2011 Recipe – Page 4 – My Year Cooking with Chris Kimball (2024)

In Mexico they serve everything as tacos; beef, pork, fish, chicken. I’ve even had tripe, octopus, and iguana. But my two sons mostly think of ground beef tacos; a stereotype that I definitely want to change. These kid-friendly chicken tacos are lightly seasoned, so be careful not to overwhelm them with toppings. The recipe itself is very unconventional: orange juice, Worcestershire sauce and yellow mustard. Oddly, these non-Mexican ingredients combine to form complex flavors that resemble somethings that took hours of slow-cooking. But these can be ready in just 35-minutes.

Overall, I’d rate these as 3-1/2 stars. Interesting flavors, delicious, but the flavors are a little too subtle.

1. My chicken breasts were huge. So I only used three breasts, but still they were 2-pounds. Overall, the tacos are very lightly seasoned, so I would recommend limiting your chicken to no more than 1-1/2 pounds.
2. To warm the tortillas the recipe instructs to, “wrap them in aluminum foil and heat in an oven set to 350-degrees for 15 minutes.” However, this will ruin at least half your tortillas. The two outermost tortillas because hard and crusty like a tostada shell (except that baked flour tortillas aren’t tasty like fried corn tortillas). Also some of the inner tortillas fused together and ripped as I tried to separate them. Next time, I will try this technique, which seems like it will work better based upon lower temperature and added moisture. I modified my instructions below to use this new technique.
3. I couldn’t find 6″-flour tortillas, so instead used about eight 10″ tortillas.

Rating: 3-1/2-stars.
Cost: $6.75.
How much work? Low.
How big of a mess? Low/Medium
Start time 6:00 PM. Dinnertime: 6:45 PM.

Chris Kimball’s original recipe from Cook’s Country is here (e-mail is required, but no credit card). My descriptions of how I prepare them today are given below:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approx. 1-1/2 pounds)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 (6″) flour tortillas

Possible toppings: shredded lettuce, grated cheese, diced avocado, tomato, salsa, lime wedges, and sour cream.

1. To warm the tortillas, wrap tortillas in a clean, slightly-damp dishtowel. Place in a casserole dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Place in 250-degree oven for 20 minutes.
2. Mince the chipotle chiles. Peel the garlic cloves. Chop enough cilantro to yield 3/4-cups (which will be added in two steps; first 1/2-cup then later 1/2-cup).
3. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Press garlic directly into skillet and add chipotle; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in 1/2-cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce, and 1/2-cup chopped cilantro.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Add chicken breasts, cover and simmer for about 8-minutes per side. When done, the chicken should registers 165-degrees. Put in a medium bowl and tent with aluminum foil.
5. While the chicken cooks, prepare any toppings: e.g. shredded lettuce, grated cheese, diced avocado, diced tomato.
6. Increase heat to medium-high and reduced to 1/4 cup; about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and whisk in yellow mustard.
7. Use 2 forks to shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Return the shredded chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet.
8. Add remaining 1/4-cup cilantro. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss until everything is combined and serve in the same medium bowl you used to shred the chicken.

On Monday morning I began looking for a new Labor Day BBQ recipe. Most recipe would have required me to start marinating the day before (obviously an improbability). Finally I came across this 2007 recipe for Chinese BBQ pork. The ingredient list looked delicious, plus it only required a few hours of marinating. However after I brought the ingredients home, I noticed that the “barbecued” pork was cooked entirely in the oven. While technically meeting the definition of “barbecue”, I felt cheated out of my end-of-summer BBQ. In any case, the meal was a big hit. Nearly the entire four pounds of pork was gone by then end of the evening, so nobody else seemed to mind about the break in tradition. Flavorful, but some of the thicker pieces could have used more sauce (see issues); 4-stars.

I made two cups of rice, but it turned out the boiling one cup of dried rice would have yielded more than enough.

Issues:

1. The diagram on the cooks illustrated website of slicing a 4-lb Boston pork butt (actually the shoulder) is too idyllic to be helpful. They say to first slice vertically, then cut each piece into four even 1″-thick pieces. (total of eight 1″-slices). However, while removing the bone the butchers make all sorts of slices and tie it back together. So, just do your best to get 8 evenly sized pieces.
2. I would recommend reserving 1/4 cup of sauce separately before you baste. This will let you avoid cross contamination in case you don’t use it all during basting. Some of the extra sauce would have added better flavor for the thicker pieces.
3. As I mentioned above, the pork is baked and broiled; not barbecued.
4. Because I didn’t have “Chinese five-spice powder”, I substituted: 1/5 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/5 teaspoon fennel seed, 1/5 teaspoon cloves, 1/5 teaspoon black pepper, 1/3 teaspoon anise extract. Here is more on the substitution.

Rating: 4-stars.
Cost: $16.
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess? Medium
Start time 2:45 PM. Dinnertime: 7:00 PM.

