What to do with chicken? Help!

Gregory Morrow said:

Katra said:

If I try refrigerator thawing, it's still WAY too frozen when I

need

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to cook it and I HATE microwave defrosting! It cooks the
rubber every time. :-P

KATRA! Did Shelly teach you that "method"...!!!???

With old stew hens you don't need no stinkin' rubbers... they don't
swell, they don't tell, and they're happy as hell.

Sheldon

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Umm, wouldn`t doing this result in a rather
bland meal?

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He's just a relative of Smeagol...

Who is Smeagol?

From: [email hidden]

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Applebee's is the absolute worst. I have eaten
there a couple of times and swore I'd never
be back. I reminds me so of hospital cafeteria
food.

Hmmm, I`ve never eaten at Applebee`s. Just never had the occasion to.
The one around here seems very busy, though. I`ve read negative things
before in this group about the place - what exactly about it makes it so
bad?

Years ago, when I was young (ok, many years ago), I took up backpacking
as a hobby. I bought an excellent book on the subject, which made my
very first, and many subsequent trips, delightful because I was well
prepared. But the British author, Colin Fletcher, warned his readers at
the beginning of his chapter on food, that his British tastes might not
be acceptable to many others, and to take that chapter with a grain of
salt. I read it, and wisely decided to go elsewhere for advice on food.

Chula, you'd enjoy eating with Colin. For most of us, we prefer to do
something to bring out the flavor. I used to cook steaks by broiling or
grilling them straight out of the package. Then I found they tasted
better if I coated them with a little olive oil and some salt and
pepper. Sauteing some sliced mushrooms and onions to put on the steak
was even better! Now, I almost always make a rub out of salt, pepper,
and whatever spices I choose that day. Parsley, sage, rosemary and
thyme... It makes the steak, even an expensive one, taste better to me.
I still taste the meat, but it has the added flavors of the spices. It
makes a cheap steak a whole lot better! I find the same thing to be
true with pork, lamb and chicken. I like my lamb pretty basic, usually,
but then put mint sauce and mint jelly on it as I eat. I love it that
way.
As far as chicken goes, I love how many things I can do with it.
Everything from basic (not as basic as chula's) to fancy. Love chicken
breast poached in white wine with white sauce over fresh mango and
papaya! The flavors dance over my tongue like Fred and Ginger (without
her high heels, or course! If I want the high heels, I do something
with hot peppers and ginger.(the spice, not the woman. She's dead.)).
I have a close friend who I dine with at her house occasionally. She is
a good cook, if you like chicken (and everything else) without anything
added except for a bit of salt and pepper. I find it very bland.
As far as the remarks on "food safety" regarding chicken, I find this
overdone. People seem to think that by taking extreme measures in
preparing their food, particularly chicken, they can avoid all germs.
Just isn't going to happen in a real kitchen in the real world. I
watched Alton Brown's show (I'm a big fan, like others here) on
chicken. Preparing it on a special cutting board, used only for
chicken, that is cleaned every time it's used with chlorine, along with
the area around the cutting board, while he wears latex gloves! If I
was that paranoid about fixing chicken, I'd just call in a Hazmat crew
everytime I saw the stuff and have it properly disposed of in a toxic
dump! Shouldn't he marinate the chicken in a chlorine solution just to
be sure? Oops, bad idea, the chlorine in the chicken would kill you!
Then why is there chlorine all around the chicken while it's being
prepared?
Anyway, that's my rant for this week. Stay tuned, more to come, like it
or not.

(EDT-3) From: [email hidden]

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I don't think it would be. If you like the taste of
meat. Nothing perturbs me more than people
who take a great chunk of meat and proceed
to diddle with it until it's flavor is totally
indistigushable. Lamb, for instance, tastes
divine. I could throttle morons who INSIST on
dumping a half a gallon of rosemary on it
thinking it is the "trendy" thing to do.

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Although I will concede that chicken breasts
are somewhat without the necessary fat to
give it a good yummy flavor, I would
therefore, suggest that it be cooked in a
generous portion of butter so that it can get all
brown and crunchy and taste ultra good!

I see your point. And believe me, by no means am I any kind of fancy
shmancy chef using all kinds of exotic ingredients and involved cooking
techniques. I agree, there`s alot to be said for simple. I do like
simple recipes that don`t require alot of ingredients, or at least alot
of ingredients I wouldn`t normally keep on hand. Many times I`ve
purchased a bottle of some spice of some type because a particular
recipe called for it , and used it once and then it sat on a shelf,
unused, for a very long time.

Not that I`m not looking to learn,or expand my horizons a bit - but
sometimes time and money are a factor, too. I also don`t own any top of
the line expensive fancy cookware or anything either. (I`m planning on
purchasing some new cookware, which I was going to post for advice on
here)

When I`m cooking a whole roasted chicken, the most I ever do to it is
rub a bit of butter or oil on the skin, and sprinkle some salt & pepper,
maybe some Montreal chicken seasoning or something and that`s it. And it
always turns out delicious.

I do find that the boneless skinless chicken breasts need a little
something to jazz them up a bit - even if it is just some breadcrumbs or
something.

"Day Dreamer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

From: [email hidden] (Nexis)

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Hmmm...do you have any pasta to serve it
with? If so, try slicing into thin slices across
the length and sautéing for a few minutes in
butter and olive oil. Add some minced garlic,
diced plum tomatoes, chicken broth, and if
you have any, some basil. Add 1/4 cup of the
water from the pasta. Simmer 5 minutes then
toss with pasta and serve with the parmesan
cheese.

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Good idea - I think this is what I`ll do, since it`s such a small amount
of chicken (about 9 oz. total and this meal is for 2 people). The pasta
and tomatoes will sorta bulk it up a bit. How much chicken broth would
you put in? The whole can?

It depends on the juiciness of the tomatoes. If they're really good, ripe
and juicy, you'll only need about 1 cup of broth. If they're not so juicy, 1
1/2 to 2 cups usually does the trick.

kimberly

"Serene" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

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The Ranger said:

Serene <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

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Dave Smith <[email hidden]> wrote:
> I found a couple chicken breasts sitting out to defrost this

afternoon.

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>
Eek! Food safety nightmare!

Why? As long as it wasn't all day or 1/2-a-day, there shouldn't be a
problem.

Not safe, not safe! If it's long enough to thaw the chicken it's too
long. See
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Chicken_Food_Safety_Focus/index.asp
among others. Not safe!

serene, Chicken Little

I do sincerely hope you are being sarcastic, heheheh...

',;~}~

Shaun aRe