Chicken Francese

21 October 2022 

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Chicken cutlet recipes are attractive. When done well the chicken comes out tender and juicy, it cooks quickly, and is enhanced by a savory coating which lends either crunch or flavor or both. I don't remember where I learned about this recipe, an Italian-American version of a French dish, but it seemed as if it would make for a good chicken-cutlet dinner. Fortunately I found a "for two" version of the recipe. As usual, the ATK "for two" recipe made enough for the two of us to get two dinners. 

Each of two boneless, skinless chicken breasts was cut into three pieces of about the same size. These were pounded to approximately ¼-inch thickness, tossed with salt and pepper, and set aside for 15 minutes. The cutlets were then dredged in flour and placed on a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. A mixture of olive oil and vegetable oil was heated in a skillet. Three of the cutlets were coated with a mixture of beaten egg and water and fried until golden brown on both sides. This was repeated with the other three cutlets. The skillet was emptied and wiped clean to be used to make the sauce. Lemon slices and butter were placed in the skillet and the lemons were lightly browned then set aside. Minced garlic was added and cooked briefly then white wine was added and cooked until most of the liquid was evaporated. Chicken broth was added and cooked to reduce it. Lemon zest and juice were stirred in followed by butter cubes that had been coated with flour. The sauce was cooked until thickened then, off heat, minced fresh parsley was stirred in. The browned lemon slices were scatted over the cutlets which were then bathed in the sauce. Total time was 70 minutes.

These were very good chicken cutlets. They were very juicy and tender with an interesting flavor from the egg coating. I thought they might taste too eggy but they did not. The sauce might have been reduced too much, I should have been more careful measuring the volume while reducing it as the target volume was in the recipe. The sauce was too lemony, perhaps from too much zest, and the lemon flavor overpowered the other components of the sauce. The cutlets were good leftover with gentle heating in a skillet. The browned lemon slices were not attractive or useful. Making this dish was a lot of effort, especially for a weeknight, and it produced a tall pile of dirty dishes, so I doubt this recipe will be used regulalry.

New England Bar Pizza

 20 March 2023

Recipe from Cook's Country, August 2014 (updated in February 2023)

From the "United State of Pizza" comes this speciality from the south shore of New England. I don't think I've ever made a pizza that I really disliked, so I viewed this a low-risk recipe to try after seeing it made on the Cook's Country TV show. It is amazing how many regional variations of pizza there are across the country. 

This was a relatively convenient pizza to make as both the dough and sauce was made in a food processor and the pizza was cooked in round cake pans. AP flour, sugar, and yeast were combined in a food processor. With the processor running, water was added until no dry flour remained. The nascent dough rested for 10 minutes then olive oil and salt were added and processed until a ball forms and clears the sides of the bowl. This was placed in a covered bowl and rested until it had doubled (actually, more than doubled) in volume. The processor bowl was cleaned and dried and the no-cook sauce was made by processing the ingredients: a can of diced tomatoes, olive oil, dried oregano, sugar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. After the dough had risen it was divided in half. Each half was flattened into a 6-inch disk then rolled into a 10-inch disk. It was sticky but easy to work with the addition of a little flour. Because it was springy it was difficult to make a nice neat circle of dough and I ended up with some excess dough clumped at the edges of the pans. The dough was placed into a 9-inch round cake pan that had been coated with olive oil. Sauce was added followed by grated mozzarella and sharp cheddar cheeses. It was baked in a 450° oven, removed from the pans, and served after cooling for 5 minutes. For the two of us each pizza provided one dinner. The total time was 3½ hours, much of it hands off.

We enjoyed this pizza and will have it again soon as there is leftover sauce waiting in the freezer. The crust has a real nice chew but could have been a little crispier, suggesting it could have baked for another 5 minutes. The sharp cheddar cheese gives it a great tangy flavor and there is a nice lacy edge from cheese that was placed on the side of the pan. I used store-brand cheeses and it would be interesting to try a better quality cheddar. There is a variation of this pizza that adds baked beans and salami as toppings. We probably won't try that but we might add some toppings the next time we make it. 

Make Way-Ahead Dinner Rolls

 7 January 2023

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, November 2022

I like having dinner rolls available as an alternative to potatoes for dinner. I have tried various recipes and learned that often the rolls can be frozen and saved for later. But nothing is like a freshly baked roll. Given that I only need a few for dinner, and they take all afternoon to prepare, something like a homemade brown-and-serve roll would seem to be ideal. Finally, in the edition of Cook's Illustrated focussing on Thanksgiving last year, a modern recipe that might just fill the bill.