Chris Kimball’s original recipe is here. My descriptions of how I prepare it today are given below:

4-lb boneless pork butt (Boston butt)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (Recipe calls for white but I used black)
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder (see my substitute)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (requires about a 5″ piece)
2 medium cloves garlic
1/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey

1. First slice your roast in half lengthwise. Next, turn each piece cut-side down. If your pork butt is 4″ thick, then slice each half-roast lengthwise in 4 even slices. If using a pork butt that is less than 4″, cut each half-roast into 3 slices. into six pieces instead of eight.
2. Trim away any excess fat. Prick each piece of pork 10 to 12 times on each side using the tines of a fork. Put all pork into a 1-gallon zip-lock bag.
3. Peel ginger and grate on the smallest holes of a box grater, adding 2 tablespoons to a medium bowl. Peel the 2 garlic cloves and press directly into the bowl.
4. Add sugar, soy sauce, hoisin, sherry, pepper, five-spice powder, sesame oil to bowl.
5. Whisk to combine and Reserve 1/2 cup marinade and set aside.
6. Pour remaining marinade into bag with pork. Press out as much air as possible, and seal the zip-lock bag. Refrigerate and allow to for between 2 and 4 hours.
7. While the meat marinates, combine ketchup and honey and the 1/2-cup marinade in small saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until it has reduced to 1 cup. Reserve 1/4-cup of the glaze for serving at table. (see issue #3)
8. About 15 minutes before the pork is done marinating, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 310-degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil and set wire rack onto sheet. Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray to ease clean-up.
9. Remove pork from marinade, letting any excess drip off, and place on wire rack. Pour 1/4 cup water into bottom of pan. Cover pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Crimping the edges tightly to form a better seal.
10. Cook pork for 20 minutes, covered.
11. Remove foil and continue to cook for 45 more minutes until the edges begin to brown.
12. Turn on broiler onto high, and broil for 9 minutes until the meat is evenly caramelized. Remove from oven and brush pork with half of glaze. Broil for 4 minutes until it becomes a deep mahogany.
13. Flip meat with tongs and broil for another 9 minutes until the other side becomes caramelized. Brush meat with remaining glaze and continue to broil until second side is deep mahogany, 4 minutes.
14. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, then cut into thin strips and serve. Serve with final 1/4 cup sauce.

When I order Thai food I rarely get peanut sauce. It’s just not my usual cup of tea. But I’ve seen online that other like-minded peanut-avoiders love this sauce, so made it anyway. The sauce does have a heavy peanut taste, but the slight heat and other complexities play off the beefy flavors very well. I’d recommend trying the sauce regardless on your preconceived opinions. The beef had great flavor and was a hit with both my two sons, but neither liked the sauce (one doesn’t like peanuts, and the other thought it was too spicy). Overall, it was a big hit, 4-stars, and I’m sure I will make it again. I might try this cucumber relish next time.

Actually, Cooks Illustrated actually has two recipes for beef Satay. I made the 2007 recipe. It uses more common ingredients; for example, cilantro instead of lemon grass. The new recipe also uses Thai red curry paste, coconut milk, and roasted unsalted peanuts (I only every buy salted peanuts). Here is the brand new recipe from September 2011, which sounds even more authentic. The new 2011 peanut sauce is here.

Issues:

1. When slicing your beef into strips it important to get the correct angle. If you slice at only 45-degree angle will yield slices of 3/4-to-1″ wide. Keep cutting at a shallower angle until your slices are 1/4″-thick and 1-1/2″-wide.
2. As usual, Chris Kimball’s recipes yield twice as much sauce. I’ve pared down the below recipe to yield half the original amount, which should be perfect. I find it wasteful to always make too much sauce, because realistically I wouldn’t use this for anything else.
3. The original recipe calls for hardwood charcoal, but I just used my regular Kingsford (see issues here).

Rating: 4-stars.
Cost: $16.
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess? Medium
Start time 3:00 PM. Dinnertime: 6:10 PM.

Chris Kimball’s original 2007 recipe is here. My descriptions of how I prepare it today are given below:

Beef Satay:

1 large whole flank steak (2 pounds)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
2 medium garlic cloves
4 scallions
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce
24 bamboo or other wooden skewers

Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter (2-1/2 oz)
2 Tablespoons cold water (heated for 15 seconds in microwave)
1 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoons Asian chili sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 small garlic clove
1 scallions

