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Text ©1989 by Sam Waring. All rights reserved.
Created: Sun, 2 May 2004 at 02:30:44 UTC
Okay, we’re back this month. Life is even more hectic than before, but I actually have something new (to me) to report.
I have discovered what computer bulletin boards are all about. After forever and ever without any access to a modem, I now have some opportunity to dial up, and when I did I found all these nationwide SIG areas (jargon: echoes) for all sorts of interests, INCLUDING a national cooking echo! I’ve since been reading and trading recipes and information with folks across the country. So far, I can recall offhand we’ve talked about seasoning cast iron skillets, what is a Cajun and where from and why, how to devein peppers without burning your skin off, tips on why bread doesn’t work when it doesn’t work, what meat to barbecue (stuck my foot in my mouth on that one, too; facetiousness doesn’t come through on a computer terminal worth a damn), and software for storing recipes in a database. Oh yeah. And we trade recipes.
Lots of recipes It runs to a bit in paper, even when I just save out the recipes and print only them, but some wonderful stuff does come through. There’s a really mixed bunch of us talking, from a semiliterate pastry chef in New York to a vegetarian newpaper food editor in Chicago (now I’d love to know how she successfully reconciles her job and her convictions) to a father of twelve in Denver who used to be a short-order cook but quit and now tries it all out on the kids, who he claims are a better audience. I think my favorite recipes I’ve collected up to now is one for a horrendously complicated chocolate cake called “Death by Chocolate.” The man who posted it said his copy suggested the death referred to was that of the cook who had to make it, not of the diner. Maybe I’ll run that one someday, but no time soon. I’m in no hurry to make it myself.
Which brings us to this month’s recipe, from the vegetarian food editor in Chicago. She said she picked it up from Bon Appétit magazine recently, and just liked it for its title. I actually made it, and enjoyed the daylights out of it. To make this one, get out your love beads, put the CD player up and dig out your old vinyl copy of the soundtrack to The Graduate, and make
| 4½ pound fryer | 5 tablespoons olive oil |
| Salt | 1 pound new potatoes |
| 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled | 8 large shallots, peeled |
| 1½ teaspoons ground or rubbed sage | 1¾ cups chicken stock |
| 1½ teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled | ¼ cups balsamic vinegar |
| Black pepper, freshly ground | 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in 6 pieces |
| 2 bay leaves | Minced fresh parsley |
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Rub the chicken inside and out with salt. Combine the rosemary, sage, thyme, and a generous amount of pepper in a small bowl; rub some of the mixture inside the chicken. Place one bay leaf in the cavity.
Truss the chicken, and brush it with some of the olive oil. Sprinkle with half the remaining herb mixture. Place the chicken in a large baking pan, and surround it with potatoes and shallots. Sprinkle the vegetables with the remaining herb mixture and the remaining olive oil. Add the bay leaf and mix well.
Bake the chicken until the juices run clear when pierced in the thickest part of the thigh and the legs can move easily, about 75 minutes. Baste the bird with pan juices and turn the vegetables occasionally while baking. Transfer the chicken to a warmed serving platter. Discard the shallots. Surround the chicken with the potatoes, using a slotted spoon. Tent with foil to keep the bird warm while preparing the sauce.
Sauce: Pour the pan juices into a large glass measuring cup and de-grease. Add enough stock to measure two cups overall. Add vinegar to the baking pan and bring it to a boil over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits. Continue to reduce to a glaze, about four minutes. Add the stock mixture and boil until the sauce reduces to half a cup, about ten minutes. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time. Adjust the seasoning to taste and stir in the parsley. Pour the sauce over the chicken and potatoes and serve.
I guarantee, when I got through eating this, I felt so groovy I decided to get in my Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine and cruise on over to the 59th Street bridge. But then I remember that 59th Street in Austin doesn’t have a bridge; my mood turned, and I engaged in a simple desultory Philippic.
first ran: July 1989
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Text ©1989 by Sam Waring. All rights reserved.