I get gifts! One I got this year was a box of assorted large bottles of spice mixes. I’ve enjoyed each unique blend, especially the Peruvian one, because it’s been a while since we have been able to frequent our favorite Peruvian restaurant here.
Tonight’s menu features the Cantanzaro spice mix. Cantanzaro is a city in Italy. So there are a lot of herbs this Italian girl recognizes: marjoram, basil, thyme, rosemary and oregano. And garlic, lots of garlic. But the kicker is the lemon and lemon peel.
It’s all very fresh for summer and great for grilling.
On the board tonight:
- Grilled Cantanzaro Herbed Chicken Breasts
- Grilled peppers and onions (toss sliced onions and favorite mix of peppers with olive oil, salt, pepper and grill in a grilling pan)
- Cucumber-Tomato Salad (recipe here)
- Gelato (recipes here)
Grilled Cantanzaro Herbed Chicken Breast
- 1 to 1-1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp each: garlic powder, dried marjoram, basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary,
- 1 tbsp lemon peel
- 1 cup lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
grill, marinade container
Butterfly chicken breasts (slicing them open down the center so they lie flat like butterfly wings). Place them in between two pieces of plastic wrap, and pound until they are about 1/2 inch thick – you don’t want them much thinner because they will dry out on the grill.
Crush together the dry herbs. You can do it with your fingers or use a mortar and pestle. Combine with the lemon peel.
Place chicken breasts in a shallow container with a lid (I love my pyrex containers for this). Sprinkle 1/2 the herbs over the chicken, flip and sprinkle the remaining over the other side. Cover with lemon juice (start with 1/2 cup and use up to a cup to get coverage).
Marinate for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
Grill quickly over high heat to get a good sear on both sides, reduce heat (or remove the chicken from directly over a coal fire, to the side of the grill) and grill over low heat until the internal temperature is about 160 degrees F. Once removed from the grill, tent loosely with foil and it will quickly reach an internal temperature of 165 without drying out.
Serve with grilled peppers and onions and a cucumber-tomato salad.
=========================
BTW, if you’re buying spice mixes, skip the salt. You’ll get more spices for your dollar and adding your own salt gives you more control.
I’m happily overrun with tomatoes and besides eating them, I’m freezing bags of tomato juice for cooking later this winter. Great for making sauces, soups and quick dinners – I freeze the juice fresh, blended with seeds and skin – and then popped in freezer bags and frozen flat. Easy to store and the easy prep, so I’m not overwhelmed with processing as the tomatoes pile up. I do something similar with peppers, usually cut them into large chunks, quick freeze on a baking sheet and then portioning into freezer bags. Easy to chop them to smaller pieces before they are fully thawed and toss them into soups and sauces.
What’s on your menu this week? Share some favorite end of summer recipes.
TaMara (HFG)
I have made three batches of different flavored gelato the past two weeks, to share with friends. I think I’m going to play with a few ice cream recipes this next week. Just to change things up.
dmsilev
Just started preheating the pizza stone. I have some basil that I need to use before it turns and some fresh tomatoes, so pizza margherita is in my near future.
Barbara
I’m away from home right now so nothing interesting, but I’ve been experimenting with the sous vide gadget I bought myself for my birthday. It’s especially good for chicken breast and fish. Nothing dries out, the meat is juicy and tender, but it takes a while.
Barbara
@dmsilev: Yum.
dmsilev
@TaMara (HFG): I had gelato for lunch, well dessert after lunch anyway (lunch was banh mi from a newly opened place; hope they make it, it’s not exactly a great time for new eateries).
WaterGirl
I am generally a good cook, but these days it seems like the chicken breasts (I only like white meat) are huge and no matter what I do, they seem to cook up like rubber.
It’s very discouraging.
dmsilev
@WaterGirl: The regular supermarket chicken breasts are enormous these days. I almost always start by slicing them in half before doing anything. Or just buy cutlets instead of full breasts.
Yutsano
Got some extra maters? Do what this mook does and make your own purée! It freezes really well and you have fresh tomato sauce when you need it for a recipe.
TaMara (HFG)
@Yutsano: That’s pretty much what I do, minus the cooking.
RSA
Hey, I wanted to let you know that I made your chili verde recipe from last week. I used poblano peppers, and I don’t have convenient access to a grill so I just seared them on the stovetop. Added jalapenos for a little more heat. I used a little less water than called for, and it went for maybe four hours in the slow cooker. Toward the end it was a little chunkier than I wanted, so I applied an immersion blender. With a bit of cheddar on top (out of sour cream), tortillas, and a salad.