1. Cut flank steak in half lengthwise (with the grain) and freeze for 30 minutes.
2. While the meat is freezing, slice white and green part of 4 scallions thin in large glass bowl. Mince enough fresh cilantro leaves to yield 1/4 cup. Peel and press 2 garlic clove. Combine fish sauce, oil, chili sauce, brown sugar. Stir to combine. Soak 20 to 24 bamboo skewers in water in a Pyrex casserole dish, to prevent the skewers from burning.
3. Slice the two pieces of flank steak across grain into 1/4″-thick strips. At a 30-degree angle your slices should be 1-1/2″ wide. If they are not 1-1/2″ wide, then make your angle shallower until you get wider strips.
4. Add steak strips with sauce and use a spatula to coat evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. While the meat marinates make the peanut sauce which will take about 15 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons of cold water in microwave for 20 seconds in a small mixing bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup of peanut butter together with the hot water. Slice white and green part of scallion thin and add to sauce. Peel and press 1 small garlic clove directly into bowl. Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients. If desired put the peanut sauce in a separate serving bowl. Set aside until dinner at room temperature.
6. Remove the soaking wooden skewers from Pyrex casserole dish. Dry the casserole so that you can re-use to carry your prepared beef skewers.
7. Weave the meat onto skewers. I was able to get 2-to-3 strips on meat per skewers. Lay flat in your flat casserole dish. Cover again with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the charcoal is ready.
8. Light a large chimney starter filled with 6-quarts of hardwood charcoal. Allow to ignite for 30 minutes until covered with layer of fine gray ash.
9. Spread coals over bottom of grill into an even layer. Replace cooking grate, cover with lid, and let cooking grate heat up for 5 minutes. That will allow your grill brush to be much more effective..
10. Spread half of skewers over the hot cooking grate. Cook, uncovered, for 4 minutes per side. The meat should be lightly charred around edges.
11. Put on a large serving platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil to keep warm while you cook the remaining skewers.
12. Serve immediately with the peanut sauce.

Last week on a hot summer’s day I was browsing for a fresh salad-type dinner and found this Greek Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta. It called for Ouzo, which I confused with Orzo (the rice-shaped pasta), but which is in fact an anise-flavored Greek liquor. Fortunately I noticed the difference while still in the grocery store, and bough Anise-extract to use in my substitution. At dinner time, I was very surprised that it was served piping hot; more like a stew than a salad. I sweated all through dinner. I was good, but not great. Perhaps because my expectations were for cool and refreshing I could only give it 3-1/2 stars.

Issues:

1. First I used smaller shrimp than called for in the recipe. Larger shrimp come at a huge premium, and my little shrimp only cost $5/lb.
2. I didn’t want to buy a whole bottle of Greek Anise Liquor, so I substituted 1 teaspoon of Anise-extract for every 1 tablespoon of Ouzo.
3. Instead of using two pepper halves of different colors, I used a single green pepper. Certainly the multicolored presentation was one of the things that drew me to this recipe, but I ultimately chose to keep the clutter down in my already overstuffed refrigerator.

P.S. A roving crew from southern New Jersey repaired my power line last night, so I finally have refrigerator just in time for the long weekend. The hardest part of cooking during the post-Irene blackout was my lack of ingredients, because all my “refrigerate after opening” ingredients were in neighbors’ refrigerators.

Rating: 3-1/2 stars.
Cost: $15.
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess? Medium
Start time 5:00 PM. Dinnertime: 7:00 PM.

Chris Kimball’s originalrecipe is here (requires an e-mail address, but no credit card). My descriptions of how I prepare it today are given below:

1-1/2 pounds shrimp
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons ouzo
5 medium garlic cloves
1 teaspoon grated zest
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 small onion
1/2 medium red bell pepper
1/2 medium green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
28-ounce can diced tomato
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
6 ounces feta cheese ,
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves

1. Peeled and deveine the shrimp, then peel garlic cloves so that they are ready to press.
2. Add prepared shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon ouzo, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper to a small glass bowl. Press 1 garlic clove directly into the bowl. Gentry mix to combine, then set aside while preparing the sauce.
3. Dice a medium onion which should yield about 3/4 of a cup. Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and cut into a medium dice. Drain the canned tomatoes, reserving 1/3 cup of the juices.
4. Preheat a 12″ regular skillet over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons olive oil for 3 minutes until shimmering. Add diced onion and peppers, and sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir well, then cover and cook for 4 minutes. Stir occasionally and will be ready when the vegetables have released their moisture.
5. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes more. Stir occasionally and will be ready when the moisture has cooked off and the vegetables have softened.
6. Press remaining 4 garlic cloves directly into skillet; add red pepper flakes; and cook for 1 minute.
7. Add drained tomatoes, 1/3 cup tomato juice, 1/4 cup white wine, and the final 2 tablespoons ouzo. Turn up to medium-high heat until simmering, then reduce heat slightly to medium heat. Continue simmering for 7 minutes. Stir occasionally. It will be ready when the sauce has thickened slightly (but is not completely dry).
8. Add chopped parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Reduce heat again to medium-low and add shrimp and accumulated juices back to the skillet. Stir to combine, then cook, covered for 6 to 9 minutes until the shrimp are cooked, stirring occasionally. If you are using extra-large shrimp you may need to cook for 7 to 11 minutes. If the simmer becomes too vigorous, reduce heat to maintain a bare simmer. Meanwhile crumble your feta, which should yield about 1-1/2 cups.
10. Remove pan from heat and sprinkle evenly with feta. Drizzle remaining tablespoon oil evenly over top and sprinkle with dill. Serve immediately.

