Monday-to-Friday Chicken

by Michele Urvater

Overview

Joining the James Beard Award-winning Monday-to-Friday Cookbook and Monday-to-Friday Pasta, together with 248,000 copies in print, Monday-to-Friday Chicken presents over 180 recipes for America's favorite bird. Here are roast chickens, grilled chickens, baked chickens, chicken stir-fries and chicken saut,s, chicken soups, salads, sandwiches, and more, everything to help the family cook break out of the same-old-fish rut. The quick: Southwestern Lemon Chicken. The really quick: Chicken Club. The fun: Easy Tasty Asian Wings. The special: Roasted Chicken l'Indienne, Orange Braised Chicken with Almond Sauce.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761179023
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	01/10/1998
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	250
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

An "excellent teacher" is the New York Times's praise for Michele Urvater. The star of the Television Food Network series Cooking Monday-to-Friday,her books include the award-winning Monday-to-Friday Cookbook and Monday-to-Friday Chicken. Her 20-year cooking career includes catering, teaching, writing, consulting, and working as a corporate chef.

Read an Excerpt

Garlic Chicken and Peppers with Beans

Makes: 4 servings

Time: 15 minutes preparation

1 hour no-work baking time

1/4 cup olive oil

2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces (31'2 pounds)

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken broth

6 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon dried sage leaves, or 8 large fresh leaves, snipped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 can (15 ounces) white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) small red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup (packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Heat the oil in a deep 6-quart flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, cover, and cook over low heat until tender, 5 minutes. While thee are cooking, remove the skin from the chicken pieces (except for the wings, where it is just too hard).

3. Push the peppers to the side and add the chicken. Cook over medium heat just to stiffen the flesh, 2 minutes on each side. Remove the breast pieces from the casserole and set them aside. Add the wine, broth, garlic, and sage and bring the liquid to a simmer. Add 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Cover, transfer the casserole to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

4. Return the breast meat to the casserole, and add the white and red beans. Continue to bake, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through, 15 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, chop the parsley.

5. Serve the chicken in deep bowls, sprinkled with fresh parsley and swimming in all its lovely fragrant juices. Or, using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and beans to a serving plate. Boil the juices down until only 2 cups remain, 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust the seasoning, stir in the parsley, and ladle the sauce over the chicken and beans.

Fiery Asian Chicken Braised with Mushrooms

Makes: 4 serving

Time: 1 hour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil

1 chicken, quartered or cut into 8 pieces (31/2 to 4 pounds)

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

10 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 cinnamon stick (1 inch long)

1 strip lime zest (1 inch long)

1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1 cup (loosely packed) cilantro leaves

Salt

1. Heat the vegetable and sesame oils in a deep 6 quart flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Saut, the chicken, just to stiffen the skin, turning the pieces once, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.

2. Add the garlic, mushrooms, rice vinegar, soy sauce, cinnamon, lime zest and red pepper flakes. Saut,, stirring until the mushrooms begin to wilt, for a couple of minutes.

3. Return only the dark mat to the casserole, cover, and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the white meat, cover and simmer until the chicken is just done, 20 minutes longer.

Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and let it rest for 10 minutes or until cool enough to remove and discard the skin and fat underneath the skin. While the chicken is resting, strain the juices from the casserole into a bowl or degreasing cup and reserve the mushrooms. Discard the cinnamon stick and lime strip. Remove all of the surface fat. Return the degreased juices to the pan and bring them back to a simmer.

5. Coarsely chop the cilantro and add it to the sauce. Simmer for 30 seconds or until barley wilted. Season to taste with salt. Return the skinned chicken to the sauce and simmer over low heat to reheat, 2 to 3 minutes.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken

Makes: 4 servings

Time: 10 minutes preparation

45 minutes no-work bake time

8 ounces feta, mild goat cheese, or Boursin cheese

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 whole bone-in chicken breasts, skin on, split in half

1/4 cup (packed) flat-leaf parsley laves or fresh dill (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Combine the cheese, oregano, butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Loosen the chicken skin from the flesh without completely detaching it, and stuff as much of the cheese mixture under the skin as possible, Spread the remaining mixture over the skin. Place in a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. raise the heat to 450 degrees F and bake until the chicken breasts are cooked through and slightly golden on top, 15 minutes longer.

4. While the chicken is baking, chop the parsley. Remove the chicken form the oven, sprinkle it with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Excerpted from Monday-to-Friday Chicken. Copyright (c) 1998 by Michele Urvater. Reprinted with permission by Workman Publishing.

Table of Contents

CHICKEN: THE MONDAY-TO-FRIDAY WAY

How the Monday-to-Friday system works and why chicken fits the system so perfectly; includes matching meals to busy weekday schedules.

CHICKEN CHATTER

Tips on buying and storing chicken and other poultry to use in the Monday-to-Friday kitchen,

MONDAY-TO-FRIDAY PANTRY LIST

The canned goods and other cupboard, refrigerator, and freezer items to have on hand in order to create delicious chicken dinners.

CHICKEN SOUPS AND STEWS

Asian Salad Chicken Soup, Creamy New England Chicken Chowder, Summer Green Gazpacho with Chicken - quick and easy one-pot wonders,

DINNER SALADS

The best-dressed salads to serve year round include Potato Chicken Salad with Dill, Chili Chicken Waldorf Salad, and a Turkey, Pecan, and Grape Salad made with earthy flavored smoked turkey.

