I think Tom said this came from his brother, Dennis. Meat so tender and moist, it falls off the bone.
2-3 onions, cut into thick slices (basically, you should have 4 slices from each onion)
4 carrots
6 lb chicken
2-3 Tbs butter
salt & pepper
2-3 sprigs of thyme
lemon
beer or white wine (some people use beer - hence the name - I prefer wine, but you can also use water or OJ)
Preheat oven to 425. Butter roasting pan, then line with onion slices. Lay carrots in pan, and put chicken in pan, resting on the carrots and onions. Remove giblets and save them for some other (gravy - eventually I'll post some) recipe. Rinse chicken inside and out, then pat dry. Place chicken in pan, on top of the onion and carrots. Use spoon to smoosh butter liberally under the skin. Season liberally inside & out with salt. Season outside with pepper. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice in cavity. Peel the leafs of thyme off the stalks and crush them lightly, then sprinkle over the top of the chicken. Drape a piece of cheesecloth over the chicken, tucking it down and around the legs, etc. Pop the top on a can of beer/coke, empty/drink contents, and fill it back up halfway with white wine. Turn can so that it's horizontal, but with the tab-hole up - now shove the can into the cavity. Squeeze the other lemon half over the top of the chicken, then stick the lemon into the end of the chicken.
Roast chicken for 90 minutes, basting it quickly with pan juices every 20-30 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees, and the thigh should be 190 degrees.
When it's done, remove the can and lemon halves with tongs, then let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Showing posts with label Tom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Shrimp with Charred Red Peppers
One of my absolute favorite recipes from Tom. Well, he got it from..."Good Food of Szechuan," I think.
3/4 lb cleaned shrimp (he and I both usually round up to a pound)
1 cup cold water
1/2 tsp salt
Marinade:
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 4 tsp water
1/2 egg white (just use the whole egg white and drain excess at end)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp green onion chopped (I usually chop 4-5 stalks)
1 tsp finely chopped ginger (Tom usually uses at least 1 Tbs - I usually slice up an inch and a half of ginger and put it in the cuisinart with the garlic)
1 tsp finely chopped garlic (Tom says he uses more - I usually throw 6 cloves in the cuisinart with the ginger)
Seasonings:
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp waters
1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar (rice, cider, white - but not wine or balsamic)
2 tsp rice wine or dry sherry (look for Shao Xing Rice Wine in a brown bottle with a red label at your local asian market)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt (Tom and I often skip the salt at this stage)
1/2 tsp black pepper (try to use fresh ground pepper)
Approx 6 Tbs oil (peanut or vegetable)
Put cleaned shrimp in bowl with 1/2 tsp salt and cold water. Let stand 2 minutes, then rinse with cold water until shrimp start to turn slightly white (about 1 minute). Add egg, cornstarch-in-water, and salt to drained shrimp. Let stand for 20 minutes.
Chop onion, ginger, garlic. Clean red peppers (that's what the book says - I don't do this: what's to clean? I use dried red chili peppers). Set aside.
Mix seasonings and set aside.
To cook: Heat 3-4 Tbs oil in wok over high heat. Drain excess marinade from shrimp, then add shrimp to wok and stir-fry only 8-10 seconds (Tom says go a bit longer - I say don't overcook - cook just long enough for the whole exterior of the shrimp to turn pink). Remove immediately, drain and set aside.
Add oil to wok to equal 4 Tbs. Heat, then stir-fry red peppers over medium heat until peppers begin to char and are almost black (Joan sez: if they've turned black by now, remove them to the shrimp bowl). Add green onion, ginger and garlic and stir fry briefly. Return shrimp to wok, stir. Re-stir the seasonings before adding to the wok. Stir-fry just long enough to coat the shrimp with the seasonings - by which time, the shrimp should be fully cooked. Remove and serve hot with rice.
Joan's notes: I like to wash the rice first, then while it drains, clean the shrimp. Rice usually takes about 20 minutes, so take a load off - or do all the prep work and have it all lined up for cooking quickly.