While the overall techniques used in this recipe are sound. Brining the chicken kept the chicken moist, browning the chicken skin-side down to render the skin. The problem is that the jus lacks potency, and while there are hints of lemon, it tastes only slightly better than chicken broth. Not worth the effort.

This chicken was leftover from yesterday’s chicken casserole, so at least there were two dinners for the effort. I also baked this rustic dinner bread. However, the overall lack of potency in the jus made it just an average meal, 3-stars.

Issues:

1. I should have eaten the Chicken with Jus the first night and the casserole the second night; the main drawback was the need to reheat the chicken causing the skin to lose it’s crispness.

Rating: 3-stars.
Cost: $5.
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess? Medium
Start time 5:00 PM. Dinnertime: 7:00 PM.

Chris Kimball’s originalrecipe is here. My descriptions of how I prepare it today are given below:

1/2 cup table salt
6 pieces of skin-on, split chicken breast.
Ground black pepper
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium shallot
4 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 fresh sprig fresh thyme
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon parsley leaves

1. In a large container or bowl, mix 1/2 cup table salt in 2 quarts of cold water. Submerge the chicken breasts, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 60 minutes. Discard the brine, rinse the chicken, and pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides of the chicken with pepper (not more salt).
2. Position an oven rack to the middle of your oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Line a 13″x9″ Pyrex baking dish with aluminum foil.
3. Place a 12″ regular skillet over medium-high heat.Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil until just smoking. Brown half of the chicken for five minutes, skin side down. Flip the chicken using tongs and brown the second side for 4 minutes. Meanwhile mince your shallot.
4. Place the chicken skin-side up into your foil-lined baking dish. Brown both sides of the remaining with 2 more teaspoons vegitable oil. Bake for 22 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165-degrees.
5. While the chicken bakes, reduce the heat to medium and add the shallot to skillet and saute for 1 minute.
6. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Deglaze the pan and simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce has reduced to 3 cups; then set aside until step 8. Meanwhile chop the parsley.
7. Once the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165-degrees, place it on a serving platter. Let it rest uncovered.
8. Add any accumulated juices from the baking dish back to the jus. Strain the jus through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or measuring cup. Discarding the solids and return 1-1/2 cups of the jus to the skillet. Bring back to a simmer, whisk in 2 tablespoons . Remove from heat and mix in lemon juice and parsley. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
9. Serve the chicken and pass the jus separately.

I had planned for a 6:30 dinner, but took a short siesta. When I awoke at 5pm, I realized that I should have begun brining the chicken before my nap. In the end, we ate at 8pm; that in itself was not a big problem during these summer months. However, the recipe does have fundamental problems: it made a huge mess, was too much work, and yielded too little reward. I am certain that I will never make this recipe again, but not because my family didn’t like it. It was quite similar to chicken risotto or arroz con pollo, both of which I love. There are simply better ways to arrive at a 3-1/2 stars meal.

While I do have a lot of complains about this recipe, it was delicious. My boys gave the results four stars, but I had to reduce it to 3-1/2 because of the issues below.

Issues:

1. My biggest issue with this recipe is the huge mess it made of my kitchen. Two skillets (one regular another non-stick), two Pyrex casserole dishes, three bowls, two cutting boards, and the food processor. Come on Chris; I love cooking for 3 hours, but the last thing I want to do afterwards is clean up a disaster area.
2. The recipe calls for 3 whole chicken breasts; totaling 4-1/2 pounds. Of course, my grocery store sells split breasts, so I used 6 split breasts.
3. The recipe is extremely inefficient, using only 2 of the 6 breast halves. It would have been better to pare the recipe down, because I don’t always want 3-pounds of leftover chicken.
4. Unless you have super lemons, it takes two lemons to yield 3 tablespoons of juice.

Cost: $8.
How much work? High.
How big of a mess? Huge mess!
Start time 5:00 PM. Dinnertime: 8:00 PM.

Chris Kimball’s originalrecipe requires two recipes; here and here. Actually, there is a third recipe for crunchy bread crumbs, but instead I used Ritz Crackers. My descriptions of how I prepare it are given below:

