The Chicken Who Would Be King.

A number of times I have heard someone refer to my research techniques as being part ferret and part pitbull.  I believe I have always been like this, even as a child, being interested in a subject and wanting to know more and more about it.  Even now, my bookcases are filled with all kinds of books on the Four Corners states.  When writing my travel blog, I like to give accurate and historical insight to places we have visited.  Cookbooks?  I have one bookcase full of cuisines from all over the world.  With the knowledge available via the internet, I can dig up, and latch onto, more information than I know what to do with.  Gaining knowledge is like learning the tricks of a magician; something up my sleeve as you are distracted by another recipe to try.

So, as I began researching this newest interest in a chicken recipe, the information I found simply kept expanding.  Why?  Seems that from 1665 to 1972, someone, in some country was trying to take credit for its creation.  I cannot understand why myself as, no matter how fancy the added ingredients got, it still reminded me of one thing…Sh*t on a Shingle.  Yes, I consider this recipe the poultry version of Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast, just with some fancy veggies added in, maybe a drop of sherry or two.

While I attended university, this was a comfort food for me, along with shepherd’s pie, pizza and the greasier the cheeseburger, the better.  Ramen?  No, no, did not eat that dried out stuff when one could go to New York City’s Chinatown, and for five dollars buy enough food and eggrolls to last three days.  Try doing that now!

The name of the dish being referred to is Chicken A La King; small pieces of chicken and vegetables simmered in a thick cream sauce.  While some like to eat it over rice or egg noodles, toast cut into triangles is the more popular fashion.  It can be made from scratch, or semi-homemade using canned chicken, mushrooms and frozen vegetables; semi-homemade is quicker or course.

Back in 1665, the name of the dish was A La Royale, developed in France and served to royalty and aristocracy.  Even though it was mentioned in several cookbooks, no real written recipe ever appeared.  In the 1880s, Delmonico’s of New York City called it A La Keene, after Foxhall Keene who was an Olympic Gold Medalist in the sport of Polo.  But the Claridge Hotel of London claimed they named it A La Keene after Foxhall’s father, James, who was a famous horse breeder.  Sounds like a bit of father-son rivalry going on there.  The name change to A La King began in the late 1890s when the Brighton Beach Hotel, Brooklyn, NY, named the dish after their most popular patrons, E. Clarke King and his wife.  However, the Bellevue Hotel, Philadelphia, claimed it was created by hotel cook William "Bill" King.  When he died in 1915, his obituary stated that while he had no real claim to fame, his inspired recipe for Chicken A La King would be a testament to his cooking genius.  In 1972, James Beard inserted the recipe in his cookbook, American Cookery, called it Chicken A La King, and along with the chicken added mushrooms, green bell pepper, onion, and pimiento in a cream sauce with sherry.   …and that was that!

Now to ferret out an original recipe, and I am blown away how difficult that was. References to James Beard’s recipe was plentiful, but not available to look at unless the cookbook was purchased.  How rude!  I also found references to the same recipe on food blogs, but when looked for, surprise, no longer available for viewing.  How strange!  Then there were the celebrity, home cooks, food bloggers, etc. that claimed they were using an original recipe, but with a twist…the addition of peas.  No, No, No Peas!  Egads, just because Paula Dean loves butter and peas, does not mean you have to add them into every recipe.

This recipe is as close to original as I could come up with, and never got any complaints.

 

Chicken A La King

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter

8 oz. white or crimini mushrooms, rough chopped

½ cup diced green bell pepper (or mix with red and yellow bell pepper for more color)

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

1 Tbsp. sherry wine (never use cooking wine, that stuff is full of salt!)

¼ cup diced pimentos

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

Preparation:

In a 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add in mushrooms, bell pepper and onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

  

Add in flour and stir until well incorporated in the vegetables. Pour in chicken broth, cream and sherry; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in pimientos and chicken; let cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until all ingredients become evenly hot.

   

 

 

Serve over cooked rice, egg noodles, toast, or biscuits.

Makes 6 servings.

 

To create a semi-homemade version of this recipe, use canned mushrooms and canned all-white meat chicken; drain the liquid for both, and chop up the mushrooms.  For the peppers and onions, I always have a frozen bag of the stir-fry ready variety, so a quick defrost and dice them up.  Simply follow the directions for the rest, and if you do not have pimentos, this dish has so much flavor, you will not miss them.

Mary Cokenour 

Keeping It Cool.

Here we are, the middle of July and the temperatures are on the rise.  So, where is that sound that brings out our childhood delight?  “What sound?”, you ask.  It is the jingle, the jingle played by the Good Humor or Mr. Softee truck.  All the kids lining up, at the usual stop, money in hand, to buy soft serve cones, rocket pops, éclair or strawberry shortcake. 

