Question for Mom

Now that uncooked boneless chicken breasts often weigh more than 1 pound each, I’ve been wondering what’s the best way to prepare them.  Do they need to cook longer than smaller breasts? –Evelyn K.

One large chicken breast can feed a family of 4, especially if you cut the meat into stir-fry pieces and supplement with some fresh vegetables.  Spices would help provide flavor because this size breast is pretty bland.  Cooking time would be a few minutes longer because of the greater amount of chicken, but you could get a meal on the table in 30 minutes.

How to Pick a Cookbook That Works for You

I have a lot of cookbooks.  Partly it’s because I’ve written a few myself, and partly it’s because I’m always trying new dishes.

Along the way I’ve learned a few things.  I don’t want cookbooks that have beautiful pictures or fancily-named foods with dozens of ingredients, many of which I’ve never heard of.  Also, I avoid books that use a lot of canned foods or specialize in recipes from the 1950s.  It’s surprising how often I come across tuna noodle casserole.

The cookbooks I wrote with my son are basic beginner books. They got a little more complicated as he became a better cook.  Bottom line, though, is this: I don’t write about foods that I would never make.

Are Boneless Chicken Thighs Worth the Trouble?

I used to be a fan of boneless chicken thighs. They actually taste like chicken, as opposed to bland, boneless chicken breasts.  And they are cheaper than boneless chicken breasts.

But as the cook and also the fat-remover I discovered that although boneless thighs do indeed lack bones, they do not lack considerable fat.  Cutting it out and discarding it is a major chore.  But not getting rid of the fat means eating it—not something I want to do.

The Rolling Pin: a Kitchen Accessory Useful for Making Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

I take my rolling pin for granted.  It used to belong to my grandmother, and I have carried it with me to New York, London and now Los Angeles.  I use it for making pie crusts on occasion, but there’s nothing more satisfying than using it to bash chicken breasts. 

Several of my recipes require flattened boneless chicken breasts.  You can’t buy them flattened, so you have to flatten them yourself.  Although I’m not a baseball player, I’ve noticed that the bat striking the ball sounds rather like the rolling pin striking the chicken.

When Best Intentions Aren’t Enough

I had been thinking about roasted, spicy chicken legs for dinner ever since I read a favorable review of a local chicken restaurant.   ‘I should be able to make something similar,’ I said to myself while roaming around the supermarket. 

When I spotted a large plastic-wrapped package of chicken legs on sale, I knew my dream dinner was about to come true.  I’ve roasted chicken parts before so I just followed my instincts, mixing together a few spices with some olive oil, coating the legs and baking them for about 45 minutes.   Then I popped them briefly under the broiler to get crispy.

Major disappointment!

Please Teenagers with Homemade Chicken Fingers

Whenever I’m trying to figure out a dinner menu that includes teenagers, Chicken Fingers pop into my head.  This is a main course I started making years ago in London, inspired by my kids’ love of Fish Fingers (the British version of Fish Sticks).

At the time, chicken tenders were not available at the grocery store, so I simply cut boneless chicken breasts into “fingers,” marinated them for a while, breaded them and then baked them.  Leftovers made great snacks—although late-night excursions to the fridge usually resulted in an empty plate by morning.

Emergency Chicken Soup

Whenever I think of chicken soup, I think of my grandmother.  She served her homemade version to the family every Friday night.  This was back in the days when whole chickens, not beautifully prepacked chicken parts, were sold in grocery stores. 

One of the most exciting aspects of her soup was the possibility of tiny cooked egg yolks popping up in the soup bowl.  At the time you could get real chickens seemingly straight from the farm, and these chickens had unlaid eggs in various stages of development inside them.  The downside was you had to gut and clean the chickens yourself.

Cooking with Leftovers in Mind

Mom's Paella

If I’m not madly rushing to get dinner on the table with one of my quick entrees, I try to think ahead.  A large chicken, leg of lamb, pork roast or beef pot roast will provide at least 3 or maybe 4 extra meals, especially if there are just 2 or 3 of us eating.  A tray of lasagna should last for a week.

The Healthy Reuben Bagel

There’s nothing like biting into a Reuben Sandwich and having corned beef juice dribbling down your face and sauerkraut falling into your lap.  The Reuben Sandwich of my dreams is so stuffed with these ingredients, plus melted Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye bread, that I can barely get it into my mouth.

I happily dealt with that problem for years until I decided that too much fatty meat was not good for me.  So I gave up eating Reuben Sandwiches. But I never forgot the taste.

Then I bought a dozen mixed bagels and discovered a rye bagel in the bag.  “Aha!” I thought.  “Time for a Reuben Sandwich.”

Use at Least 1 Exotic Ingredient in Every Recipe

Thai Chicken Pizza

Here’s an idea to make dinnertime a little jazzier.  Add at least one exotic ingredient to whatever you’re cooking.  It could be a new spice you want to try or an unusual vegetable.  Maybe substitute peanut oil for canola oil. That will definitely change the favor of the dish.

