Bok-a-Bok-a
December 3, 2007
So I starting coming down with this horrendous cold the morning of my birthday and everyone recommended I take this Cold FX stuff. Well I did and my cold never got worse, that is until I stopped taking it at the end of the 3 day 'program' they have on the side of the bottle. Then it came on full blast, so bad that when I went to have my makeup done for my party the girl had to apply moisturizer 3 times before she actually started putting crap on my face to help soften the scales.
D wouldn't touch me with a 10 foot pole for the entire weekend, I guess he just doesn't appreciate the hotness of his snotty, chapped-lipped, walrus-lung-ed girlfriend in stilettos and fake eyelashes. Ally and I drank two bottles of pink champagne between the two of us before we headed out to the Mod Club. On any other night this probably would have been fine, but mixed with cold medicine it was a nightmare. At some point the club turned into a bad, bad rave and I could feel the floor bouncing beneath us. So I declared it time to leave after what felt like an hour but had really been three. Again, on any other night I'm sure it would have been awesome, just sickness and me go together like fried and chicken.
Speaking of chicken...I roasted one. All by myself. For the first time ever! And not to boast or anything but it was freaking DELICIOUS. It took me a good while to work up the nerve to pick it up and I may or may not have had to make up a chicken song to sing to myself while doing it but it turned out beautifully. I totally killed the asparagus though trying to keep it hot while D ran out to get wine but whateva. Everything else was really good. It was tasty and that is that.
Recipe for never cooked a chicken-chicken.
1. Shove a lemon half or two in the cavity. Add some rosemary and garlic if you want.
2. Tie the chickens legs together like you know what you are doing.
3. Rub butter, salt and pepper all over the outside of said chicken.
4. Throw some vegetables around any negative space. Douse everything in olive oil.
5. Shove that baby in the oven at 425F for an hour and a half.
Congratulations, you just cooked the world's most awesome chicken.
D wouldn't touch me with a 10 foot pole for the entire weekend, I guess he just doesn't appreciate the hotness of his snotty, chapped-lipped, walrus-lung-ed girlfriend in stilettos and fake eyelashes. Ally and I drank two bottles of pink champagne between the two of us before we headed out to the Mod Club. On any other night this probably would have been fine, but mixed with cold medicine it was a nightmare. At some point the club turned into a bad, bad rave and I could feel the floor bouncing beneath us. So I declared it time to leave after what felt like an hour but had really been three. Again, on any other night I'm sure it would have been awesome, just sickness and me go together like fried and chicken.
Speaking of chicken...I roasted one. All by myself. For the first time ever! And not to boast or anything but it was freaking DELICIOUS. It took me a good while to work up the nerve to pick it up and I may or may not have had to make up a chicken song to sing to myself while doing it but it turned out beautifully. I totally killed the asparagus though trying to keep it hot while D ran out to get wine but whateva. Everything else was really good. It was tasty and that is that.
Recipe for never cooked a chicken-chicken.
1. Shove a lemon half or two in the cavity. Add some rosemary and garlic if you want.
2. Tie the chickens legs together like you know what you are doing.
3. Rub butter, salt and pepper all over the outside of said chicken.
4. Throw some vegetables around any negative space. Douse everything in olive oil.
5. Shove that baby in the oven at 425F for an hour and a half.
Congratulations, you just cooked the world's most awesome chicken.
The next time you roast a chicken, keep the neck and guts (discard the liver or fry it up and eat it or feed it to the cat or whatever).
Keep the bones (even the ones people have eaten from if you feel close enough to do so) and when you have the whole skeleton add it to a pot along with the garlic (if you haven't eaten it) and the rosemary and cover it with water and add a T of salt.
Add a bay leaf, a couple of ribs of celery, a couple of carrots (scraped), and a large onion cut in half or quarters, a few peppercorns and if you have some add some more herbs like parsley or thyme.
Cook it on low for a few hours uncovered but watch that it doesn't boil away too much - you should lose at least a third of the liquid and as it goes down the flavors will concentrate but try not to let it come to a hard boil this round.
Cool it, strain it and throw the stock into the fridge overnight.
The next day, cut up some more carrots and onions and celery and lightly saute' them in a little butter or oil and then add the defatted stock (remove the yellow schmaltz or chicken fat or leave it for richness if you're bold).
Simmer uncovered until the veg is tender and taste it for salt. Boil it down a bit more if it's weak and when it's nice and rich add whatever leftover chicken bits you have shredded or cubed and then some more minced fresh herbs. You can also add barley at the same time as the veg or you can add cooked pasta or rice to the bowls before you pour the stock over. Adding the pasta or rice to the pot and not eating the whole thing right away sucks up all your liquid so store them separately.
Also a nice salt alternative is Bragg Liquid Aminos which are salty but have nutritional advantage to straight sodium.
This is a great way to make one roasted chicken go a lot further, and it's an exquisite accompaniment to fresh buttered bread right out of the oven.
Speaking of which, my sponge is on it's two hour rise as I type this. I can't wait to see how it comes out.
Bon Appetit!
XXKHT