprouts and Fennel
Would you think me weird if I told you my most favoritest vegetable in the world is the Brussels Sprout? Of course you would. Actually, you'd just add it to the list of my many weirdnesses.
But it is true. I love those little green cabbagey globes. Even as a kid I loved them - and that was back when the only way they came was in a little square frozen box. My, how times have changed. Now, you can get them fresh and still on the stalk!
On my last trek down to Gentile's I saw some and it was my impulse-buy of the day. Victor is not a huge fan - definitely not as much as I - so I tend to buy them sparingly. What surprised me about buying them was they were pretty big - and I generally go for the smaller ones. As I said... impulse buy.
Another of my favorite vegetables is fennel. It's something that, like carrots, celery, and onions, is always in the house. So what better thing to do than to combine two of my favorites for dinner?!?
I was originally planning chicken thighs with eggplant - since the eggplants are in overdrive mode, right now, but when I opened the 'fridge and saw the brussels sprouts, the wheels started turning. Next thing I knew, there was fennel, red onion, garlic, and brussels sprouts on the counter. A recipe was born!
I started by browning the chicken thighs in an oven-proof pan. I took them out of the pan and added diced pancetta, and let it brown nicely, Then I added the sliced brussels sprouts, sliced fennel, sliced red onion, and a couple of baby potatoes.
I cooked everything down a bit and then added a minced clove of garlic and some salt and pepper. Next was about a half-cup of white wine. I cooked that down a bit, added the chicken thighs back on top, and put it all into a 375°F oven for 30 minutes.
I have to admit, this came out pretty good. Victor loved it - the brussels sprouts didn't taste like brussels sprouts! The fennel and onion really mellowed them out.
And after way too long only buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I'm back to buying bone-in, skin-on thighs. Not only are they half the price, they're also a lot more flavorful and can be cooked in a lot of different ways.
Like on top of fennel and brussels sprouts...
Spiedini di Pollo, Fagioli, e Prugne
I get a daily email from La Cucina Italiana magazine - in Italian. It always has lots of recipes - also in Italian. My web browser automatically translates to English, but we all know how web translators can butcher a language. I think it's especially true with recipes. There's a nuance with cooking terminology that they just can't always get - they're still a bit too literal. Fortunately, I know how to cook and rarely follow recipes, anyway.
One recipe that I saw a few days ago caught my eye - Spiedini di Pollo, Fagioli, e Albicocche - Skewers of Chicken, Beans, and Apricots. I decided it was a must-try, even before reading the recipe. I'm an apricot fiend, so anything with apricots is sure to grab my attention.
Skewers of Chicken, Beans, and Apricots
INGREDIENTS
- 400 g a chicken breast
- 200 g chicken sausage
- 200 g boiled borlotti beans
- 80 g dry white wine
- 2 fresh apricots
- a yellow pepper
- a red pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- garlic
- salt
For the recipe of chicken, bean and apricot skewers, reduce the chicken breast and large-sized sausage and cut the peppers into squares. Put the chicken and sausage meat dice in 4 wooden skewers alternating with the yellow and red pepper squares.
Heat a little oil and 2 cloves of peeled garlic in a large pan, and cook the skewers for 5 'each side, drizzling with the wine halfway through cooking. Remove the frying pan and season the beans with the apricots in pieces for 10 minutes, sprinkling them with a little water. Lightly salt the skewers and serve with the beans and apricots.
I changed the recipe around a bit...
The local Wegmans didn't have any apricots, today, and a single yellow pepper was $2.69. I'm doing a produce run down to Gentile's tomorrow, but that didn't help me, today. I bought a couple of over-priced plums, instead. No apricots. I know it's the end of the season, but...
You'll note that the recipe calls for 200gr - 7 ounces - of boiled borlotti beans. Borlotti beans are cranberry beans - a nice nutty, creamy bean. In theory, one could just boil them and toss them with a bit of olive oil - and that's probably how the recipe intended them - but I decided I wanted something a bit more flavorful. I cooked them with ham, a bit of bell pepper, and shallots - and a healthy splash of red wine - along with smoked paprika and garlic. There's enough left over for a side with lunch, tomorrow...
The skewers were a chicken breast, bell pepper, and a zucchini - no need for sausage on top of chicken breast. (My, how times have changed!)
I did cook them in the skillet as the recipe stated - and added the white wine halfway through. What I didn't do was add the plums to the beans. I tossed them into the skillet after taking out the skewers and served them atop the beans - not mixed in.
All-in-all?!? A really good meal.
Other than soaking and cooking the beans, it was a quick to put together dinner. We'll probably have variations for years to come!
