I admit that chicken seems to appear much more often than other foods on this blog. It truly is a coincidence. Although I do like chicken, I don't rate it any higher than steak, baby back ribs, lamb chops or the like.
Today, the chicken had a purpose. It was my first foray into the world of sous vide. Time and location have not permitted me to blog on smoker cooking or pressure cooking, but given that sous vide is a form of cooking under pressure, I deemed it a reasonable substitute.
I'll begin first by telling you the menu - as that's how I'm going to group this post, and each has its own merit. Even if you aren`t interested in sous vide cooking, the other recipes are must tries.
1. Sous Vide Chicken with Wild Mushroom Sauce - a new form (for me at least) of pressure cooking.
2. Caramelized Asparagus - it's all about the cut and the taste makes it a whole new vegetable - a must try!
3. New Potatoes in Cream and Dill - it's spring and this is the dish you have to splurge on to make it so.
Sous Vide Chicken with Wild Mushroom Sauce
Sous vide is a relatively new term to me although its been percolating around North America for a few years. In Europe its been in practice much longer, just like traditional pressure cooker. Coincidence? It think not. The folks in mainland Europe seem to be several steps ahead in cookery preparation if you ask me.
I won't go into details on the concept, as there's lots on the web, and Thomas Keller recently published a cookbook that is exclusively dedicated to this process Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide. I can't say that what I prepared is anywhere in this league, but it was my first kick and it tasted pretty good.
I took two bone-in, skin on chicken breasts and vacuum packed them into a foodsaver bag. I then heated a large pot of water to 150F and dropped the bags in and let them cook for 35 minutes. You could see the chicken cooking in the bags. The water wasn't boiling, but warm enough to do the trick. I did have trouble maintaining the temperature as part of tonight's cooking adventure was a coil-ring stove - I think a gas cooktop would be much easier to maintain a consistent temperature at.
After the chicken cooked 35 minutes, I cooled it in cold water and then placed in the fridge. This part is important as you don't want the food to stay warm in the bag too long as it will fester with bacteria in this perfect environment. (Again, refer to some of the good details out there on this).
When I was ready to get the chicken ready (about 1/2 hour later), I put it under the broiler for about 10 minutes to get the skin very crispy.
Wild Mushroom Sauce
While the chicken was cooking I prepared the mushroom sauce. Yummy. I had found some fresh shitake and trumpet mushrooms at the grocery. I cleaned them and sliced them up. I sautéed them until just starting to brown and added a bit of gravy mix (yes you heard me, gravy mix, I cheated, but it was well worth it and I make no apologies), and white wine. It was yummy.
Caramelized Asparagus
There are a few vegetables that have surprised me over the last few years as whole new creatures when cooked an alternative way. In the queue already were beets, cabbage and cauliflower. Today, asparagus entered the realm.
I like asparagus, but prepared in a new way created a whole new veggie. I sliced the spears on an angle into thin strips. Unfortunately the bunch I had in hand were somewhat wilty at the the tops (damn you commercial grocer) and I had to dispose of many of them. Normally this would be quite distressing if you were serving the whole spear (topless asparagus! unheard of), but for this rendition it works. You simply sauté them in a bit of olive oil and butter, season with salt and pepper, and let cook until starting to brown slightly.
New Potatoes with Dill and Cream
I never had this dish until I met my husband and his sister and aunt taught me to make it. And it is unbelievable. It has to be with new potatoes and it has to be with cream. I figure, new potatoes only come around once a year for a short time so splurge.
For this version I mixed it up a bit with the addition of garlic. First, you boil the potatoes until just starting to soften, then drain them. Then, almost in fettuccine alfredo style you melt some butter, add some garlic, then the cream and mix. Return the potaotes and a bunch of fresh dill and let simmer to thicken.
The key is to not serve right off the burner. Let the dish rest for a few minutes. The cream thickens more and the whole dish has a much sweeter, spring flavour.
All of these recipes are for two people.
Sous Vide* Chicken
2 chicken breasts, bone-in and skin on
Salt and pepper to taste
Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry. Vacuum pack*. Bring a pot of water to 150F. Put the vacuum packed chicken breasts into the pot and let cook for 35 minutes. Try to keep the temperature constant. When done, if not finishing them off immediately, plunge into a ice water bath to cool down and then put in the refrigerator. This is important for food safety .
To finish: Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, and broil until the skin is crispy. If they are completely chilled, you may have to bake for a bit to get them warmed through.
If you don`t have a vacuum pack machine, or to learn more about sous vide, read this post at blog
Pork is my Friend.
Wild Mushroom Sauce
1 .5 cups mixed wild mushrooms (e.g. trumpets, shitake)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
.5 cup water
2 tbsp brown gravy mix (see comments above)
1 cup white wine
Clean and slice the mushrooms. Heat oil and butter in a frying pan. Cook the mushrooms until just turning brown. Add the water and gravy mix. Stir to mix. Add the white wine and mix. Simmer until thickened.
Caramelized Asparagus
1 lb asparagus
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Slice the asparagus into thin strips at an angle. Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan. Add the asparagus and season. Sauté until the asparagus just starts to turn brown.
New Potatoes with Dill and Cream
6-8 new potatoes (they are naturally rather small)
2-3 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup cream
1 bunch dill, chopped
Salt and pepper
Slice the potatoes in half and boil until just tender. Drain. In the same pot heat the butter and add the garlic. Sauté for 1 minutes. Add the cream and stir. Add the potatoes and dill and swirl to mix. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes to let sauce thicken. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes before serving.
No I'm not being lazy and avoiding posts. I've been travelling through New England/Up-State New York / and the Mid-West for all of July and blog-posts haven't been at the top of my to-do list (they fall short of lobster rolls, incredible architecture, and tall ships).
Although I plan to jump back into smoker recipes and pressure-cooking recipes, I thought I'd do a quick blurb on smoker cooking during my travels.
The Tail o' the Pup not only does smoked foods, but also seafood boils. Very cool. It's not upscale, but it is delicious, and the perfect outdoor eatery. The outdoor space (which is much larger than the indoor space) is perfectly designed for some laid-back hanging out while chowing down on big food. Since we were there around 2:00 p.m. we didn't see it, but they do have live entertainment on an outdoor stage. 
Apart from that, I should mention, Lake Placid is a beautfiul place. 
I should also mention this fantastic side-trip we did to Burlington, Vermont where we had a smoked meat sandwich at Leunig's downtown. It was beyond amazing. 
So there it is boys and girls. A quick update.
Dessert was a delicious and perfect lemon soufflé! 
