Skip to main content

Better Late Than Never

It was a nice weekend.  I apologize for not posting before Shabbat.  I was distracted with another writing project (more about that in a few weeks).

We had a quiet shabbat with my cousin and his wife.  It was very nice to visit with them and we really enjoyed singing at the end of shabbat.

My cousin brought a Yerushalmi kugel.  It was very nice, particularly since I don't usually make kugels.

I was reading one of my cookbooks and I came across an technique for cooking chickens that I haven't tried before.  The first step is to split the chicken.  I started with two whole chickens. First, I cut out the backbones and necks with a pair of heavy scissors.  Then I split the chickens to make them flat.   

For the first chicken, I mixed up two tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of crushed garlic and a teaspoon of fried rosemary.    I spread this all over the chicken (top and bottom) and put some underneath the skin.  This I let sit for about 30 minutes.

For the other chicken, I put in two tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon of sweet paprika and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper.  I spread this the same way, top, bottom and under the skin.

Top finish the chickens, I heated my large cast iron pot on the stove until it was nice and hot.  Then I put the chicken skin side down on the pot for about 5 minutes.  The whole think (pot included) went into a 190 degree oven (Celsius).  After 10 minutes, you turn the bird skin side up.  Its done about 15 minutes later.  Total cooking time is about 30 minutes.

Both chickens were very nice.  There is a layer of oil and spices on the bottoms of the pan that I just poured over the cooling chickens, but I could easily have made a nice sauce.

The original recipe called for laying a plate and a few bricks on top of the bird during the first 10 minutes in the oven.  I don't know that it would add that much.

To finish off the meal, I made a very nice Scandinavian cabbage soup.  Saute a few pieces of smoked meat.  Add one large onion and saute until translucent.  Add two heads of shredded cabbage and cover until the cabbage wilts.  Add four tablespoons of brown sugar, one tablespoon of basalmic vinegar and 12 cups of stock.  Cook for another 30 minutes on simmer.  This went over very well, except that my kids said it was cabbage with a little soup.

For lunch, we went out to a friends.  We did bring a meat roll  philo dough, ground chicken and smoked turkey.

Dinner - 10
Scandinavian Cabbage Soup
Garlic and Rosemary Chicken
Paprika Chicken
Yerushalmi Kugel
Spaghetti Squash
Lentil Dal
Rice


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A change of pace (Kidney Failure)

I have been trying to keep this blog focused on hospitality and food.  God though has other plans for his creations and I find now that I will have to expand the scope to cover new topics.  I'll try to continue blogging about my menus and our guests, but expect more posts that have little or nothing to do with food. In February of this year, My second oldest son, Asaf was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure. Simply put, both his kidneys are damaged and scarred from some infection or defect that happened years ago.  They will likely cease to function sometime within the next six months. The good news is that there is no immediate danger to his life.  Kidney Dialysis is a viable option and can maintain his health for up to ten or more years if necessary.  Unfortunately, the process is not easy and there are potential side effects. Given Asaf's generally excellent health and age, Kidney Dialysis is considered only a stop-gap measure and not a long term solution. The best solutio
13 comments
Read more

B"DE Clark Evenchick

B"DE = Baruch Dayan Emet, Blessed is the truthful judge. This is the traditional jewish response to hearing that someone has passed away. My friend Clark Evenchick passed away last night. He suffered for a number of years from ALS. His passing is both a loss and a blessing. We will miss his wit and his powerful presence. On the other hand, ALS is a terrible disease for both the patient and their family. As the body becomes less responsive, the family and caregivers need to spend more and more time providing physical and mental support. Clark's passing frees both himself and his family from this disease. Clark built our house. At one time, he ran a construction company. Clark was not only an honest contractor, but also a joy to work with. At a time when most houses took up to two years from ground breaking to residence, Clark built our house in 7 months. Whenever there was a problem, we were more than comfortable telling him to find his own solution. I believe that
4 comments
Read more

Wet and Cold

Welcome to winter in Israel.  From where we post, it is in the high 40's (6-10 Celsius) and raining.  The biggest problem is not the cold, but the houses.  Since it does not stay cold for very long, and since it NEVER freezes, there is usually no central heating.  Once the house cools down, it stays cool.  Average indoor temperatures are in the low 60s.  So this weekend, we finally get to be home and have a "normal" shabbat.  Smallish meals, with 10 for dinner and 9 for lunch.  The menu is comfort food, warm and simple. The guests are all old friends in keeping with the theme. My mother-in-law is the first arrival on the wedding train.  She will be staying with us for three weeks until just after the wedding.  Like mother like daughter.  She arrived yesterday night and spend all morning cleaning.  When I get to my destination, I want to sit back and relax for at least 24 hours.  Guess that's why I love my wife, we complement each other. Shabbat Parshat Yitro Dinn
4 comments
Read more