If you don’t like the end result, add another exotic ingredient to counteract the first one.  Or add water or broth and turn the dish into a soup.  Throw in a handful of noodles or possibly a drained can of corn or beans.

How Far Can You Stray From a Classic Recipe?

I’ve been aware of Gado Gado, an Indonesian salad, for years.  I’ve admired pictures of it and even considered making it at one point.  But I never did because 1) it looked like too much work, and 2) it didn’t appear filling enough to be a main course.

Sunset Magazine’s July issue carried a recipe for this salad, and I finally decided to try it.  ‘Too much work’ and ‘not filling enough’ still seemed valid concerns, so I decided to add a few of my own touches and subtract one of theirs--the bean sprouts, because there were enough cold vegetables already on the platter.

I Can Make That Too: Chicken Tikka in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Mom's Chicken Tikka

Chicken Tikka is basically an Indian shish kebab with lots of spices.  Traditionally these kebabs are cooked in a tandoor oven, which can heat up to nearly 1,000 degrees.  Indian restaurants have such ovens.  I don’t.  I researched online and found one for $600+. Not worth it.  I decided to use my own oven, which will heat to 545 degrees and makes perfectly respectable Chicken Tikka.

Yikes! Not Chicken Again!

Moroccan Chicken

Sometimes I go overboard when I see a sale on boneless chicken breasts.  When I’m loading a 4-pound package into my cart, all I can think about is “What a great bargain this is.”  Only when I’m starring at it in my refrigerator do I actually think about having to cook it and eat it.

I knew that freezing half of what I bought would solve the immediate problem, but experience has taught me that chicken tastes better when it’s freshly cooked. 

Ramen Noodles Not Just for College Students

If you toss out the flavor packet (too much salt), packaged ramen noodles can be the basis of a reasonable emergency meal.  I proved it last night when I was scrambling to get dinner on the table and discovered two lonely packages of ramen noodles at the back of a pantry shelf.  They were just what I needed for the leftover pork stir-fry I wanted to make.

What to Eat on a Dark and Stormy Night

Chicken and Fresh Vegetable Soup

Wanna-be world-famous-author Snoopy said it best in the first line of his never-finished novel: “On a dark and stormy night….”  If only Snoopy or his creator, Charles Schultz, could cook, we might have seen some memorable meals in that comic strip instead of an empty dog dish.

On one recent dark and stormy and cold night in usually sunny California I decided not to go out to the grocery store.

Roast Chicken Leftovers – How Do I Love Thee!

Basic Chicken Salad

Let me count the ways. 

If you like the burn of red pepper flakes, add Chicken Arrabiata to your menu.  A spicy tomato sauce with small pieces of leftover chicken, thin strips of salami and sliced mushrooms make a perfect topping on a bed of penne.

Turning Leftovers into New Dishes

Chinese Fried Rice

I feel guilty if I throw away leftovers—unless they have a suspicious green tinge.  Luckily I don’t mind eating the same thing a few nights in a row.  I feel like I’m on kitchen vacation.

Unfortunately, Bart doesn’t share this view.  If he liked what I made originally, he will drum up some enthusiasm when he sees it on his plate on Day #2.  But there’s no way he will eagerly lap it up on Day #3.

When Someone Else Is Cooking

On that rare occasion when friends invite us to dinner at their home, I couldn’t be more excited.  First of all, it means I have to cook just one thing since I always like to contribute something.  Often it’s a dessert.  I seldom make desserts when I’m putting dinner on my own table.  It’s a combination of laziness and calories.

Hoisin Sauce: What Is It and How Do I Cook with It?

Thai Pasta Salad

Hoisin sauce is an Asian condiment, in some ways similar to ketchup.  I first came across it when I ordered Peking Duck at a restaurant.  This sauce, which is a deep, rich brown, appeared in a bowl when the duck was served.  The waiter advised spreading some on the accompanying pancakes and then adding slices of duck .  I was enchanted with the flavor of the sauce and assumed it was part of the Peking Duck recipe.

Years went by before I tasted hoisin sauce again.  Then I discovered it’s a key ingredient in Thai Chicken Pizza, one of the offerings at the California Pizza Kitchen chain.  In that instance hoisin sauce is mixed with peanut butter to make the ‘pizza’ sauce.

Beauty Before Taste? Not at My Table

You can’t eat pictures, although I do remember seeing a movie called “King of the Hill,” where a boy is so hungry that he cuts pictures of food from magazines, puts them on a plate and then gobbles them up.

What I’m talking about is real food on my table.  I’m happy to admire a beautifully roasted chicken, but given the choice of how it looks versus how it tastes, I’ll take taste any day.  I came to this point of view when boxed cake mixes started using chocolate “flavoring” instead of real chocolate.  They looked great but tasted like cardboard.