Chicken Pt.2 : Asparagus Soup

I love soup. I love soup because there is a soup for every season and is a great way to utilize leftovers and put the turkey carcass your relatives massacred over thanksgiving from going to waste . This week I'm also going to go into another skill I find indispensable in the kitchen and life ; making stock , which you will need for making soup. So the other week I used that leftover chicken carcass from the roasted chicken I made and picked up some seasonal veggies (at the time they were in season) and got to work. Before we get started though, I want you to reach into the cupboard and throw away the bouillion. I'm not sure who invented it, but it's basically an artificially flavored salt cube/powder and after you learn how to make proper stock only the desperate will ever go back because the flavor is worlds apart. It'll be ok I promise, because you can make soup and stock from even just vegetables; YOU DO NOT NEED THE NASTY CUBES.

First things first:

Basic *Brown Chicken Stock
Chicken Bones and Carcass  1-3 lbs
Onion med. chop                   1 med.
Carrot                                   1 small (or 1/2 of large one)
Celery                                  1/2 -1 stalk
Water                                   1-2 qt. (basically enough to cover bones by an in.)
Bouquet Garni**:
 Thyme
 Parsley stems
 Peppercorns
 Bay Leaf
Salt                                      TT

* brown stock refers to the stock made from bones that have been roasted beforehand 
** To make a Bouquet Garni you cut a celery stalk in half and bundle the above herbs in between the stalks and tie the stalks shut with butchers twine. This is useful for flavoring the stock and being able to easily remove the herbs at the end .

1. Place vegetables (I should mention that I personally am not a fan of either carrots or celery and that i omitted the celery from this particular recipe and substituted the carrots with sweet potato) and chicken bones in the bottom of an appropriately sized pot , vegetables should be on the very bottom. Fill with COLD water to about an inch above the bones.

2. Bring to a boil, add in bouquet garni, and reduce to a simmer. Skim scum off frequently.Simmer for about 2-4 hours. Add a couple pinches of salt. Stock isn't usually served as a dish so we don't normally salt it until it's being incorporated into a dish.

                                  See the white grayish foamy stuff? That's scum, skim it off.
3. Once it's done simmering you're going to strain it. Make sure to use something with a very fine mesh. If you don't have a very fine mesh then line a strainer (as small of holes as you can find) with a couple layers of cheesecloth. After you've strained the stock discard whats left in your strainer  (if there was alot of meat left on the bones it's possible to pick it off and save it for later use).

4. Voila Stock

Pureed Asparagus Soup  (1 QT.)

Asparagus                          1-2 bundles
Chicken Stock                    1QT.
Heavy Cream                      TT ( probably around 1/2 C.-1 C.)
Asiago Shredded                 enough for garnish
Salt                                     TT

1. Peel asparagus and cut into 1 in. pieces. Meanwhile warm up stock in pot. Add all asparagus to stock.

2.Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 1-2 hours or until asparagus is tender and soft.

 3.Using a blender puree soup in batches.Place a towel over the top of the blender lid so if the heat of the soup pops it off you don't get splattered with hot soup.

4.Pour pureed soup back into pot and stir in cream and salt to taste. Reheat but DO NOT let come to a boil.

5.Serve. You may add a small sprinkling of asiago on the top as garnish.

Chicken= 4 meals Part 1

After I first discovered the vast and wondrous world of food blogging I knew that I wanted to start writing my own .See the thing I love about  food blogs (and I've mentioned this to many of my friends) is that anymore the internet and bookstores are filled with millions of collections of recipes and there's almost no way for the average home cook to know that the cookbook they just bought or the recipe they printed out that Google helped them find is any good; but a food blog is written by an actual person who tries out recipes, takes pictures, and offers advice and tips, practically test driving a recipe for you. And in this economy it's important that nothing go to waste ; such as that recipe you printed off that somehow turned into an inedible monstrosity that went straight into the trash after your dog passed out at the smell of it; so that is the theme of my very first post ever: how to make one meal turn into 4.
One skill that I think everyone should learn at one point in their lives (the sooner the better) is how to utilize an entire chicken because 1. it's inexpensive and available in all regions year round and 2. an entire chicken can go a loooong way. I personally fed four people fours times with one chicken and a couple inexpensive ingredients. However this first post will focus on the first thing everyone learns to do with a whole chicken : trussing and roasting it.

Lemon Roasted Chicken (5 lbs) w/optional brine   Preheat Oven : 325 F
Whole Chicken (approx. 5lbs)
Onion                     1
Lemon                    1
Garlic                     1 head
Rosemary               Sprig
Thyme                    Sprig
Butter(room temp.)Approx. 1/2 stick (or 1/4 cup)

Equipment:
Cake or roasting pan (large enough to hold chicken)
Butchers Twine (for trussing)
Aluminum Foil
Thermometer

1. Slice lemon and onion in such a way that you can layer them onto the bottom of your roasting pan and still have a fairly flat surface on which to rest your chicken. Once they are layered set aside.

2.Mince garlic and herbs , and mix them into your butter. Rub butter mixture into and all over your chicken.

3. Truss your chicken. If you've never done this before go to :http://www.chow.com/stories/10322

4. Place chicken on top of lemon/onion bed breast side up and cover in aluminum foil tent (maybe you've seen your mother do this to a thanksgiving turkey).

5. Place in oven and roast for 2 hours. Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes.

Once your chicken is done roasting take it out of the oven and let it rest* for about 20 minutes before serving.

 

I served mine with a simple romaine salad.

*letting a chicken or and any kind of large roasted meat item rest after cooking is important for maintaining juiciness.


Optional Brine:
Brining is a great way to add moisture and flavor to meat before you cook it.
4 C. Cold Water
4 C.  Boiling water
1/2 C. Kosher Salt (use diamond crystal brand if available)
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
seasonings (optional)


1. Bring water to a boil and dissolve salt and sugar in it.

2. In a large and deep bowl pour boiled water solution, add cold water. (with finger test to make sure the water isn't hot before you add in your meat.

3. Submerge, in this case, your chicken completely.

4. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

5. Remove chicken from container and rinse lightly under running water. Discard brine.

                                                         Now you're ready to cook!