365 More Ways to Cook Chicken (365 ways) (53 page)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9x5-inch or 8x4-inch loaf pan. In a medium frying pan, cook celery and onion in oil over medium-low heat, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

2. In a mixing bowl, use your hands to gently but thoroughly combine chicken, egg, stuffing mix, pepper, and cooked onion and celery. Spoon into loaf pan, patting top to even.

3. Bake 30 minutes. In a small bowl, blend cranberry sauce and horseradish. Spread over top of loaf and continue to bake until firm on top and white throughout but still juicy, 20 to 30 minutes longer. An instant-reading thermometer should register 165°. Let loaf stand 10 minutes before slicing 1 inch thick.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 31 to 36 minutes Serves: 8

The amount of jalapeño peppers here determines the alarm bells of the chili. Serve spooned into flour or corn tortillas or over rice.

• 1½ pounds ground chicken
  

• 1 large onion, chopped
  

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed through a press
  

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  

• 1½ tablespoons chili powder
  

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  

• 1 (16-ounce) can plum tomatoes, drained
  

• 1½ cups chicken broth
  

• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
  

• 1, 2, or 3 fresh or canned jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
  

• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  

1.
In a large saucepan, cook chicken, onion, and garlic in oil over medium heat until chicken is white and onion is softened and pale gold, about 10 minutes.

2.
Add chili powder, oregano, and cumin and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, broth, chopped chiles, and jalapeño(s), breaking up tomatoes with back of a spoon. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until chili is slightly thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 1½ to 1¾ hours Stand: 45 minutes Chill: 4 hours Serves: 8

For an elegant summer dish, serve this sophisticated terrine drilled with a mustardy mayonnaise or pesto sauce.

• 1½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch chunks
  

• 1 egg
  

• 2 cups cold heavy cream
  

• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas and carrots, thawed
  

• ⅓ cup chopped scallions
  

• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
  

• 1 cup finely diced baked ham
  

• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  

• ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
  

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
  

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  

1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chicken in a food processor and add egg. With machine on, add cream gradually through feed tube. Continue to process about 45 seconds to make a smooth, thick puree. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in peas and carrots, scallions, bell pepper, ham, salt, nutmeg, cayenne, and black pepper.

2.
Pack into a buttered 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Lay a sheet of buttered waxed paper over chicken mixture, then cover pan tightly with foil. Place in a large baking pan and pour in enough hot water to reach halfway up sides of loaf pan.

3.
Bake 1
½
to 1¾ hours, until an instant-reading thermometer registers 165°, loaf is firm, and juices run clear when pricked.

4.
Let cool at room temperature 45 minutes. Drain off any liquid. Place another loaf pan on top of loaf and fill with cans to weight terrine and make it denser. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. To serve, drain off any accumulated liquid, unmold, and cut into
½
-inch slices.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 28 minutes Serves: 4

• 1 pound ground chicken
  

• 1 large onion, chopped
  

• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
  

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed through a press
  

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  

• 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
  

• 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
  

• ¼ teaspoon crushed hot pepper
  

• 1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, juices reserved
  

• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
  

• ½ cup dry red or white wine Pinch of sugar Salt and freshly ground pepper
  

• 1 pound ziti or other tubular pasta
  

• Grated Parmesan cheese
  

1.
In a large saucepan, cook chicken, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, stirring often, until chicken is white and vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.

2.
Add oregano, basil, hot pepper, tomatoes with their juices, tomato sauce, wine, and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, stirring often and breaking up tomatoes with back of a spoon, 20 minutes.

3.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook ziti until tender but still firm, 11 to 13 minutes. Drain into a colander.

4.
To serve, spoon sauce over ziti. Pass cheese separately.

Game hens are not wild game or baby chickens, nor are they necessarily from Cornwall. They are lovely little birds of between 1 and 1
½
pounds that will serve one or two people quite nicely. In addition to boasting a flavor likened by many to old-fashioned, farm-raised chickens, they make a smashing presentation on any dinner plate and cook far faster than their bigger cousins. These attributes make game hens a perennial favorite for small dinner parties.

Game hens are sold whole, halved, and quartered. My favorite is quartered since the pieces are easiest to grill or broil. I like to prepare them with a simple herb glaze and then serve them at room temperature for a fancy picnic or tailgate party, though in this chapter you’ll find all sorts of flavors to suit all types of tastes. Halves are well suited to baking or grilling, and they make a dramatic plate presentation, needing only a little rice or vegetable and an herb sprig for a special effect. When cooking whole hens, shop for the smallest size—those that weigh about a pound each.

Game hens are roasted at a high heat to ensure a richly browned exterior in a relatively short time. As with chicken, they are done when the thigh juices run clear when pricked with a knife tip. (An instant-reading thermometer is not as reliable here since there is very little depth for inserting the gauge.)

If you haven’t tried game hens in some time, now is the time to renew acquaintance with the prettiest little bird on the block.

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 25 minutes Serves: 4

• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
  

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  

• 1 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce
  

• 1 large garlic clove, crushed through a press
  

• ¼ teaspoon salt
  

• ⅛ teaspoon crushed hot red pepper Pinch of cayenne
  

• 2 Cornish game hens, quartered
  

1.
Preheat broiler. In a small bowl, stir together wine, olive oil, lemon juice, Tabasco, garlic, salt, hot pepper, and cayenne.

2.
Place hens on a broiler pan, skin side up, and brush with some of sauce. Broil about 6 inches from heat 10 minutes. Turn, brush with more sauce, and broil 10 minutes. Turn and brush again with remaining sauce. Broil until juices run clear when pricked with a knife tip, about 5 minutes longer.

Prep: 10 minutes Cook
: 27 minutes Serves: 4

• 2 Cornish game hens, quartered
  

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  

• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  

• 2 tart apples, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
  

• Salt and freshly ground pepper
  

• ¼ cup dry white wine
  

• 2 tablespoons crabapple jelly
  

1.
Preheat broiler. Use your hands to flatten hen quarters somewhat. In a small bowl, stir together olive oil and cloves. Brush or rub all sides of hens and apples with flavored oil. Season hens and apples lightly with salt and pepper. In a small saucepan, cook wine and jelly over medium heat, stirring to melt jelly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve crabapple glaze.

2.
Place hens on a broiler pan, skin side down, and broil about 6 inches from heat 10 minutes. Turn and brush with some of glaze. Broil 10 minutes. Turn and brush again. Brush apple slices with glaze and add to pan. Broil 3 minutes. Turn hens and apples over and brush again. Broil until apples are glazed and softened and hen juices run clear when thigh is pricked with a knife tip, about 2 minutes.

3.
Serve hens garnished with broiled apple slices.

Prep: 10 minutes Stand: 30 minutes Cook: 40 minutes Serves: 4

Other herbs work just as well in this basic grilled game hen recipe. I like to use halved hens, or even quarters, as they cook far more evenly and are thus easier than attempting to grill a whole hen.

• 2 Cornish game hens, halved
  

• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 ½ teaspoons dried
  

• 1 garlic clove, crushed through a press
  

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  

• Salt and freshly ground pepper
  

• Fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish
  

1.
Use your hands to flatten hen halves somewhat. Loosen skin of hens and rub rosemary and garlic under skin, spreading as much as possible with your fingers without tearing skin. Let hens stand 30 minutes at room temperature.

2.
Prepare a medium fire in a barbecue grill or preheat broiler. Rub hen halves with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill or broil, turning once, until skin is richly browned and juices run clear when thigh is pricked with a knife tip, about 40 minutes.

3.
Serve garnished with rosemary sprigs.

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 35 minutes Serves: 6