1/2 cup table salt with 4 cups of water
6 split, bone-in, skin-on chicken breast
Ground black pepper
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium shallot
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 fresh sprig fresh thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Trim away attached ribs, which have very little meat but take up a lot of space in your skillet.
2. To brine chicken, use a very large bowl or container. Mix together 2 quarts of cold water and 1/2 cup table salt. Place chicken in brine, cover with plastic wrap and and refrigerate for 1 hour. Line large 13”x9” Pyrex casserole dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
3. Throw away brine, and rinse chicken. Pat dry using paper towels, and sprinkle skin-side with pepper.
4. While cooking the chicken on the stovetop, preheat oven to 450-degrees, adjusting the oven rack to the middle position. Also mince your shallot (about 3 tablespoons)
5. Place 12” regular skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of the oil until hot. Place 3 pieces of chicken in skillet, skin-side down, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for 3 more minutes. Remove chicken and place, skin-side up, into your prepared 13″x9″ casserole dish. Cook the remaining chicken using the remaining 2 teaspoons oil.
6. Bake chicken in your 450-degree oven for 20 minutes, until the internal temperature of the chicken is 160-degrees.
7. While the chicken bakes, reduce stovetop heat to medium. Saute the shallot in the fat remaining in the skillet for 1 minutes.
8. Add broth, bay leaves, and thyme to skillet. Deglaze the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes. It should reduce to 3 cups, then set aside until needed.
9. When the chicken reaches 160-degrees, place it to a serving platter. Allow to rest, uncovered.
10. Reserve 4 chicken breast halves, as the casserole recipe only uses 2 of your 6 pieces. Also reserve 1-1/2 cups of jus.

Preparing the Casserole:

2 tablespoons unsalted
2 medium carrots
1 medium onion
3 medium garlic cloves
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups water
1-1/2 cups chicken jus (from above)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and ground black pepper
2 cooked chicken breasts (from above)
8-oz asparagus (about 1/2 bunch)
1-1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves
25 Ritz crackers

1. After removing chicken from oven, reduce temperature to 400-degrees.
2. Peel 2 medium carrots and slice thin. Peel 3 garlic cloves. Dice 1 medium onion. Trim away the tough ends of the asparagus and cut into 1″ lengths. Shred chicken in a clean bowl using two forks. Using a food processor, crush 25 Ritz crackers into coarse crumbs. Grate your Parmesan cheese, which should yield about 3/4-cup.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a 12” nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the foaming has subsided, saute the sliced carrots and diced onion and cook for 6 minutes.
4. Press garlic cloves directly into skillet and cook for 30 seconds.
5. Add the rice and stir for another 30 seconds. Add the water, chicken jus, heavy cream, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring up to a simmer, then reduce to low heat, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. Stir often. It will be ready when the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is barely tender.
6. Add shredded chicken, asparagus, Parmesan, lemon juice, and tarragon. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
7. Put entire mixture into an 8″ square baking dish. Evenly top with Ritz crumbs, and bake for 10 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

The last time I made these Cinnamon Buns was December 29, 2009; two days before I started this blog; and my oldest son has been begging me to make them again. The dough is rich and buttery, and the cream cheese frosting is sweet, but more flavorful than a standard sugar-only glaze.

It’s a bold claim for Cook’s Country to call these the ultimate cinnamon buns. While they are rich and delicious, the recipe has a fundamental problem that has occurred each of the five times I’ve made this recipe. Chris Kimball claims that the butter and cinnamon sugar are “… baked together, [and] turned into a truly rich, gooey filling”. But the truth is that the gooey filling oozes to the bottom of the pan, and after cooling forms a hard, unpleasant, glass-like coating. If left too long to harden, it will permanently attach the buns to the aluminum foil used in baking. I haven’t found a solution prevent the formation of the epoxy-like coating. However, I have come up with a hard-and-fast rule to mitigate the damage: always remove the buns from the foil no more than 20 minutes after removing from the oven. Waiting the designated 30-minutes before removing from the foil will make a disaster of the already difficult process of removing the buns from the foil.

Issue/Comments:

1. Originally the recipe calls for diving the rolls into 8 pieces, but the cinnamon buns are too big. Nobody would eat a whole bun, but rather always cut them in half. So instead I divide into 12 pieces, which makes a much more manageable size.
2. The recipe calls for a 13″ x 9″ pan size. In my kitchen I have two different Pyrex casserole dishes to choose from, so I had to choose the 14″x10″. I’m not sure if this could have impacted the filling.
3. I strongly recommend using heavy-duty aluminum foil because of the filling problem described above.
4. There are a few other recipes that I have not tried. They include these Yeasted Cinnamon Buns and also these non-yeasted rolls.

Rating: 4-stars.

Cost: $3 for 12 cinnamon buns.
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess? Medium.
Start 5 hours before serving. If making ahead, restart 2 hours before breakfast. However, the recipe only requires 30 minutes of effort.