Ah, but where I lived, as a kid, we had one more sound that would get us excited in summer’s heat.  “What sound?”, you ask.  It was the “ding-ding”, no, not “dun-dun”; I am not doing an episode of Law and Order here.  “Ding-ding” of the bicycle bell located on the handlebar, and attached to the bicycle was a freezer on wheels, carrying cherry, lemon, grape and, my personal favorite, chocolate Italian ices.  Getting out a scoop and pleated paper cup, the Italian ice man would fill the cup, pressing down to get the most inside, and then rounding out the top in a mound.  It was sweet, it turned our tongues different colors, you could drink it as it melted inside the cup, but most important of all, it was cold.

What is Italian ice?  Origin, of course, is Italian, but even there it is debated on what region.  Supposedly, it is traced back to ancient Rome and the Apennine Mountain Range which runs through the center of Italy.  Snow was always on the mountain tops, gathered in the warmer months, mixed with fruit, and was a refreshing treat in the sweltering heat.  However, in Sicily, the same claim is made, but the snow came from Mount Etna.  In Rome, it was called sorbetto; in Sicily, it was called granita, and while both used fresh fruit, an added sweetener was also included and that was honey.

Between 1880 and 1924, poverty in Southern Italy and Sicily forced many a citizen, of these regions, to immigrate to America.  Italians became the fifth largest ethnic group in the USA, and the country benefited from their many skills, including culinary.  So, is it any wonder that Italian ices did not become a huge hit, during the summer months.  The cities were crowded, even back then, with street carts, people walking to and from employment, children playing, and others just going through day-to-day existence.  Concrete buildings and cobblestone streets created virtual oven-like conditions with the heat pressing down, and no ventilation.  One could not just go to the local convenience store, open the refrigerated section and grab a “cold one”. 

Nowadays, we take a luxury like this for granted.

Ah, but here came the Italian ice man, with his icy confections keeping cool with block ice.  It was momentary relief, but it still hit the spot.

Italian ice, sorbet and sherbet, are they not all the same product?  Yes and no.  They all, if the manufacturer cares about the quality, use pureed fresh fruit, ice and a natural sweetener like sugar or honey.  However, sherbet adds another ingredient, a dairy product of milk, heavy cream or buttermilk.  The added fat gives the sherbet a smoother texture equating it more to ice cream than an “ice”.  If shopping for any of these in a market’s frozen section, read the labels!  Some have artificial flavors and colors, and lots of sugar added, to fool you into thinking you are eating real fruit.  Chances are, if the product states, “no sugar added”, real fruit which contains natural sugar itself, is your main ingredient.

Can Italian ice be homemade?  You betcha!  Back in the 1990s (aka the late 1900s), Martha Steward did a show on making “granita”, or the Sicilian version of Italian ice.  Of course, she touted it as a very fancy dessert that would “wow your guests”.  Anyway, three basic ingredients are needed: fresh fruit, ice and a sweetener.  When making a citrus flavored ice, an additional tablespoon of freshly squeezed juice will give added flavor, and a zing to the tongue.  Berries can be put into the blender whole, except for large strawberries which should be quarter, and green part removed of course.  Larger fruit should be peeled and also cut up.

 

Homemade Italian Ice

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh fruit  

2 Tbsp. honey or granulated sugar

3 cups ice (small cubes or crushed)

Option: one Tbsp. freshly squeezed juice of same fruit being used.

Preparation:

In a food processor or blender, blend the fruit, honey or sugar, optional juice, and 2 cups of ice until chunky. Add remaining one cup of ice and blend until completely smooth. Taste to see if more sweetener is necessary.

Pour the mixture into a 9” x 13” glass baking dish and freeze for 30 minutes. Remove dish from freezer and scrape with a fork until slushy. Continue to freeze for another 2 hours, repeating scraping once per hour.

Scoop the ice into dessert cups.  The ice will be of a chunky looking consistency, if a smoother texture is desired, let it sit out for about five minutes.  Warm the scoop slightly and run it over the top of the ice to smooth out the bumps.

Makes 4 cups.

Pioneer Day Weekend celebrations will be here soon, wonder if a vendor will be cooling our tongues down with a nice fruity ice?

Mary Cokenour

How to Make Sun Tea.

With the summer coming, a refreshing drink is always a way to make the day better.  Sun tea is very easy to make, and while you're working hard in the garden, the sun is doing all the work for you, in making this beverage.

 

How to Make Sun Tea

 

Get a clear, 2-gallon, glass jar with a sealable lid and wash it thoroughly.  Fill the jar 3/4 of the way up with water (bottled is preferable, but use tap if that’s all you have). Take 10 teas bags (Lipton is ok and regular or decaf depending on what you like), tied together and place inside the jar.

Now, get 8 sprigs (6-8 inches long) of lemon balm, or whatever herb you like such as a type of mint. Rinse the sprigs with water to get off dirt and place inside the jar. Seal the jar and place outside in a sunny spot, let sit for 24 hours. Bring inside and remove the tea bags, herbal sprigs and strain the liquid. Use a ladle to pour tea into a glass, add ice and enjoy.

