Our Own Chicken

Our brood of chickens needed to be thinned out.  When we picked up our chicks in the summer, we weren't sure how many hens there were, as they were unsexed.  And so we waited patiently as they grew until the day came that we realized we pretty much had a 50/50 split of roosters and hens.  It was also at this point that the hens were due to start laying.  I figured there was no way they were going to start laying eggs unless we got rid of some of those aggressive males that were crowding the hen house.  So Scott spent one Saturday afternoon learning how to butcher chickens.  We said a little prayer to remind ourselves of the sacredness of all life, and by the end of the day we found ourselves with a whole lot of chicken meat, and very little freezer space!

     Since then, we've made three attempts at eating the meat.  The first I used for stock and soup, the second Scott roasted which only resulted in a very tough bird, and tonight I tried out an Italian inspired Chicken Stew which was the best one yet.  We give thanks.

ITALIAN CHICKEN STEW with Black Olives, Capers and Rosemary

1 organic chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 bottle of organic red wine

8 organic bay leaves

2 sprigs of fresh organic rosemary

4 cloves organic garlic, smashed

1/4 cup e.v olive oil

1 cup organic all purpose flour

7 anchovies

2 Tbsp capers

1/2 cup black olives, pitted

1 can diced organic tomatoes

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Place the chicken in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover with the wine, bay leaves, rosemary and 1 clove of the garlic.  Let sit for one hour.

    Preheat the oven to 350*.   Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat.  Reserving the marinade, pat dry the chicken and dredge in the flour.  Add the olive oil to the pot and brown both sides of each piece of chicken (about 5 minutes). Remove each piece of chicken and set aside until they are all done.

     Add the garlic and anchovies to the hot pan.  Stir quickly and then add the olives, tomatoes, chicken and the reserved marinade.  Bring to a boil , cover and bake in the oven for about 2 hours.  Serve over polenta with some grated romano cheese.

CREAMY POLENTA

2 cups organic chicken stock or broth

1 cup organic whole milk

sea salt and black pepper

1 cup organic cornmeal

2 Tbsp organic butter

1/4 cup grated romano cheese

Method:  Combine the stock and milk in a saucepan, stirring in some sea salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce to low.  Whisk in the cornmeal and cook, stirring for about 15 minutes. When it almost reaches desired consistency, stir in butter and cheese.

Tonight we ate this with the curly endive/escarole salad from an earlier post......with added orange segments!

Autumn Supper

I love it when I go from having no idea what to make for supper, to making some of the best meals ever!  Tonight was one of those nights.  I had some organic chicken legs that I didn't know what to do with.  I discovered another bowl of cherry tomatoes in the kitchen that needed to be used up so I decided on Goulash.  I still had some pumpkin puree left over from this afternoon so I decided to make a Pumpkin Polenta to serve as a base for the saucy goulash.  I had a bunch of escarole in the fridge from the market last week which I usually boil, but tonight I wanted something raw.  I was a little skeptical that this salad would be awesome, but I was wrong.  It was awesome.  Very awesome.

CHICKEN GOULASH

2 organic chicken legs and thighs, separated

3 organic onions, sliced

2 cloves organic garlic, sliced

4 organic carrots, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

2 organic green peppers, chopped

3 Tbsp organic sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tsp organic caraway seeds

1 tsp sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp organic chili powder

1 cup organic chicken stock

1 can stewed tomatoes or 3-4 organic tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup organic sour cream

2 Tbsp organic unbleached white flour

2 Tbsp chopped fresh organic parsley

Method: In a Dutch oven, brown the chicken in some olive oil over medium high heat.  Remove from pan, set aside.  Add onions and garlic, fry over medium heat until softened.  Add carrots, green peppers, paprika, caraway, salt, pepper and chili powder.  Fry, stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and tomatoes.  Return chicken to pan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 40 mins.  Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.  In a small bowl, combine sour cream and flour.  Stir into the sauce and simmer, stirring until thickened.  Pour over chicken. Garnish with parsley.

PUMPKIN POLENTA

3 cups organic chicken stock

2 Tbsp organic unsalted butter

14 oz organic pumpkin puree

1 cup organic cornmeal, if coarse, grind it to make it finer

1 cup romano cheese, grated

Method:  Bring the stock and butter to a boil.  Add the pumpkin and stir.  Whisk in the cornmeal.  Lower heat and cook about 20 minutes or until thick and the polenta starts to come away from the sides of the pot.  Stir in the cheese and serve.

WARM ESCAROLE SALAD with Pecans and Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 head organic escarole

1 cup organic pecans

2 Tbsp organic unsalted butter

3 Tbsp organic balsamic vinegar

about 1/8 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp minced organic red onion

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Wash and dry the escarole.  Cut escarole into 1 inch pieces and place in a salad bowl. Saute the pecans in the butter for 5 minutes.  Make a vinagrette with the vinegar and oil, then stirring the onion into the dressing.  When the pecans are done, turn off heat and pour the vinaigrette into the pan.  Heat for 1 minute then pour the dressing over the salad and toss.