The procedure was pretty standard except for the baking. A flour paste (tangzhong) was made by heating a mixture of bread flour and water in the microwave. This was mixed with cold milk to which was then added bread flour, yeast, and an egg. This was mixed on a stand mixer until the flour was moistened. After a 15 minute rest for the flour to hydrate, sugar and salt were added and mixed for 5 minutes. Softened butter was added and mixed for 5 minutes longer. The dough was placed into a bowl to rise until doubled. It was then deflated, portioned, and shaped into 16 balls (each about 53 grams) that were placed on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. The dough was a little sticky but this was remedied with a little flour, but you don't want to use too much as the stickiness aids in shaping. After rising until almost doubled they were baked at 300° until reaching an internal temperature of 170°. At this point they are still quite pale. After cooling they were placed into the freezer before being placed into a zipper bag for storage in the freezer. To reheat they are placed in a 425° oven until deep golden brown, 7-10 minutes, and served warm with butter. Total time was 3 hours 45 minutes. 

These are very good rolls! They have a thin crust and soft, warm interior with the yeasty flavor that you would expect in a dinner roll. It will be great to have these in the freezer, always available as a replacement for potatoes or other starch course at dinner, whether for two people or more for guests. The only downside is the need to heat the oven to 425° just to have a few rolls.

Shokupan (Japanese White Bread)

 24 October 2023

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, May 2022

I alluded to this recipe in my post about Pain de Mie which is made using a Pullman Loaf Pan. This loaf pan has a cover leading to a square loaf with four straight sides. The Pain de Mie was disappointing so I was looking forward to trying this other recipe using the Pullman Loaf Pan, doubly so because of some similarities to the recipe for Japanese Milk Bread which had been my favorite white sandwich bread for several years. 

The first step was creating yudane by mixing flour with boiling water, similar to the tangzhong used when making Japanese Milk Bread or Fluffy Dinner Rolls. This was mixed with cold milk after which flour and yeast were mixed in and the mixture rested for 15 minutes. Sugar and salt were then added to the dough which was kneaded on the stand mixer for 10 minutes. Softened unsalted butter was then mixed into the dough which was kneaded for an additional 5-10 minutes. After rising until doubled in volume, the sticky dough was divided into four portions each of which then rested for another 15 minutes. Using oil to offset the stickiness of the dough, each portion was patted into a square. This was folded in thirds and rolled to form a rectangle. The rectangle of dough was then rolled into a cylinder and placed into the Pullman Loaf Pan. After rising in the Pullman Loaf Pan, the dough was baked in a 375° oven. It takes a long time to make this bread: the total time, excluding the long cooling period, was almost 5½ hours, much of which was hands off.

This is a very good white sandwich bread. It features a pillowy interior with a uniform, fine crumb and a tender crust. It rises to nicely fill the Pullman Loaf Pan and retains its shape while cooling. It keeps well, staying tender and moist for days at room temperature and it stands up well to freezing. This is my new favorite white sandwich bread!

Italian Wedding Soup

 11 March 2023

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated All Time Best Soups, America's Test Kitchen, 2016, p. 63; also available online as Pittsburgh Wedding Soup.

I had heard of Italian Wedding Soup but I don't recall ever having it. Diane has had it and asked that I make it. I looked in my ATK soup book and found a recipe that didn't include a lot of ingredients and looked as if it would not take a lot of time. I assumed that it is a soup served at Italian weddings, but a little internet sleuthing proved this wrong. The name in Italian, minestra maritata, is perhaps better translated as "married soup" referring to the marriage of the flavors in the soup.

The preparation can be divided into two parts: making the meatballs and then making the soup. For the meatballs, bread and milk are mashed together into a panade to tenderize the meatballs. Egg yolk, Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and dried oregano were stirred into the panade and a pound of ground beef was then mixed into the mixture by hand. (The recipe specifies meatloaf mix but that is not available in our supermarkets.) To form 1-inch meatballs I used a #60 disher which made 44 meatballs just a tad larger than 1-inch. While the meatballs chilled on a baking sheet in the refrigerator, the rest of the soup was made. Garlic and red pepper flakes (as usual, I used half the specified amount) were cooked in hot olive oil in a Dutch oven. Three quarts of chicken broth were added followed by chopped kale leaves. This was brought to a simmer and cooked until the kale was softened. The firmed meatballs were added along with orzo and cooked until the pasta was tender. Chopped fresh parsley was added. Total time was 100 minutes.

The soup is good, both freshly made and after a few days in the refrigerator. We should get about 5 meals from this recipe. I suspect it would freeze well, too. Diane compared the soup to chicken noodle but with meatballs and orzo instead of chicken bits and noodles. The meatballs are very tender. The soup was not at all spicy, except when I bit into a red pepper flake. The broth, made using Better Than Bouillon concentrate, is a key component of the soup. It's quality is a major factor determining the quality of the final product. This soup is certainly worth making again and there are many opportunities for variations,