The lemon balm flavors the tea so wonderfully, you don’t have to add any sugar; it’s so good the way it is.

Mary Cokenour

Feel That Salsa Rhythm

“Come on, shake your body, baby, do the conga.

I know you can't control yourself any longer.

Come on, shake your body, baby, do the conga.

I know you can't control yourself any longer.”

Conga

Miami Sound Machine Featuring Gloria Estefan

Here we are, the end of August and the official start of autumn is less than a month away.  Fall Equinox, aka Mabon, will be on September 22nd, and it will also be the celebration of the second harvest.  Colder temperatures will be moving in, and those vegetable plants that need more heat will be giving up their final gifts.

Our jalapeno and Roma tomato plants were full and ready for the picking, a lovely abundance of green and red.  Would I be making pasta sauce with those tomatoes this year?  Sadly no, as the tomato plants were not as fruitful as gallons of sauce would require.  However, those jalapeno peppers were screaming at me, “Don’t you want your taste buds to dance with us?”

Who was I to argue with hot peppers, so being agreeable, I pulled out salt, garlic, onions, cilantro and lime juice to join the conga line.  It was salsa making time!

What is salsa, and who invented it first.  Salsa is typically, in our modern world, a combination of chopped, diced, minced tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers with seasonings added for flavor boosting.  However, when the Spanish invaded…. umm, discovered and explored, Mexico and Central America, the recipe consisted of tomatoes, chile peppers and squash seeds.  While we think of salsa being a traditional Mexican dish, it can be traced back to the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans.  The Maya were native people of Mexico and Central America, while the Aztec were located mainly in northern Mesoamerica (today’s countries of northern Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and central to southern Mexico) between 1345 and 1521 BCE.  The Inca lived in ancient Peru between 1400 and 1533 BCE, and extended across western South America.  Then the Spanish came in the 1500s, and changed up, not just life and culture, but the native cuisines.

The overall flavor of salsa is dependent, not just upon ingredients used, but how it is created; raw or cooked.  Then there is the chile peppers used, each having its own discernible flavor, and heat intensity, which can also be changed via drying or cooking.  The peppers get their heat primarily from the seeds, so keeping them in the recipe will gauge mild to medium to hot.  When I make salsa, for a two-cup recipe, usually one large jalapeno with seeds and white pith (aka ribs) removed.  The heat of the pepper tingles the lips, and the edges of the tongue; however, full flavor of the tomatoes, onions and garlic are front and center.  That is how we like it, and dicing and mincing via knife skills, creates a chunky, not watered down, mixture.

Have I purchased jarred salsa off the market shelf?  Sure have, but I drain the contents, saving the juice for when I make enchilada sauce.  Chunky salsa plus starter for enchilada sauce; sounds like a win-win situation for me.  Of course, homemade salsa does not contain the preservatives that store bought must have to avoid spoilage.  So, when making a large batch, have in mind how to store; canning or freezing.  Be aware that the water content of tomatoes will affect the salsa by breaking down the texture of the tomatoes.  That is why I like using Roma tomatoes, for sauce and salsa, as they are meatier, have less seeds and less water content.

Salsa is a trifecta of dip, condiment or snack/meal that will make your taste buds dance.  Might as well put on some music, and have your entire body dance to the rhythm as well.

 

Homemade Salsa

Ingredients: 

½ cup diced onion

1 Tbsp.  minced garlic

1 large jalapeno, seeds and white pith removed, diced

1 and ½ cups diced tomatoes (4 medium size Roma – more meat, less seeds & juice)

¼ tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves, minced (1 Tbsp. for dried and crushed)

3 Tbsp. lime juice

Option: ¼ tsp.  ground cumin (adds smoky flavor) 

 

 

 

 

 Roma Tomatoes - meatier, less seeds, less juice; perfect for making homemade pasta sauce too.

 

 

 

 

Preparation:

 

In large bowl, mix all ingredients together.  Let settle for 15 minutes; mix again before serving.

Refrigerate leftovers in airtight container, will last 5 days.

Makes 2 cups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Freeze

Place in airtight container, or freezer bag pressing out as much air as possible.

Water content in the tomatoes can break down texture, so use within two months; except if using Roma tomatoes, then three months.

 

 

Quick Cook Salsa

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into halves (why cherry tomatoes, the aesthetics!)

1 small onion, diced

1 Anaheim pepper, seeded and diced

¼ cup dried cilantro leaves

¼ tsp. salt 

Preparation:

In a medium skillet, or small Wok, heat oil on medium heat; add tomatoes and cook for five minutes to release juice from the tomatoes.

Increase heat to medium-high, add remaining ingredients, mix well and let cook until the liquid reduces by 3/4s.

 

 

 

 

 

Use as garnish for meat, pork or chicken; use as dip or condiment.

Makes 2 cups.

Mary Cokenour