Roasted Chicken Provençal
Last week when we were in Rochester, our friend, Ann, made Roasted Chicken Provençal for all of us our first night there. It was so good, I decided I needed to make it, myself - right away! The recipe is a New York Times offering from Steven Stolman. NYTimes recipes are generally no-fail, and this one is indeed, no-fail. As Ann said, it's one that can be made well in advance and just popped into the oven when need be. The perfect make-ahead for guests or when you know you're going too be short on prep time. Ann switched hers around using different herbs and spices. I decided to go with the herbes de Provence, since I have plenty. The beauty of this recipe is you really can go with what you have or what you're in the mood for.
And please don't try and make this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts - it will not work. Trust me on this.
Roasted Chicken Provençal
adapted from The New York Times
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp herbes de Provence
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 4 medium-size shallots, peeled and halved
- 1/2 cup dry vermouth
Preparation
Heat oven to 400°F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a shallow pan, and lightly dredge the chicken, shaking the pieces to remove excess flour.
Swirl the oil in a large roasting pan, and place the floured chicken in it. Season the chicken with the herbes de Provence. Arrange the lemon, garlic cloves and shallots around the chicken, then add the vermouth to the pan.
Put the pan in the oven, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, then baste it with the pan juices. Continue roasting for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is very crisp and the meat cooked through.
Serve in the pan or on a warmed platter.
One thing Ann stressed is make sure you don't crowd the chicken. You really do want the skin to get crisp. I probably could have used a larger pan but this one was low enough and the skin really crisped well. It was almost like bacon and I actually ate it - and I generally don't eat skin.
I also added the potatoes on top at the 20-minute mark and let them cook in all the juices. I could have cooked them in a separate pan, but...
All-in-all, a very successful dinner - and one that will be made again - and again!
Thanks, Ann!
Chicken and Peaches
Leftover chicken is a luxury - in a matter of minutes, dinner can be on the table. And when it started out pretty well-seasoned, it's even easier.
Once upon a time, there probably wouldn't have been any leftover chicken, but we're now into Week Two of our new fitness regime. My, how things change...
The only difficult part, thus far, has been not baking. Even though I really have cooked more than I have baked, I think I consider myself a baker more than a cook. There's a different sort of satisfaction in baking a loaf of bread, a cake, or a pie and I would just waltz into the kitchen whenever the mood struck and create something. All of that is currently on hold. Not forever, mind you, but definitely while we adjust to some lifestyle changes.
So no ooey-gooey desserts. I'll survive. Hell, I survived our trainer beating the shit out of me, today - so no desserts is easy, comparatively speaking.
I started dinner tonight by sautéing half a bell pepper and 6 ounces of assorted mushrooms. I added some pimento, and then a splash of sherry.
When that cooked down, a bit, I added two peaches and the shredded chicken. A pinch of ginger and a pinch of garlic powder, some S&P, and tamari sauce. Chopped fresh basil and parsley, to finish.
Served with rice.
Totally easy and totally delicious.
Spatchcocked Chicken
Tonight's dinner is brought to you by the Food Section of the New York Times.
I'm a NY Times subscriber and get regular emails from the food section. I like the Times recipes because they're time-tested - if you follow their recipe you will have good results. That's not necessarily true of other recipe sites out there. The Times can be trusted.
I saw a recipe for a Spice-Rubbed Spatchcocked Chicken, and since we had a chicken in the freezer, decided that was to be dinner, tonight.
It is said that the word spatchcock is an old culinary term and the Oxford English Dictionary states:
n. A fowl split open and grilled after being killed, plucked, and dressed in a summary fashion. Originated in Irish use, later chiefly Anglo-Indian.
It may be an old culinary term, but in all my years of cooking, I do not recall ever hearing anyone say they were going to spatchcock a chicken - we just butterflied the damned things. And it's a term I would have noticed and remembered. I tend to have a Junior High School mentality when it comes to certain words and terms, and I'm reasonably certain I would have come up with a few inappropriate retorts had it been used. The term seems to have come back into fashion in the late 20th century - probably by someone who wanted to charge more for a butterflied chicken. It definitely sounds more exotic than mere butterflying...
From spatchcocking, we went to Mark Bittman for Sweet Potato Fries. How can you go wrong with Mark Bittman?!? He's another one who knows his way around a kitchen and can throw together some pretty awesome dishes.
I used one 11 ounce sweet potato for the two of us and it was plenty. I also added some asparagus to the sweet potato sheet pan for the final 10 minutes of baking.
All-in-all, a very successful dinner. I have lots of chicken left over for at least one - if not two - additional meals this week. Maybe a chicken salad and maybe a chicken and vegetable pasta dish?!?
We'll see...