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Menu Plan Monday

It's Menu Plan Monday again? This past week was so crazy with Thanksgiving. We ended up driving to 3 different locations with a concert thrown in, in the middle of all of that! I am so glad to be back home and somewhat back to normal! The only big thing we have this coming weekend is our annual holiday dinner at church, which should be a lot of fun!

So here is my menu for this week!

Monday - Tomato soup
Tuesday - Sun-dried tomato pasta salad with capers
Wednesday - Curry Tofu on Rice
Thursday - Sloppy Joes with griller crumbles
Friday - Baked fish with lima beans
Sabbath - Italian Potatoes with sandwiches
Sunday - Holiday dinner @ church

Have a great week!

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday on Orgjunkie.com

Lemon, Rosemary and Thyme Roast Chicken with Roast Potatoes

Roast chicken is a magnificent dinner dish at any time of year but especially on a cold, snowy night. The problem I often find with roast chicken, however, is that too many people over-complicate the roasting process. There is often too much emphasis placed on how to season the chicken, how and whether to stuff it and even how often to baste it. The preparation method I have used for this lemon, rosemary and thyme roasted chicken truly could not be much simpler and I hope to convince you that roasting a chicken need not be much more complicated than would have been boiling the egg from which it once hatched...

When roasting this chicken, I used simply the following:

1 4lb free range, organic chicken
1 whole, fresh lemon
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme

While the oven preheated to 375F/190C/Gas mark 5, I submerged the lemon in a pot of boiling water, where I let it simmer for ten minutes. I put the rosemary and thyme on a dessert spoon, which I then carefully inserted in to the cavity of the chicken and gently shook it around, to disperse the herbs as evenly as possible. After ten minutes, I removed the lemon from the water with a fork and held it in place on a chopping board in this way while I carefully pierced it several times with another fork. I then put it in to the cavity of the chicken and the chicken on to a non-stick baking/roasting tray. Heating the lemon in this way has the effect of causing the juices to escape and steam heat the chicken from the outset of the cooking process. I then put the tray in to the oven - no salt, no butter, no oil - for twenty minutes per pound and twenty minutes over, in this instance one hour and forty minutes. I did not baste the chicken, nor open the oven at all while it was cooking.

The roast potatoes which I served with the chicken were roasted in the fat of the chicken but do require to be cooked beforehand. They are small, new potatoes, so I added them (washed but unpeeled) to some cold, salted water as soon as the chicken was in the oven and brought the water to a boil. I then reduced the heat to allow them to simmer for half an hour. They were then drained and submersed in cold water until a few minutes before the chicken was ready. This process serves to expand and then contract the flesh, leaving the skins easily removable by hand. This takes seconds per potato as it literally just slips off the flesh by rubbing it with your thumb and should be done immediately prior to removing the chicken from the oven, otherwise the potato flesh will start to go black.

When the chicken is removed from the oven, it must be left to rest. If you are not using the chicken fat to roast potatoes, simply leave the chicken in the roasting tray and cover that with foil. If you are using the tray and fat to roast your potatoes, transfer the chicken to a heated dish, cover it with foil for fifteen minutes and leave it alone. Add the potatoes to the fat, swirl them around and stick the tray back in to the oven for around fifteen minutes.

When the chicken has rested, you may wish to carve it in a traditional sense. I prefer not to, especially with such a small bird. I like to separate it in to breast fillets, legs and thighs and wings. I do this with a sharp carving knife by cutting through the skin and flesh and the leg/thigh and wing joints before pulling them free and serving them as a choice of chunky and enjoyable chicken pieces. The way I do this is pretty similar to the way in which I butcher a whole chicken.

The skinned potatoes will take about fifteen to twenty minutes to cook in the chicken fat, which is perfect timing for carving (in whatever form) and serving your chicken. The peas are frozen and were simply added to boiling water for a few minutes before being drained and served immediately.

Cheezburger of the Day

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Turkey Pancetta Pot Pies

   

   

What to do with leftover Thanksgiving turkey is a problem I like to have - so much so that I bring it on myself.  I am one of those people (are there others like me?) who actually buys a bird a few pounds larger than I need just so that I have extra meat for leftovers.  I’m not talking about making sandwiches later Thanksgiving evening.  I’m talking about multiple meals in following days.  In recent years, I have made a Turkey Tetrazzini the day after Thanksgiving (see Cook to Grow, Nov ‘09).  This casserole with slivered almonds and parmesan provides a salty, nutty, toasted taste to turkey leftovers.  This year I added this Turkey Pancetta Pot Pie recipe for Saturday night.  Pot pie of course is one of the great comfort foods.  The recipe, originally from Giada di Laurentiis, adds the earthy, savory flavor of unsmoked pork to the mix.  This weekend, I used prosciutto instead of pancetta because that is what I had on hand.  I also saved time by using a premade pie crust instead of making a homemade crust.  After all, part of the comfort of the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend is no longer slaving in the kitchen.  Serves 4.  Next up, Turkey Enchiladas with a Chipotle Crema Sauce…

   