Verdict: Excellent.
https://balloon-juice.com/2020/08/23/sunday-recipe-exchange-this-ones-hot-hot-hot/
JMG
Shark week is over on the Cape so we have declared this Tomato Week! Tomorrow is ratatouille. Tuesday is BLT’s with home baked bread (not our own) and heirloom tomatoes. Wednesday is panzanella. That’s as far as we’ve gotten, but I might buy a couple of unripe ones at the farmer’s market Tuesday and fry them on Thursday. Oh, I forgot. Alice is gonna make tomato tarts, either Thursday or Friday.
RSA
@WaterGirl: Ugh. I’ve found the same about chicken breasts, but fortunately I like dark meat, so switching to thighs was a good solution for me.
Sure Lurkalot
Cedar planking a lovely cut of Arctic Char, to be served with roasted potatoes and asparagus.
My partner pickled some of our home grown Fresno chiles. Sliced very thin, they’re hotter than hell and I eat a jar of pickled jalapeños every couple of weeks (so I should know). Trying to figure out what I can do with them!
Auntie Anne
@WaterGirl: I was having the same problem. I learned if I cut them in half and make thin chicken breasts out of them, I get good flavor and texture. AND they take no time to grill or bake.
Steppy
Holy cow, tomatoes. We have canned sauce, soup, paste, juice. Not to mention the slicing tomatoes. I pretty much live on tomato sandwiches this time of year.
dmsilev
@Yutsano: Every year around now, my mom buys something like 50 or 75 pounds of “damaged” tomatoes from the farmers market and makes a huge amount of roasted-tomato sauce. Pour it into a bunch of ziplock bags, freeze, and use over the course of the year.
Sure Lurkalot
@RSA: To cut down on prep time, check out the freezer section of your grocery for frozen chopped New Mexico chiles. My Kroger affiliate has them in mild and hot, 24 oz. bags…just the right amount for this recipe. Not quite as good as fresh peeled, but very good substitute.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Try slightly pounding them to a uniform thickness. Boneless and skinless chicken breasts also can lead to dryness/rubberiness. So give those a good soak in a brine or marinade. Better yet, buy skin-on pieces and if you feel the need, remove the skin after cooking.
Also too, for what it’s worth, have never had skin-on or skin-off chicken prepared in the instant Pot come out anything other than moist and tender.
WaterGirl
@dmsilev: That’s hard to do when you prefer the bone-in chicken breasts, which always used to be more tender.
I even get the Smart Chicken or organic chicken, and they also are giant chicken breasts now, which I can’t imagine how they get that way if they are NOT getting hormones.
Sigh.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
If the bone-in ones are not coming out tender, might try lowering the cooking temp a bit to give the meat more time to stew in its own juices during the concomitantly upwardly adjusted cooking time.
Miki
@dmsilev: Me, too. Learned to sharpen my knives when Covid lock-down first started so slicing those ginormus chx tits is like slicing through buttah. Plus it’s a lot cheaper than buying cutlets. And there are so many excellent recipes for cutlets – Chicken Piccata, Chicken Parm, Chicken Francese, Baked Pesto Chicken, etc. Last night I made an Asiago Crusted Chicken. It’s tied with thighs for my favorite chicken part.
RSA
@Sure Lurkalot: Thanks! I would not have thought to look, but I will now.
Miki
@NotMax: It took me several years to figure it out but I now only cook chx breasts for slicing or cubing in the IP. I usually cook them from frozen, seasoned with a little garlic powder and more than a little Old Bay.
ruemara
I made shredded zucchini and dover sole. A healthy keto meal. But I am now eating dark chocolate because I am in fuck it land. On the plus side, I made a really good peanut butter dark chocolate banana bread and delivered that to my friends plus a jar of last months peach scotch bonnet chutney. I just want to eat chocolate and fight the Void in Azeroth for the rest of the night.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: I tried 325 degrees this time, and still rubber. How low would you go?
WaterGirl
@ruemara: Dark chocolate is good for the soul. They say that eating spicy food helps if you are feeling low, but I forget the chemistry of why!