SANDWICH SUPPERS

Towering double-deckers and overstuffed pitas, pumpernickel slices, and burger buns make perfect dinnertime solutions. Try Chicken Po' Boys, Hot Picnic Loaf, Italian-Style Grilled Cheese and Chicken, Tex-Mex Chicken Burritos, and big, fat, spicy Chicken Sausage Heros.

IN THE SKILLET AND ON THE GRILL

One hugh chapter divided into three sections makes terrific use of the speedy, efficient skillet, and the stovetop grill pan. Light Meals, like Deviled Chicken and Artichokes and Sweet and Fiery Chicken Silvers, are for nights when appetites are slight; for times when appeties are heartier, Complete Meals offers recipes for Chicken and Apple Toss over Polenta and Curried Chicken over Aromatic Rice; lastly, On the Grill includes beautifully charred Grilled Chicken over Red Cabbage and Mushrooms-Lover's Chicken to create indoors - or out.

NO-TEND OVEN COOKING

For days when you have a little more time, take a few minutes to prepare the dishes featured here and relax while they cook in the oven. Oven Meals like Mediterranean Casserole and Garlic Chicken with Peppers and Beans are complete meals; Oven Entrees like Baked Herbed Chicken and Meltingly Marvelous Chicken, need a quick side dish to round out the dinner; and for real ease, try Zesty Herbed Chicken as featured in the Chicken in the Microwave section.

SUNDAY START-UPS AND QUICK FIXES

When you have the time on the weekend, roast two chickens and some vegetables and turn them into meals to enjoy during the rest of the week. Chicken Stew Any Casserole, Grandma Helen's Jewish CHicken Soup, and Game Hens with Pecan Rice Pilaf are just a few of the ideas included in this chapter.

HOMEMADE EXOTIC PANTRY

Homemade herb pastes and purees, sauces and stocks enliven any dish and give even the most humble chicken soup, sandwich, or salad an exotic touch. A homemade Coconut Peanut Sauce, Ancho Paste, Tomato Salsa, or Porcini Stock are great secret ingredients to have on hand.

CONVERSION TABLE

INDEX

Recipe

Garlic Chicken and Peppers with Beans

Makes: 4 servings
Time: 15 minutes preparation
1 hour no-work baking time

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces (31'2 pounds)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon dried sage leaves, or 8 large fresh leaves, snipped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can (15 ounces) white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) small red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup (packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Heat the oil in a deep 6-quart flame proof casserole over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, cover, and cook over low heat until tender, 5 minutes. While they are cooking, remove the skin from the chicken pieces (except for the wings, where it is just too hard).
3. Push the peppers to the side and add the chicken. Cook over medium heat just to stiffen the flesh, 2 minutes on each side. Remove the breast pieces from the casserole and set them aside. Add the wine, broth, garlic, and sage and bring the liquid to a simmer. Add 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Cover, transfer the casserole to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Return the breast meat to the casserole, and add the white and red beans. Continue to bake, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through, 15 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, chop the parsley.
5. Serve the chicken in deep bowls, sprinkled with fresh parsley and swimming in all its lovely fragrant juices. Or, using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and beans to a serving plate. Boil the juices down until only 2 cups remain, 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust the seasoning, stir in the parsley, and ladle the sauce over the chicken and beans.

Fiery Asian Chicken Braised with Mushrooms

Makes: 4 serving
Time: 1 hour

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
• 1 chicken, quartered or cut into 8 pieces (31/2 to 4 pounds)
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 10 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 cinnamon stick (1 inch long)
• 1 strip lime zest (1 inch long)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1 cup (loosely packed) cilantro leaves
• Salt

1. Heat the vegetable and sesame oils in a deep 6 quart flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Saute the chicken, just to stiffen the skin, turning the pieces once, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
2. Add the garlic, mushrooms, rice vinegar, soy sauce, cinnamon, lime zest and red pepper flakes. Saute, stirring until the mushrooms begin to wilt, for a couple of minutes.
3. Return only the dark mat to the casserole, cover, and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the white meat, cover and simmer until the chicken is just done, 20 minutes longer.
4. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and let it rest for 10 minutes or until cool enough to remove and discard the skin and fat underneath the skin. While the chicken is resting, strain the juices from the casserole into a bowl or degreasing cup and reserve the mushrooms. Discard the cinnamon stick and lime strip. Remove all of the surface fat. Return the degreased juices to the pan and bring them back to a simmer.
5. Coarsely chop the cilantro and add it to the sauce. Simmer for 30 seconds or until barley wilted. Season to taste with salt. Return the skinned chicken to the sauce and simmer over low heat to reheat, 2 to 3 minutes.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken

Makes: 4 servings
Time: 10 minutes preparation
45 minutes no-work bake time

• 8 ounces feta, mild goat cheese, or Boursin cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 whole bone-in chicken breasts, skin on, split in half
• 1/4 cup (packed) flat-leaf parsley laves or fresh dill (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine the cheese, oregano, butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Loosen the chicken skin from the flesh without completely detaching it, and stuff as much of the cheese mixture under the skin as possible, Spread the remaining mixture over the skin. Place in a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. raise the heat to 450 degrees F and bake until the chicken breasts are cooked through and slightly golden on top, 15 minutes longer.
4. While the chicken is baking, chop the parsley. Remove the chicken form the oven, sprinkle it with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Excerpted from Monday-to-Friday Chicken. Copyright (c) 1998 by Michele Urvater. Reprinted with permission by Workman Publishing.