3/4 lb cleaned shrimp (he and I both usually round up to a pound)
1 cup cold water
1/2 tsp salt
Marinade:
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 4 tsp water
1/2 egg white (just use the whole egg white and drain excess at end)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp green onion chopped (I usually chop 4-5 stalks)
1 tsp finely chopped ginger (Tom usually uses at least 1 Tbs - I usually slice up an inch and a half of ginger and put it in the cuisinart with the garlic)
1 tsp finely chopped garlic (Tom says he uses more - I usually throw 6 cloves in the cuisinart with the ginger)
Seasonings:
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp waters
1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar (rice, cider, white - but not wine or balsamic)
2 tsp rice wine or dry sherry (look for Shao Xing Rice Wine in a brown bottle with a red label at your local asian market)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt (Tom and I often skip the salt at this stage)
1/2 tsp black pepper (try to use fresh ground pepper)
Approx 6 Tbs oil (peanut or vegetable)
Put cleaned shrimp in bowl with 1/2 tsp salt and cold water. Let stand 2 minutes, then rinse with cold water until shrimp start to turn slightly white (about 1 minute). Add egg, cornstarch-in-water, and salt to drained shrimp. Let stand for 20 minutes.
Chop onion, ginger, garlic. Clean red peppers (that's what the book says - I don't do this: what's to clean? I use dried red chili peppers). Set aside.
Mix seasonings and set aside.
To cook: Heat 3-4 Tbs oil in wok over high heat. Drain excess marinade from shrimp, then add shrimp to wok and stir-fry only 8-10 seconds (Tom says go a bit longer - I say don't overcook - cook just long enough for the whole exterior of the shrimp to turn pink). Remove immediately, drain and set aside.
Add oil to wok to equal 4 Tbs. Heat, then stir-fry red peppers over medium heat until peppers begin to char and are almost black (Joan sez: if they've turned black by now, remove them to the shrimp bowl). Add green onion, ginger and garlic and stir fry briefly. Return shrimp to wok, stir. Re-stir the seasonings before adding to the wok. Stir-fry just long enough to coat the shrimp with the seasonings - by which time, the shrimp should be fully cooked. Remove and serve hot with rice.
Joan's notes: I like to wash the rice first, then while it drains, clean the shrimp. Rice usually takes about 20 minutes, so take a load off - or do all the prep work and have it all lined up for cooking quickly.
Salmon and Green Onions
I'll have to ask Tom for the exact recipe from "Good Food of Szechuan," but here's how I make it:
2 - 8 oz salmon filets
2 Tbs butter
In a small bowl, mix and set aside:
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs mirin
2 Tbs sugar
Chop 4-6 stalks of green onions into 1/4 inch slices from white bulb to green tips.
Melt one Tbs butter over medium high heat to coat bottom of the pan. Place filets skin side down. Cover and cook 4 minutes - start checking every 2 minutes. About 6 minutes in, add the other Tbs of butter and flip filets. Don't overcook - the fish will continue to cook when you take out of the pan to finish the sauce, so remove as soon as it's close to done (almost all the raw is gone in the middle - you might have to poke a knife in the fish to tell). Set the filets aside on a warm plate and use the pan lid to cover them.
Into the pan, add the sauce. Raise the heat slowly, bringing the sauce to a boil and reduce it. It reduces quickly (1-2 minutes over high heat), so don't go far. For the last 30 seconds, add the green onion.
In those 30 seconds, plate the fish. Pour the onion sauce piping hot over the fish, and serve immediately with rice (I prefer white, but I've had other types of rice with it, and it's fine). I also like to serve/plate it with asparagus.
This is a really easy dish to make for company: you can prep much of it, so it doesn't take a lot of time away from hosting company, it's super tasty, and looks good. If you can serve it sizzling hot from stove to table, people ooh.
2 - 8 oz salmon filets
2 Tbs butter
In a small bowl, mix and set aside:
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs mirin
2 Tbs sugar
Chop 4-6 stalks of green onions into 1/4 inch slices from white bulb to green tips.
Melt one Tbs butter over medium high heat to coat bottom of the pan. Place filets skin side down. Cover and cook 4 minutes - start checking every 2 minutes. About 6 minutes in, add the other Tbs of butter and flip filets. Don't overcook - the fish will continue to cook when you take out of the pan to finish the sauce, so remove as soon as it's close to done (almost all the raw is gone in the middle - you might have to poke a knife in the fish to tell). Set the filets aside on a warm plate and use the pan lid to cover them.
Into the pan, add the sauce. Raise the heat slowly, bringing the sauce to a boil and reduce it. It reduces quickly (1-2 minutes over high heat), so don't go far. For the last 30 seconds, add the green onion.
In those 30 seconds, plate the fish. Pour the onion sauce piping hot over the fish, and serve immediately with rice (I prefer white, but I've had other types of rice with it, and it's fine). I also like to serve/plate it with asparagus.
This is a really easy dish to make for company: you can prep much of it, so it doesn't take a lot of time away from hosting company, it's super tasty, and looks good. If you can serve it sizzling hot from stove to table, people ooh.
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