But I like spicy, so who cares why it helps? :-)
Barbara
@WaterGirl: I have found that the skin on breasts work out better. I start by searing them on the stove top in an oven safe pan and when both sides are brown, putting in a preheated oven at 400 or 425, for 20 minutes. I use some olive oil when searing. As noted above, sous vide also works well but even that’s better with skin on breasts
prostratedragon
@WaterGirl:
Either I’m getting old and losing my appetite for food in general, or chicken parts for the last couple of years have been getting bigger but less flavorful and harder to keep from drying out with any cooking method other than boiling. The best I’ve had have been from a splurge or two on organic chicken. May try salt rubbing, which does work with pork chops, but note that this has not been necessary in the past.
WaterGirl
@Barbara:
I have tried searing them on the stove and then cooking in the oven at 325. Last time I tried starting them in the oven at 325 and then finishing them by browning them in a frying pan. Either way, with a combo of butter and olive oil.
I have not tried them at the higher temp for less time. But I’ll try anything, so I guess I’ll try the higher temp next!
I made chicken soup with some of it this week, but I have mostly ended up giving the chicken to the kitties, cut up in tiny little pieces.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: The tips here seem sensible to me:
https://www.thespruceeats.com/biggest-mistakes-when-cooking-chicken-breasts-4173843
tl;dr – Don’t overcook it, and remember that the center will likely keep cooking after you take it out of the oven.
We rarely use our oven or stove top – I generally cook frozen chicken tenders in the microwave:
Done.
They do shrink a little while cooking, but are done and are tender. (One gets used to the white flesh after a while. ;-)
HTH a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
CaseyL
I am probably the only person on this blog who prefers chicken a bit on the dry side, so my cooking tips would be entirely counterproductive for anyone here.
This weekend a friend and I tried a burger place where they deep fry the burger patties. Deep frying produces a satisfying crunchy outer surface (but leaves the inside soft, if not juicy), but I did miss the char-umami flavor of a grilled/broiled burger. We both pronounced the experiment “interesting and worth trying” but probably will stick with more traditional burgers.
PS: Regarding the size of chicken breasts: I buy free range/organic, and they’re always huge. Farmers have been breeding chickens for huge breasts for decades, so it’s probably in the genes for good, no hormones needed, at this point.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
325 is about the lowest I’d be prone to attempt, presuming your oven temp is accurate. Is there broth or other liquid included in the pan in the oven?
You *could* either baste them as they cook or else cover them for all but the last 15 minutes or so to retain moisture.
NotMax
@Miki
Yowza. Love, love, love being able to prepare without defrosting. Add maybe 3 to 4 minutes to cook time, press the button and walk away.
Mary G
@WaterGirl: This recipe, which I make with organic chicken breasts, comes out nice and juicy. Pound with meat hammer, rub with oil, season, bake at high temp and check with meat thermometer to make sure it doesn’t go over and dry out, rest before cutting.
satby
The chicken looks delicious TaMara.
I’m working my way through an enormous vegan pasta dish I made using a lot of the ingredients in my last Imperfect Foods box: roasted cubed eggplant, onion, grape tomatoes, bell peppers and a large head of garlic cloves in olive oil and drizzled with an aged balsamic vinegar on bow tie pasta with lots of parmesan. It was day 2 of leftovers, with probably enough for two more meals.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: Yikes. I was taught never to microwave chicken or it will definitely be rubbery. But obviously not, if you are suggesting it. :-)
WaterGirl
@CaseyL:
Bummer! I guess I will have to figure out how to deal with it.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: I will try pounding and cooking at high heat, but I will have to cut the chicken off the bone first. I don’t think you’re supposed to pound with the bone in. :-)
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Another thought occurred.
Put a pan with water in it on the bottom shelf of the oven, below the pan with the chicken. Put the water pan in while oven is preheating.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Thanks, I’ll try that.
I also wonder if it makes a difference that I am using chicken from the freezer? (thawed in the fridge, of course)
I NEVER used to freeze any meat or chicken, but with COVID, I do. Plus I have a new fridge with a better freezer, and things don’t seem to get freezer burn.
Pete Mack
Today was chilly in the Adirondacks, but I didn’t want to miss the last sailing race of 2020. (The rest of 2020 can DIAF.) Came home very cold. After a quick shower to warm up, made the first chili of the season. It was amazing, mostly because of the addition of 2 chopped up dry pasilla chilies. (Substitute guajillo or New Mexico if you can’t find pasilla. But pasillas taste amazing, IMO.)
Ingredients:
Brown in oil: 3/4 lb lean ground beef.