Chris Kimball’s originalrecipe is here (the site requires free registration, but no credit card). My descriptions of how I prepare it are given below:

Dough:
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3 eggs
4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (22-3/8 ounces)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1. Set eggs and 2 sticks of butter out for 30 minutes to warm to room temperature. Cut butter into 16 equal pieces.
2. Adjust your oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 200 degrees, then it shut off. This will provide a warm environment for the dough to rise.
3. Line a large Pyrex casserole dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil, allowing excess to hang over the edges. Apply some butter to foil.
4. Heat milk in 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup in microwave for 50 seconds to 110 degrees.
5. Whisk yeast into milk and let hydrate for 5 minutes, then whisk in eggs (still in measuring cup).
6. Add flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt to bowl of a standing mixer. Attach the dough hook.
7. Turn mixer on low (2 on a kitchen-aide), and slowly pour milk mixture in a steady stream. Mix for 1 minute until dough comes together.
8. Increase mixer speed to medium (4 on a kitchen-aide). One piece at a time, add butter and mix for 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and come away from sides of bowl. If the dough is still wet and sticky, one tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough releases from the sides of the bowl.
9. Turn dough out onto clean surface and knead to form a smooth, round ball. Transfer dough to large bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
10. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and put in warm, but turned-off, oven. Let dough rise for 45 minutes until it doubles in size.
11. After 40 minutes, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Lightly flour a surface, and turn out dough, and roll dough into an 18″ square.
12. Spread the 4 tablespoons of softened butter over the top surface of the dough, but leave a 1/2″ border around edges. Evenly sprinkle the sugar mixture over the buttered dough, and gently press down on the sugar so that it sticks to the dough.
13. Starting with the closest edge, tightly roll the dough into a cylinder. Pinch the seam to seal and turn so that the seam side is down.
14. Use a knife to cut in half, then in half again; then each piece into thirds, yielding 12 rolls. Place the pieces, cut-side facing upward, into prepared pan and cover with plastic wrap. If you plan to finish them tomorrow, refrigerate now for up to 24 hours. If you plan to continue today, then let them rise near the oven (or other warm spot) for 1 hour. If you refrigerated the dough, let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
15. After 30 minutes begin preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Add the softened cream cheese, milk, vanilla, and confectioners sugar to a medium bowl. Using a fork, mix together until smooth.
16. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for27 to 30 minutes. The buns will be golden brown and filling will have melted.
17. Transfer to a wire rack, and evenly apply 1/2 cup of glaze to the tops of the buns. This will be the “primer coat”.
18. Allow to cool for 20 minutes, then use the foil overhang to lift the buns from the pan. After 10 more minutes top with remaining glaze, and serve.

I made these BBQ Chicken Kebabs three months ago for a party and they turned out fantastic. I am posting the recipe again, because in the heat of party there were some important things I missed, plus I added more bacon as someone suggested. I stand by my statement at the time: “this is the best barbecued chicken I’ve ever eaten”.

The changes were:

1. Chris Kimball’s recipe leaves the impression that the grilling time is about 12 minutes. In reality, the chicken takes a full 30 minutes on the grill to reach 175-degrees. Also, the recipe doesn’t mention if the grill should be covered or uncovered, but I found that chicken thighs need the heat trapping provided by the grill cover to reach 175-degrees without burning the exterior.
2. Three months ago I said that it made a low/medium mess. I see now that it makes a bigger mess than I remembered. I’ve reordered a few things in the recipe below to use two fewer dishes, but still the recipe makes (at least) a “medium” mess.
3. As suggested by a reader last time, I added more bacon. Also because different brands have wider slices, I added a weight (3 ounces). I used Farmland bacon this time, but the slices were exceptionally thin. To calculate 3 ounces without a scale just count the total slices in a package and do the math.
4. The BBQ sauce takes 9 to 10 minutes to reduce to 1-cup, rather than the 7 minutes specified in the original recipe.

Rating: 4-1/2-stars.
Cost: $5 for 2 pounds of chicken. Makes four 8-9″ kebabs.
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess? Medium.
Start time 4:30 PM. Ready at 6:30 PM.

Chris Kimball’s originalrecipe is here. My descriptions of how I prepare it are given below:

Homemade BBQ Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Kebabs:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
4 teaspoons sugar
3 – 4 slices bacon (3 oz)
4 skewers

1. Grate 1/2 small onion and place in small saucepan. By grating the onion before cutting up your chicken, you can use the same cutting board.
2. Trim any excess fat from chicken and cut into 1-inch cubes. Put chicken cubes in a large bowl, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Then add all remaining sauce ingredients to small saucepan with onions and place over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sauce has reduced to 1 cup; about 9 minutes. Add 1/2-cup sauce to small bowl (to be used during barbecuing), setting the remaining sauce aside to serve at the table.
4. If using wood skewers, soak them in a Pyrex casserole dish filled with water.
5. With 5 minutes before your chicken is ready to come out of the refrigerator, light a large chimney starter three-quarters filled, about 75-coals.
6. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
7. Cut the bacon slices into 1/2-inch pieces, and process in food processor until it forms a smooth paste; about 45 seconds. Scrape the sides of the food processor twice during processing to ensure an even paste. Sprinkle paprika and sugar over chicken, then add the bacon paste. Using your hands, mix until spices and evenly blended and chicken is completely coated with paste.
8. Thread the chicken cubes onto skewers. Chris Kimball recommends metal skewers, but I used wood skewers without problem. Some oddly shaped chicken cubes required rolling or folding meat to maintain even thickness of the skewers.
9. Once charcoal is fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash (takes about 30 minutes with new Kingsford formulation), dump all charcoal over half of grill bottom, leaving other half empty. Replace the cooking grate and scrape clean with grill brush.
10. Place chicken kebabs directly over the coals. Cover, and turn a quarter turn every 2-1/2 minutes (for a total of 10 minutes for thighs). Rearrange the kebabs while rotating to ensure even cooking. After 15 minutes they should be well browned and slightly charred. Brush the tops of the kebabs with 1/4-cup of BBQ sauce, and immediately flip the kebobs (sauce side down). Cook for 2 minutes, then brush the second side with another 1/4-cup sauce. Immediately flip and cook for 2 minutes. Begin rotating for even cooking until a thermometer registers 175 degrees (for thighs); about 10 more minutes. (Should be about 30 minutes total on the grill).
11. Remove kebabs from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve, passing remaining barbecue sauce separately.

