Taking Stock

When the weather 'round these parts starts getting cooler, we make soup and stew and chili and all kinds of comfort foods.

One of the primary components of soup is a good stock.

These days, you can buy decent stock in aseptic cartons at the grocery store, but if you're properly motivated, you can make it yourself.

Me, I've been fairly motivated, but I didn't have the appropriate equipment to try Alton Brown's recipe, although I've had the requisite chicken carcasses, vegetables, and herbs in the house at various points this year. 

My mother, generous soul that she is, offered me the loan of her stockpot so I could actually clear the carcasses out of my freezer and turn them into stock.

Shopping List

• fresh parsley
• fresh thyme

I already had the 4lbs of chicken carcasses, leek, onion, carrots, and celery ribs prepped in the freezer and I always have bay leaves and peppercorns in the pantry.

Recipe Review

Ease of Preparation

This is very easy, but you do absolutely need the correct size stockpot. AB calls for a 12qt pot for stock-making, which is the size I borrowed from Mom. (My largest stockpot is 5qt.)

Collecting the carcasses is also time-consuming, but the munchkin had taken quite well to roast chicken for dinner over the last year, so I had plenty.

My sister could certainly do this if she put her mind to it.

Specialty equipment required?

Yes. 

In addition to the stockpot, you need a strainer - to remove the solids from your stock - and a smaller stockpot or large bowl to hold the stock you make. (Wouldn't want your 12 hours' work to literally go down the drain, would you?)

It's also suggested that a vegetable steamer be used to help keep the vegetables and chicken parts submerged, though I don't know if this is completely necessary. It is quite helpful, though.

Rating?

Well, this is kind of sticky. 

It's not an every day or even an every week rotation type of recipe, but that's mostly because I haven't got chicken parts every day. I've got several quarts of stock in my freezer, which should get me through the winter without having to buy box stock (yay!) but haven't had occasion to make soup yet.

I did use some of it in a slow-cooker pulled pork recipe (16oz frozen stock, 1-2 thinly sliced onions, 2lbs bone-in pork shoulder, 1c apple cider; cook on LOW for 8-10hrs, drain, pull, mix with favorite BBQ sauce & serve) and it turned out nicely, so that portion of this batch was a win.

We'll see how it goes as the season progresses. 

What to Do With Chicken Legs?

Letting the munchkin pick the recipes to try in any given week can sometimes get interesting.

Like the ratatouille she begged to try a few months ago, but refused to touch after it had been made. (I still like it; maybe I'll make it for my mom next time.)

Tonight's dinner is another one of those "Dishes Inspired by Disney" recipes:

Lightning McQueen's Balsamic "Motor Oil" Chicken

Shopping List

• chicken legs (recipe calls for 8; we used 12)
• orange (we used a tangelo because that's what looked good; you need juice AND zest, so choose what makes sense for you)
• no sugar added orange marmalade
• rosemary sprigs

Everything else (salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil) we had in the house.

Mise en place

Ease of Preparation

Pretty simple, which is great for a recipe that's being plugged by a kids' cable channel.

My sister could definitely do this ... well, if the idea of pulling the skin off the chicken legs doesn't make her gag.

Chicken legs in the pan, skin removed.

Specialty Equipment Required?

A fine grater to zest an orange; this is easy enough to find. Mine's a long MicroPlane brand, but you don't need to spend a lot of cash on one if you're not sure you'll use it.

A citrus reamer would be helpful in extracting the juice from the orange, but not 100% necessary.

Did my husband and daughter enjoy it?

The kid liked it, but the husband wasn't overfond of the citrus-balsamic glaze. He'd prefer it with plain barbecue sauce.

Reducing the balsamic vinegar-marmalade-rosemary mixture.

Regular rotation-worthy?

If we mix it up a bit, and don't pick a super-hot day to make it, sure.

RECIPE WIN.

Scratch-Made Meals ... With Help

It's been a slow week for me, creatively. My allergies (tree pollen, thanks) have been absolutely crazy, and I've been dealing with a bit of a sinus infection on top of that.

But, we had steak, chicken, and a small ham to make before they went bad.

So, on Monday, we had "Island Soyaki" marinated grilled strip steak with wok-steamed vegetables and rice noodles. (The "help" was the linked sauce ... and the pre-cut stir-fry vegetables.)

Yesterday, for Cinco de Mayo, we had tequila-lime cilantro marinated chicken fajitas. 

I made the marinade myself on Monday with about a cup of fresh cilantro, the juice of 3 limes, a smashed garlic clove, salt, pepper, and some olive oil. (Toss everything except the oil in the blender & blend; while blending, drizzle about 1/4-cup of olive oil into the mixture, 'til everything is smooth. Place chicken in a zip-top baggie & empty blender into the bag. Massage to coat & marinate 12-24 hours.)

Today, we had baked glazed ham with box mac & cheese and steamed broccoli. 

Tomorrow, we'll probably have leftover ham & cheese pocket pies. (I'll likely use refrigerated biscuit dough for the pie crusts.)

Big Game Recipes

So, what did we cook while we watched the Big Game last Sunday?

Finger-foods, of course.

My husband bought some lovely empanadas at the Gilbert Farmers' Market the first weekend of our trip out West, and they were super-easy to re-heat. (They also don't count as "cooking.")

We also made a large-party version of a flatbread recipe that we picked up at the Demo station in the TJs in Gilbert. (Apparently, it's a local store fave, because I couldn't find it on the TJs website.)

Shopping List

• 1 pkg diced pancetta (Cittero brand)
• 1 pkg Trader Joe's frozen spinach and artichoke dip
• 1 pkg Trader Joe's refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 can Trader Joe's chicken (in water)

Recipe Review

Easy to follow, but you must be patient - the frozen dip must be thawed, the dough needs at least 30 minutes in a warm place to proof, the pancetta needs to be cooked on the stovetop.

It's also written to use half of each of the packaged products; I doubled everything so I wouldn't leave my mother-in-law with random leftovers.

No special equipment is required, though you could totally use a pizza stone if you've got one!

It turned out fairly well, though I could have used less of the dip (maybe 3/4 of the package as opposed to the whole thing) and it would've turned out just fine.

Because the pizza dough was so well-received, we're considering expanding our pizza repertoire.

FINAL VERDICT: Will make again, with modifications.