Saute: 1 lg cooking onion, 2 stalks celery, 1 Anaheim pepper, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves garlic (added late)
Combine and add:
1 can kidney beans, rinsed; 1 28oz can tomato (stewed or diced); cumin; oregano; 2 chili pasilla, seeded and finely chopped; 2 chili arbol, seeded; salt to taste
Simmer ~20 minutes.
Add 1 can black beans, rinsed; 4oz ale (NOT IPA); chili powder to taste (about 1/2 T to start, since there are already chilis arbol.)
Simmer 15 more minutes (or longer.)
surfk9
@WaterGirl: I get the rib in breasts when they are on sale. I save the ribs for stock, remove the tenders and bag the breasts. I agree that they are now always the larger breasts. We rarely eat the breasts whole. We either make panko nuggets or cut them up and pound the shit out of them for picatta or marsala or use them in soups. The soup stock from the breast ribs always comes out very clear and has a minimum of fat.
piratedan
We have used an air fryer with great results….
Yutsano
@WaterGirl: I’m gonna take a different view here. I think it’s the chicken you’re getting. Maybe suck up the price and see what you can get from a local butcher. Plus you can have the exact cut you want. At least give it a go once for a treat and see if that helps.
WaterGirl
@surfk9: Yeah, the bone-in chicken breasts with skin that I have been getting has the rib. I hadn’t thought about saving that for the soup if I try cutting the ribs off so I can pound the chicken.
opiejeanne
@Yutsano: This is what we do every year, but we freeze the results, we don’t can the sauce because there’s this whole red flag that goes up when this guy talks about canning tomatoes or tomato sauce. Botulism loves non-acidic foods, like tomatoes that are not acidic enough.
When I was a kid in LA, every year people ended up in the hospital with botulin poisoning from Mama’s home-canned tomato sauce, and some of them died.
Freeze the sauce, don’t try to can it in a water bath canner. I don’t know if pressure canning would prevent botulism, I’d have to check, but a pressure canner was kind of an expensive piece of equipment, and the people getting sick were mostly immigrants from Mexico living in some of the poorest neighborhoods.
Elizabelle
@Pete Mack: Looks like a delish recipe. It will be time for chili. Soon.
WaterGirl
@piratedan: Is there a tiny little air fryer that a person can get? Without it being combined with a bunch of other things?
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: Yeah, I have done that, too! From the local “Old Time Meat & Deli” where they actually grind their meat and everything.
It’s from the Amish, and the last one I got from there had creepy chicken feet still attached (shudder) and I just couldn’t buy from them anymore.
So I started getting the Amish chicken from the grocery store, and it’s been to tough. I probably sound like a whiner, but I have been trying to figure this out – it didn’t used to be this hard to make good chicken!!!
opiejeanne
@JMG: Tomorrow or maybe Tuesday I’m making salsa verde with tomatillos that we grew and froze last year. The current crop won’t be ready until late October.
I’ll use it for chicken enchiladas.
WaterGirl
@piratedan:
Is this any good? it looks little and about 8k people seem to rate it pretty highly.
https://www.amazon.com/1550-Watt-Programmable-Reheating-Dehydrating-AF101/dp/B07FDJMC9Q/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=air+fryer&qid=1598841607&sr=8-4
surfk9
@WaterGirl:
I get the whole breast for a buck a pound on sale. I usually buy about 20 when they are at that price. Just the de-boned breast is a deal at that price. But the stock is the treasure. We keep it in the freezer in soup sized containers. The beauty of it is that you control the salt and the fat.
TaMara (HFG)
@satby: Sound yummy. I just watched Michael Symon make “eggplant parm” on the grill, using thick slices of eggplant, tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil and grated parmesan. Made me wish I’d grown some eggplant this summer.
TaMara (HFG)
@opiejeanne: I love salsa verde and am always sad when I only get a few tomatillos each year.
piratedan
@WaterGirl: aye… many of em out there on the web… the one we had was less than 70.00. Shop around a bit.
Sandia Blanca
I have discovered that if you poach a chicken breast in a little olive oil (in frying pan, covered) at medium low heat, it will come out very tender. Takes about 20 minutes.
mrmoshpotato
80\20 ground beef was 2.99/pound today, and 39 cents/pounds for chicken leg quarters. That will become burgers and excellent baked chicken.
Tonight was America’s Test Kitchen’s Memphis-style Ribs, still good.
Pete Mack
@Elizabelle: There was a brisk north wind following the hurricane remnants, and the temperature yesterday never broke 60F. Last night temp got down near 45. Today looks to be warmer, but it was foreshadowing things to come.