Finally, I’ve perfected the sandwich bread that I’ve been working on for the past few months. While Chris Kimball’s original recipe (which I made here) was excellent, it only lasted for a few days before going stale. In the worst case it sprouted mold after 3 days. The final loaf I made today is just as delicious as Chris Kimball’s original, but also satisfies my goal of baking a loaf that will last a full week. During the upcoming school year I intend to bake it every Sunday so my two boys can eat sandwiches all week long.

The changes I made to Chris Kimball’s original recipe are:

1. I replaced the butter with an equal amount of vegetable oil. While butter does add flavor, it also adds saturated fat, and I’m trying to make a healthier loaf. Plus, the vegetable oil makes for a softer, longer lasting loaf. Since this bread will be used to make sandwiches, the loss of the very subtle butter flavor isn’t a big deal.
2. I have made his recipe about four times, and each time I found the dough to be too stiff and had to adjust the water each time. In the end, I added one extra tablespoon of water to the recipe. The recipe now reads “Almost 1/2 cup of water”, by which I mean to measure out 1/2 cup (4 ounces) and remove 1 tablespoon.
3. Because I wanted a kid-friendly texture and to promote longevity of the finished loaf,I added a few natural “dough conditioners” to help. I made the following additions:

• 1 tablespoon of granulated lecithin, which is a vitamin, makes for a moister loaf that is not too dry. Chris Kimball’s original loaf had a problem of drying out after a few days.
• 1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid (Vitamin C ) will inhibit the growth of mold by slightly alters the pH of the loaf.
• 1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger will help the yeast rise, resulting in a lighter, fluffier loaf. Very kid friendly.

Issues:

1. Slicing bread before bread has cooled completely will cause moisture to escape from loaf, resulting in a dry loaf. I sliced one loaf after almost 2 hours of cooling, but the escaping moisture will encouraged molding after 3 days. It you intend to keep the loaf for more than 2 days, it is important that you wait a full 3 hours before slicing.
2. I am eying a new loaf pan for a standard sandwich bread shape. My current over-sized slices are delicious for the summertime.

Rating: 4-stars.
Cost: 90-cents for 29-ounce loaf.
How much work? Low.
How big of a mess? Low/Medium.
Start time 4:00 PM. Finish time 6:30 PM. (But don’t slice for another 3 hours)

Chris Kimball’s original recipe is here. The descriptions of how I prepared and baked the bread today are given below:

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup milk (8 ounces)
Almost 1/2 cup water (3-1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon rapid-rise yeast or dry active yeast
1 tablespoon granulated lecithin

Dry Ingredients:

3-1/2 cups bread flour (18-1/2 ounces)
2 teaspoons table salt
1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid (or 1/4 teaspoon fruit fresh)
1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger

