Dinner with Sid & Mandy

Yesterday I was really in a mood to cook a big meal (yes, I know that may shock some of you). I sent an email out to the usual suspects and learned that by going to our friends Sid & Mandy's house to cook dinner I would not only be satisfying my urge to cook but also rescuing Mandy from a dinner of hot dogs. Don't get me wrong, I love hot dogs, but it sounded like Mandy was not at all in a mood for Coneys. I had no idea what I wanted to cook, so I went to the market with an open mind. I stared at the fish counter for a while and didn't see anything that struck my fancy, so I meandered over to the meat section. Pork? Nah, I practiced that MasterChef pork dish for a whole week and got burned out on swine. Beef? Just not feelin' it. Lamb? Interesting, but no. Veal? Again, just not feelin' the love. Chicken? Maybe...I just don't know. 

Feeling a bit lackluster about the proteins (I honestly do think like this. Should I go to some kind of meeting?) I wandered over to the produce section and spotted a mountain of Acorn Squash. Now the wheels started turning! Roasted squash...yes. Chicken roasted with rosemary...yes. Mushroom rice...yes. Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Almonds...yes, yes, yes! With a menu in mind and new shoes on my feet, I tore through the store, grabbing up what I needed and even found that whole chickens were on sale for $0.98/pound. That was a sign of good Karma.


Earlier in the week, one of my lobbying clients brought me a load of great beer and a picked a few monster bottles of Abita Andygator to go with the chicken dinner. Kitty get herself all dolled up and fixed her wig just right and we headed out to the wilds of Northeast Jackson.


When we arrived, Sid had whipped up some kind of yummy tapenade to go with the Calmata Olives and bruschetta he had set out for us. We cracked a bottle of Andygator for us boys and a bottle of Parados Malbec for the girls and whipped up a feast. The only thing better than the food was the company and the entertainment provided by 4-year-old Walker, who demonstrated some pretty amazing skill with a light saber. During dinner, we learned that our good friend Monte had won about twenty or so Addy awards that night and naturally celebrated by popping the cork on more Andygator and Parados. I have a feeling that we'll be doing this again quite soon.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom
Chicken Roasted with Rosemary

1 Whole Chicken

½ Stick Unsalted Butter

2 Tbsp. Fresh Rosemary

2 Cloves Garlic

1 tsp. Sea Salt

½ tsp. Black Pepper

2 tsp. Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning

1 Lemon

½ Bunch Parsley

Prep

Remove giblets from cavity of chicken and pat dry. Finely chop parsley, rosemary, and garlic. Add rosemary, garlic, black pepper and ¼ tsp. salt to butter and mix thoroughly. Take a spoonful of butter and slide it between the skin and the breast of the chicken. Repeat this process until all of the butter is under the chicken skin. Slightly press the chicken skin so that the butter spreads evenly. Truss the chicken tightly with kitchen twine. Rub in remaining sea salt and Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning. Preheat oven to 400°.

Cook

Place the trussed chicken in a roasting dish, preferably with a rack insert. Roast in the oven, uncovered until an instant-read thermometer, inserted into the thigh, reads 160° and the juices run clear (usually 1 ½ hours for a medium sized chicken).

Plate

Allow the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes. Carve chicken and place on a warm plate. Top with pan sauce and squeeze lemon juice over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley to garnish.

(serves 6)

Pan Sauce

Pan drippings from chicken

Red wine

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pats

Pour the liquids from the roasting pan into a saucepan, along with any of the browned bits you can scrape from the roasting pan. Combine with an equal part of red wine and cook over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 of its original volume. Remove from heat and mount the sauce with cold butter, swirling the sauce until the butter is fully incorporated.

Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Almonds

24 fresh Brussels Sprouts

¼ cup salted toasted almonds

¼ stick butter

Sea salt

½ tsp. black pepper

Paprika

Prep

Trim the bottom of the Brussels Sprouts and remove the first couple of leaves. Slice sprouts in half from top to bottom. Finely chop almonds.

Cook

Blanch the sprouts in boiling water for 2 minutes and immediately shock with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain the sprouts in a colander and pat dry with a towel. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add butter. When the butter melts and begins to brown and foam, add almonds and cook for one minute. Add sprouts and season with black pepper. Cook until just tender and the sprouts are slightly colored. Check for saltiness and add sea salt if necessary.

Plate

Serve hot and garnish with a small amount of paprika.

(Serves 6)

Roasted Acorn Squash

2 whole acorn squash

¼ cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary

Sea Salt

Black pepper

Prep

Finely chop fresh rosemary. Slice squash in half, through the equator, not from top to bottom. Scoop out seeds and cut into rings. Cut rings in half so that you now have crescent shaped pieces of squash. In a large mixing bowl, toss squash with oil and season with rosemary, salt and pepper. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook

Arrange squash on a sheet pan so that they are all lying flat and not crowding the pan. Roast for 30 minutes or until fork tender.

Plate

Serve hot.

(Serves 6)

Mushroom Rice Pilaf

1 ½  cups basmati rice

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup fresh mushrooms

1 medium shallot

4 cloves garlic

½ tsp. thyme

2 Tbsp. butter

½ bunch parsley

½ tsp.

Sea Salt

Prep

Thinly slice mushrooms and shallot. Finely chop parsley and garlic. Reserve one sliced mushroom for garnish.

Cook

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add butter. When the butter melts and begins to foam, add garlic and shallots and cook until garlic is slightly colored. Add rice and stir until each grain is coated with butter. Add thyme and black pepper and stir until evenly distributed. Add enough chicken stock to cover the rice and stir frequently. Continue adding chicken stock, a small amount at a time until is all absorbed by the rice and the rice is fully cooked. Taste and add salt accordingly.

Plate

Serve hot and garnish with sliced mushroom and parsley.