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

4 oz diced pancetta

1 tbsp butter

1 shallot, chopped

2 medium carrots, diced

1 1/2 tbsp dried thyme

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ cup flour

2 ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth

¼ cup cream

3 cups roasted turkey breast meat, cut into 1/2” pieces

1 cup frozen peas

1 sheet premade pie crust, thawed in refrigerator

   

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes.  Remove the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towels and add the butter to the pan.  Add the shallots, carrots and thyme.  Add the salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 6 minutes.  Stir in the flour to make a roux and cook one minute.  Add the chicken broth and whisk to remove the lumps.  Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.  Add the cooked pancetta, cream, turkey and peas and simmer a few minutes to heat through.  Ladle the mixture into ramekins.  Roll out the pie crust dough and with a round cutter or knife cut circles a little larger than the dishes.  Lay each on top of the filling in each dish and press down the edges slightly.  Cut a slit in the top of each to allow steam to escape.  Bake in the oven until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling, about 25 minutes.  Remove, allow to cool slightly and serve.

   

Link of the Day

The Wall Street Journal has created a fantastic multimedia explanation of the European Debt Crisis' results. Check it out.

Gettin' Into The Spirit

We had a very relaxing holiday week(end). Nathan had W-Sun off that lucky bastard.

Well I guess I did too, except for a little work here and there. After Thanksgiving was

over my neighbors immediately started putting Christmas lights up on their house, and it

pretty much inspired me to get going on it too. 

We aren't putting a Christmas tree up this year, or lights on the house because we won't be here for

the majority of December, so why bother. I did put up the wreath inside, and decorated a bit. I didn't have a fireplace growing up so this is especially my favorite part to decorate. Here's some photos...note that our Christmas tree this year is 1ft. compared to last years 12ft. haha. Sad I know.

Keep in Mind, This Is Just the Beginning

Ireland is saved!* Now on to Portugal and Spain!

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The cost of insuring against default on Portuguese and Spanish government debt soared to record high levels as an aid package for Ireland failed to reassure investors the region’s debt crisis will be contained.

Credit-default swaps on Portugal jumped 36.5 basis points to 538.5, and contracts on Spain climbed 24.25 to 347, according to CMA...

“The market seems to think it’s inevitable Portugal requests assistance next -- perhaps in January? -- and then after that Spain will be scrutinized with a fine tooth comb over the coming months,” said Jim Reid, head of fundamental strategy at Deutsche Bank AG in London.

Just like the mammoth marital fight that occurs when you and your spouse come to the realization that having 5-digit balances on 6 different credit cards plus a mortgage plus two auto loans means that you're practically bankrupt, this is the part with all the yelling and jumping up and down. Once the screaming has stopped, the bills have to be paid. The real change will occur once priorities are reassessed and you have to live within your means while struggling to pay down those monstrous debts.

* - Well, at least until they realize they can't pay back a $113B loan.

1st day exam and plans after it

yo!
Umm. I just finished my first paper today! It went well. Terima kasih buat Ibu for specially pray for me. =)
1 down, 4 more to go! Semoga semuanya lancar2, Insya Allah.
Allah SWT bless me!
 Hmm. What else?
Hari ini baru beli 10 boxes polaroid films. (Haha borong ni?)
Buat persiapan liburan nanti. But I think I should add more, for post-exam planning! Weee. Habis2 duit aja. Mahal sih. Di indo aja 100 ribu per box, tapi berhubung ini murah jadi yaudah, ambil aja deh since its okay with mom, i go ahead! (Mom always best!)

Cant wait for exam to finish, go play in Pavillion and eat eat and Sunway Lagoon dan balik Indo! Yeeeyy. Miss mommy already though.
Okay. Bye2. See u after exam.
p/s : whoever read this, please pray for me in my exam and I hope God will bless you 10 times more than your willingness! Amin.

ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD - 3

I am really honoured to receive "ONE LOVELY BLOG" Award from Kurinji. She has a lovely Blog - KURINJI KATHAMBAM, where she not only shares delicious recipes but also Craft and Kolam (Rangoli) designs. Do visit her blog. http://kurinjikathambam.blogspot.com/

I am changing the image of the award and sharing it with some of my friends whose names are listed below. I am a frequent visitor on their blogs.

Dear Friends, this Award is for all of you.

1. Nithu (Nithu's Kitchen)
http://www.nithubala.com/

2.Umm Mymoonah-Ayeesha (Taste of pearl City)
http://tasteofpearlcity.blogspot.com/

3.Akheela (Torview)
http://torviewtoronto.blogspot.com/

4.Soumya (Soumya's Kitchen)
http://traditional-indian-cooking.blogspot.com/

5.Pushpa (Taste as you cook)
http://simplehomefood.com/

6.Prathima Rao (Prats Corner)
http://prathimarao.blogspot.com/

7.Suja Sugathan (Kitchen Corner-Try it)
http://kichencorner.blogspot.com/

8.Roshan (Roshan's Cucina)
http://roshanscucina.blogspot.com/

9.Tahemeem (Tahemeem's Blog)
http://tahemeemshaik.blogspot.com/

10.Bikramjit Singh Mann (Me and My Random Thoughts)
http://mann-bikram.blogspot.com/

11.Punam (Dreamz Forever)
http://punamjr.blogspot.com/

12.Vinita (Doting on Doilies)
http://dotingondoilies.blogspot.com/