1. Adjust two oven rack to low and low-middle position. Put a broiler pan on the bottom rack, which will be used in step 8. Pre-heat to 200-degrees, then turn off your oven. You will use the residual heat of the oven to speed the first rise. If you don’t mind waiting for 2 hours for the first rise (less in summer), then you can skip the pre-heating portion of this step.
2. Mix together milk and water in a Pyrex measuring cup (at least 2 cups); net weight should be 11-1/2 ounces. Heat in microwave for 1 minute until mixture reaches 105-degrees. Mix in vegetable oil, sugar, yeast and granulated lecithin; allow to hydrate for 5 minutes.
3. Add dry ingredients (flour, salt,ascorbic acid and powdered ginger) to the bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook.
4. Turn on standing mixer to lowest speed and slowly add liquid; use a rubber spatula to scrape out measuring cup. After the dough has come together, increase speed to 4 on KitchenAid mixer (medium-low on other models). Continue mixing for 10 minutes, stopping twice to remove the dough from hook. The dough will become smooth. If the dough is too dry, add 1 more tablespoon of water. I like to use a spray bottle. Lightly flour a work surface and gently turn out the dough. Knead for about 15 seconds to form a smooth ball.
5. Lightly oil a large glass bowl, put dough inside and roll around to lightly coat the dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and place in your warm (but turned off) oven. The dough should take between 40 and 50 minutes to double in size. If you don’t mind waiting about 2 hours for the first rise, then you can let the dough rise at room temperature.
6. Gently turn the dough out onto floured surface. Gently press the dough into a 9″x12″ rectangle. Note that the 9″ should correspond exactly to the length of your loaf pan. Roll the dough into a 9″ cylinder, firmly pressing down to ensure that the dough sticks to itself while it rolls. Pinch the seam closed along the length of the cylinder. Spray your 9″x5″x3″ (LxWxH) loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Put your loaf into the pan and softly press the dough so that it touches all four sides of the pan. Spray the top of the loaf very lightly with non-stick cooking spray or dust with flour to ensure that the plastic wrap will release.
7. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap, realizing that the loaf will grow a few inches above the top of the pan. Place it in a warm spot in your kitchen for 45 minutes until it almost doubles in size. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly. Meanwhile pre-heat your oven to 400-degrees, and bring 2 cups of water to boil on the stovetop.
8. Carefully remove plastic wrap, spray the loaf twice with water from a spray bottle (optional), and place loaf pan in oven. Pour your 2 cups of boiling water into the pre-heated empty loaf/broiler pan, and close the oven door immediately to trap the steam. After 5 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 325-degrees . Bake for 25 additional minutes, rotating half way through baking time. After 15 minutes, optionally tent with aluminum foil to keep the loaf top very soft. The bread will be done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf reads 195 degrees. Carefully remove bread from pan, and let cool on a wire rack for 3 hour before slicing.

While this delicious Grilled Chicken Teriyaki took about an hour of clock time, it required very little effort to prepare. Most of the hour was purely unattended waiting; for the coals to ignite, and for the chicken to cook. There was only about 15 minutes of work involved.

The end result was highly praised by both my boys, so I gave it a family-friendly 5-stars. In fact, I was a little surprised that they loved it so much. My older son can be quite picky, but then again I guess kids love almost anything that includes 1/2-cup of sugar. Of course, as an adult there are other recipes that I’d prefer, but I was astonished at how much my two sons loved this recipe. I made it two days in a row.

While I now keep Mirin in my refrigerator, Chris Kimball offers the following substitution: 2 tablespoons of white wine, mixed with an extra teaspoon of sugar. Unfortunately, I only have this Sushi Chef Mirin, which was available in my supermarket. But supposedly it’s not nearly as good as this universally praised Mitoku Organic Mikawa Mirin Sweet Rice Seasoning.

Comments:

1. I used 2-1/2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts, instead of bone-in thighs. Mostly because it was on sale, but it also kept the effort very low. De-boning eight thighs can be a little bit of work.
2. I had a scallion on-hand, and generally like scallions in my Japanese cuisine. So I added the minced white part to the sauce immediately after I removed from heat, and garnished the plate with the sliced greens.

Rating: 5-family-friendly stars.
Cost: $5.00
How much work? Low.
How big of a mess? Small.
Start time: 5:00. Dinner time: 6:00

Chris Kimball’s original recipe is here. The descriptions of how I prepared it today are given below:

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons mirin
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
(optional: 1 finely minced scallion, white and green parts separated).

1. Trim and de-bone the chicken leaving skin intact. Using a sharp knife, make three diagonal slashes in skin being careful not to cut into the meat.
2. Fill a large chimney starter about 80% full withcharcoal (about 4-1/2 quarts, or about 65 briquettes ). Ignite and let burn for 20 minutes until covered with a layer of fine gray ash.
3. Remove the cooking grate and place a 16×12″ disposable aluminum roasting pan in center, and empty half the coals on each side of the aluminum pan. Replace the cooking grate, cover and preheat grill for 5 minutes; then scrape the cooking grate clean.
4. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. With the skin side up, put chicken in the center of grill (over roasting pan). Cover and cook for 15 minutes to 20 minutes.
5. Immediately after placing the chicken on the grill, add soy sauce, sugar, grated ginger, and press the garlic clove into a small saucepan. Separately, whisk together the mirin and cornstarch in small bowl, then add the mirin mixture to the saucepan.
6. Over medium-high heat, bring sauce to boil. Once it has reached a boil, reduce the stovetop to medium-low and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir as necessary, the sauce should be reduced to 3/4 cup. Cover saucepan to keep warm until ready to serve.
7. After 15 minutes on the grill, check the internal temperature using an instant-read thermometer. The thickest part of thighs should be 170-degrees. Flip chicken skin-side down directly over coals, and grill for 5 minutes until browned and the skin is crisp.
8. Let chicken rest for 3 minutes on a cutting board then slice meat crosswise into 1/2″-wide strips. Place chicken either on a serving platter or individual plates. Stir the teriyaki sauce to recombine, then drizzle over the sliced chicken. Serve immediately, passing extra sauce separately to be used with the accompanying rice.

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